Authorized VAN HALEN Book By ALEX VAN HALEN To Open Family Archive For First Time
Архив новостей | Русская версия
In celebration of one of America's greatest rock and roll bands, Genesis Publications has announced an official chronicle of VAN HALEN by the band's founding drummer Alex Van Halen. Featuring a dynamic blend of iconic photography alongside rare and never-before-seen images, and with exclusive access to his private archives, "Van Halen" (working title) offers a personally guided tour through the band's legendary career.
Signed, written and curated by Alex Van Halen, this authorized publication opens the Van Halen family archive for the first time. The years 1978–1984 are explored through correspondence, tour memorabilia, album artwork, press material, musical equipment, unpublished photographs and much more — charting the Van Halen brothers' journey from childhood and the band's formation to their debut and meteoric rise.
Register interest today at VanHalenAnthology.com to be among the first to hear more about the book, which will be published as a signed limited-edition book boxed set.
Genesis Publications was founded in 1974 in Britain as an independent publishing house true to the arts of printing and craftsmanship.
During a November 2024 appearance on "Talk Is Jericho", the podcast hosted by FOZZY frontman and wrestling superstar Chris Jericho, Alex Van Halen spoke about his decision to write his memoir, "Brothers", which has been described as a love letter to his younger brother, while still mourning Eddie Van Halen's untimely death. Alex said: "Ed and I were tight. We worked together, we played together, we did whatever. But when he was near the end of his life, because of COVID it was very difficult to visit him in person and to see him. There was always either a glass barrier or a plastic something surrounding [him]. The times that we could actually touch him were few and far between. And that really put everything in a strange kind of — I can't explain it, but it didn't feel right. So we really had no closure, in that sense, and everything was hurried near the end, again, because of the COVID issue. We didn't really have a ceremony afterwards. He was cremated and his ashes were spread. This is my way of saying goodbye to him. And whatever you believe in terms of spiritual pursuits and all that, I think he's still here, he's still here with us in one way, shape or form — not to the point where he's not allowed to go where he really wants to go. [Laughs] They call it a tether; you don't wanna tether him to this dimension. So, Ed, whatever you wanna do is cool. We love you. And I just wanted to say that to the point of infinitum, whatever the expression is."
Alex continued: "It's hard to describe what it's like to not have someone in your life that has been there for 65 years. That's a long, long time, and it wasn't just a regular — and I'm not giving other people a hard time in terms of 'my relationship was stronger than yours'. That's not the point. It's just that when you have something that's taken out of your life after 65 years, it's difficult. And I'm certainly not alone. I'm not saying I'm special or I should get a medal — no, it happens to a lot of different people. And I think one of the side effects of this book has been a lot of people have contacted me and said, 'Reading this book has really given me a different way of looking at the parting with people who I loved.' And I know that grief can be a common denominator, if you will, and that's not my preference — my preference is the happier times — but with the good comes the bad. And everybody's gonna go through it."
Regarding the possibility of previously unreleased Eddie Van Halen music eventually seeing the light of day, Alex said: "I've talked about it loosely, and I am rather superstitious, but I can say a couple of things that I've mentioned before. We're gonna go through the, quote-unquote, vault and go through some of the musical ideas that were there. On the one end of the spectrum is the fact that little licks don't make a song. On the other end of the spectrum, some of those licks are so unbelievably powerful, it's too bad that they ended up in the back of the vault, rather than being records.
Alex is the co-founder of VAN HALEN and its original drummer. Born in Amsterdam and trained as a classical pianist, he graduated from Pasadena High School.
In "Brothers", Alex recounts his and Ed's childhood in an 800-square foot house in Pasadena, with an itinerant musician father and proper Indonesian-born mother — how they arrived in the U.S. from the Netherlands and struggled to fit in. He also shares stories of musical politics, infighting and bad-boy behavior. The book includes never-before-seen photos from the author's private archives, as he sets the record straight on his brother's life and death in the first-ever accurate account of his family and the band.
Alex and Eddie formed a band called MAMMOTH in Pasadena, California in 1972, then renamed it VAN HALEN when singer David Lee Roth joined the group and, later, bassist Michael Anthony.
VAN HALEN was one of the biggest rock bands in the country in the 1980s, with hits like "Runnin' With The Devil", "Dance The Night Away", "Hot For Teacher", "Panama" and "Jump". The group, which later featured Sammy Hagar on vocals, was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.
The Van Halen family moved to Pasadena after emigrating to the U.S. from the Netherlands in 1962.
VAN HALEN was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.
According to Modern Drummer, Alex was instrumental to VAN HALEN's electrifying, dramatic sound, leading the rhythm section on standout hits like "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love", "Unchained" and "Panama". His double-bass pedal work throughout "Hot For Teacher" was deeply influential, combining technical prowess with a restless, thoroughly original drum composition.
(Source: www.blabbermouth.net)
