David Lee Roth and his Van Halen bandmates used to call Eddie Van Halen what? Indeed, the influential hard rock quartet had a personal nickname for the lead guitarist that came from a special source.
On the sixth episode of Roth’s The Roth Show podcast, the former Van Halen singer kept it all in the family, remembering when his grandmother came to a Van Halen show but left early due to the noise. After that, the rocker looked back on the familial nickname he and the group used to call Eddie, the Van Halen guitarist who died in 2020 at age 65.
Listen to the episode near the bottom of this post.
Roth sets to the scene at a Miami concert back in the day by discussing Van Halen’s affinity for firearms. “We brought our brand new Japanese pellet rifles with us,” the singer explains on the Feb. 16 Roth Show, as transcribed by Loudwire.com. “Played the show at the Sportatorium in Miami — a very successful show.” (The gig was likely in 1980 or 1984, per Setlist.fm.)
He recalls, “I remember they brought my 90 — Jesus, I think she was, 95-year-old grandma. They had bought her some brand new — I think they were Nike tennis shoes. That were several sizes too big for her.”
Roth’s Grandma Left Van Halen Show Early
However, Roth’s grandmother ultimately left “halfway through the show,” the singer remembers.
She “demanded to leave ’cause she thought the volume was gonna shake her bones apart,” he adds. “Came backstage, [said] hello — ‘Oh, I love ya, darling; I love ya, darling.’ She was like Auntie Em out of Wizard of Oz — ‘Ah, love ya, darling.’ Pinched my face and everything.”
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The rocker continues, “And halfway through the show I said, ‘What happened to Grandma?’ At the end of the night — Oh, she [thought] the volume was gonna shake her bones apart. So she took off.“
Eddie Van Halen’s Nickname in Van Halen
After the Miami gig, Van Halen “adjourned to the Holiday Inn,” Roth remembers. “And, previously that day, I had sent out my security guard. We didn’t call Eddie Van Halen, Eddie. We called him ‘Vard.’ That’s because his mother used the Dutch expression.”
He adds, “The way she said it was Dutch — Edvard! Edvard! And we would call him Vard. My security guy’s name was Ed, and we called him ‘Big’ Ed.
Van Halen quietly disbanded after Eddie’s death. Roth then announced his retirement from music. He has shared previously unheard material since then.
Hear the story starting at 3:53 in the episode below.
The Roth Show (Episode 6) – Feb. 16, 2023
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