EVH phone interview w/Jas Obrecht of Guitar Player Magazine, 7.30.82

[ffoner]

Eddie Van Halen
Phone Interview w/ Jas Obrecht for Guitar Player Magazine
Louisville, KY
July 30, 1982
Lineage: Telephone->Audio Cassette->?->CDR?->WAV>DBPowerAmp>FLAC(Level 5)

Quality: VG

1. Introductions 0:51
2. Diver Down & The Critics 5:53
3. Recording Diver Down 5:13
4. Pretty Woman & Big Bad Bill 9:45
5. Cathedral, Secrets, & Dave's Ego 6:14
6. Little Guitars 5:50
7. The Full Bug & Alan Holdsworth 6:30
8. Rhoads, Secrets, Dancing in the Streets, & Hang 'em High 6:28
9. Songwriting & EVH's Riffs 4:12
10. Jump Demo 3:48
11. Touring, Studios, Space Cadets, & Other Players 9:58
12. Warner Brothers & the Charts & Final Thoughts 8:28

Total Time: 73:15

Notes:

This is arguably the most revealing and unique VH audio recording to surface in the past five years. Guitar Player magazine charged Jas Obrecht with the task of interviewing EVH about the Diver Down album. Obrecht called EVH in his hotel room after the Louisville, KY performance and asked him about the tracks on Diver Down, but the conversation ranged beyond that one subject. When you listen, you can hear EVH rip both Roth and Templeman (thereby foreshadowing the band's breakup) and the band's relationship with Warner Brothers. For those of you that have the Best of Guitar Player: Van Halen issue (published in the mid-90s) or the original run of the interview in GP (circa late 82), you can follow the conversation as it progressed, but you can also hear the stuff that Obrecht edited out on the behalf of EVH; namely, all the comments that are critical of members of VH's inner circle.

The interview has the added treat of the inclusion of the a demo for Jump and a bit of EVH noodling on the guitar as he tries to explain to Obrecht how he pulled off the intro to "Little Guitars."

The quality here is the quality of a phone call. It is not like an FM interview, but it is easy to listen to and in some ways adds to the sense that you are eavesdropping on a private conversation.

Special thanks goes to Scott of Vanhalenaudioarchive.com for bidding on when it suddenly appeared on Ebay last year and for sharing it freely, despite the fact that he had to shell out a tidy sum to win the auction. Supposedly, the seller bought this at a flea market. Perhaps Obrecht made a copy for a friend and that is how it leaked. In any event, this is like no other interview you have in you collection. It is a must have.

# MD5 checksums generated by MD5summer (http://www.md5summer.org)
# Generated 3/30/2005 5:13:06 PM

6e30186704573dacda82287571aa6d28 *- VH-7.30.82EVHT01.flac
7c6d61520bdcbedeb88ce21155ee7dd8 *- VH-7.30.82EVHT02.flac
ff5654e64ba5906b32f8327bd4f71e9a *- VH-7.30.82EVHT03.flac
f8ae50c1b8092a0527e8eac5d2535a91 *- VH-7.30.82EVHT04.flac
e7e8832bfde1f23ce97143fd6915d018 *- VH-7.30.82EVHT05.flac
c31cad8b7ee70e1262fd1d4c5e5a1aa9 *- VH-7.30.82EVHT06.flac
1b0a7c5b1779e942c71f573ed8fff718 *- VH-7.30.82EVHT07.flac
7c7af2225d701bde3947cf099445aa36 *- VH-7.30.82EVHT08.flac
47873a89d2d79a9676e9cffcc64b35b5 *- VH-7.30.82EVHT09.flac
94b503d2d3f067d647fdf360ec9cce16 *- VH-7.30.82EVHT10.flac
af615db3259937df3978163822f29fb5 *- VH-7.30.82EVHT11.flac
4c53e9d950e42547d3f041fc7c11af9a *- VH-7.30.82EVHT12.flac

[Lou]

I take it what I have is precisely what you have?

[oboogie]

Not firing up yet.

[ffoner]

Yes it is, but feel free to jump on to make sure that it is working.

ffoner

Originally Posted by Lou

I take it what I have is precisely what you have?

[ffoner]

I'm going out for a bit. If this thing does not start, I'll try to fix it when I get back.

ffoner

[ffoner]

maybe this one will work.

[mike1061]

Thanks
Mike

[Onfire]

Hey ffoner,

Looks Like This Torrent Is Givin You A Helluva Time! Looking Forward To This.......Looks Interesting.

Thanks,
Onfire

[ffoner]

OF -


It's rollling, so hop on.

ffoner

[Onfire]

Hey ffoner,

Im Not Showing A Seed Anywhere But Im All Over It. It's Definitely" Rollin".

Thanks Again,
Onfire

[ffoner]

OF -

The tracker is fucked up. My BT software is showing 7 peers and I am the only seeder obviously. Someone already has almost 72% of it and I am uploading at 44-49 kb/s.


ffoner

[frankie]

I believe I have read a lot of this interview but it will be cool to hear it. Thanks for the post

[Classic]

Thanks! It's easy to hear how Dave probably was against releasing "Jump" after hearing that early demo. The song really got Van Halenized before they released it in 1984.

[ffoner]

Classic,

What did you think of the anti-Dave and Templeman comments?

ffoner

Originally Posted by Classic

Thanks! It's easy to hear how Dave probably was against releasing "Jump" after hearing that early demo. The song really got Van Halenized before they released it in 1984.

[Classic]

Well, I'll have to take a closer listen before making any further conclusions, as after a quick listen I didn't notice any digs at Templeman. But I guess I've heard/read from somewhere before the exactly same complaint from Ed that "Dave was on ego trip and said 'No more fucking guitar solos.'"

I think that at that time Dave probably felt they should record a more of a 'easy listening' (cover) album, compared to Fair Warning and WACF at least, with less instrumentals (after all, there were 3 instrumentals that made it to DD) to make it more like an easy listening experience you know. Saleswise, the 2 previous albums had been disappointments. I'd say the differing views regarding the direction they should have been heading were:
1. Ed's view
2. Dave's view

...and the outcome was a mix of both. At the time Donn Landee was clearly becoming Ed's new best friend, and as Ted Templeman sided with Dave there was some bad blood between those 2 blocks within the band. However, to me Ed sounded mainly positive when he was talking about Diver Down, so the recording process could not be the worst experience he had experienced in his life...

[ffoner]

C -

I would have to relisten too, but as I recall, he does say something about the Dave/Templeman alliance becoming a problem. The thing that always strikes me about this interview is how EVH seems to understand what makes DD such a great album, and yet in later years, he trashed it over and over again. And you are right, EVH was on a revisionist history trip by the time DLR was gone. Everything was all wrong about DD - the way it was recorded, the songs, etc. That's garbage and just sour grapes.



The DD album is VH distilled to its very essence. What other album showcases the brilliance of the classic lineup like DD? Basically, it is the club days vibe pressed to vinyl. Hell, they pull off everything from a Motown cover to a big band/swing/jazz song and it all sounds timeless. To me, it's this album that proves that VH was just as great of a band as Zep or the Who. Those bands had the same ability to make any song their own.

ffoner

Originally Posted by Classic

Well, I'll have to take a closer listen before making any further conclusions, as after a quick listen I didn't notice any digs at Templeman. But I guess I've heard/read from somewhere before the exactly same complaint from Ed that "Dave was on ego trip and said 'No more fucking guitar solos.'"

I think that at that time Dave probably felt they should record a more of a 'easy listening' (cover) album, compared to Fair Warning and WACF at least, with less instrumentals (after all, there were 3 instrumentals that made it to DD) to make it more like an easy listening experience you know. Saleswise, the 2 previous albums had been disappointments. I'd say the differing views regarding the direction they should have been heading were:
1. Ed's view
2. Dave's view

...and the outcome was a mix of both. At the time Donn Landee was clearly becoming Ed's new best friend, and as Ted Templeman sided with Dave there was some bad blood between those 2 blocks within the band. However, to me Ed sounded mainly positive when he was talking about Diver Down, so the recording process could not be the worst experience he had experienced in his life...

[Classic]

Originally Posted by ffoner

The DD album is VH distilled to its very essence. What other album showcases the brilliance of the classic lineup like DD? Basically, it is the club days vibe pressed to vinyl. Hell, they pull off everything from a Motown cover to a big band/swing/jazz song and it all sounds timeless. To me, it's this album that proves that VH was just as great of a band as Zep or the Who. Those bands had the same ability to make any song their own.

I agree 100% with your above statement and your signature text. The DD album gets probably the most spins on my player of the original six pack. I'm surprised how many "Eddie-fans" passionately despise that album due to his later comments.

[mark5150s]

Thanks man! Closest thing to a "book on tape" that I'll listen to driving to/from work.

I love it when Eddie tries to play something for Jas on his guitar, and keeps dropping the phone.

[dolph]

In-FREAKIN-credible!!
Hearing Jump as Eddie recorded it just days earlier is awesome! Thank you for seeding this, WOW!

[Strung]

Cool, thanks bro.