Citizendia

Alex Van Halen
Alex Van Halen behind his kit during the 2007 reunion tour
Alex Van Halen behind his kit during the 2007 reunion tour
Background information
BornMay 8, 1953 (1953-05-08) (age 55)
OriginNijmegen, The Netherlands
Genre(s)Hard rock
Instrument(s)Drums
Years active1972 – present
Label(s)Warner Bros. Records
Associated actsVan Halen
Websitehttp://www.van-halen.com

Alexander Arthur Van Halen is a Dutch-American drummer and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen. Events 589 - Reccared summons the Third Council of Toledo 1450 - Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Nijmegen (ˈnɛɪmeɣən) (obsolete spellings Nijmwegen Nymegen Nieumeghen &mdash Nimwegen in local dialect and in German, Nimègue in French The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Hard rock (also referred to as heavy rock) is a variation of Rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and Psychedelic rock A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Warner Bros Records Inc is an American Record label that operates as a wholly owned Subsidiary of Warner Music Group. Van Halen is a Hard rock band formed in in 1972 They enjoyed success from the release of their self titled debut album in 1978 A Dutch American is an inhabitant of the United States of whole or partial Dutch ancestry A drummer is a Musician who plays a Drum or drums particularly a Drum kit ("drum set" or "trap set" Marching percussion Hard rock (also referred to as heavy rock) is a variation of Rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and Psychedelic rock Van Halen is a Hard rock band formed in in 1972 They enjoyed success from the release of their self titled debut album in 1978

Originally, Alex had taken lessons for guitar, while his brother Eddie Van Halen practiced drums. Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen (born January 26 1955 is a Dutch Guitarist, Keyboardist, Songwriter and producer 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. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. David Lee Roth (often referred to as "Diamond Dave" (born October 10 1954 Bloomington Indiana) is an American rock Vocalist This article is about the Musician For other uses see Michael Anthony (disambiguation) They were signed to Warner Brothers in 1977 and released their first album in 1978. Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar)

Contents

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. Amsterdam (pronounced) is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Events 589 - Reccared summons the Third Council of Toledo 1450 - Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Jan van Halen (1920 – 1986 a Dutch-Roman Catholic and native of Sweden, was an accomplished bandleader who was also a skilled Saxophonist and Clarinetist The Dutch people ( Dutch:) are the dominant Ethnic group of the Netherlands. Indo or Indo-European or Eurasian people is a term used to describe people of mixed European and Indonesian and/or Chinese Indonesian ancestry [1] He spent his childhood in Nijmegen in the east of the country. Nijmegen (ˈnɛɪmeɣən) (obsolete spellings Nijmwegen Nymegen Nieumeghen &mdash Nimwegen in local dialect and in German, Nimègue in French [2] The family moved to Pasadena, California, USA, in 1962. Pasadena ( is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the [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. The Surfaris were an American Surf music band formed in Glendora, California in 1962 " Wipe Out " is a song written by Bob Berryhill, Pat Connolly, Jim Fuller and Ron Wilson. [2]

In 1971, Alex graduated from Pasadena High School. Pasadena High School ( PHS) is a four year comprehensive Secondary school located in Pasadena California. [2] He then took classes in music theory, scoring, composition and arranging at Pasadena City College for a short while. Pasadena City College (commonly known by the abbreviation PCC) is a Community college located on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California [2] While attending Pasadena City College, Alex met Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth. This article is about the Musician For other uses see Michael Anthony (disambiguation) David Lee Roth (often referred to as "Diamond Dave" (born October 10 1954 Bloomington Indiana) is an American rock Vocalist They formed the band Mammoth, and Alex, along with the others, decided to drop out of Pasadena City College. [4]

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.

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. Alex married his current wife, Stine Schyberg, in 2000. She is the mother of his son Malcolm Van Halen.

Alex's kits

Tours from 1978 to 1986

Tours from 1987 to 1990

Tours from 1991 to 1993


1995-96 Balance Tour

Shells

Cymbals:

1998 Van Halen III Tour

Shells

Cymbals:

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. For the song "Modern Drummer" by The American Analog Set see Promise of Love Modern Drummer is the oldest magazine (still His sticks were 16" Calato Regal Tip Alex Van Halen/Power Rock (double-butt).

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.

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.

Kit was a blonde/natural wood finish. The snare drum shell as well as the bass drum heads, featured Dragon designs on them.

2007-08 Van Halen DLR Reunion Tour

Drums

Ludwig Legacy Maple (custom built) Blue sparkle finish with acrylic octabons.

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

Regal Tip AVH wood tip sticks (hickory, 17. 75" long)

Cymbals:

References

  1. ^ a b c d Alexander Van Halen. Retrieved on 1-11, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e Drummerworld: Alex van halen. Retrieved on 1-12, 2008.
  3. ^ Alex Van Halen at DrumSoloArtist. Retrieved on 1-13, 2008.
  4. ^ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved on 1-18, 2008.
  5. ^ Alex Van Halen at ClassicVanHalen.com. Retrieved on 3-22, 2008.
  6. ^ 1997 Grammy Nominations from Rock on the Net.

External links

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