Ronnie Montrose: “What Made Eddie Van Halen Special Was His Youthful Irreverence For The Rules.”

Shortly before his death, the late, great Ronnie Montrose contributed to the upcoming hardcover photo book, Eddie Van Halen, by Neil Zlozower.

The Van Halen News Desk posted this exclusive blurb on the guitarist’s story of meeting Eddie Van Halen:

“The first tour I did with Van Halen, the bill was Journey, Ronnie Montrose, and Van Halen was opening. I was doing my instrumental music on that tour. Van Halen was a young, loud, and brash band, and I liked them. Eddie came up to me backstage at sound check and he called me Mr. Montrose. He shyly shook my hand and said, “Mr. Montrose, I’m Edward Van Halen, and I’m a big fan. We told Ted Templeman to get the Montrose sound when we did our record.” He also told me they used to play “Dancin’ Feet” from one of the Montrose albums at their yard parties in Pasadena.

“I really enjoyed Eddie’s playing. What made Eddie special was his youthful irreverence for the rules. That’s what impressed me. He’d developed his own style. I think Eddie started out on drums first, and there’s a very percussive nature about the way he plays. He plays very metered and percussive, and he’s very fluid in that style.”

-Ronnie Montrose

In other Van Halen news, Van Halen recently announced 18 NEW tour dates, which start July 7th in Uncasville, CT and end August 12th in Cincinnati, OH. Their 2012 tour is in support of their latest album, "A Different Kind Of Truth".

- Jul 07: Uncasville, CT at Mohegan Sun Arena
- Jul 09: Hampton, VA at Hampton Coliseum
- Jul 11: Philadelphia, PA at Wells Fargo Center
- Jul 13: East Rutherford, NJ at IZOD Center
- Jul 15: Baltimore, MD at 1st Mariner Arena
- Jul 17: Rochester NY at Blue Cross Arena
- Jul 19: Detroit, MI at Joe Louis Arena
- Jul 21: London, ON at John Labatt Centre
- Jul 24: Toledo, OH at Huntington Center
- Jul 26: Grand Rapids, MI at Van Andel Arena
- Jul 28: Cleveland, OH at Quicken Loans Arena
- Jul 31: Fort Wayne, IN at Allen County Memorial Coliseum
- Aug 02: Columbus, OH at Schottenstein Center
- Aug 04: Knoxville, TN at Thompson-Boiling Arena
- Aug 06: Memphis, TN at FedEX Forum
- Aug 08: Birmingham, AL at BJCC Arena
- Aug 10: Greenville, SC at BI-LO Center
- Aug 12: Cincinnati, OH at US Bank Arena

VAN HALEN With Kool and the Gang (Remaining tour dates):

- May 17: Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
- May 19: Saint Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
- May 22: Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
- May 24: Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
- May 27: Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden Arena
- Jun. 01: Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center
- Jun. 03: Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena
- Jun. 05: San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion At San Jose
- Jun. 12: Anaheim, CA - Honda Center
- Jun. 14: San Diego, CA - Viejas Arena
- Jun. 16: Phoenix, AZ - US Airways Center
- Jun. 20: Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
- Jun. 22: San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center
- Jun. 24: Houston, TX - Toyota Center
- Jun. 26: New Orleans, LA - New Orleans Arena

Related links:
VAN HALEN's Official Site