Alex Van Halen
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| Alex Van Halen | |
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 Alex Van Halen behind his kit during the 2007 reunion tour
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| Background information | |
| Born | May 8, 1953 |
| Origin | Nijmegen, The Netherlands |
| Genre(s) | Hard rock |
| Instrument(s) | Drums |
| Years active | 1972 – present |
| Label(s) | Warner Bros. Records |
| Associated acts | Van Halen |
| Website | http://www.van-halen.com |
Alexander Arthur Van Halen is a Dutch-American drummer and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen.
Originally, Alex had taken lessons for guitar, while his brother Eddie Van Halen practiced drums. After spending time playing Eddie's drum kit, Alex became more skillful at the drums than Eddie.
In 1974 Alex, Eddie, David Lee Roth and Michael Anthony became known as Van Halen. They were signed to Warner Brothers in 1977 and released their first album in 1978.
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[edit] Early life
Alex Van Halen was born in Amsterdam [1], The Netherlands, on May 8, 1953, to Jan Van Halen; a Dutch father, and Eugenia; an Indo (Eurasian) mother.[1] He spent his childhood in Nijmegen in the east of the country.[2] The family moved to Pasadena, California, USA, in 1962.[1]
Both Alex and Eddie Van Halen were trained as classical pianists in their childhood.[3] Although Alex is known as a professional drummer, he began his musical aspirations as a guitarist, with his brother Eddie taking up drums.[1] While Eddie was delivering newspapers to pay for his drum kit, Alex would practice playing on them. When Eddie heard Alex's mastery of the Surfaris drum solo in the song "Wipe Out", he decided to begin learning to play the electric guitar.[2]
In 1971, Alex graduated from Pasadena High School.[2] He then took classes in music theory, scoring, composition and arranging at Pasadena City College for a short while.[2] While attending Pasadena City College, Alex met Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth. They formed the band Mammoth, and Alex, along with the others, decided to drop out of Pasadena City College.[4]
[edit] Musical career
Alex had several early bands with Eddie before Van Halen came to be. Names of these previous bands include The Broken Combs, Genesis, The Space Brothers, and The Trojan Rubber Company.[2]
In 1972 Roth, Alex and Eddie formed Mammoth with Mark Stone on bass. Later, in 1974, The name Mammoth was replaced by Van Halen, and Mark stone was replaced by Michael Anthony. In addition to his musical duties at this time, Al was busy handling managerial duties, such as booking gigs, etc. for the band. Their 1978 album Van Halen was released to much fanfare, influencing many musicians in hard rock.
In spite of the fact that the term "brown sound" is generally associated with Eddie's guitar, Alex originated the term to refer to the sound of his snare drum.[5]
At live shows, Alex is known for being an entertainer, performing aggressive drum solos and stage pyrotechnics.
The only non–Van Halen example of Alex's musicianship can be found on the soundtrack to the movie Twister. The instrumental "Respect the Wind" (for which the Van Halen brothers were nominated for a Grammy Award in 1997 for Best Rock Instrumental Performance)[6] features Alex on keyboards (with Eddie on guitar). The song was used for the movie soundtrack Twister and plays during the end credits of the movie.
[edit] Personal life
Alex married Valeria Kendall in 1983 after a two-year engagement. The marriage ended in divorce in 1984. Alex has one son, Aric Van Halen, with his ex-wife, Kelly Daniels, whom he divorced in 1996.[citation needed] Alex married his current wife, Stine Schyberg, in 2000. She is the mother of his son Malcolm Van Halen.[citation needed]
[edit] Alex's kits
[edit] Tours from 1978 to 1986
- From 1978-86 Alex used Remo CS Clear w/Black Dot heads on all of his drums, switching around 1987-88 to Ludwig WeatherMaster Silver Dot heads instead.[citation needed]
[edit] Tours from 1987 to 1990
- Alex used Regal Tip 3S sticks from about 1978-88 before switching to the Power Rock and AVH models.[citation needed]
[edit] Tours from 1991 to 1993
- For 1991-93 Alex used Ludwig Silver Dot heads on snares, rack toms, and a single kick drum. Remo Clear Pinstripes were used on his floor toms. He used only one kick drum with a double pedal for this tour. Also, during this time period he switched to Paiste Signature Series cymbals, a rare departure from his typical 2002 selection[citation needed].
[edit] 1995-96 Balance Tour
Shells
- Ludwig 4-ply 16" X 24" Bass Drum - Remo Clear PowerStroke 3 drumheads
- Ludwig 4-ply 16" X 24" Bass Drum - Remo Clear PowerStroke 3 drumheads
- Ludwig 4-ply 8" X 10" Tom - Remo Coated Emperor
- Ludwig 4-ply 9" X 12" Tom - Remo Coated Emperor
- Ludwig 4-ply 16" X 16" Tom - Remo Coated Emperor
- Ludwig 4-ply 16" X 18" Tom - Remo Coated Emperor
- Ludwig Super Sensitive 6 1/2" X 14" Chrome Snare - Ludwig Clear or Coated w/Silver Dot (underside taped)
- Ludwig 3 1/2" X 13" Piccolo
- 14 x 6 1/2" LP Timbale
- 13 x 6 1/2" LP Timbale
- LP Rock Ridge Rider Cowbell
Cymbals:
- Paiste 2002 16" Med. Crash
- Formula 602 Heavy Bell
- Paiste 2002 19" Crash
- Paiste 2002 20" Crash
- 22" Signature Series Dark Ride with Heavy Bell
- Paiste 2002 20" Med. Crash
- Paiste 2002 20" Crash
- Drum kits on this tour were either a forest green or red wine color.
[edit] 1998 Van Halen III Tour
Shells
- Ludwig 4-ply 16" X 24" Bass Drum - Ludwig WeatherMaster Clear w/Silver Dot drumheads
- Ludwig 4-ply 8" X 10" Tom - Ludwig Clear w/Silver Dot
- Ludwig 4-ply 8" X 12" Tom - Ludwig Clear w/Silver Dot
- Ludwig 4-ply 16" X 16" Tom - Remo Clear Pinstripes
- Ludwig 4-ply 16" X 18" Tom - Remo Clear Pinstripes
- Ludwig Super Sensitive 6 1/2" X 14" Chrome Snare - Ludwig Clear or Coated w/Silver Dot (underside taped)
- Ludwig 3 1/2" X 13" Piccolo
- 13 1/2" L+P Conga
- 12 1/2" L+P Conga
Cymbals:
- Cow Bell
- Paiste 2002 16" Med. Crash
- Formula 602 Heavy Bell
- Paiste 2002 19" Crash
- Paiste 2002 20" Crash
- 22" Signature Series Dark Ride with Heavy Bell
- Paiste 2002 20" Med. Crash
- Paiste 2002 20" Crash
Alex Van Halen's hi-hat of choice then was composed of a 15" Paiste 2002 top and a Paiste 2002 14" Sound Edge bottom (Today he uses 15" for both top and bottom cymbals). (Modern Drummer magazine, March 2008 issue)
He also used Yamaha 8210 bass drum pedals with a Roland Electric kickdrum trigger. His sticks were 16" Calato Regal Tip Alex Van Halen/Power Rock (double-butt).[citation needed]
Alex's kit was yellow and each of the drum shells, as well as the bass drum heads, feature "Van Halen" in Sanskrit written on them.[citation needed]
[edit] 2004 Van Halen Sammy Reunion Tour
Alex went back to using his full length 17.75" & .570 diameter Regal Tip AVH wood tip model drumsticks.
- 14" Remo Emperor X...snare batter side
- 12", 13" Ludwig Heavy Clear...rack toms
- 16", 18" Remo Clear Pinstripes...floor toms
- 26" Remo Controlled Sound w/Black Dot (and Remo Falam Slams)...2 main kick drums
- Remo Powerstroke 3 Clear (w/Falam Slams)...third smaller kick drum on left side of kit
Kit was a blonde/natural wood finish. The snare drum shell as well as the bass drum heads, featured Dragon designs on them.
[edit] 2007-08 Van Halen DLR Reunion Tour
- From Moderndrummer, March 2008 issue
Drums
Ludwig Legacy Maple (custom built) Blue sparkle finish with acrylic octabons.
- Octobans (with drum triggers)
- 4”x 13” Black Beauty piccolo snare
- 6 1/2" x 14” (wood, die-cast top hoop, triple-flanged bottom)
- 8”x 12” tom (on R.I.M.S. mount)
- 9”x 13” tom (on R.I.M.S. mount)
- 16”x 16” floor tom
- 16”x 18” floor tom
- 2, 16”x 26” bass drums (with custom “side-port” drum)
- 16”x 24” bass drum (converted into a refrigerator)
No muffling in ANY drums... Latin Percussion rock cowbell
Custom built rack with DW hardware and legless hi-hat stand, Tama Iron Cobra kick drum pedals with felt beaters live and wood beaters in the studio.
Drum Heads
- Remo Coated CS...snare batter side, Ambassador snare-side (for piccolo snare)
- Remo Emperor X...snare batter side, Ambassador snare-side
- Remo Coated Emperors on batter side of rack and floor toms, clear Ambassadors on resonate side
- Remo Coated Emperors on batter sides of bass drums, Powerstroke 3 on resonate sides with Van Halen logos, no holes, internal microphones
Regal Tip AVH wood tip sticks (hickory, 17.75" long)
Cymbals:
- Paiste 2002 20" Crash
- Paiste 2002 15" Sound Edge hi-hats
- Paiste 2002 19" Crash
- Paiste 2002 20" Crash
- Paiste 24" Giant Beat ride
- Paiste 2002 20" Crash
- Paiste 2002 20" China
- Paiste 2002 22” Crash
- Paiste 38” symphonic gong
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Alexander Van Halen. Retrieved on 1-11, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e Drummerworld: Alex van halen. Retrieved on 1-12, 2008.
- ^ Alex Van Halen at DrumSoloArtist. Retrieved on 1-13, 2008.
- ^ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved on 1-18, 2008.
- ^ Alex Van Halen at ClassicVanHalen.com. Retrieved on 3-22, 2008.
- ^ 1997 Grammy Nominations from Rock on the Net.
[edit] External links
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