Guitar Legend Opens Up: Surprising Truths About Eddie Van Halen Revealed

Blues rock guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd recently shared his personal experiences with Eddie Van Halen, shedding light on the late guitar icon’s true personality.

Shepherd, who toured with Van Halen twice, found Eddie to be far different from his media portrayal. “He was always just, couldn’t have been a nicer guy to me,” Shepherd said, dispelling the notion of Van Halen as aloof or standoffish.

Shyness
As Appetite for Distortion podcast writes, Shepherd suggested that people often mistake shyness for being standoffish, explaining, “A lot of people like to keep to themselves. A lot of them are not very outgoing people in private settings, but on stage they’re larger than life.”

Interestingly, Shepherd noted a stark contrast between his interactions with Eddie and those with David Lee Roth. While he saw Eddie, Wolfgang, and Alex Van Halen frequently during their last tour in 2015, Shepherd never once met Roth.

Clear the room
“His guys were always trying to be like, if he entered the building, it was like, ‘He’s entered the building! Everybody, clear the room!'” Shepherd recalled about Roth’s approach.

Despite these observations, Shepherd emphasized that Eddie never spoke negatively about his bandmates, stating, “He never trashed anybody. He never was talking trash about anybody.”