Van Halen!

Speaking of tequila dads, I just saw that DLR turned 66 today.

HBD DLR 🥳

I know EVH is a guitar genius and everything, but DLR's Melrose Avenue Borscht Belt schtick is responsible for a good portion of my VH fandom.

It’s hard with me and Sammy; most of the time I just think, if I wanted Guy Fieri to sing with Van Halen I’d just ask him

LOL

i'm on the "dreams sucks" team

"love walks in" is also bad

Lol, I forgot, "Only time will tell if we'll stand the test of time." Guy Fieri otm.

I'm riding this guitar solo to Flavortown.

I believe sammy is asking why "buh-dooden-buh-duh buh-duuuuh-dun-duh-duh" can't be love. like he is convincing everyone in the studio not to mute that track before the mixdown.

https://i.imgur.com/hd6yDMv.gif

Salt shakah little licka lime

If you watch that last gif and hum "Tequila" at the same time, Charles Miller from War shows up in your bathroom mirror and slaps the shit out of you.

lol

Those Templeman interviews are good. I like the description of how tight they were in the studio, I guess with music like theirs and all the legendary partying I assume lots of overdubs, screw-ups, etc., but they were obviously a hell of a unit.

I've talked about Alex and Eddie as a rhythm section with a friend. I don't think of Alex as a particularly great drummer, and for that matter not really anything in Van Halen is in anything other than a very danceable 4/4. But stuff like "Jump" and "Unchained" have these insanely complicated, hard to figure out syncopation things going on that we figured were kind of the product of brotherly telepathy, like they had just spent all this time work -shedding and figuring things out so that this weird shit came off without a hitch.

Alex is a very good drummer tho.

I haven't played Rock Band in 10 years but I would assume Hot For Teacher drums was expert level.

We've gone over this, I think. Hot for Teacher intro as recorded is literally impossible, it's basically three different drum takes (a couple patterns on a Simmons pad) stitched together (like Message in a Bottle, iirc!). The rest is all basic boogie.

You're trying to tell me that he didn't really play four bass drums at the same time?

Yes the intro has two pretty obvious overdubs, but doesn't that end after the intro? I was referring to the bulk of the song, where I don't hear anything resembling overdubs. I think most metal drummers who use blast beast to play very fast sixteenths would have trouble keeping up a fast swing with double kick for that long, with the fills and everything -- which are not easy fills. I remember Richard Christy nailed it on a Howard Stern episode from the mid 2000s but he's an amazing drummer and not surprising that he could do it.

Otherwise I always loved Alex's snare tone, and his fills always felt very well considered and always feel like they fit perfectly. Underrated great drummer.

Regarding tone - it might go without saying but - the fullness of Eddie's guitar tone doesn't get enough praise imo. It's a big part of what makes the intro of "Unchained" so perfect.

I was being sarcastic in agreement with Josh, having heard that Alex had somehow chained four bass drums together.

I was picturing it laterally, four in a row, not like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbanpC_K62M

He did four in a row!

https://drummagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Van-Halen.jpg

I don't know how functional this set up was.

The dream kit

Neil Peart, eat yer heart out.

That's why some wanted to call the band Daddy Longlegs.

I had some free poster of Alex Van Halen from the Hagar era and there really were more drums than he could play. "Hot for Teacher" specifically, I don't think they ever did his intro live, they just went straight to the double bass boogie (which, no, I don't think is that tough, imo, and also iirc one of the only clear uses of two bass drums in VH, period; a quick fill at the end of Panama, perhaps?). Don't get me wrong, I love Alex, *especially* the sound of his drums, I just don't think he's a particularly special drummer. But I wouldn't have anyone else! (Same with Michael on bass.)

Wonder if he ever did a pair of two on top of each other like 88.

Like, love the guy, but this is kinda a shit solo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_lp0uK8YRQ

Otherwise I always loved Alex's snare tone

I love Alex, *especially* the sound of his drums,

I probably posted this upthread, but I don't think there's any other band that had such a consistently perfect snare sound over as long of a career.

It's the rare combination of a clank and a thud.

It's ringy! It cracks and it's ringy! But it still has a heaviness to it.

He's basically trying to do the Ginger Baker solo from "Toad"...which...I literally can't think of a worse thing to want to copy/sound like.

xxp

I think the last time I saw the Jump video I noticed that he had his cymbals arranged in a kind of unique way near his hi-hat, which lets him pull off all those strange syncopated parts.

Alex really knew how to rock those toms

otm, lotta good tom content in his fills

really want alex van halen's beetlejuice kit now

Man, the roadies must hate drummers that have a gong (or two!) just for one hit in one song.

What is Alex’s greatest moment on record?

"Hot for Teacher" is his most famous. Drum fill on "Jamie's Cryin'" one of his most heard, thanks to Tone-Loc. Subdivided 4/4 breakdown in "Unchained" is incredible.

Man, the roadies must hate drummers that have a gong (or two!) just for one hit in one song.

I don’t know if he does anything amazing on “drop dead legs” but man what a groove

he’s channeling some real bonhamie on that one

For me the roto tom intro to jump, also the interesting stuff on the “can’t you see me standing “ and g solo parts

So many great grooves. "Dance the Night Away," for its "Honky Tonk Women" take. "Mean Streets" for being badass. "Everybody Wants Some" for its surf vibe ...

I was just gonna say, the whole tribal thing on "Everybody..." is so killer.

Man, you want a killer groove ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU64RQYLbtk

First comment: "Edward and Dave usually get most of the attention, but to me, it's really Alex that stands out on this track."

This might be him at his best.

So good