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Alex Van Halen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In this Dutch name, the surname is Van Halen, not Halen.

Alex Van Halen
Van Halen performing in 2012
Van Halen performing in 2012
Background information
Born
Alexander Arthur van Halen

(1953-05-08) May 8, 1953 (age 73)
Amsterdam, Netherlands[1]
OriginPasadena, California, U.S.
Genres
OccupationMusician
InstrumentDrums
Years active1962–2020, 2024–present
Formerly ofVan Halen
Spouses
  • Valeri Kendall
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1983, divorced)​
  • Kelly Carter
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1984; div. 1996)​
  • Stine Schyberg
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2000)​
Websitevan-halen.com
RelativesEddie Van Halen (brother)
Wolfgang Van Halen (nephew)

Alexander Arthur Van Halen (/væn ˈheɪlən/ van HAY-len, Dutch: [aːlɛkˈsɑndər vɑn ˈɦaːlə(n)]; born May 8, 1953) is an American musician who was the drummer of the rock band Van Halen. Van Halen released 12 studio albums, and the brothers were the only two constant members of the band. Noted for his technical prowess, speed, and power, Alex Van Halen is widely regarded as one of the greatest drummers of all time.

Early life

[edit]

Alex Van Halen was born in Amsterdam.[1][2] The family name in Dutch is van Halen (with lower-case 'v') and is pronounced in Dutch as [vɑn ˈɦaːlə(n)]. His Dutch father, Jan van Halen (1920–1986), was an accomplished jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. His mother, Eugenia van Beers (1914–2005), was an Indo (Eurasian) from Rangkasbitung, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia).[1] Alex spent his early years in Nijmegen in the east of the Netherlands.[3] The family moved to Pasadena, California, in 1962.[1] The Dutch prefix "van" was capitalized by Alex's parents during the family's immigration[4] to the US. Alex and his brother Eddie became naturalized U.S. citizens.[5]

Both brothers were trained as classical pianists during childhood.[6] Although Alex is known as a professional drummer, he began his musical aspirations as a guitarist, with his brother Eddie taking up drums.[1] While Eddie was delivering newspapers to pay for his drum kit, Alex would practice playing on them. After spending some time playing Eddie's drum kit, Alex became more skilled than Eddie was as a drummer.[7] After Eddie heard Alex's mastery of The Surfaris drum solo in the song "Wipe Out", he decided to learn to play the electric guitar.[3] Alex was influenced by Budgie drummer Ray Phillips.[8]

Alex, Eddie and three other boys formed a band called "The Broken Combs" while attending Hamilton Elementary School in Pasadena. Alex played saxophone in the band.[9] When Eddie was in the fourth grade,[10] they performed at lunchtime at the school.

In 1971, Alex graduated from Pasadena High School.[3] He then took classes in music theory, scoring, composition and arranging at Pasadena City College for a short time.[3] While at Pasadena City College, Alex met Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth.[11]

Career

[edit]
Alex Van Halen, c. 1997

Alex and Eddie Van Halen had several early bands before the formation of Van Halen. In addition to The Broken Combs, there were The Space Brothers, The Trojan Rubber Company, and Mammoth.[3]

In 1972, the brothers formed Mammoth with Mark Stone on bass and Eddie on lead vocals. The band rented David Lee Roth's PA system for their shows. Soon after, Eddie became tired of singing lead and asked Roth to join the band as the lead singer. In 1974, since the name Mammoth was already taken by another band, the name was changed to Van Halen, and Stone was replaced by Michael Anthony.[12] Roth has claimed that it was his idea to rename the band Van Halen, and that he actually named it after Alex. Alex handled managerial duties for the band during its early years. The band's 1978 self-titled debut album was released to much fanfare, influencing many musicians in hard rock. Van Halen later released 11 more studio albums. Van Halen disbanded a month after Eddie's death on October 6, 2020.[13]

Although the term "brown sound" is generally associated with Eddie's guitar, it was actually coined by Alex to refer to the sound of his snare drum.[14]

Alex played keyboards on the Eddie Van Halen instrumental "Respect the Wind". The song was released on the Twister soundtrack and earned the Van Halen brothers a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.[15]

In June 2024, Alex auctioned off all of the drum gear he had in storage.[16][17]

Alex released a book called Brothers on October 22, 2024 and commenced a three-date promotional tour.[18]

Noted for his technical prowess, speed, and power, Alex is widely regarded as one of the greatest drummers of all time.[19]

Influences

[edit]

Alex's main influences include Billy Cobham, Ginger Baker, Keith Moon and John Bonham. He has cited jazz drummer Buddy Rich's work as having had an early and lifelong impact.[20]

Personal life

[edit]

Alex married Valeri Kendall in June 1983 after a two-year engagement. The marriage ended in divorce two months later. In 1984, he married Kelly Carter. Their son, Aric Van Halen, was born in 1989. The couple divorced in August 1996. Carter was sued by the band Van Halen in 2013 over her commercial use of the 'Van Halen' surname. The case was settled in 2015.[21] Aric Van Halen was a member of the cross country and track and field teams of the University of Colorado,[22] earning all-American honours in both sports;[23][24] he competed in the Olympic trials for the steeplechase in 2016.[25]

Alex married Stine Schyberg in 2000. He has said that Schyberg helped him to overcome drug addiction during the 1990s. Schyberg is the mother of Alex's son, Malcolm Van Halen.[26]

Alex is the paternal uncle of musician Wolfgang Van Halen.[27]

Due to years of playing loud music, Alex has significant hearing loss in both ears. "In 1995 Alex Van Halen complained to his stage engineer Jerry Harvey about it. He could no longer hear the band onstage and was putting his hearing in jeopardy. Harvey built a simple in-ear monitor using two speakers that were originally designed for a pacemaker. He tuned one for bass, the other for treble."[28]

Discography

[edit]
See also: Van Halen discography

Other projects

Books

[edit]
  • Van Halen, Alex (October 22, 2024). Brothers. New York: Harper. ISBN 9780063265707. OCLC 1420338108.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e "Alexander Arthur (Alex) Van Halen [1953]". Dutch-Americans. New Netherland Institute. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  2. ^ "Happy Birthday, Alex Van Halen!". Vhnd.com. June 17, 2013. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Drummerworld: Alex van Halen". Drummerworld.com. Retrieved December 1, 2008.
  4. ^ Their surname did not, then, consist of just "Halen". See Meszaros, Rosemary; Pennavaria, Katherine (2018). "GovDocs to the Rescue! Debunking an Immigration Myth". DTTP: Documents to the People. 46 (1): 7–12. doi:10.5860/dttp.v46i1.6655. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  5. ^ Christopher, Michael (February 6, 2015). "Rock Music Menu: Eddie Van Halen set for Smithsonian talk". Delaware County Daily Times. Upper Darby Township, PA. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  6. ^ "Alex Van Halen". Drumsoloartist.com. Retrieved January 13, 2008.
  7. ^ Wurster, Jon (June 2012). "Alex Van Halen: Of Sound and Vision". Modern Drummer. Vol. 36, no. 6. pp. 52–53.
  8. ^ "BLABBERMOUTH.NET - Founding BUDGIE Member RAY PHILLIPS Working On Solo Debut". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Archived from the original on December 6, 2008. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
  9. ^ Mosley, Tonya (January 2, 2025) [October 29, 2024]. "Undone by the loss of his brother Eddie, Alex Van Halen looks back in a new memoir". Fresh Air. NPR. And I think the first band we did put together was a band called The Broken Combs, which was – I played sax and Ed played piano.
  10. ^ "Unearthed 1964 Photo: "The Broken Combs" Band, Featuring Eddie and Alex Van Halen". Van Halen News Desk. October 26, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  11. ^ "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame". Rockhall.com. Retrieved January 18, 2008.
  12. ^ McCully, Jerry. "The Early Years of Van Halen: A Paper Route, a High School Essay, and a Couple of Lucky Breaks". Archived from the original on March 24, 2011.
  13. ^ Hiatt, Brian (November 16, 2020). "Van Halen Considered Reunion Tour With Both David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  14. ^ "Alex Van Halen". ClassicVanHalen.com. Archived from the original on June 14, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2008.
  15. ^ "Grammy Nominations from Rock on the Net". Rockonthenet.com. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  16. ^ Novak, Lauren (June 10, 2024). "Alex Van Halen Selling All His Gear & Quitting Music For One Heartbreaking Reason". Remind Magazine. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  17. ^ M, Jason (May 30, 2024). "Historic Auction of Alex Van Halen Memorabilia". Modern Drummer Magazine. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  18. ^ "Alex Van Halen's Autobiography 'Brothers' Due In October". Blabbermouth.net. February 18, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  19. ^ Greene, Christopher R. Weingarten,Jon Dolan,Matt Diehl,Ken Micallef,David Ma,Gareth Dylan Smith,Oliver Wang,Jason Heller,Jordan Runtagh,Hank Shteamer,Steve Smith,Brittany Spanos,Kory Grow,Rob Kemp,Keith Harris,Richard Gehr,Jon Wiederhorn,Maura Johnston,Andy (March 31, 2016). "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 6, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ "Alex Van Halen: Bashing and Crashing In the Here and Now". Moderndrummer.com. January 15, 2008. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  21. ^ Lifton, Dave (January 11, 2015). "Van Halen Settle Trademark Lawsuit With Alex Van Halen's Ex-Wife". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved February 26, 2026.
  22. ^ "2012 Cross Country Roster - Aric Van Halen". University of Colorado Athletics. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  23. ^ Howell, Brian (May 19, 2013). "Track and field: Van Halen aims for top three at nationals". Daily Camera. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  24. ^ Sprouse, Linda (June 7, 2013). "Van Halen Earns All-American Honors". University of Colorado Athletics. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  25. ^ Graham, Pat (June 23, 2017). "Son of a famous drummer, Van Halen makes own name in track". Associated Press. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  26. ^ DeSantis, Rachel (October 22, 2024). "Alex Van Halen Says 'I Owe My Life' to Wife Stine, Who Helped Him Kick Drug Addiction in the 1990s". People. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  27. ^ "Alex Van Halen". IMDb. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  28. ^ Hood, Phil (September 19, 2017). "You Can Say Thanks To Alex Van Halen". DRUM! Magazine. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
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