Why do we love Van Halen

**Wolfgang_'99** · 12.29.06, 01:50 PM

What is it about the music that makes it so good?
We are all part of this site for a reason?
Why did we join?
Tell us..........

**scs5150** · 12.29.06, 02:22 PM

I really can't explain it. It's a feeling I get everytime I hear that guitar.

**Nostalgia Act** · 12.29.06, 02:33 PM

Originally Posted by Wolfgang_'99

What is it about the music that makes it so good?
We are all part of this site for a reason?
Why did we join?
Tell us..........

I was a 14yr old in 1978 struggling to play the acoustic guitar at morning mass. My older brother brought home VH1 and told me to play Eruption.

While i no longer play the guitar, that was the defining moment in my journey
with this band that has brought me such joy , sorrow and even anger.

**VAREB** · 12.29.06, 02:51 PM

A close friend turned me on to VH. He was a huge fan of Ed. This was about the time 1984 came out. Panama hoked me. Everyone around here at that time was an AC/DC, Def Leppard or Motley Crue fan. That just made me even more of a die hard becasue I knew VH was a better group of musicians and more creative than any of those.

I just new they'd be around for years to come. I was part right. They should've been.

**arcticwolf64** · 12.29.06, 03:19 PM

I love VH for the simple reason it reminds me of when life was simple. Puberty, High School, Beer and cruising in the 68 Mustang was a simple time for me.

Anybody got any California Green Bud????

**smithjc** · 12.29.06, 03:25 PM

Just listen to the six-pack.

**wham bam will rock** · 12.29.06, 03:38 PM

"It's not what you are, you see, it's how you dress...

Cuz that's one thing I've learned from these guys, I must confess..."

VH music is just kinda ok.
For me, it's about the chaps, striped spandex, beach wear, booze, coke and bad shoes.

**vistadelrey** · 12.29.06, 04:38 PM

eddie and his guitar

AT · 12.29.06, 04:52 PM

Originally Posted by arcticwolf64

I love VH for the simple reason it reminds me of when life was simple. Puberty, High School, Beer and cruising in the 68 Mustang was a simple time for me.

Anybody got any California Green Bud????

I'm similar...

I'm a fan of Van Halen NOW because it reminds me of being a kid.

Also, there isn't a lot of music that can continue to stimulate my intellectual and creative sides 20+ years after first getting to know it; I still take away different things from Van Halen when I listen.

**Hurricane Halen** · 12.29.06, 05:27 PM

I love these guys for alot of the same reasons most of you do. Van Halen's music is a way of life. Their music has moved me more than any other band out there. You have the greatest guitar player on the planet in this band, hell, each of them talented in their own way. They're unique sound, Ed's playing, Mike's backing vocals, Al's snare drum, Dave's showmenship and voice, Sam's laidback ways and vocals, their funny humor...(at least back then, before certain ppl got egos).

There are so many different aspects of this GREAT BAND, and for the most part, they are all good. But, in the last few years, the spark and drive this band had, are now all gone, and it's a damn shame because no other band in this world could touch Van Halen.

HH <----Just miss the way these guys USED to be---------

**wingnut** · 12.29.06, 05:35 PM

I was 14 when 1984 came out. It was that album that changed my life. You may hate the Jump video, but for me it was the trigger . . . And those stages!!!!

And even though they were pretty drunk, IMHO (besides the Oakland videos) the US Festival was the best show ever.

VH was it. 1984 was the peak . . but the ownage was claimed right from the beginning.

**Nostalgia Act** · 12.29.06, 06:51 PM

..... and a child shall lead them.

A great topic started by a 13yr old

Surely this is one thread that won't turn negative.

Right?

I would love to have to read thru 15,000 plus post on how everyone came to
love this band called Van Halen. The band of your youth? Post. The greatest
band to do bongs to? Post. The reason you play guitar,bass, drums.Post.
No other frontman like Dave? Post.It's 5150 time? Post.

I know for a lot of you this has become more then just a site to talk about Van Halen. But what was it that FIRST got you into the band?

POST. POST. POST.

**Ain't Talkin' Bout' Love** · 12.29.06, 07:44 PM

Well for me the guitar caught me at first. But so did the guitar of George Lynch, Steve Stevens or Steve Vai. But after hearing Roth wail, and those amazing background vocals of Mike I knew they were special. Backed by Alex's thundering drums the band was just explosive. Sammy's lyrics and guitar ability brought a whole new dimension to the band, a more serious tone that further explored the depths of the band's musical ability. The dancing, partying style of Dave to the more musically inclined work of Hagar: they are both provactive and inspiring. Finally, as much as it sounds like a joke; the fact I proudly kept Van Halen 3 showed my commitment to the band. It was terribly done, but it's VH nonetheless and it has it's moments. I think the music's timelessness and variety is what keeps us still caring about a band that blew it's own foot off almost 11 years ago.

AT · 12.29.06, 07:49 PM

Originally Posted by hagarfn

..... and a child shall lead them.

A great topic started by a 13yr old

Surely this is one thread that won't turn negative.

Right?

I would love to have to read thru 15,000 plus post on how everyone came to
love this band called Van Halen. The band of your youth? Post. The greatest
band to do bongs to? Post. The reason you play guitar,bass, drums.Post.
No other frontman like Dave? Post.It's 5150 time? Post.

I know for a lot of you this has become more then just a site to talk about Van Halen. But what was it that FIRST got you into the band?

POST. POST. POST.

In 1982 I was 7 and a fan of the staple rock station here in the Twin Cities. They played "Runnin' With The Devil" and I recall loving it. So I would say I became a fan then, but on New Year's Eve 1984, when that same radio station counted down the top hits of 1984, the number one song was "Jump." I was in 4th grade and freaked out about how cool I thought it was. I made my mom take me to the record store the next day to buy the album. I probably listened to 1984 twice a day for two years straight.

My high school-aged brother was the one to tell me that Dave had quit and that they'd gotten Sammy Hagar, the "I Can't Drive 55" guy, and I bought 5150 right away and loved it. I wasn't so VH-crazy in the early-90s as much; I was exploring and studying lots of other music.

When all the shit went down in '96 I remember it really peaked my interest again in the "soap opera." I also bought my first Wolfgang guitar in 1998 and became really curious about Eddie's design ideas and style more than ever. They didn't come to the Twin Cities for the III tour (the date was cancelled--ticket sales were very poor), so my buddy and I trekked on down to Kansas City for the show at the Sandstone Ampitheatre. We drove all night, found a hotel, and ventured out around noon to get tattoos! I got a curly rings VH logo on my right shoulder, and proudly rolled my sleeves up that night at the concert to display it. We had a helluva good time.

I've seen VH in concert seven times since 1988.

**KRAMER5150** · 12.29.06, 08:58 PM

i would say it was when i was around 9 yrs old and i was listening to some of my sis's records and i put VHII on and that was that,staring at those pics of dave jumping and ed's y&b guitar,and then the next one was women and children first,ah those were the days