Alex Van Halen has made a significant announcement regarding his future in music, which has shocked many fans. The drummer, who was a core member of Van Halen, has reportedly decided to quit music altogether. This decision seems deeply connected to his ongoing grief over the loss of his brother, Eddie Van Halen. Since Eddie’s passing in 2020, Alex has struggled to find the motivation to continue performing. He had initially been part of plans to form a tribute band, but he has since opted out and is even auctioning off his musical equipment. His upcoming memoir, Brothers, set for release in October 2024, will explore his personal relationship with Eddie and their journey together as a family and bandmates
Michael Anthony Weighs in on Alex Van Halen’s Decision to Quit Music: ‘He Continues to Grieve Over Eddie’s Passing’
Although he’s not entirely sure why his former bandmate Alex Van Halen decided to quit music altogether, bassist Michael Anthony has an idea of why that may be the case.
After Eddie Van Halen’s unfortunate passing in 2020, Alex did plan to move on with the tribute act. This new band was supposedly to feature Joe Satriani on guitar, David Lee Roth on Vocals, and, at one point, Jason Newsted on bass. However, now that some time has passed, it turns out that Alex doesn’t feel like doing anything about it anymore and has decided to sell all of his gear at an auction.
Recently, we sat down with Michael Anthony and asked him what he thinks about Alex’s decision to call it quits and sell his stuff.
Are you still in contact with Alex Van Halen? Why do you think he doesn’t want to perform music anymore?
“I haven’t spoken to Alex in a while, probably about a year. And I actually texted him on his birthday this month [May 2024], and I didn’t hear anything back from him.”
“But yeah, I was pretty surprised when I heard about this auction that he’s going to be holding in the beginning of June. Somebody had sent me the link to it, and it appears like he’s selling everything right down to his last drumstick. So, I don’t know. I really couldn’t tell you.”
“I know that he continues to grieve today over Eddie’s passing. And basically, Eddie was the only person that he actually ever played music with.”
