Van Halen first listen: Where were you? What were you doing?

[stanz]

I don't think there's anyone who doesn't remember where they were/what they were doing when they first heard VH's debut album. For me, the year was 1978. We were getting drunk/stoned in my friend's '65 Rambler. Mark said; "I've got something I think you guys are going to like..." He pulls Ace Frehley from the Kraco 8 track player, and increases volume to the Jensen Triax speakers. With his palm covering the band name/logo, he loads the tape. Needless to say, we were going out of our minds! I bought the album the very next day. $7.99 at Skaggs-Albertson's.

 

[GreatRedDragon]

2003. I had just started high school. I was in bed late on a Saturday night listening to the local classic rock station on my Walkman. I'm dozing off, being lulled to sleep by Foghat and Boston and then WHAM. Out of fucking nowhere shit goes crazy. No fucking warning, no heads up, no nothing. A guitar solo is tearing my head off. And then shit gets weird, because suddenly there's a fucking UFO coming in over the radio. I'm looking at the window waiting for the green lights to shine down and probe my asshole, because it has to be aliens making that noise.

When the aliens fade away, the DJ announces "That was Eddie Van Halen's 'Eruption.'"

No one else has ever torn my fucking head of that way, ever.

 

[PBGas]

I think I was in Gr. 7 it was I believe 1980. I had already been playing guitar for some time...I've played since I was like 7 years old.
I remember hearing Eruption and You Really Got Me on the radio and I was like......WTH was that I just heard? My sister went out an bought me the album. She had to buy me a second one as I wore it and the needle out learning those magical riffs!

From then on it has been a constant love of anything EVH. Such an influence on so many. Will be so dearly missed.

 

[311boogieman]

Junior High
'You Really Got Me' on the radio
I recognized it because my parents had a Kinks album
Bought the album for that song alone
Got to Song #2 and...

 

[Dale B]

Early 80’s on road trips with the family. Rest Easy, EVH!

 

[MrDowntown]

13 yo...around 83-ish. Over at my buddy's house.
Walk upstairs in what was really a tiny Williamsburg style home. Turn to go to his room...his 15yo sister has music coming from her room, all of 15' away. Never fucking stopped. Walked right into her room where she's spinning a VHI platter.

That whole scene was HOT. She was thin and tan with long golden-blonde hair; gorgeous! She was wearing short, thin white Umbros...smiling at me. She could tell the music had grabbed me. I fell in love right there. We spoke a few words, mostly about how killer tha album was.

She popped my cherry!

 

[stratjacket]

I was about 9 or 10, so around 1980, over at a friends house. His older sister was playing VH1 and we were in her room. I still remember her wearing a tight white t-shirt, tig ole bitties bouncing around, long straight reddish blonde hair with a VH poster on the wall. She was always flirty and singing it to me. I was hooked.

 

[Dreamspace]

Jr. HS

Me and this other kid had started playing guitar together, and he was quite the music enthusiast to begin with. Anyway, so he invited me over and put on Van Halen on a mix tape that he had created. First track was Eruption, second was Ain't Talking Bout Love, then Atomic Punk, and so on. I just sat there transfixed, never heard anything like that before.

Before Eddie / VH, I had been listening to mostly Deep Purple, and various 70s Hard-Rock bands.

After that night, I was hooked on "shred" music. Moved onto Ozzy w/Randy, then the usual suspects of NWOBHM, until my guitar teacher lent me Yngwie's Rising Force.

But throughout all these years, Eddie's been a constant as far as my influence goes. When I was younger, I was obsessed with his leads. As I got older, I got hooked on his rhythm playing. And as my ears got better, and I played more guitar, his overall style just resonated with me.

He's one of those full-package types. He blended rhythm and lead playing like few others could. His playing is tight, but also feels loose and free-form like - he's just a fun guitarist.

 

[stratjacket]

13 yo...around 83-ish. Over at my buddy's house.
Walk upstairs in what was really a tiny Williamsburg style home. Turn to go to his room...his 15yo sister has music coming from her room, all of 15' away. Never fucking stopped. Walked right into her room where she's spinning a VHI platter.

That whole scene was HOT. She was thin and tan with long golden-blonde hair; gorgeous! She was wearing short, thin white Umbros...smiling at me. She could tell the music had grabbed me. I fell in love right there. We spoke a few words, mostly about how killer tha album was.

She popped my cherry!

Dude that’s awesome, similar experience but I was too young.

 

[stanz]

The girl I was dating in '78 had VH's debut release in her collection, but for whatever reason I never played it? I remember looking at the cover, and meant to check it out at some point. She use to get aggrevated, as I was always playing UFO "Lights Out" and "Obsession". The lead-break in "Hot N' Ready" is still my all-time favorite.

 

[311boogieman]

He's one of those full-package types. He blended rhythm and lead playing like few others could. His playing is tight, but also feels loose and free-form like - he's just a fun guitarist.

That is a great way to describe it.

And the one thing I never cared for about VH1 was order of the songs. I always thought that Eruption should have started it off. More like the order of your buddies mix tape

 

[stanz]

He blended rhythm and lead playing like few others could. His playing is tight, but also feels loose and free-form like - he's just a fun guitarist.

You might enjoy this.

 

[Kordoba]

I had heard Jamie's Cryin on the radio for a few years but didn't know who it was. That was the only VH song my local radio stations would play until Diver Down came out. Pretty Woman was in constant rotation and it slapped me in the butter nuts, I had to have the Diver Down album.

Didn't care for most of the album, but from there I bought the first VH album and was hooked. More than anything I wanted the white Kramer that was advertised in the guitar magazines. Couldn't afford one, so I grabbed a white Ovation Ultra GS which is basically a Kramer knock off, which I still have.

 

[Mailman1971]

Think it was in 78. My uncle used to go buy albums every payday. He was 17 or 18. Used to buy 3-4 every week. He threw vh1 on. I didn’t realize the goodness. Was 7 years old. But I do remember staring at the album cover. Didn’t appreciate it till junior high when I started playing guitar.

 

[Findthetone1]

I wish I could remember exactly but it had to have been 7th or 8th grade. By my freshman year I had their entire catalog on vinyl and remember being super excited for the release of 1984. When it dropped I was a little disappointed as Eddies guitars seem to have lost some of the aggression. I eventually warmed up to it and saw them on the 84 tour!

 

[RevDrucifer]

I was born in ‘82 so unfortunately, I didn’t get to experience EVH/VH the same way a lot of you did. My mother was a party animal (she was 16 when she had me) and VH was always playing around the house.

I started playing guitar after seeing Floyd in ‘94 when I was 11, it was just over a year that I had been playing when VH released Balance. MTV was playing VH non-stop and had some tour special on, I think they were broadcasting the opening night of the tour. I remember they played “7th Seal” and I was just blown away. I was on a steady diet of Gilmour and EJ at the time (my uncle gave me EJ’s Total Electric Guitar and a copy of Ah Via Musicom when I started playing) so this was the first time I heard someone with that fire in their playing.

I was just blown away at how liquid it all sounded, it like was like lava; thick, hot and fluid. I remember ordering as many VH CD’s as I could off one of those BMG Music Club 10 CD’s for $0.01 right after. It was definitely the start of me really focusing on tone and wanting to learn more about effects. My uncle was bigger into the DLR-era stuff and when I was gushing over the Balance album he griped that it had too many effects going on, but I thought it sounded so fucking cool.

Still do. My favorite EVH tones are on FUCK, Live: Right Here, Right Now and Balance.

 

[MrDowntown]

13 yo...around 83-ish. Over at my buddy's house.
Walk upstairs in what was really a tiny Williamsburg style home. Turn to go to his room...his 15yo sister has music coming from her room, all of 15' away. Never fucking stopped. Walked right into her room where she's spinning a VHI platter.

That whole scene was HOT. She was thin and tan with long golden-blonde hair; gorgeous! She was wearing short, thin white Umbros...smiling at me. She could tell the music had grabbed me. I fell in love right there. We spoke a few words, mostly about how killer tha album was.

She popped my cherry!

Dude that’s awesome, similar experience but I was too young.

NICE Love me some tig ole bitties

 

[CornNutz]

Late 70's, I was maybe 4 years old. One of my older brothers, and I shared a Bedroom. My brother scored an old Foosball table from the bowling alley he worked at. When family would come over, our cousins, and the other brother we would rock the fuck out to the VH vinyl while playing Foosball.

I'm sure I heard VH before then, but this was the time I remember clearly. I remember looking at the album covers and thinking why did VHI album look better than the VHII.

 

[stanz]

Late 70's, I was maybe 4 years old. One of my older brothers, and I shared a Bedroom. My brother scored an old Foosball table from the bowling alley he worked at. When family would come over, our cousins, and the other brother we would rock the fuck out to the VH vinyl while playing Foosball.

I'm sure I heard VH before then, but this was the time I remember clearly. I remember looking at the album covers and thinking why did VHI album look better than the VHII.

I once told my sisters that I remember watching The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. My sister Jan said; "No way! You weren't even 2 years old. Do you remember exactly where you were?" I replied; Yes, I do. I was sitting on the floor in the basement, and you picked me up and placed me in your lap. She flipped-out!

 

[Jarick]

I was too young to remember but I grew up listening to the music. My mom listened to hard rock radio so it was constantly on. My uncle was a huge VH fan as he was in high school when I was a kid, and he gave me a couple of their cassettes when I was 4 or 5. I remember the cover of Diver Down distinctly and I remember listening to OU812 constantly.