The most profound conversation about Eddie Van Halen I've ever had

Veteran music journalist Steve Rosen discusses his book Tonechaser, which paints a very human picture of the late guitar god.

Since now’s probably as good a time as any to benefit from a diversion, as we’re undoubtedly looking at weeks if not months of uncertainty around the U.S. election results, I give you a longform conversation that I found very insightful about a musical figure I never seem to tire of talking about.

It’s funny… I’m part of a group of friends who met as college students in the early ‘90s. In all the time that’s passed since everyone in our friend group went their separate ways after leaving the university we attended, we’ve done an extraordinarily good job of keeping in touch via a group e-mail thread. Like clockwork, we’ve gone back and forth once a week at the bare minimum for the past three decades.

It might seem strange to say it, but I feel like these friends are very much still present in my life to this day. And, while we certainly cover more substantial adult topics than music and film, the subject of Van Halen comes up a lot — much to the eternal chagrin of the one friend in the bunch who hates them. The rest of us, though, have a seemingly inexhaustible appetite for the subject, gladly chirping on and on about the band and its music, as if junior high school never ended.

Even still, I never imagined I’d go on quite as long as I did with Tonechaser author Steve Rosen. My conversation with Rosen was more narrowly focused than usual too, as we centered specifically on Eddie Van Halen. Nevertheless, I found Rosen’s insights quite revealing about who this revered guitar-god figure was as a living, breathing three-dimensional person. I hafta say, it’s one of the most enjoyable exchanges I’ve had in my career.

I’d also highly recommend the audiobook version of Rosen’s book, which sheds further light on Eddie Van Halen via a treasure trove of recorded conversations — not so much formal interviews, but true rambling conversations — that Rosen conducted over a period of several years. As a first-hand witness, Rosen chronicled Van Halen’s rise from L.A.’s Sunset Strip to their status as a worldbeating rock juggernaut.

Enjoy!

<3 SRK