'They Became Cartoon Versions of Eddie'

[James in New York]

'They Became Cartoon Versions of Eddie':

Pat Travers Names One Thing '80s Players Never Understood About Van Halen Icon

"Sure, he had the whole tapping and dive-bombing thing going on, but he didn't do that in every song."


Pat Travers suggested that '80s players who ended up as "cartoon versions of Eddie Van Halen" never understood that the late guitar icon's genius wasn't only to be found in his technicality, arguing that techniques like tapping and dive-bombing were only "effects."


There's no denying that Eddie Van Halen was, alongside Randy Rhoads, the most responsible for shaping the sonic landscape of '80s hard rock — so much so that his son Wolfgang recently argued that his dad is the reason why many a guitarist never disovered what could've been their own playing style as they strove to mimic that of the "Eruption" mastermind.

However, not everyone who took part in the '80s nuclear arms race of guitar shredding (or tried to do so) realized that Eddie's playing was not "only" about mind-boggling fretboard runs, guitarist Pat Travers noted in a recent interview with Guitar World, adding that the man's unmistakable sense of groove, among other things, was often overlooked.

Asked whether he too was influenced by the late and great Van Halen icon, Travers offered (via Guitar):


"Not necessarily. I realized pretty quickly that Ed Van Halen was a lot more than his tapping solo – a whole lot more.

His rhythm, his chord choices, his voicings – there was such melodic value to everything he played."

"Sure, he had the whole tapping and dive-bombing thing going on, but he didn't do that in every song.

It was like an effect, but it was very effective. Unfortunately, all the other guitar players in L.A. thought it was all tapping and dive bombs, and they became cartoon versions of Eddie."

While suggesting how his dad's overbearing influence "kinda ruined" the '80s rock landscape, Wolfgang Van Halen offered a similar argument, noting how "people focus on the guitar playing, but, overall, it was the fact that dad is a great songwriter."

Moreover, it was never Eddie's intention to kickstart the whole shredding era, according to his friend and Toto guitarist Steve Lukather.

Luke, who was self-admittedly never a fan of shredding, said last year:

"Back when I started, there was no such thing as 'shredding'. In the '70s, we were just trying to make good records."

"But then Eddie Van Halen came along and changed the whole game.

I remember him telling me once, 'Man, I didn't mean to start all this madness,' but he really did change the entire game.

That always cracked me up, as Eddie was the father of shred. But I never tried to do that, and I still don't.

I'm still the same melodic guy I've always been."


© 2024
Ultimate-Guitar.com
All rights reserved

[Pacfanweb]

Lots of players loved the fast licks Ed did. All the harmonics, the tapping of course, the noises.

And they focused in on those things, and said "Hey, I love that part, what if a song had a lot more of it?"

That's where the shredding came from. They all wanted to learn how to tap, but they all missed the part where Ed simply used it as part of his normal playing, not as a featured "oh wow, look at this" thing. If it helped the song, he tapped. If not, he did something else.

These dudes all started expanding on that. Then some idiots that didn't want to just straight up copy Ed started going "Oh, that's cheating just because you can't pick fast enough. If you can't pick fast, you're not good". Then all the Yngwie stuff started.

And it went on from there, they all kept trying to get faster and faster, but not a single one of them could actually write a good song to do it in.

So now you have giants like Vai and Satch that play in 1000-1500 seat venues. You have Buckethead playing to 3-400 people.

It's a pretty small audience for such playing, no matter how technically brilliant it might be.

And 100% of them missed the boat on Ed simply using those techniques to make songs better, not just doing them for the sake of showing off that he could. That's what his solo spot was for.

You have lots of casual fans that'll go "I like VH, but Eddie just has to play crazy all the time, he needed to learn when to hold back". When nothing could be further from the truth. His fast parts were just so damn good that they drew attention and many people think that's what he did all the time.

[snowdog]

I agree with almost all of that, but to be fair guys like Satriani and Vai make almost exclusively instrumental music. I think it’s less that they “can’t write songs” and more just that the nature of the music is only going to have a small popularity ceiling regardless. They are certainly aware that they are in a musical niche and are not even attempting to reach mass audiences like VH was.

[Brett]

Most guitar players worth a shit know that Ed was far more than tapping and dive bombs. The intricacies of his playing is what made him so special. And nobody could play with that amazing swing he had.

[joezlo]

One time I told a musician Ed was my favorite guitar player they guffawed and said, "I'd rather listen to Satch or Vai." in a very insulting manor.

Without skipping a beat my response was, "Oh you mean the guys who had to try fill Ed's shoes when his singer's left?"

Dude had no response and I seriously think I might have made him blow a fuse.

I still don't understand why he was so down on EVH in that conversation (or he was just trying to insult me by proxy)