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Eddie Van Halen RIP


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Maybe NOW we cam stop with the cracks about Eddie's KB work in JUMP. If you think THAT was simple, listen to what his bass player was playing during that song, It just goes to show a song doesn't have to be complicated to be a HIT record for the masses.

 

To bad about his early passing. I always loved their music.

 

RIP

 

 

Mike T

 

 

Eddie is...er...was :( known as a Guitar God...but did you all know the piano was his (and Alex's) first instrument? As kids, Eddie's and Alex's parents drove them down 35 miles from Pasadena to San Pedro to get piano lessons from Stasys "Stanley" Kalvaitis, an accomplished classically-trained musician and concertmaster from Lithuania. Later, Eddie actually took up the drums and Alex played the sax. This is them below (Eddie was 9 and Alex was 11):

 

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We like to joke about "Jump," but if you knew the context of synthesizers back then, it really was a groundbreaking song. In the early '80s, synths were associated with esoteric prog rock virtuosos or post-punk art school kids from England with fancy haircuts. But synths were regarded as "non-instruments" back then and some rock bands made it a point of pride to point out in their album liner notes that no synthesizers were used in their recording.

 

But f'ing Eddie, he didn't follow the rules, he made them. "Jump" is one of the most iconic synthesizer riffs ever, and he adapted his classically-trained guitar solo arpeggio style into a synth solo that most of us can recall in our heads in its entirety. He also helped make the Oberheim OBXa an analog synth classic (the manufacturer had already moved on to the OB-8 as its flagship poly at the time), not just with "Jump" but with the other synth-heavy tracks on their '1984' album. On the synth-heavy hits in the Hagar-era VH, EVH already demonstrated a keyboard style that was uniquely his. Eddie made synths "cool" in rock music. Eddie was the consummate musician.

 

eddie-van-halen-keyboards.jpg

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"Jump" is one of the most iconic synthesizer riffs ever, and he adapted his classically-trained guitar solo arpeggio style into a synth solo that most of us can recall in our heads in its entirety.

 

To me my favorite part is the guitar chord he plays on top of the second to last phrase - AbMaj13 or something along those lines? People who cover that song or these types of songs never play it (or any details like that, which to me "make" the song). So dope.

 

Plus - the Obie sounds super nice on that record. And it's not that simple to recreate to the tee. There's that laughable "Synth Sounds Of..." video by Reverb on YouTube where the guy attempts to recreate the sound...not even close.

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Great loss. Eddie must of been a bit "coy" when he said he didn't know music theory. Maybe he couldn't describe what he composed with academic descriptions, but he had great "ears' and early childhood influences from his father ( like Paul McCartney ). A creative musical mind doesn't need to explain, just do it.

 

I saw VH twice with Hagar and Cherone. Hagar concert was outstanding. The band was well rehearsed and Eddie even played Jump on a Kurzweil 250 for most of the song. Sammy played the rhythm on guitar and then Eddie switched to guitar on the solo. The Cherone concert used backing-tracks for Jump and the other keyboard heavy songs. Cherone gave it his best, but didn't have the stage charisma that Roth and Hagar have and they were sloppy.

 

Jump has more layered parts on the the recording. I haven't seen any cover band play it with all/some of the extras. I play the extra parts as much as I can with the octave high C's and synth layers on the bridge. To do this you have to switch parts with the LH. The LH will play the main riff when the RH plays the high C's. On the bridge both hands play the parts. You then gotta switch very quickly thereafter to the regular RH parts. Takes practice with the timing, but not that hard.

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I'm a huge VH fan and this really makes me sad. I was a teenager who grew up playing sheltered classical piano when I first was exposed to synths right around the time that 1984 was coming out - add me to the list of people that were enthralled by Jump and the awesome 1984 synth intro. I was also into a lot of new wave stuff like Duran Duran, The Cars, Depeche Mode, etc. though there was something truly iconic and memorable about Eddie's playing on Jump and I still remember drooling over the Oberheim synth in the video that was kind of dusty and well-loved.

 

RIP Eddie. I heard this quote from him on the news: "Very few people find something in life that they're good at and love doing. And for that, I'm damn lucky."

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I can say, without looking through a nostalgic lens, it was seeing EVH playing that wonderful dust (cigarette ash) covered Oberheim in the Jump video that made me want to play keys. I then proceeded to pick up the later Sammy albums, which had playable, yet good sounding keys parts while also working backward through appreciating the early Dave albums. This is a major loss, personally. But, Eddie left a lot of gifts for the world to continue enjoying.
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I remember well when that first Van Halen album hit. I was on tour, and that album was on constant play in the band rooms. A revelation... no one could believe a guitar could make those sounds.

 

By the time 1984 came out I was out of bands and doing singles and piano bars. I never did play Jump, but I do remember trying to program the sound on a DX7 :laugh:

 

More recently as a DJ I warped and edited it. The leads took forever because Ableton works best when you tell it where quarter note downbeats are. And then I ended up editing all that stuff out when they didn't work on the floor :rolleyes: The parts are so cool though.

 

RIP Eddie... a true legend.

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Im a huge fan and was privileged to see them 5 times. The last was in 2013 in Paso Robles from row two and we were pretty much making eye contact with Eddie and Dave. And the show was brilliant. He went through a bad period not playing well but by the last ten years he was easily back to the 1978 level. They went out on top with great shows and a brilliant final album, Different Kind of Truth. As a keyboardist and guitarist I loved playing those 80s keyboard songs, especially since I got my first synth in 1985, second in 1988 just in time to play cuts off of the keyboard heavy 5150 and 0U812 and of course Jump. Have loved playing Jump alot the last ten years in many 80's bands. And still love it. What a loss. I went and played and sung some 5150 and Dance the night away on keys and guitar last night and just felt worse after. Devastated.
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Article on Eddie's history with synths/keys. Apparently he did well in piano competitions at a young age.

 

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/eddie-van-halen-keyboards/

 

Dunno how accurate the article is. It does not just talk about Jump, thank the gods. It'd be a damn shame if his entire synth history is reduced to Jump.

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Eddie was one of the big reasons I started playing keyboards, even though I stuck to piano and organ all these years and only really started playing synths this year. (Just ask Doerfler.)

 

What always got me about VH was the pocket, the groove. We may not have noticed the band if it weren't for EVH's guitar pyrotechnics and innovations, but what kept me there was the feel. Maybe it came from the fact that their dad was a jazz musician, I don't know. But I would say they weren't a rock band, they were a rock and roll band, if that makes sense.

 

While I understand when families keep this stuff private, it can suck for us because I for one had No Idea he was sick again. So when I saw the headline notification the other day it hit like a ton of bricks. It was completely out of the blue. I would have also have liked to have sent him/his account a note on social media to tell him what he and his music meant to me. Oh well. I've been spinning the albums since then. They will always be part of my soundtrack.

 

Thanks Eddie, and Happy Trails. :thu:

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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Eddie was one of the big reasons I started playing keyboards, even though I stuck to piano and organ all these years and only really started playing synths this year. (Just ask Doerfler.)

 

What always got me about VH was the pocket, the groove. We may not have noticed the band if it weren't for EVH's guitar pyrotechnics and innovations, but what kept me there was the feel. Maybe it came from the fact that their dad was a jazz musician, I don't know. But I would say they weren't a rock band, they were a rock and roll band, if that makes sense.

 

While I understand when families keep this stuff private, it can suck for us because I for one had No Idea he was sick again. So when I saw the headline notification the other day it hit like a ton of bricks. It was completely out of the blue. I would have also have liked to have sent him/his account a note on social media to tell him what he and his music meant to me. Oh well. I've been spinning the albums since then. They will always be part of my soundtrack.

 

Thanks Eddie, and Happy Trails. :thu:

 

Without a doubt Eddie and Alex borrowed from jazz in the writing and the feel of a lot of their grooves. There is a lazy swing to them and the playing is chock full of syncopation. Definitely something their copy cats generally don't replicate. For a hard rock band, they also dabbled in many different grooves - changing it up like a jazz trio would fill the night with a med swing, a fast swing, a ballad, a bossa nova, a waltz, etc. You get that with their albums and catalog. The hair bands of the 80s filled albums with basically two or three straight up rock cliche grooves. Many with very little syncopation.

 

I'd love to hear a great big band arranger take on I"m the One You Love. No vocal please. Paul Anka's Jump is still in the back of my head. I don't hate it, it's just not the original's intent.

[video:youtube]

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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While his lead playing was undeniable in terms of skill and unique talent, it was never my cup of tea. But I have always thought he was a great rhythm guitar player...great unique parts that grooved and supported the song. I think his rhythm playing gets overlooked, but it was a part of his playing I was always drawn to.

 

And while the jazz may have entered the picture via their dad, don't forget they were a cover band for years. They played tons of diverse covers over the years in dive bars all around Pasadena and surrounding areas. That in itself is a good education in song structure, writing and grooves......

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Van Halen's music is on the soundtrack of my teenage years. I still rock out when I hear "Jump", "I'll Wait" and "Hot for Teacher". Thanks for the music. RIP Mr. Eddie Van Halen. :cool:

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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Used to hear 'Jump' ALOT, along with Journey's Faithfully or Don't Stop Believing. Was just thinking about Eddie's guitar work on the Twister Soundtrack-- love 'Respect The Wind!' So many awesome tunes with Eddie's work; yet it seems he could have continued to contribute so much more if today's generation only embraced more guitar work like that in their tunes! Hope Wolfgang passes on what he can to his kids-- I hope Wolf learned some guitar from his dad!

 

 

Just found this interview again after many years-- had forgotten Wolfie's mention in it: "Dad taught me how to do some power chords!"

Yeah, "some" power chords! :-) That kid probably learned more from his dad in a single day, than I could have learned in a lifetime! Eddie was always in overdrive! Quote from the above-mentioned interview, "...all you can eat buffet for $1-- give me $3 worth!" ;-D
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While his lead playing was undeniable in terms of skill and unique talent, it was never my cup of tea. But I have always thought he was a great rhythm guitar player...great unique parts that grooved and supported the song. I think his rhythm playing gets overlooked, but it was a part of his playing I was always drawn to.

 

And while the jazz may have entered the picture via their dad, don't forget they were a cover band for years. They played tons of diverse covers over the years in dive bars all around Pasadena and surrounding areas. That in itself is a good education in song structure, writing and grooves......

 

 

Don't forget that Eddie and his brother were trained classically as well which was incorporated into some of his keyboard work and especially his guitar style!

 

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Don't forget that Eddie and his brother were trained classically as well which was incorporated into some of his keyboard work and especially his guitar style!

 

 

Thanks for sharing that. A long interview video, but worth every minute to me. Didn't know that Alex also participated in the piano competition circuit when they were kids, or that Eddie actually learned all the music by ear and didn't know how to read the music. His answer to that young boy's question about his first day of school was interesting as well.

 

Getting back to the music, this is another keyboard song that I liked. I think it's a much better song than J***. The lyrics are typical Sammy but I dig the keyboard hooks, progression, arrangement, etc.

 

[video:youtube]

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Thanks for that, I had forgotten about this track. It's a great example of Eddie's magic ingredients for writing musically interesting songs that catch the ear of both players and a wide range of listeners.

 

On that same topic, I just got turned on to a duo. They call themselves The Bird and The Bee - they have done an album called Interpreting the Masters, Volume 2 linked below is Van Halen. The absence of any members of Van Halen playing on these recordings makes a very good case that it wasn't just their playing, but the writing that brought them international appeal. There's not a track here I didn't gleefully want to continue on to see what they'd done with it. Enjoy!

 

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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Thanks for that, I had forgotten about this track. It's a great example of Eddie's magic ingredients for writing musically interesting songs that catch the ear of both players and a wide range of listeners.

 

On that same topic, I just got turned on to a duo. They call themselves The Bird and The Bee - they have done an album called Interpreting the Masters, Volume 2 linked below is Van Halen. The absence of any members of Van Halen playing on these recordings makes a very good case that it wasn't just their playing, but the writing that brought them international appeal. There's not a track here I didn't gleefully want to continue on to see what they'd done with it. Enjoy!

 

One half of The Bird and the Bee, Greg Kurstin (who is a killer keys player and highly successful pop producer), was a classmate of Dweezil Zappa, and co-wrote the B-side to Dweezil's first single (at 12 years old), My Mother is a Space Cadet, which was produced by none other than Eddie Van Halen!

 

I never really gave Van Halen a fair shake and recently (before Eddie's passing) started digging into their catalog more. I gotta say: I'm a fan now, they are a pretty kick-a** band! RIP Eddie.

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Thanks for that, I had forgotten about this track. It's a great example of Eddie's magic ingredients for writing musically interesting songs that catch the ear of both players and a wide range of listeners.

 

On that same topic, I just got turned on to a duo. They call themselves The Bird and The Bee - they have done an album called Interpreting the Masters, Volume 2 linked below is Van Halen. The absence of any members of Van Halen playing on these recordings makes a very good case that it wasn't just their playing, but the writing that brought them international appeal. There's not a track here I didn't gleefully want to continue on to see what they'd done with it. Enjoy!

 

One half of The Bird and the Bee, Greg Kurstin (who is a killer keys player and highly successful pop producer), was a classmate of Dweezil Zappa, and co-wrote the B-side to Dweezil's first single (at 12 years old), My Mother is a Space Cadet, which was produced by none other than Eddie Van Halen!

I didn't know that. I did know that the other half of The Bird and the Bee is Inara George, whose father was Lowell George, founder of Little Feat, though she was around five when he died. Van Halen later covered Lowell's A Apolitical Blues on OU812. Both bands were on Warner Brothers records in their prime, and worked with producer Ted Templeman and engineer Donn Landee. They both also worked with Montrose and Sammy's solo stuff. In fact, when Van Halen started working with Templeman on their first album, they told him they wanted to sound like Montrose.

 

P.S. Can you tell that I haven't been reading the articles about Eddie's passing? I started to read one when I found out about it, saw the new info about Wolfie's posting, and the rest was a waste of my time. :)

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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Thanks for that, I had forgotten about this track. It's a great example of Eddie's magic ingredients for writing musically interesting songs that catch the ear of both players and a wide range of listeners.

 

On that same topic, I just got turned on to a duo. They call themselves The Bird and The Bee - they have done an album called Interpreting the Masters, Volume 2 linked below is Van Halen. The absence of any members of Van Halen playing on these recordings makes a very good case that it wasn't just their playing, but the writing that brought them international appeal. There's not a track here I didn't gleefully want to continue on to see what they'd done with it. Enjoy!

 

 

Thank you in return! I'm enjoying these covers. Some killer playing too!

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