Before Eddie Van Halen revolutionized rock guitar with his iconic two-handed tapping style, he was quietly perfecting the technique away from the public eye — and sometimes, quite literally, with his back turned to the audience.
In a recent interview with Get on the Bus, former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony reflected on the band’s early days and Eddie’s dedication to crafting his groundbreaking sound. “We used to rehearse in this little garage when I first joined the band, and we used to rehearse there every day for a while,” Anthony shared [via Ultimate Guitar]. “That’s when Eddie was also developing his ‘hammers,’ his tapping style.”
Anthony recalled how curious guitarists in the local area tried to sneak a peek at what Eddie was working on. “There were like two or three guitar players in the area that Ed was friends with, and they knew that we rehearsed there. I remember one time we went to take a break, and we walk outside, and there were a couple of guys there like this, listening at the door, and they wanted to hear what Ed played.”
To protect Eddie’s unique style from being copied before Van Halen officially debuted, frontman David Lee Roth reportedly took precautions — even during live performances. “There were gigs that we would play. We played a place called the Golden West Ballroom in Norwalk, California. That was one place where we could play original stuff,” Anthony said. “We opened up for UFO there. I think that was one of the biggest shows we ever did. It held about 1,500 to 2,000 people.”
He continued, “But when Ed would play a solo, Dave would tell him, ‘Turn your back to the audience, dude, because you got this thing, and you don’t want everybody to see it.’ So Eddie would, literally, play solos, and he would turn his back to the audience when he would be tapping. Which was really, really interesting.”
Anthony clarified that while tapping itself wasn’t new, Eddie’s specific approach set him apart. “It wasn’t so much the tapping,” he said, “but the way he did it was different than what anybody else was trying to do.”
Later in the same interview, Anthony revealed that before Eddie’s passing in 2020, there were plans in motion for a major Van Halen reunion tour. “Unfortunately Eddie and I never [made amends],” Anthony admitted. “We had some issues, and I’m sure that if he had not passed when he did, that we would’ve reconciled or we would’ve really calmed all that stuff down.”
He added, “I did hear, and I’ve talked to Wolfgang about it, that they were planning on coming to all of us and putting together a big reunion tour with all of us.”
The conversation offers a rare and intimate look at not just Eddie Van Halen’s musical genius, but also the early camaraderie, ambition, and later regrets that shaped one of rock’s most legendary bands.
