Van Halen Family Will Search 5150 Vaults for Unreleased Songs
Van Halen manager Irving Azoff said Eddie Van Halen's family members will look through his famous home-studio vaults for unheard material that might be suitable for future release.
“[Son] Wolf and [brother] Alex will go up to 5150, the studio in Ed’s house,” Azoff admitted to Pollstar, though he noted “there’s been a lot of recording” at the studio over the years. So, he cautioned it's far too early to speculate about what might be found. “I can’t predict that for sure there will be anything new, but for sure they’re going to look at it.”
Eddie Van Halen died earlier this week at age 65 after battling cancer for years.
Built in 1983, Eddie’s 5150 Studio was created to give the rocker a home base for crafting his song ideas.
In constructing the space, the late guitarist found a distinctive way to circumvent strict zoning laws. “I built a racquetball court,” Van Halen explained in a 1998 interview with MTV. When the city inspector noticed the thickness of the walls for soundproofing purposes, he commented, "Man, you must really worry about your neighbors." The guitarist responded, "Yeah, you know, I play late at night and I hit the ball really hard."
At one point, all of the recordings housed in the vault were numbered and itemized on a computer, but that information was lost due to a hard drive malfunction. "The computer took a dump on us," Van Halen explained, adding that he was reluctant to go through the process again because "the only person that can do that is me, because nobody knows what I like.”
Whether Eddie eventually reorganized 5150 is unknown, leaving fans to wait and see if Alex and Wolfgang emerge with unheard gems. Azoff was clear, however, about the future of another of Eddie’s endeavors: EVH Gear. “Wolf and Matt Bruck [Eddie’s long-tenured guitar tech] will run it, and that’s going to continue,” the manager insisted of the instrument and amplifier company founded by the Van Halen guitarist.