JOHN 5: All Former Members Of VAN HALEN Should Take Part In Hypothetical EVH Tribute

[James in New York]

During an appearance on the "Talking Shred" podcast, former MARILYN MANSON and current ROB ZOMBIE guitarist John 5 reflected on the passing of legendary VAN HALEN axeman Eddie Van Halen almost exactly a year ago.

He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):

"Me, just like millions of others, he was my favorite. It's strange — I'm so upset too, because it's, like, 'God, couldn't we do anything to save him?'

"Eddie was so special," John 5 continued. "It's really rare to have someone so special. Now, everybody listening to this and watching this can totally agree with me — I mean, the best guitar player, such an amazing inventor, such an amazing songwriter.

And he had everything. And he was something special; he was touched by God. And we don't have many Edward Van Halens — not just in music, but in anything. In sports — it's like the Michael Jordan, or in art he's like the Picasso. And we don't have many of these.

And I'm just happy we got what we got. I just wish that there was anything like… All the great minds in the world, 'Listen, Eddie Van Halen is sick. Can't we do anything to save him? He's, like, everything.' And it just breaks my heart. But I am so thankful for what we did get and the music and the guitars and the amps — everything. He was a real genius, and I was happy to, and lucky enough, to know him.

And he was just a kind soul. It was so devastating. It really messed me up, just like everyone else. It's hard to listen to him, but you listen to him and go, 'Man, he was just something very, very special.' He was the Mozart of our time. It's just awful. It's just a terrible, terrible thing."

John 5 also discussed a hypothetical Eddie Van Halen tribute concert, saying:

"If there is a show — which there needs to be, there has to be — if I'm not on stage, I'll be front row. I think it's something that definitely needs to happen with everybody.

I think everybody should be there — I think Dave [Lee Roth] should be there, Sammy [Hagar] should be there, Mikey [Anthony] should be there, Wolfie [Van Halen], of course, Alex [Van Halen]; everybody that was a part of this VAN HALEN history — and all the fans all over the world, and just give praise and appreciation and love to the master, Edward. It just needs to happen. I think it would be a wonderful thing."

John 5 previously talked about how he was affected by Eddie Van Halen's death a year ago while appearing on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". At the time, he said: "We all knew that Eddie was not well, but he's like our Superman," John 5 said. "[We all thought] 'Eddie's gonna be fine. We saw him at the TOOL concert. He's gonna beat this. Everything's gonna be fine. He's our Superman.' And when that news hit, I was talking to Fred Coury [CINDERELLA], and I said, 'I've gotta go.' I just hung up and I had to pull over on the freeway. I just couldn't believe it. I was just shocked. It's just the worst news — the worst. Because we listened to him every day; we saw his picture every day; he's been a part of our lives since the late '70s, and now he's gone. But he changed the world forever, that's for sure."


John 5, who got his first big break playing on David Lee Roth's solo album, "DLR Band", before landing stints with Manson and now Zombie, said that he first learned of Eddie's declining health from the VAN HALEN singer.

"I talked to Roth a while ago, and he was, like, 'Yeah, Eddie's not doing well,'" John 5 recalled. "And I remember I'm sitting there at his place, and I started to well up, I was starting to tear up. I was, like, 'Okay, get ahold of yourself.' Because that's you hearing it from someone that's close to Ed. I was, like, 'All right. Keep it together.' Because I was shocked. I was, like, 'Oh my God. This can't be.'"

John 5 confirmed that he knew Eddie personally after first meeting the VAN HALEN guitarist nearly three decades ago.

"I didn't really talk about it that much," he said. "But I talked to Ed on the phone quite a bit. We would just sit on the phone for a long time. I don't really talk about this, but we'd sit on the phone and chit-chat for a long time, and tell stories and talk about guitars and talk about bands, and it was always positive."

"I think I met him the first time in '93 through Robert Knight, the photographer. It was kind of nice contact — 'Hello, how are you?' — at events and stuff. But then it got a little closer when I started playing with Dave and Manson and everything. But yeah, he gave me a guitar; I gave him one of mine. We were pretty close — not super, super close like I am with Dave or Mike [Anthony] or something like that. But he knew — I would just always tell him how much he meant to me and how much he meant to a zillion other guitar players."

Elaborating on what made Eddie's guitar playing so special, John said: "The thing about Ed is — which people that don't play guitar don't understand this — he looked at the instrument different, just like [Apple co-founder] Steve Jobs would look at a computer different or anything else; [American inventor Thomas] Edison would look at something different. And that's what was so special, and that's why we have lost such a giant, such an important figure in music.

"I would go down to the VAN HALEN rehearsal and I would pick up his guitar and play through his rig, and I would sound nothing like Eddie Van Halen even if I played a VAN HALEN song," he explained. "And that's the difference, because it's what's inside you. It's those hands; it's that feel. It's like trying to describe the color blue. It's a feeling, and it's something you have. And I don't know if we'll ever have that again — ever."

[fudd]

That’s pretty profound. The last few paragraphs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Raldo]

John 5 hit the nail on the head with that one.

If there was a Tribute to Eddie show, John 5 SHOULD be playing not watching.

[iplayguitaralot]

I don’t want to see it, without Ed it’s pointless. Every guitar player would look like a joke up there, not one qualified to fill those shoes is currently living.

[Smokin' 5150]

I love John 5's playing (especially on the DLR Band album), but I have very mixed feelings about any EVH Tribute. I never met Edward, but from all I read, it does not seem like he would be comfortable with a bunch of guitar players and his former bandmates coming together to pay tribute to him.

I also would hope that the tribute came from the right place. Dave's retirement announcement seems to suggest that his final 5 shows are his tribute to classic VH, Sammy and Mike pay their own tribute in their shows, and Wolfgang's Mammoth WVH is his own heartfelt tribute to the love of music instilled by his parents. I would hate for a tribute being dragged down with the logistics of forcing people who are simply not friends onto stage and the resulting BS (who goes first, who closes, etc.).

The only tribute fitting EVH's legacy is the fact that for many of us not a day or week goes by that we don't listen to Van Halen in whatever lineup we enjoy. For me, there has not been more than a handful of days over the last 40 years that I haven't listened to VH.

[CaboChris]

The only way I'd wanna see a tribute is if it was heavyweights.

Page. Blackmore. Brian May. Billy Gibbons. Satriani etc.

Those are the only guys who could give any legitimacy to show how iconic and influential Ed was.

[marcin]

The only way I'd wanna see a tribute is if it was heavyweights.

Page. Blackmore. Brian May. Billy Gibbons. Satriani etc.

Those are the only guys who could give any legitimacy to show how iconic and influential Ed was.

Page, Blackmore... Egos aside (Ed was raised on Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, not the other way around), heavyweights would come up with their own interpretations of VH music. I can see Dweezil playing Panama note for note, but Page or Blackmore? Ritchie could turn Panama into a classic blues- based rocker or... a medieval/Renessaince ballad. Not everyone would be OK with that.

[MD 5150]

Page, Blackmore... Egos aside (Ed was raised on Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, not the other way around), heavyweights would come up with their own interpretations of VH music. I can see Dweezil playing Panama note for note, but Page or Blackmore? Ritchie could turn Panama into a classic blues- based rocker or... a medieval/Renessaince ballad. Not everyone would be OK with that.

BINGO!!!

I would not want to see anyone on that heavyweight list trying to play Eddie's music. They all have a developed sound of their own and would never sound right at all. John5 was quoted to saying he played Eddie's guitar and rig and sounded nothing like Van Halen because John5 has his own style and sound. I've watched a Youtube video with Steve Vai saying the same thing. The years Vai played for DLR, sure he could play note for note, but could not...not sound like Steve Vai playing Eddie Van Halen's music.

Dweezil made it his goal of playing as a teenager to play and sound like Eddie and was close to him personally for a bit. Doesn't matter who we think would sound closest to Eddie, we will never see that kind of tribute.

I've seen two here, by way of Youtube, play Van Halen music and sound extremely close to Eddie...Brett and Jedi. I would put those two ahead of all previously mentioned except for Dweezil. And please don't take the last comment as a jab towards either of your playing, because it is not.

[CaboChris]

Agree to Disagree.

I want stature not the ability to play Eruption note for note.

[I Coulda Hada VH]

Agree to Disagree.

I want stature not the ability to play Eruption note for note.

I thought you liked your live music to sound as close to the recorded versions as possible?

[Little Dreamer]

It would be great to see all the VH alumni participate (not you, Mitch Malloy, sorry). I'm sure guitar players would be matched with songs they can play. Nuno, Vai, Satch, Dweezil, John 5, Luke - not a bad list.

[I Coulda Hada VH]

It would be great to see all the VH alumni participate (not you, Mitch Malloy, sorry). I'm sure guitar players would be matched with songs they can play. Nuno, Vai, Satch, Dweezil, John 5, Luke - not a bad list.

It would also be nice if I had a harem of Brooklyn Decker, Minka Kelly, Salma Hayek and Halle Berry. And a beachfront condo in Maui. To go.

[Van Squalen]

Brooklyn Decker?

really?

Still, Salma Hayek is very likely the most beautiful woman on earth.

[CaboChris]

I thought you liked your live music to sound as close to the recorded versions as possible?

I don't care if he's the biggest EVH fan ever. Their names are Dweezil and John 5.

It just sounds cheesy. It's never gonna happen anyway so I might as well wish for some heavyweights worthy of Ed and vice versa.

[YankeeRose]

It would be great to see all the VH alumni participate (not you, Mitch Malloy, sorry). I'm sure guitar players would be matched with songs they can play. Nuno, Vai, Satch, Dweezil, John 5, Luke - not a bad list.

I like your list. I'd like to see other guys influenced by Ed play at it as well. I'd add George Lynch, Reb Beach and John Sykes. You can really hear Eddie's influence in their playing.