Hi, this is Dave LaGretta of Busted Open on Sirius XM, and I remember the first time ever hearing Eddie Van Halen.

I was just coming home from school. My last day of school before the summer of 1981, and my brother was blasting from his boom box

Mean Streets, the opening song of Fair Warning. And I just remember from that point on that solo that started off Mean Streets.

That happened to that guitar man, just phenomenal. And I'd never heard anything like it before or since, and I instantly fell in love with Van Halen, and especially Eddie Van Halen.

And I never got to see him with David Lee Roth. But I remember my junior year at high school, seeing him on the OU812 tour.

And I was never a big Sammy fan. I always preferred David Lee Roth. So I was completely fixated on Eddie Van Halen that entire time.

And I just remember his solo was the main event because once he did his solo man, once they went to black and blue after that solo, you start to see people leave kind of like,

Hey man, we just saw the main event. We just saw the main attraction. We came here to see Eddie Van Halen. We came here to hear that solo.

And man, he's a legend. And I know that's a term that's thrown around a lot, but he was a true legend and icon.

And without a doubt, the greatest guitarist of our generation.

Talk is Jericho baby. Talk is Jericho.

Talk is Jericho Mama. Talk is me.

Welcome to talk is Jericho. It's the pot of thunder and rock and roll. And it's been a tough week because just a few days ago, the world lost one of the best,

most innovative guitar players in rock history or any type of history.

The guy who created a movement became part of the pop culture of lexicon and inspired generations of guitar players and always will talking about the great legendary Eddie Van Halen passing away from cancer on October 6th at the age of 65.

None of us really knew what to do. I mean, this was really hard. It was as hard as losing Neil Peart feels like 16 years ago. It was this beginning of 2020.

But I did the same type of thing that we did with Neil past the way I gather a bunch of friends and fellow musicians all influenced and inspired by EVH and all who say the other music and careers to him.

And we pay tribute honoring Edward Van Halen's playing solos songwriting his technical contributions to the guitar. And as you'll hear his incredibly friendly warm human spirit as well.

The inviting smile and humility that endured even when he wasn't at his best joined by tricks to Steve Brown who was part of the Eddie Van Halen camp had a personal relationship with him. There's a mutual love shared still panthers guitarist sacho played in one of the greatest Van Halen tribute bands atomic bunks and his guitar playing just drips of Van Halen.

Esca licks and solos and my fuzzy band mates guitarist of course my partner crime rich ward whose playing is not necessarily Eddie influenced per se.

But his attitude and rhythm playing is what rich really picked up on which is very interesting to me. And of course Billy Gray who was a Van Halen disciple who rips out the solo to really got me whenever we play it live.

And another very talented musician who credits everything to Eddie. We also had so many friends who wanted to pay tribute to Eddie more than we could welcome into a single podcast session for the whole show.

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