Steve’s book on Edward “Tonechaser” is by far my favorite book on Eddie. It’s the most personal and covers so many things I just didn’t know about Eddie and I have read practically every article and book over the years about him. I’ve known a long time and am just learning of a lot of these things via the book. This has been such a personal thing for Steve and I’m so glad that it’s finally came to fruition. I’m also honored to have made the thank you page in the book!!! Steve has been a joy to know and is the real deal in the world of writing, music, and all things Edward. Much love brother and congrats on this epic masterpiece!

Fair warning was a very innovative project ...Basically (even before they switched from Sunset Sound to 5150) ED and DONN took more control of the recording process. I remember in interview Ed saying that he & Donn would re-do solos at 3 am to make them sound more unusual & energized & its GREAT that they did this because at that time Ed was simply changing the sound of the instrument with just his hands on the strings & the things he was doing...The scary mean-ness of Meanstreet.....The Sleaziness of Dirty Movies, The moodiness of the intro of Hear About it Later...The Atomic Power tone of Unchained & its string winding crunch sounds..The moody funk vibe to Push Comes to Shove & the astonishing solo on it....The Synth Marshall madness of Sunday Afternoon in the Park...These were things we had never heard from VH before...Creatively that was Ed firing on all cylinders but the following Diver Down album was possibly Ted and Dave trying to get more control back with cover tunes. But of course that completely backfired on them because then Donn & Ed just went away & built 5150.

I wish this interview was an hour longer. It was so good, I'm listening to it again. BTW when Eddie, and others, cite Eric Clapton as an influence, you have to look past their hits like "White Room" and "Sunshine Of Your Love" and dig into Creams live stuff. The game changer for me was their 1967 Grande Ballroom show, specifically Clapton's shredding on "N.S.U." It's like, wow, now I get it.

Steve Rosen's TONECHASER is a treasure chest full of his personal story right along side Edward Van Halen! It is a must read for any Van Halen fan! Thank you Mr. Steve for being courageous enough to write this masterpiece and sharing your experiences with the world! I personally will forever be grateful! ❤🤍🖤🎸👑

Great interview!!👍

Great interview, and the book sounds killer. From all the raving reviews, this book has potential to go through the roof with sales as well as getting on NYT Best Seller list. ...So, why doesn't Steve Rosen use a commercial publishing co so to make easily available from Amazon, Walmart, Barns, etc? I think most would prefer the convenience of ordering from a know and reputable seller. That said, having enjoyed reading tons of Steve Rosen articles / interviews in Guitar World in the past, I realize this will be the ultimate EVH literature of the decade. 🎸

On the Lambarghini I remember an interview where Ed said he pulled it up to 5150 and he put two microphones up to it ....One in the trunk (boot) and one by the exhaust pipe....Donn Landee was helping him out doing it...& in the interview Ed said that on the tape you could hear the air going through the exhaust system & that he thought it sounded like it was BREATHING..In a 1983 interview with Steven Ed said it was going on Jump....The engine rev up was originally going to come just after Dave sang 'Jump' line on the start of the chorus .....as in - 'Go ahead & Jump-JUMP ! -VROOOOM ! but that Ed nixed the idea of it being on there & put it on Panama instead....The reason might have been because on Jump the whole band was playing together on max volume so it would obscure the sound of the engine rev ....Whereas where it was put on Panama it came on the LULL section of the track so the rest of the band wouldn't drown it out & it was audible perhaps ? ....What do you think Steven ? ...I don't know if Steven ever reads these comments.

For evidence of the influence Ritchie Blackmore had on EVH, Eddie Trunk could listen to one of Steven's tape interviews of Ed recorded in 1979 around the time of VH 2 ....In it on the soundtrack you can hear Ed playing Ritchie's solos note for note (as accurately as Claptons) ..He plays Highway Star , Child in Time runs & also a lot of the In Rock DP album solos...Bloodsucker, Hard Lovin Man, Flight of the Rat etc...ED even has the vibrato bar nuances down so well that Steven is laughing on the soundtrack because he is clearly so amazed at how detailed Eds reproductions were of Ritchie's stuff.

On the Question about whether Gene was helping to Produce from behind the desk on the Demos before Warners record deal..I believe both Steven & Eddie(Trunk) are right....Steven when he says VH were such a well rehearsed LIVE band they didn't need a lot of production in the studio. When Steven interviewed Gene in 1984 for the Ed biography Gene even made this point independently....I think that Eddie(Trunk) is also correct about Gene being more the 'Producer' in name only because he knew that he had the clout & influence in the industry to promote VH to help great talent succeed as it deserved to. ...When Ed said 'no comment' on the details of whether Gene was a working producer behind the desk I think Ed was just being kind to Gene to spare him embarrassment....The guy Ed played the tape of VH 1 to before the album went out was Angel Drummer Barry Brandt & word was put around You really Got Me was on it....Ted Templeman got to hear about this on the grapevine & was kind of angry with Ed for his naivety....On Randy , well, EVERYBODY was lifting ideas from Edward back then. That shouldn't reflect negatively on Randy at all. In a 1982 interview with JD CONSIDINE this interviewer said to ED (& I'm quote reading this in front of me now) 'In the past couple of weeks I've listened to the new Scorpions album & found myself saying -gee that guy sounds a lot like Eddie Van Halen.- Then I put on a new Rainbow album & there's a solo that could have been you' ....Ed replied chuckling -'Blackmore hates me'....Then JD Considine says - 'And then there was Randy Rhodes'...& Ed replied -'Yeah. well, he did me to the bone bless his soul'....Then Mr. Considine goes -'And the guy they got in to replace him does a lot of the same licks too so obviously you're reaching somebody' ...Ed goes -'Yeah (laughs embarrassedly) Yeah, well, I guess you're right. I met Zappa the other day & the first thing he said to me was -thank you for reinventing the electric guitar which is a hell of a compliment because I love Zappa'.

The only other guitar player eddie admired was alan holdsworth.

Let me answer the question about why Gene Simmons couldn’t sign Van Halen. Paul Stanley and Bill Acoin saw Gene was getting distracted with trying to be an actor and other non band activities. They wanted Gene to contribute more to Kiss , writing songs and helping Paul with the demands of Kiss. Paul’s book mentions this fact so I’m glad we can understand how it happened Gene couldn’t sign Kiss.