Alexander Arthur Van Halen(/vænˈheɪlən/vanHAY-len,Dutch:[aːlɛkˈsɑndərvɑnˈɦaːlə(n)];born May 8, 1953) is a Dutch musician who was the drummer and a co-founder of the rock bandVan Halen,which was formed in 1972 by Van Halen and his younger brotherEddieunder the name "Mammoth" before addingMichael AnthonyandDavid Lee Rothin 1974 and changing their name to Van Halen.
Alex Van Halen | |
|---|---|
 Van Halen performing in 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alexander Arthur van Halen |
| Born | May 8, 1953 Amsterdam,Netherlands[1] |
| Origin | Pasadena, California,U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Drums |
| Years active | 1962–present |
| Formerly of | Van Halen |
| Website | van-halen |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Eddie Van Halen(brother) |
Warner Bros.signed the band in 1977, and the band's debut album was released a year later. Prior to their disbandment in 2020, following Eddie's death,[2]Van Halen released 12 studio albums, and the brothers were the only two constant members of the band.
Early life
editVan Halen was born inAmsterdam.[1][3]The family name in Dutch isvanHalen(with lower-case 'v') and is pronounced in Dutch as[vɑnˈɦaːlə(n)].His Dutch father, Jan van Halen (1920–1986), was an accomplishedjazzsaxophonist and clarinetist. His mother, Eugenia van Beers (1914–2005), was anIndo(Eurasian) fromRangkasbitung,Dutch East Indies(now Indonesia).[1]Alex spent his early years inNijmegenin the east of the Netherlands.[4]The family moved toPasadena, California,in 1962.[1]TheDutchprefix "van" was capitalized by Alex's parents during the family's immigration[5]to the US. Alex and his brother Eddie became naturalized U.S. citizens.[6]
Both brothers were trained asclassical pianistsduring childhood.[7]Although Alex is known as a professional drummer, he began his musical aspirations as a guitarist, with his brother Eddie taking up drums.[1]While Eddie was delivering newspapers to pay for his drum kit, Alex would practice playing on them. After spending some time playing Eddie's drum kit, Alex became more skilled than Eddie was as a drummer.[8]After Eddie heard Alex's mastery ofThe Surfarisdrum solo in the song "Wipe Out",he decided to learn to play the electric guitar.[4]Alex was influenced byBudgiedrummerRay Phillips.[9]
Alex, Eddie and three other boys formed their first band, calling themselves "The Broken Combs", while attendingHamilton Elementary Schoolin Pasadena, in which Alex playedsaxophone.[10]When Eddie was in the fourth grade,[11]they performed at lunchtime at the school.
In 1971, Van Halen graduated fromPasadena High School.[4]He then took classes inmusic theory,scoring, composition and arranging atPasadena City Collegefor a short while.[4]While there, Alex met Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth. They formed the band Mammoth, and Alex, along with the others, left Pasadena City College.[12]
Career
editAlex and Eddie Van Halen had several early bands before the formation of Van Halen. In addition to The Broken Combs, there were The Space Brothers, The Trojan Rubber Company, and Mammoth.[4]
In 1972, the brothers formed Mammoth with Mark Stone on bass and Eddie on lead vocals. The band rented David Lee Roth'sPA systemfor their shows. Soon after, Eddie became tired of singing lead, and asked Roth to join the band. Later, in 1974, since the name Mammoth was already taken by another band, the name was changed to Van Halen, and Stone was replaced by Michael Anthony.[13]Roth has claimed that it was his idea to rename the band Van Halen, and that he actually named it after Alex. In addition to his musical duties at this time, Alex handled managerial duties, such as booking gigs, and the like for the band. Their 1978 self-titled debut albumVan Halenwas released to much fanfare, influencing many musicians inhard rock.Van Halen had released eleven more studio albums since then, and officially disbanded a month after Eddie's death on October 6, 2020.[2]
Although the term "brown sound" is generally associated with Eddie's guitar, it was actually coined by Alex to refer to the sound of hissnare drum.[14]
Alex never recorded any music without his brother being involved, with Michael Anthony saying that "the only person that he plays with is Ed."[15]The only recording Alex has made outside of the band is playing keyboards on the Eddie Van Halen instrumental "Respect the Wind",done for theTwistersoundtrack and earning the Van Halen brothers aGrammy Awardnomination forBest Rock Instrumental Performance.[16]
In June 2024, Alex auctioned off all of his drum gear he had in storage for decades. This led people to believe that he will no longer be involved in music without his brother Edward on stage with him.[17][18]
Alex released a book calledBrotherson October 22, 2024 and commenced a 3 date promotional tour.[19]
Equipment
edit
Van Halen endorsesLudwigdrums, pedals and hardware,Paistecymbals,Remodrumheads andRegal Tipdrumsticks. A Paiste endorser since March 1983, Van Halen, in co-operation with Paiste developed a signatureride cymbal—a 2002 24 "Big ride—which Paiste introduced at the 2010 WinterNAMM Show.He also had two Ludwig signature snares. Alex has usedRototomsandoctobansin the past as well aselectronic drumsand is renowned for using extravagantly sized drum kits that feature an on-fire orchestralgongand fourbass drums,having originally used only two.
Regal Tipcreated the Alex Van Halen signature drumsticks when he became an endorser.
Influences
editVan Halen's main influences includeBilly Cobham,Ginger Baker,Keith MoonandJohn Bonham,and he has cited jazz drummerBuddy Rich's work as having an early and lifelong impact.[20]
Personal life
editVan Halen married Valeri Kendall in June 1983, after a two-year engagement. The marriage ended in divorce two months later. In 1984 he married Kelly Carter. Their son Aric Van Halen, was born October 6, 1989. The couple divorced in August 1996. Carter was sued by Van Halen in 2013, over her commercial use of the 'Van Halen' surname. The case was settled in 2015. His son Aric is a passionate runner and competed in the Olympic trials for thesteeplechasein 2016.[21]He is also a talented photographer.
Van Halen married his current wife, Stine Schyberg, in 2000. She is the mother of his son Malcolm Van Halen. Malcolm shares the passion of fast cars and racing with his father and uncle.
Van Halen is the uncle ofWolfgang Van Halen.[22]
Van Halen is an ordained minister. He presided at the second wedding of his brother Eddie in 2009 and his son Malcolm's wedding in 2024.
Due to years of playing loud music, Alex is said to have major hearing loss in both ears. "In 1995 Alex Van Halen complained to his stage engineer Jerry Harvey about it. He could no longer hear the band onstage and was putting his hearing in jeopardy. Harvey built a simple in-ear monitor using two speakers that were originally designed for a pacemaker. He tuned one for bass, the other for treble."[23]
Discography
editSolo discography
- "Respect the Wind" forTwister(1996)withEddie Van Halen
Books
edit- Van Halen, Alex (October 22, 2024).Brothers.New York: Harper.ISBN9780063265707.OCLC1420338108.
References
edit- ^abcde"Alexander Arthur (Alex) Van Halen [1953]".Dutch-Americans.New Netherland Institute.RetrievedMay 27,2022.
- ^abHiatt, Brian (November 16, 2020)."Van Halen Considered Reunion Tour With Both David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar".Rolling Stone.RetrievedNovember 16,2020.
- ^"Happy Birthday, Alex Van Halen!".Vhnd.June 17, 2013.RetrievedAugust 10,2018.
- ^abcde"Drummerworld: Alex van Halen".Drummerworld.RetrievedDecember 1,2008.
- ^Theirsurnamedid not, then, consist of just "Halen". SeeMeszaros, Rosemary; Pennavaria, Katherine (2018)."GovDocs to the Rescue! Debunking an Immigration Myth".DTTP: Documents to the People.46(1):7–12.doi:10.5860/dttp.v46i1.6655.RetrievedOctober 18,2024.
- ^Christopher, Michael (February 6, 2015)."Rock Music Menu: Eddie Van Halen set for Smithsonian talk".Delaware County Daily Times.Upper Darby Township, PA.RetrievedFebruary 13,2016.
- ^"Alex Van Halen".Drumsoloartist.RetrievedJanuary 13,2008.
- ^Wurster, Jon (June 2012). "Alex Van Halen: Of Sound and Vision".Modern Drummer.Vol. 36, no. 6. pp.52–53.
- ^"BLABBERMOUTH.NET - Founding BUDGIE Member RAY PHILLIPS Working On Solo Debut".Roadrunnerrecords.Archived fromthe originalon December 6, 2008.RetrievedOctober 14,2009.
- ^Mosley, Tonya(January 2, 2025) [October 29, 2024]."Undone by the loss of his brother Eddie, Alex Van Halen looks back in a new memoir".Fresh Air.NPR.
And I think the first band we did put together was a band called The Broken Combs, which was – I played sax and Ed played piano.
- ^"Unearthed 1964 Photo:" The Broken Combs "Band, Featuring Eddie and Alex Van Halen".Van Halen News Desk.October 26, 2012.RetrievedOctober 18,2024.
- ^"Rock and Roll Hall of Fame".Rockhall.RetrievedJanuary 18,2008.
- ^McCully, Jerry."The Early Years of Van Halen: A Paper Route, a High School Essay, and a Couple of Lucky Breaks".Archived fromthe originalon March 24, 2011.
- ^"Alex Van Halen".ClassicVanHalen.RetrievedMarch 22,2008.
- ^Michael Anthony Breaks His Silence
- ^"Grammy Nominations from Rock on the Net".Rockonthenet.RetrievedAugust 10,2018.
- ^Novak, Lauren (June 10, 2024)."Alex Van Halen Selling All His Gear & Quitting Music For One Heartbreaking Reason".Remind Magazine.RetrievedJune 26,2024.
- ^M, Jason (May 30, 2024)."Historic Auction of Alex Van Halen Memorabilia".Modern Drummer Magazine.RetrievedJune 26,2024.
- ^"Alex Van Halen's Autobiography 'Brothers' Due In October".Blabbermouth.net.February 18, 2024.RetrievedApril 2,2024.
- ^"Alex Van Halen: Bashing and Crashing In the Here and Now".Moderndrummer.January 15, 2008.RetrievedJuly 16,2014.
- ^"For Aric Van Halen, a Steeplechaser, Jump Takes on a New Meaning".The New York Times.June 24, 2017.RetrievedOctober 15,2019.
- ^"Alex Van Halen".IMDb.RetrievedAugust 10,2018.
- ^Hood, Phil (September 19, 2017)."You Can Say Thanks To Alex Van Halen".DRUM! Magazine.RetrievedOctober 23,2023.
External links
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