#63 Alex Van Halen 1995 Interview w/Steve Newton

The Tapes Archive

A never-published interview with Alex Van Halen. At the time of this interview in 1995, Alex was 42 years old and was promoting an upcoming Van Halen concert in British Columbia, Canada. In the interview, Alex talks about growing up and playing with his brother Eddie Van Halen, "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" producer Bruce Fairbairn, and the best thing about being in Van Halen.

The interview is conducted by a Tapes Archive contributor, Canadian music journalist and author Steve Newton. During his four decades as a freelance music writer, he has interviewed everyone from AC/DC to ZZTop. We highly recommend that you head over to his Patreon page patreon.com/earofnewt and check out over 400 of his exclusive interviews. For only $5, you get full access. We are not paid for this endorsement; we truly feel it’s money well spent.

Read Newton's article based on this interview: https://bit.ly/3YOyBnI

Link to Newton's Patreon page: https://bit.ly/3WQBr9S

For zero money, you can head over to Newton’s website, earofnewt.com, where he has posted more than 3,000 of his interviews, album reviews, concert reviews, and horror movie reviews.

Link to Newton's website: https://bit.ly/3ij9GIa

00:00 - Intro

01:38 - Start of Alex Van Halen Interview

02:06 - His earliest memories of playing with his brother, Eddie Van Halen, and his dad’s musical career

03:24 - Who the Van Halen brothers would try to emulate musically

03:43 - Who were his drum gods when he first started playing

04:39 - Playing with his dad’s Jazz band and if he took lessons

05:39 - If Eddie was part of his dad’s band

05:52 - When did he know Eddie Van Halen would be a legend and his own guitar-playing

06:31 - Did he know early on how big Van Halen would become, and early days with the LA club scene

07:00 - The night Warner Brothers saw them for the first time

08:43 - What’s his favorite David Lee Roth Van Halen album is

09:29 - The essence and core of Van Halen

10:03 - How Sammy Hagar could have replaced Roth back in 1978

10:57 - How Van Halen has evolved since Sammy Hagar joined the band.

11:58 - How producer Bruce Fairbairn got involved in producing “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge”

13:34 - Van Halen’s process in picking a producer

14:38 - Does he have any input into writing Van Halen songs?

15:53 - How much longer does he see Van Halen rocking?

16:26 - What’s the best thing about being in Van Halen

16:41 - Alex talks about Van Halen’s USA Harvest can drive

18:02 - Alex gives the name of the person Steve should talk to to get backstage.