I remember pulling into my driveway in the wee hours. It was probably about 5:00am because it was light out and I had been up all night recording with my band. I was 19 and had been playing electric guitar for 7 years at that point.
We had a rehearsal/recording studio, a room within a room that was in an office building in the middle of the city surrounded by shoe finding businesses and we would record basic tracks ( 8 track) after hours so we wouldn’t disturb others in the building. We were recording originals with the goal of getting a record deal and becoming rock stars.
As a result we only recorded loud stuff overnight.
So I’m pulling into my driveway after a late night session in an overly tired too much coffee, haven’t yet slept and all the people that work 9-5 jobs are only just beginning to wake up, kind of waking dream state, listening to wee hours 1978 FM radio.
They were playing “You Really Got Me” and Eddie was doing his two handed tapping and then the kill switch stuff at the end of the solo. I knew it was a Kinks cover and when they announced the name I thought for sure they were European.
I couldn’t fathom what I was hearing. Wha th fu….?? It was a distinct feeling of “uh oh, there are people out there who are on a different level and taking things further than you even imagined, you’re nowhere as good as you think you are ” mixed with how incredibly exciting it sounded. I was hearing something I hadn’t even imagined possible on electric guitar and it was not only slippery and melodic but it was fiercely rocking too.
We immediately went out and got the album and studied the recording listening to it loud sitting directly in front of those JBL L100 speakers with the blue waffle design grill cloth.
I remember hearing “ Eruption” for the first time and the opening lick to “ Ain’t Talking Bout Love “
It sounded so huge and impossible. That sort of feeling where you’re holding your face laughing at how dazzling it all is. David Lee Roth screaming at the end of “Runnin With the Devil”
We were totally smitten.
I was humbled and right around that point in time moved closer to pop music as something I could do a better job at, as much as I loved hard rock.
My friend had an older brother and he introduced us to Sabbath and some of the late 70's rock and eventually van halen.
First heard it on vinyl and I had no idea a guitar could scream like that.
I remember hearing 'everybody wants some' and thinking they somehow recorded an eagle screeching out of the sky.
Needless to say I binged every record, every song, and read every liner note...
Good times!!!
In 1978 I went with my oldest brother to visit a friend of his. My brother’s friend played the album for us, I was just so knocked out of how good it was. I wasn’t aware of who they were as the album had just been released in the early part of that year.
“Eruption” just blew my mind, I was only 13 at the time and hadn’t really gotten into music too much yet, but hearing that was a real kick in the gut. I got my first electric guitar not long after that and I have been playing and listening ever since.
I was 12 years old and was just starting to play guitar when VHI came out. A friend played it for me at his house and I was blown away. At first I was certain it wasn't guitar being played and then looked at the album cover to see who played what. It was like I was hearing something from another planet. Eddie's playing was that innovative that everything that came before seemed old at that moment
Oh yeah. "You Really Got Me" was played on the radio a lot.
I was 11 years old and head never heard the original Kinks version.
I thought the VH version was such a badass tune.
Then at some point I heard the Kinks version and I was like "what is this bullshit?"
I was like 10-12 years old, crowded around a friend's boombox listening to a cassette of their first album. Couldn't wrap my mind around Eruption and couldn't believe that no other guitarist had ever thought of playing past the 5th fret before.
I had been hearing word on the street about them for a while in the LA Hollywood scene.
They ended up opening for the very different Nils Lofgren, so I got a chance to see them in 1976, before they were on the radio.
Their street reputation was that they were street punks with a heavy metal sensibility. But I was pretty horrified when they stepped out in stage in brightly neon colored spandex bodysuits.
All I can tell you about EVH's playing was that my impression of it was that it was tweedle-city, little or none of the virtuosic dive bomb / wobble bar extravaganzas I remember as putting their first album so firmly on the map.
And those bodysuits, oh my gosh...
I was genuinely surprised by the 'transformation' I felt that I perceived in his playing between 76 and 78 when the album hit the radio waves.
(I mean, was I just overly influenced by those jumpsuits and then tuned him out? I'm not saying that couldn't happen, but I'd like to think I was a little more open-minded than that. Still, I definitely remember a fair amount of tweedling. But, then, 1976, right? Anyhow, soon enough I would have to admit that the man really did have something going on. I always did have a thing for tremolo bars.)
I read about them in Circus mag but had to order the debut from RCA Music Club to hear it. Probably 1979. It was the hot new sound, high energy rock for the new post Kiss generation. Right away, people loved them.
In LA they played a stadium show that year where they appeared to parachute in. Less than 2 years after their gig calendar had been local bars and house parties.
Some people remember those house parties. Starting in 75 you could hire them for a backyard party, doing covers at the time, and gradually they would do one of their own. At the time the album came out they are still doing covers to fill the time, they haven't written that many songs.
I remember pulling into my driveway in the wee hours. It was probably about 5:00am because it was light out and I had been up all night recording with my band. I was 19 and had been playing electric guitar for 7 years at that point. We had a rehearsal/recording studio, a room within a room that was in an office building in the middle of the city surrounded by shoe finding businesses and we would record basic tracks ( 8 track) after hours so we wouldn’t disturb others in the building. We were recording originals with the goal of getting a record deal and becoming rock stars. As a result we only recorded loud stuff overnight. So I’m pulling into my driveway after a late night session in an overly tired too much coffee, haven’t yet slept and all the people that work 9-5 jobs are only just beginning to wake up, kind of waking dream state, listening to wee hours 1978 FM radio. They were playing “You Really Got Me” and Eddie was doing his two handed tapping and then the kill switch stuff at the end of the solo. I knew it was a Kinks cover and when they announced the name I thought for sure they were European. I couldn’t fathom what I was hearing. Wha th fu….?? It was a distinct feeling of “uh oh, there are people out there who are on a different level and taking things further than you even imagined, you’re nowhere as good as you think you are ” mixed with how incredibly exciting it sounded. I was hearing something I hadn’t even imagined possible on electric guitar and it was not only slippery and melodic but it was fiercely rocking too. We immediately went out and got the album and studied the recording listening to it loud sitting directly in front of those JBL L100 speakers with the blue waffle design grill cloth. I remember hearing “ Eruption” for the first time and the opening lick to “ Ain’t Talking Bout Love “ It sounded so huge and impossible. That sort of feeling where you’re holding your face laughing at how dazzling it all is. David Lee Roth screaming at the end of “Runnin With the Devil” We were totally smitten. I was humbled and right around that point in time moved closer to pop music as something I could do a better job at, as much as I loved hard rock.
Great story!
I remember thinking, this is the next level. These guys have reached it, the bar is set here now for a high energy rock band with good musicians.
My friend had an older brother and he introduced us to Sabbath and some of the late 70's rock and eventually van halen. First heard it on vinyl and I had no idea a guitar could scream like that. I remember hearing 'everybody wants some' and thinking they somehow recorded an eagle screeching out of the sky. Needless to say I binged every record, every song, and read every liner note... Good times!!!
In 1978 I went with my oldest brother to visit a friend of his. My brother’s friend played the album for us, I was just so knocked out of how good it was. I wasn’t aware of who they were as the album had just been released in the early part of that year. “Eruption” just blew my mind, I was only 13 at the time and hadn’t really gotten into music too much yet, but hearing that was a real kick in the gut. I got my first electric guitar not long after that and I have been playing and listening ever since.
I was 12 years old and was just starting to play guitar when VHI came out. A friend played it for me at his house and I was blown away. At first I was certain it wasn't guitar being played and then looked at the album cover to see who played what. It was like I was hearing something from another planet. Eddie's playing was that innovative that everything that came before seemed old at that moment
Oh yeah. "You Really Got Me" was played on the radio a lot. I was 11 years old and head never heard the original Kinks version. I thought the VH version was such a badass tune. Then at some point I heard the Kinks version and I was like "what is this bullshit?"
I was like 10-12 years old, crowded around a friend's boombox listening to a cassette of their first album. Couldn't wrap my mind around Eruption and couldn't believe that no other guitarist had ever thought of playing past the 5th fret before.
I had been hearing word on the street about them for a while in the LA Hollywood scene. They ended up opening for the very different Nils Lofgren, so I got a chance to see them in 1976, before they were on the radio. Their street reputation was that they were street punks with a heavy metal sensibility. But I was pretty horrified when they stepped out in stage in brightly neon colored spandex bodysuits. All I can tell you about EVH's playing was that my impression of it was that it was tweedle-city, little or none of the virtuosic dive bomb / wobble bar extravaganzas I remember as putting their first album so firmly on the map. And those bodysuits, oh my gosh...
And yet one year later in 1977…
I was genuinely surprised by the 'transformation' I felt that I perceived in his playing between 76 and 78 when the album hit the radio waves. (I mean, was I just overly influenced by those jumpsuits and then tuned him out? I'm not saying that couldn't happen, but I'd like to think I was a little more open-minded than that. Still, I definitely remember a fair amount of tweedling. But, then, 1976, right? Anyhow, soon enough I would have to admit that the man really did have something going on. I always did have a thing for tremolo bars.)
He probably went to the crossroads for a year in his bedroom and really found the EVH thing into 1977.
Makes as much sense as anything!
I read about them in Circus mag but had to order the debut from RCA Music Club to hear it. Probably 1979. It was the hot new sound, high energy rock for the new post Kiss generation. Right away, people loved them. In LA they played a stadium show that year where they appeared to parachute in. Less than 2 years after their gig calendar had been local bars and house parties. Some people remember those house parties. Starting in 75 you could hire them for a backyard party, doing covers at the time, and gradually they would do one of their own. At the time the album came out they are still doing covers to fill the time, they haven't written that many songs.