Ace guitarists Slash, Kirk Hammet and Tom Morello paid tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen during the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on November 7.
“Eddie Van Halen was a tremendously gifted musician,” said Guns N’ Roses‘ Slash. “His style and his sound were completely unique to him. He had a massive impact on guitar playing. I don’t think there’s anybody that’s picked up the guitar since 1978 that hasn’t been touched in some way by Eddie Van Halen’s influence. I’m going to miss his playing and I’m going to miss him as a friend.”
Metallica guitarist Hammett described Eddie as “amazing” as he recalled the rocker’s lasting influence.
“Not since Jimi Hendrix had there been a guitar player that had so much impact, and was so inspiring to me,” he said. “He just explored the most simplest thing – a harmonic on his string – and brought it into this realm of technique that no-one even thought was possible. He was just, like, from a different planet.”
Morello hailed Van Halen as “the Mozart of our generation.” The guitarist, who was part of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, added, “He had the kind of talent that maybe comes around once a century. Eddie Van Halen inspired me to play 20,000 hours, to try to get within 100 miles of his inspired mastery of the electric guitar.”
During the ceremony, archival footage of Eddie Van Halen was shown on screen. Eddie, who was inducted into the Rock& And Roll Hall of Fame along with the other members of Van Halen in 2007, passed away on October 6 this year after a long battle with cancer.
(Photo: Laurence Faure)
Source: Read Full Article