Since the death of guitar great Eddie Van Halen four years ago, his brother Alex had largely stayed out of the public eye, keeping to himself and grieving in solitude. Now, with his new memoir “Brothers,” Alex has begun to reflect on and share stories about his life with Eddie, from childhood to superstardom.
While promoting his book, Alex has begun talking more and more about his and Eddie’s relationship, as well as the highs and lows of their time with Van Halen. In a recent interview with Chris Jericho on the podcast “Talk is Jericho,” Alex revealed how COVID made it difficult to see his brother in the months leading up to his death and how putting his thoughts and feelings into a book was the perfect way for him to get some closure on his death.
“Ed and I were tight. We worked together, we played together, we did whatever. But when he was near the end of his life, because of COVID it was very difficult to visit him in person and to see him. There was always either a glass barrier or a plastic something surrounding [him],” he said.
“The times that we could actually touch him were few and far between. And that really put everything in a strange kind of — I can’t explain it, but it didn’t feel right. So we really had no closure, in that sense, and everything was hurried near the end, again, because of the COVID issue. We didn’t really have a ceremony afterwards. He was cremated and his ashes were spread. This is my way of saying goodbye to him.”
“And whatever you believe in terms of spiritual pursuits and all that, I think he’s still here, he’s still here with us in one way, shape, or form — not to the point where he’s not allowed to go where he really wants to go. [Laughs] They call it a tether; you don’t wanna tether him to this dimension. So, Ed, whatever you wanna do is cool. We love you. And I just wanted to say that to the point of infinitum, whatever the expression is.”
He continued: “It’s hard to describe what it’s like to not have someone in your life that has been there for 65 years. That’s a long, long time, and it wasn’t just a regular — and I’m not giving other people a hard time in terms of ‘my relationship was stronger than yours’. That’s not the point.”
“It’s just that when you have something that’s taken out of your life after 65 years, it’s difficult. And I’m certainly not alone. I’m not saying I’m special or I should get a medal — no, it happens to a lot of different people. And I think one of the side effects of this book has been a lot of people have contacted me and said, ‘Reading this book has really given me a different way of looking at the parting with people who I loved.'”
“And I know that grief can be a common denominator, if you will, and that’s not my preference — my preference is the happier times — but with the good comes the bad. And everybody’s gonna go through it.”
