Eddie guested on Frasier with Moose who was in My Dog Skip w/Kevin Bacon

March 20, 2013 8:05 AM

How I Know Eddie Van Halen (an exercise in the history of Rock & Roll collaboration, in 182 steps.)
posted by radwolf76 (17 comments total)

This is excellent, if a little padded out with steps. I think he could edit it down fairly significantly.

I am valuable to all who know me for really only one reason, being one degree from Kevin Bacon. I also may or may not have an Erdos value. I have not yet worked with Eddie Van Halen, but I have worked with David Lee Roth.
posted by nevercalm at 8:15 AM on March 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

in 182 steps

I'm not quite clear on what the idea is here. A lot of these aren't "steps" in any sense--they're more like ancillary blind alleys (X worked with Y, and Z and A and B....each of which I'll label a "step" but they I'm actually only interested in the fact that Y worked with C...who gets me to D). Is this a spoof on the idea of degrees of separation?
posted by yoink at 8:45 AM on March 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

I suspect the blind alleys are the point really - showing how convoluted the family tree of all this music is. That said, I think I've got it down to 27 steps. Anyone do better?

1. The original line-up of Van Halen consisted of: Eddie, his brother Alex, David Lee Roth, and Michael Anthony.
2. David Lee Roth’s guitarist Steve Vai did an album with Whitesnake in the 80s.
3. Whitesnake's bassist Rudy Sarzo was part of Quiet Riot.
4. Several members of Quiet Riot at one point played with Ozzy Osbourne.
5. Ozzy's bassists also included Robert Trujillo who played with Jerry Cantrell.
6. Jerry Cantrell is from Alice In Chains...
7. whose original vocalist also recorded with Mad Season...
8. Mad Season also included Mike McCready of Pearl Jam.
9. PJ was formed by members of Mother Love Bone...
10. who had previously been in Green River.
11. When Green River split, Mark Arm formed Mudhoney...
12. whose bassist also played with The Melvins.
13. Melvins' King Buzzo has recorded with Fantomas...
14. which was formed by Mike Patton...
15. Patton also sang for one album with The Dillinger Escape Plan...
16. whose members have been in side projects like Spylacopa...
17. Spylacopa included members of Merauder...
18. Merauder's singer recorded with Rag Men...
19. which featured the bassist from Earth Crisis...
20. Earth Crisis members have a side project called Path of Resistance...
21. EC members had formerly played with Framework.
22. Their guitarist Erick played with Beta Minus Mechanic.
23. He replaced a guy who went on Brand New Sin.
24. BNS's original singer went solo as Just Joe...
25. and was very briefly replaced by Joe Sweet, who recently reformed the 90s band Nine Ball.
26. Ken, the drummer from Nine Ball, recorded with Duck Duck Goose...
27. and, more than a dozen years ago, with me, in Alterfiction.
posted by Paul Slade at 9:13 AM on March 20, 2013

nevercalm, have you had any professional interactions with Sasha Grey?
posted by Meatbomb at 9:17 AM on March 20, 2013

That said, I think I've got it down to 27 steps. Anyone do better?

If you're pruning the blind alleys, do you need to know that the drummer from Nine Ball recorded with Duck Duck Goose, or could you just skip to Alterfiction?
posted by radwolf76 at 9:18 AM on March 20, 2013

That page mentions a lot of band and artists that I like.
posted by humboldt32 at 9:58 AM on March 20, 2013

Good point, radwolf76. I've pruned one of the Earth Crisis lines too, which takes us down to 25 steps.

1. The original line-up of Van Halen consisted of: Eddie, his brother Alex, David Lee Roth, and Michael Anthony.
2. David Lee Roth’s guitarist Steve Vai did an album with Whitesnake in the 80s.
3. Whitesnake's bassist Rudy Sarzo was part of Quiet Riot.
4. Several members of Quiet Riot at one point played with Ozzy Osbourne.
5. Ozzy's bassists also included Robert Trujillo who played with Jerry Cantrell.
6. Jerry Cantrell is from Alice In Chains...
7. whose original vocalist also recorded with Mad Season...
8. Mad Season also included Mike McCready of Pearl Jam.
9. PJ was formed by members of Mother Love Bone...
10. who had previously been in Green River.
11. When Green River split, Mark Arm formed Mudhoney...
12. whose bassist also played with The Melvins.
13. Melvins' King Buzzo has recorded with Fantomas...
14. which was formed by Mike Patton...
15. Patton also sang for one album with The Dillinger Escape Plan...
16. whose members have been in side projects like Spylacopa...
17. Spylacopa included members of Merauder...
18. Merauder's singer recorded with Rag Men...
19. which featured the bassist from Earth Crisis...
20. EC members had formerly played with Framework.
21. Their guitarist Erick played with Beta Minus Mechanic.
22. He replaced a guy who went on Brand New Sin.
23. BNS's original singer went solo as Just Joe...
24. and was very briefly replaced by Joe Sweet, who recently reformed the 90s band Nine Ball.
25. Ken, the drummer from Nine Ball, recorded with me, in Alterfiction.
posted by Paul Slade at 10:05 AM on March 20, 2013

I think he could edit it down fairly significantly.

Or as I vaguely recall this older gentleman saying to me many years ago, over various joints and alcohols ...

"One of the bass players that used to play with Hendrix before he went to London and made it big – this other guy who used to play guitar with that bass player, I replaced him in one of his later bands. Now the bass player himself was long gone at that point, but nevertheless in my own small way, I filled the gap. I was the guitar player."
posted by philip-random at 10:09 AM on March 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

Working backwards...
1. I played often and recorded with my old college roommate John Kapteyn, who...
2. recorded a CD with bass & vocals provided by Chris Buck, who...
3. recorded a track "Kanines" with a guest solo by Allan Holdsworth, who...
4. released "Road Games" produced by Ted Templeman, who...
5. Produced several Van Halen albums.

So me and Eddie are practically family.
posted by rocket88 at 10:53 AM on March 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

nevercalm, have you had any professional interactions with Sasha Grey?

In her profession or his? *wiggling eyebrows*
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:15 AM on March 20, 2013

You're never going to get to Eddie Van Halen without a triumphant video...
posted by fredericsunday at 11:35 AM on March 20, 2013

I got drunk at a Van Halen concert with Eddie Van Halen.

(OK, he was on stage and I was in the audience, but still)
posted by mr_crash_davis at 11:54 AM on March 20, 2013

You're never going to get to Eddie Van Halen without a triumphant video...

But you're never going to make a triumphant video without Eddie Van Halen...
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:33 PM on March 20, 2013

I wonder if we could setup a 6 Degrees of Eddie Van Halen, by punching in what ever shitty band you played with in college and mapping FB friend connections.

Now that's a great MeFi Project
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 12:56 PM on March 20, 2013

I'd like to think that somewhere in the world right now this person is at a party with Eddie Van Halen trying desperately to make it through all 182 steps of why they "know" each other before Eddie Van Halen either wanders away or calls security.
posted by koeselitz at 1:15 PM on March 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

nevercalm, have you had any professional interactions with Sasha Grey?

Had to google that one. I spent years on a show she appeared on, but I wasn't there at the time. But I've worked with a few of her ilk, tho in MY end of showbiz, not theirs.
posted by nevercalm at 1:19 PM on March 20, 2013

I like the idea, but presenting this sort of mass musical interconnection works a lot better in graphical form, especially when drawn by Pete Frame.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 12:48 AM on March 21, 2013 [1 favorite]