Doug Aldrich, guitarist with the Dead Daisies, recently spoke with Jeremy White about Eddie Van Halen’s influence on him and shared the experience of borrowing equipment from Eddie. As producer Andy Johns casually proposed that they borrow gear from Van Halen, Doug set the tone: “‘We should go to Eddie’s and borrow some gear,’ Andy says.” ‘What?’ I say. ‘What are you on about?’ ‘He’ll lend us some gear if we need it,’ he says. “I’m like, ‘OK…'” Aldrich went on to describe how Andy asked for all of the equipment Doug required: “So we go up there, and I quit smoking years and years ago, but I was smoking cigarettes at the time.” I was smoking outside at 5150. Andy was talking to the studio manager about borrowing some speakers and a power amp, and we asked, ‘Hey, can we borrow a baritone guitar?’ and other things.” He also described the moment he saw Eddie in front of 5150 Studios and how he reacted: “I’m outside smoking when this Range Rover pulls up to the driveway and there’s Eddie.” ‘Hey, who are you?’ he asks.
‘I’m here with Andy, my name is Doug Aldrich, blah blah blah…’ ‘Hey dude, you mean Andy’s here?’ he says. Okay, come on in. Let’s get a beer.’ And he was just so lovely.” Producer Andy Johns also expressed how it felt to work with Eddie in a 2012 interview: “It was a dream come true to work with Eddie Van Halen. I loved him, despised him, loved him again. Because he may be challenging, I would say three parts love, one part hate. I’m not sure why, but I’d seen more Van Halen shows than any other band in the 1980s. It’s fantastic when Eddie picks up the guitar and just starts playing. “The man is a fantastic rhythm guitarist.” The entire sequence can be seen below.
