Steve Vai Remembers the First Time He Heard “Eruption”
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ย. 2024
- The former David Lee Roth sideman recalls being blown away by, and then transcribing, EVH’s virtuosic arrangement-though he’s never actually played it.
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A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation (www.mhopus.org) and Feeding America (feedingamerica.org).
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I know exactly where I was it was amazing and ear breaking volume levels. It probably was on 8-track also LOL
It sounds like theres 3 people talking here not just Steve and Dweezil?
]1]
This cat is even more of a game-changer than the Conventional Hendrix & EVH!
TRONIC UKE!
th-cam.com/video/S_vxQOH051U/w-d-xo.html
This cat is from another planet!
Vai says you'd be lying to say you didn't love EVH, but I was there when VH 1 came out and it was pretty TYPICAL (1970s boogie hard rock) and a zillion guys were using phasers, pinch harmonics, etc, at the time.
In fact, listen to Boston's "It's Been Such A Long Time" (guitar solo?) from 1976 and that sounds like EVH before EVH!
I was more impressed by EVH's notes and classical scales of "Eruption" than the tapping. (Steve Hackett was already doing it almost exactly like EVH, who saw SH and Harvey Mandel doing it and stole it.)
I also hated EVH's LEADS, cuz it sounded like he had muscle memory of ONE SCALE.
He repeated himself wayyyy too much.
EVH has done some great work, but he's a Naked Emperor in many ways too.
I love how eddie always played with a smile on his face.
He knew he was changing the world
Yes!! That's always something Ive treasured about Ed
He loved playing guitar
It was impossible not to have a great time when Ed was playing..as a 50 year old small time musician I have never been too taken with stars or celebrities.... when they pass it's sad but I don't know them.. but I have truly been sad since Eddie passed on... like I had known him personally..RIP EDDIE
Rock and roll is supposed to be fun freedom music! Not some miserable negative nonsense.. Eddie played the fun stuff!
The older Steve gets, the more and more respect I have for him.
Feel exactly the same way.
Yeah. I love listening to him, his interviews. Very good points.
He was amazing in the mid 80s.
A life of discipline and just being a man of character and this is what you get.
Are you gay for Steve?
Yeap
When you hear an Icon bow down to another Icon, you listen. Rest in Peace Eddie
No doubt.
@hary gun 😐
RESPECT
For what little I know, I can still imagine that Eddie Van Halen respected Steve Vai for what he can do as a matter of just being different.
still bothers me Ed's gone
People tend to ignore, or fixate on his leads, and don't realize how amazing Ed was as a rhythm player. His chord choice and interplay with melody and harmony, use of space, etc. etc... There was never anybody like him.
If he never played a lead lick in his life, he would go down in history as one of the most innovative and amazing players ever, based on his rhythm playing alone..forget the tunes, the shows, etc, just listed to the unchained isolated guitar track, mind boggling..
@@mattm3892 easy on the hate homie
Yes! Astounding rhythm chops!
Thank you
Actually, Steve's comments about the attention Van Halen paid to giving each instrument it's own space is instructive, because it applies to Eddie's overall style of playing. I don't think he envisioned himself in two roles, rhythm and lead. He saw his role as "the guitar", and it was all about playing the harmonically and tonally correct combination of notes at any given bar or beat in the song. Like Hendrix, what and how he played expanded or contracted, seamlessly, to fill the holes between vocal lines.
VH's debut album was like a Big Bang in modern rock. Literally a new sound out of thin air. I don't hear influences, there were NO peers, and no scene from which that sound spawned.
Honestly the best comment I’ve read.
No attempt should be made to improve on that comment. Cheers!
This is absolutely right! Agreed that this is the best comment yet!
You nailed it. When I heard the first three songs on VH #1, I might as well have been watching a space ship land on my front lawn. It woould have had the same effect on me.
@@hi-ccowboy7983 agreed. Explains it all, quite succinctly.
Thank you Stevie , for giving Alex his due for his unique drumming.
There is still a huge musical hole in my heart since Ed died. RIP King Edward
Love how Vai describe:s Ed's sound so passionately and eloquently .....thank you Steve , much respect 👍
Steve described the way Mr. Edward Van Halen was able move so many of us in 1978. Thank you Mr. Steve Vai and Mr. Dweezil Zappa! 🙇
"That guy freaked me out!"
- Eddie Van Halen on hearing Steve Vai on "Eat 'em and smile"
The respect was mutual.
I got some doubts about this..
Eddie said this to Nuno Bettencourt or Holdsworth or Dimebag..
Well,EVH is another level,sorry Vai...
@@nicolassosolic5928 Look up a song called "The Jazz discharge party hats" by Frank Zappa which has Vai on guitar showcasing why he was credited with "Impossible guitar parts" on the album. To have a showcase on why EVH was freaked out by Vai.
@@RastaSaiyaman That doesn't matter,i'm not talking about technical skills,EVH has written so many timeless songs,multiplatinum records and that's what it is all about
@@nicolassosolic5928 At this level, there's no competition. Different people with different approach. Did u notice they don't sound the same ? weird hu.
Steve speaks from the heart. I love Page, Beck, Clapton, Blackmore, Rhoads, and Lynch. But the Game Changers were Hendrix and Eddie beyond a doubt. RIP EVH.🎸
Vai nails it in this video! From his excellent description of Eddie's tone to Eddie being 1 of only 2 game changers in Rock guitar ( Hendrix being the other).
3 game changers Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, and Eddie Van Halen!
Everyone forgets Terry Kath, just some guy Hendrix said was better than him.
@@da324 you could make a case for Yngwie Malmsteen too imho, but most of his impact was on guitar players, not popular music. It'd be impossible for another guitar player to make an impact like any of the people mentioned above due to popular music being largely non-instrumental these days.
@@BrianDropdead I think a lot of guitar players impact many other players, but the three I mentioned made people look at guitar playing in a whole new way. My two cents, thanks for commenting.
@@BrianDropdead I agree. I have said numerous times; Since 1970 to current day there has only been three true gamechangers and shapeshifters, JH, EVH and YJM. If name anyone else they are just borrowing and extending on an already existing idea.
Vai is a great speaker. Dweezil has such a connection with Eddie, it would be great to see him with Alex and the boys in a tribute tour.
somebody should approach Michael Starr and Satchel too....their old Atomic Punks band was badass!!! kinda like the experience Hendrix tour? DLR , Sammy ,Michael Anthony, Wolfie....
it will never happen. alex will never do that.
Shut Up and play your Guitar. By Frank will blow your mind love him or hate him he was a guitar genius that gets snubbed for some ridiculous reason😰😰
Eddie's well of creativity was so deep. If they never achieved anything beyond the first album, it would obviously stand as one of the greatest guitar/debut/rock albums of all time, yet he just kept blasting out the most mind-boggling songs. It really is astounding how MANY compositions he spouted...album after album after album. We're all so fortunate to have heard and witnessed this greatness! Pretty good for "just a punk kid who plays guitar."
Steve is an absolute class act and great human being.....
I agree completely, Jimi and Eddie were the game changers.
So was Chuck Berry...
@@da324 I wouldn't argue that but Chuck was a little before my time.
Randy Rhoads
@@da324 why not Les Paul, Chet Atkins, Scotty Moore, James Burton...I could name at least a dozen more, but let's have some objectivity here. Doesn't matter if the player is "before my time", do some research, get schooled and become cultured.
I don't think some of the commenters know what "game changer" means in this context..
And it just reminds me how stupid people are and how alone it makes me feel( i speak of all the comments in general for the youtube vid, not specifically this comment thread )
Edward has a swing in his playing that many emulate, but few achieve. 🙏🏼🎸🏃🏻♂️
We all have swing, many must be directly exposed to swing music for many years before they can actually perform it like breathing. EVH grew up on swing via his father.
When he says "game changer's" he isn't talking about which player's were really great or changed OUR personal individual game. That's called an influence. He is talking about the people that changed the instrument COMPLETELY by taking it in a new and different direction. Hendrix and EVH revolutionized the guitar. They turned the instrument on it's head with innovation not just altering what had already been done.
I loved SRV as much as any guitar player and have studied his playing endlessly but did he revolutionize guitar playing? He may have influenced your game but Steve is talking about players that altered the entire guitar world as it was viewed from one moment to the next. That is why there is only 2 and I couldn't agree more.
Nice to see Vai be humble.
Bravo - well said!
I would describe Eddies entrance into the music scene as this...everybody before Eddie were like the propeller planes and when Eddie arrived it was like a jet engine
thats a good one!
If Eddie was a jet then Hendrix was a WWI fighter.... and Les Paul was the Wright brothers
Jimi Hendrix’s live version of “Machine Gun” at the Fillmore was no “propeller plane”.
I could listen to Vai talking about Eddie for a week.
I've Loved Steve since crossroads. He's the reason I picked up a guitar and never put it down. I wanted to be the next Jack Butler.
Being a guitarist myself, I know what EVH was to me.
Everyone else here knows what he meant to them. You can throw out all the superlatives you want about The Master, but there is never going to be an argument about his mastery of his chosen art. No else had players around the planet going "What the F is that".
From his grin to his fingers Eddie was born to bring us joy through his music, and you can thank whatever god you believe in that he shared his joy with us.
ALWAYS # 1. UNPARALLELED.
What a thoughtful, cliche-free perspective from a genius. I hope younger players appreciate how rare it is to get such a reasoned, informed, and honest opinion. Steve’s interviews have always been this way and it’s so valuable. I seriously think this interview, short as it may be, could be really useful to future musicians trying to figure out what the big deal about EVH was in 1978.
Vai is way too humble. He’s a legend.
Why I simply love and will always love EVH
Secrets
Cathedral
Little Guitars
Unchained
Spanish Fly
point me to someone with more variety of tone, style, innovation, etc than that small list right there
Cant they havent been born yet....not enough accolades for the one and only,never to be imitated or duplicated EVH!!!!!
Steve is incredibly humble on this, it is lovely to hear, he is a gentleman. :)
I'm just so thankful I was alive in 1978 to hear that debut album for the first time.....I wore out that vinyl record within weeks......
I did as well, still play it regularly now, on CD in my car, that album also takes me right back to the best year of my life - phenomenal album - sounds as daisy fresh now as when it was released !!
Love the respect he gives to EVH. It’s just heartwarming to hear that a man of that caliber can say with fullhonesty how he tried to understimate Eddie’s playing at first, and then come to realize that he was the game changer for his instrument.
Great to hear colleagues compliment each other. It takes a humble person to speak so kindly of a fellow musician.
Thanks guys for keeping it real. In the end, we’re all just people figuring out life but when someone adds enjoyment through his talent to so many, we need to celebrate EVH for his amazing musical contributions and despair for his troubles and loss. In the end EVH triumphed and made us all better.
God bless to his family and all his friends and fans.
Steve ...Best Guitarist !!!!!
That was a really eloquent description and much appreciated.
hey Bro Im Living in Cocoa Beach now, and playing gigs. Hope youre doing well as can be expected, in this edge of the great reset.
@@DVincentW haven't seen you around in forever, man. Dang. Cocoa Beach used to be rocking back in the day but i'm clueless now. Glad things are working out for you there! Way i figure is i have roughly 50/50 odds and that's something i cna work with and accept. Shit's about to get real stupid, as you well know. Ima fighttill the end. ;-) Peace.
He liked how in tune Eddie was. That's some Spinal Tap shit right there.
"I was blown away by their punctuality"
what a joy to hear them both talk, Vai is such a fountain of knowledge and he shares it with everybody, great interview!
Shredding is great, but the brilliance truly comes from whats inside the players mind and how he extends it through to his hands. We all play scales and chords, but each player creates his own personal and unique fingerprint.
To hear Steve Vai say that there was only Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen and there has been no third is one of the most truly humble things that I have ever heard anyone say let alone Steve Vai just amazing humility thank you so much for being honest and doing your commentary truly truly appreciate it
Man, Steve really explains and describes the incredible tone Eddie had perfectly!! How each note had its surrounding notes and all the others.." Awesome interpretation!!!
Vai-Halen
Eddie floored us all with his pure power and unbridled joyous enthusiasm for music.
Cool interview. Now I'm gonna listen to Eruption for the 2 millionth time. Peace.
“You couldn’t say you didn’t like it.....because you’d be lying!”
Great quote to sum up EVH.
Exactly.!!
Eddie Van Halen our greatest innovator.....
.....along with Hendrixs
Les Paul, Jimi Hendrix, and Eddie Van Halen. The three guys who change rock guitars forever
The beauty of Eddie's playing was there's no ego present. Whether he plays a thousand notes or just ten notes, he played them because that's what the song needed. Even his most intense shredding is really just him playing a tune!
Totally. He never lost his passion and love for the instrument. And as amazing as he was, he always had that smile on his face and later as he created EVH Gear, he was willing to share his tone with all of us who chased it for decades.
I REMEMBER GOING TO MY FAVORITE RECORD SHOP, DISC & TAPE, AND MY BUDDY WHO WORKED THERE SAID " YOU GOTTA HEAR THIS NEW GROUP " , IT WAS VAN HALEN, 10 SECONDS AND I BOUGHT THE ALBUM, THEN WORE IT OUT. GREAT TIME IN ROCK HISTORY.
Class act here. So impressed with his humility. Just great.
There's a HUGE difference between being a technically proficient musician and being an artist. Guy's like Edward and Jimi were not only artists, they were groundbreaking artist's and Steve's right, people like that reside on a VERY short list.
I will never foget the first time i heard Eddie's band come over the radio. We looked at everyone in astonishment. Wow , gotta get that record now.
I have VH on vinyl! And Steve Vai! 😎✌❤
Love Steve Vai - he gives credit and respect to other great players. A sign of strength and maturity. kudos Steve.
How well said was this.. I
was just thinking when I was listening to some music by steve earlier. He is one of the true Masters but is always a student .I love him so much because he's such a total show-off on stage yet so humble otherwise ..love how he loves learns always and teaches people in so many ways.. what a great man... not just his playing but his spirit and his heart.
Steve hits the nail on the head... There are zillions of stunt guitarists around these days but they will never write a decent song like evh and as you get older you appreciate tone and feel so much more.... The modern guitarst is wrapped up in sweep arpeggios and blazing runs but that only dazzles for so long. Melody and song are the real skills people should be coveting and aspiring to....
Well that's a superb musical culture moment, with Steve Vai throwing his light on the guitar sound craftsmanship that has been going on since 1966. Great stuff from great people.
Really like Steve Vai's view on EVH - he's right on. EVH was so good in so many areas of being a guitarist/musician. One very important aspect is that he made good music.
The last paradigm shift in guitar playing we saw was Jimi Hendrix. They only come along very rarely. We're not likely to get another Edward Van Halen in our lifetime. Just recently watched a live version of Unchained with Edward doing it right in my face. The tone, the finesse and the swagger were all there on display.
Stop dreamin n start drivin Stevie! Love your work brother....
Vai's tone on The Animal is still some my all time favorite. It's phenomenal.
Eddie was just awesome a true genius behind the guitar.
King edward always tuned down a half step, when he wasn't in drop d, his big secret was flattening the b string just a bit, it's what made his chords ring out so true. Long live the king!
Cool interview! Steve graduated from high school in 1978, so he was a senior when the self titled VH came out ... and he was Already a master of the guitar, as was Ed ....
I love the monumental respect Steve Vai shows Eddie. He is such a gentleman about it. And he’s modest as hell. Steve is amazing in his own right. I think he’s as good as Eddie. I really do. I have been listening to him for the last 30 or 40 years. Same as Eddie. Anyway, great interview.
Very nicely done. Respect
There secret was HUMOR. They never took themselves to seriously. Lots of HUMOR!
Yeah! Thats when I got out of rock, when it stopped being tongue in cheek fun.
Yep. Same thing with Rush.
also cocaine lol
That was the grooviest artistic description of EVH I ever heard 👍
I was 16 and playing in a band.
We heard V.H. early on a "promotion only" album... Allowing us a headstart on trying to learn n play their songs and style. V.H. instantly became our biggest influence. Game Changer is correct.
Steve Vai and Dweezil ROCK!
When Master Vai respects Guitar God Eddie Van Halen. Respect.
Seriously Steve, That was such a profound, kind Way of saying all that you said🏆🏆🏆🏆 I sincerely respect you 100% even more so now
Without Eddie most of us would have never picked up a guitar. The ones who did pick up a guitar would not be playing on the level that they are without him.
"An electric ham sandwich". I'm dying.
Steve Vai just has beautiful expression and utter respect. A brilliant brilliant musician. God bless him.
There really is no replacement for a good ear. It's obvious after hearing Vai talk, Ed's ear was next level. 🙏
Ed had dog hearing. That good. No kidding.
so very well said Mr. Steve Vai
kick ass. Steve Vai is very and humble and hes a badass gunslinger guitar player.
This concept of the Beatless third on the 2nd string - using a slightly de-tuned b string along with varied pressures for other triad shapes - needs its own video. It’s HUGE because it speaks to eddies commitment as an amp driver, above all else.
Yo Whatup Michael
@@stew-tube heyooo
@@Guitargate brooo thats crazy you responded I watch you all the time
I do wonder how much EQ influences this Beatless third. "Chasing" tone is what Eddie would say...
what did the beatles have to do with the 2nd string?? Norweigian Wood???
Yep!! Blew me away to a distant galaxy first time i heard it!!! Phenomenal! R I P Eddie 🎸🌹
saw Steve at Headliners in Louisville, which is about the size of a middle school gym. took 2 days before the ringing in my ears faded & 5 days before the ear to ear smile faded. later saw Dweezil & Steve at Louisville Palace (finest concert venue anywhere) on Zappa Plays Zappa tour. Dweezil playing Hot Rats was the last show I saw before Covid. who’s a lucky boy? ;-)
So much respect for Steve Vai, and even more respect for Eddie. Eddie was the reason I learned to play guitar - Van Halen 1 changed my life as it did for countless other guitar players. So sadly missed, R.I.P. Eddie.
I'd have to say that Yngwie is most definitely the third game changer for sure. When he came on the scene no one had ever heard that kind of guitar playing just like when Eddie first hit the scene. Yngwie really did change the way that heavy rock and metal guitar was played after that. Now every one of them do sweeps and arpeggios and fast linear scales with harmonic minors and Frigean scales. But not before Yngwie brought that new sound to rock music. He deserves a spot at that table for sure.
Nuno Bettencourt and Steve Vai make some AWESOME COMMENTS about other musicians......Enough Said!!! Anyone With Me???
Steve is such a humble, self-aware and eloquently spoken man. We are lucky to have him in our community! Got to meet him as a young dude at a G3 concert. There was a meet and greet that we didn't have tickets to, so we stood by the door. Yngwie came and we pestered him for an autograph, and he then told secuirty to let us is. The thing I remember the most was just how cool and levelheaded Steve was with everyone. He's a role model in our little space for sure!
You're like most of the greats, humble, supportive, and just a stand up guy. After all these years, Passion and warfare is still so Fing great. Looking forward to you hitting MPLS. Be well, thanks for loving what we love to hear.. Al
Eddie's guitar got your attention. His catchy badass style created so many hits. His sound and approach is just so infectuous. This is coming from a big Randy Rhoads fan. I love 'em both. Much respect to Vai. I wish he would have done more like his Roth venture. Love his Tobacco Road.
So refreshing to hear incredibly talented people love on other talented people. Today's artists have to lack of understanding of where their music came from. Especially in music, we are all influenced greatly by what we hear and then we carve out our own territory. It's nice to hear that from a genius like SV.
Always great to hear Steve’s comments and Dweezil is just a tribute to Frank, period ! I would have to add Jeff Beck , who was using feedback, gain,distortion, finger tapping , and the tremolo bar as far back as The Yardbirds.
I would like to thank les Paul. For his contribution to electric guitar and multiple tracks recording.
I love listening to an all-time great like Vai talk about his thoughts regarding another all-time great like EVH. I"m just a hack and my opinions don't mean anything. Someone like Vai carries real weight. Really enjoyable to listen to.
I love honesty in this conversation. Well done!
McLaughlin, while not a rock guy, opened for many rock acts and absolutely changed the way guitar was approached by anyone who saw him, gotta give him some serious respect in regard to making everything different for guitarists and all musicians, not only guitar-wise, but compositionally and many other ways.
💯☀🎸
"There's Hendrix and there was Edward! Where's the next line in the sand?" Coming from Steve Vai, is a very interesting question to ponder.
I had the privilege of being back stage with Chris Impellitteri at the Whiskey a Go Go when we did a show together. I watched him warm up and blister through the scales and as absolutely fast as he is and ton's of others, all of these amazing guitar players lack the fluidity that Eddie Van Halen had. The speed was one piece of a HUGE complex puzzle that still blows me away 40+ years after the first time I heard it.
LOVE DWEEZIL absolutely. Miss your solo killer guitar work, and albums brother. Seen ZPZ, which was awesome, but please make more albums and tear it up. You're a monster player bud
I love the FlexAble record Steve did!
It’s so experimental and fun, and it sure is musical.
“Running with the Devil”, probably one of the most bad ass songs while I was a Teen in grade 11.
We’d smoke some weed and cruise around in my friends old Rambler ( in the suburbs of Vancouver BC). He had a nice cassette Stereo system that was boosted by preamps,etc.
When that song came on, BANG, system cranked, especially the beginning of the song, I mean it’s still the same, try not cranking it today if it comes on, ( minus the weed)
It still better with weed.
Yup
Wow gotta say Steve Vai is in my opinion a kick ass player but used to come across as a bit of an arrogant guy but as I heard him more and more over the last several years he’s gotten I dunno humble and I think it’s a good look and the things he’s saying speak volumes to his respect for Eddie and his own motto so good on ya Steve
This is why I think EVH is the greatest guitarist ever. It's not just his riffs, or his solos, but something about how he played also created perfect tone and and clarity in the sound. I've heard stories of accomplished excellent guitar players chasing the Brown sound, who couldn't even get it right playing with Eddies Rig.
Steve's tone and playing on Eat em and Smile is brilliant...some of his best!
What a great breakdown.. Steve has incredible insight into music in general and how it fits together and works together.. Great guy.. Let's also not forget how EFing punk rock it was to have a GUITAR SOLO sitting as the second cut on your debut album. Big balls. EVH. You will always be remembered. And that's all a musician probably wants. Great listen..
I just learned that Eddie has patented a few inventions of his own. Respect Eddie. RIP
Its great that vai as great as he is can put ego and competitiveness aside to speak this way about him
Had the privilege of seeing them live and Eddie had a way of making a huge stadium feel like a coffee shop.
But you felt deaf after it. I sure was
I like to play jazz pianio in a combo (drums-contra), I admire Miles Davids, Herbie Hancock, Bach and Eddie van Halen --------> and said that in one breath. Eddie, tone artist in sensation and color, playing his guitar as a piano......what a man he was!!
I was in 5th grade. I was walking in a neighborhood toward a park that we hung out in after school before football practice back in Fort Wayne, Indiana and a kid named Todd Hattzog was playing it on his "boom box". I could not believe what I was hearing. I had been playing guitar for about 3 years at that point in my life. It truly changed my musical life. I'll never forget when I bought my first tremelo and installed it on my fixed bridge guitar and figured out, on my own, how he did the "horse" whinnie harmonic. I thought I was a genius.
Thank you Vai! I respected before your “take” on EVH and how he changed everything we all thought we knew about playing the guitar. But you are “spot on” on how EVH & Hendrix have been the two “game changer’s” in our lifetime on how “everyone” plays the guitar. Thank you, again!