Why Doesn’t Alex Van Halen Want to Play Drums?
Sammy Hagar and Alex Van Halen
Alex Van Halen hasn’t been in public in quite some time. Mostly after his brother Edward Van Halen over 3 years ago from cancer. Back in November of 2023. Sammy Hagar was talking about a tribute to Eddie Van Halen with Alex Van Halen on drums.
Alex Van Halen on the 1984 Tour Cobo Hall (scott randall photo)
The lack of a tribute concert to Eddie Van Halen has irked Hagar. In a podcast show, Rock of Nations Sammy was quoted “As far as the tribute goes, I’m so disappointed how they’ve handled everything, including when I left the band, what they did, and that … It’s ugly, but it’s not my job.”
In 2022 The Rumors Of A Tribute Went Sour
I remember Metallica’s Jason Newsted said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post that Alex Van Halen contacted him for a “possible Van Halen tour.”
Wolfgang Van Halen Put Everything To Rest
Citing too much drama in the Van Halen Camp has prevented such an event from materializing. Wolfgang, who played 3 Van Halen tracks at the Tribute show for Taylor Hawkins told Classic Rock magazine that he was no longer pursuing the idea of a tribute event. “I think I already did it with the Taylor Hawkins tributes.
Hagar Invites Alex To His Best Of All Worlds Tour
According to VHLinks.com, Sammy Hagar has addressed Alex Van Halen’s reluctance to tour, saying that he understands the reasons for his absence. The outfit will be performing tracks from Van Halen along with material from, Chickenfoot and The Circle. Sammy Hagar says Alex Van Halen won’t tour because he “just doesn’t like playing without his brother”
“Mike and I, 20 years ago, did a reunion. And it’s been 20 years this year,” he says via Ultimate Guitar online “I’m going, I don’t have another 20 years to be waiting on Alex Van Halen, who’s the only guy left. So he didn’t want to do it? You know, he, I guess, just doesn’t like playing without his brother. Don’t blame him. God bless him.”
Why I Miss Eddie Van Halen More Than Certain Dead Relatives of Mine
Like everyone else in the world, I’ve experienced my share of loss. Also, like everyone else in the world, I’ve experienced my share of what I’ll refer to as “complicated loss.” For the purposes of this article, “complicated loss” is that murky situation when a relative or other prominent figure in your life dies, but your relationship/feelings about said figure aren’t very “sunshine and lollipops.”
It’s the type of situation that reminds me of one of my favorite one-liners from comedian John Mulaney.
Years before he became one of the biggest draws in the world of stand-up, Mulaney landed his first comedy special: 2009’s The Top Part. In that special, he explores his love of Law & Order, his favorite TV show. As he’s funnily touching on all of the show’s various quirks and tropes, he makes his way to how much he enjoys the character Detective Lennie Briscoe played by the late Jerry Orbach. He then hits the audience with this blunt, yet hilarious, line:
“And I miss Jerry Orbach more than certain dead relatives of mine.”
It’s a line that always makes me laugh without fail, even though I know it’s coming. It’s also a line that is seemingly top of mind for me whenever a notable death occurs in pop culture. Sadly, when part of your living comes from covering news in the world of classic rock, you have to deal with death and loss far more than you’d really like. Alas, much like Hyman Roth in The Godfather: Part II, this is the business I’ve chosen. As a result, I have developed the morbid coping mechanism when having to deal with covering a notable death by seeing whether or not I actually miss the dead celebrity more than certain dead relatives of mine.
I’ve covered the rock music world for a decade now. Many deaths have hit me very hard, but the one that hit me harder than most was Eddie Van Halen. For me, his death was the perfect storm of being a massive fan, having it happen while still in the thick of the coronavirus pandemic and also still mourning the loss of my own brother who died six months prior. Add in the fact his innovative force truly changed rock and roll, it makes sense (in my mind, at least) why I would miss Eddie Van Halen more than certain dead relatives of mine.
If you aren’t sold yet by my reasoning, here are some other reasons to support my possibly bonkers headline.
Born in Mt Clemens, Screamin’ Scott has been a part of the Detroit airwaves for 30-plus years. With 40 years of experience in radio. When he’s not out on the streets for WCSX, you can find him devoting time to local charities with his, “Screamin Angels”; and for 16 years with Rock 4 Tots charity. And last 10 years with his local band, "Chit!." Screamin Scott likes to write about nostalgic Detroit area memories, classic rock, and local metro Detroit topics.