May 2004 Featured User

VH Rocks

VHROCKS AKA Evhrules

Webmaster of http://www.vhrocks.com

Former Pleasure Dome moderator

I was 9 years old in 1978.  I hardly even knew what good music was.  My parents were into Elvis and Barry Manilow.  I didn’t mind the Elvis stuff as much as I hated Barry Manilow.  I was looking for something to sink my teeth into.  My insides were screaming for something different.  Christmas time rolled around and I was at my grandparents’ house.  Something we always did for the holidays - I expected nothing different to happen this year - the kids go to the den and watch mindless hours of television and gorge themselves on the little peppermint candies, you know the red and white ones? while the parents hung out in the kitchen/living room drinking the heavily spiked eggnog.  Usually we just ate dinner and opened whatever Santa left behind for us that year.  My uncle was the first to open his stuff.  The first present he opened was an album, which of course was Van Halen.  He threw it to the side and ripped thru the rest of his stuff.  A few hours later my uncle, who is 10 years older than me, asks me if I want to listen to this Van Halen album he got.  I walked into his room as he put the disk on the record player.  I asked him if they were any good and he replied that they had just come out and his sister got it for him. He had no idea who they were, at least I think he didn’t.  As the all familiar (now anyway) car horn and bass thumping started, the hairs on my arm and neck went to full attention.  Then Eddie’s guitar kicked in and my jaw hit the floor.  We both stood there listening to this in utter shock.  After the first side of the record finished, my uncle quickly flipped to side two.  We were still in shock.  This was what I was looking for.  I was hooked 2 seconds into the album.  We must have played that album 5 times before my grandfather had us turn it off.

Since the Diver Down tour, I have been to every Van Halen show that comes to Connecticut and Massachusetts. My uncle and I went during the Gary year.  He wasn’t into VH as much as he used to be – he’d raised two daughters and I guess due to the constant barrage of New Kids On The Block, he’d lost touch with his VH roots.  He is a huge Dave era fan and really felt let down as a fan with the reunion/hiring of Gary debacle in 96.  He actually sat in his chair thru the whole show.  One of the best shows I have been to was the Sam and Dave tour in Boston.  A certain person hooked me up big time and I was on stage for Sammy's show.  Before the show, I was looking forward to seeing Dave.  I was truly a Dave-head and, even though I liked Sammy’s era, I wanted Dave back in VH.  But after being on stage with that crazy redhead, I realized that (I’m gonna get shit for this) Sammy was the best choice if VH wanted to reunite with anyone.  At the end of the concert, I yelled to Sammy “Call Eddie!”  He looked at me and gave me a thumbs up.  I’m sure he didn’t know what I said, Or did he???  Mikey was on stage that night too.  At the end of the show, I had Mikey on one side and Sammy on the other with their arms around me finishing off Dreams.  It was the best concert moment of my life.  I got to meet half of Van Halen….Now that they are reunited and the tour has been announced, I wanted to get a 5 star package so bad for the Worcester, MA show, but the baby needs diapers and formula, so I had to pass on the five star and get a regular schmo seat.  An interesting side note, that night on stage with Sammy was the day my wife and I found out she was pregnant.  No, I didn’t get to name my son after a VH member.  Lord knows I tried but the wife wouldn’t have it.  So hopefully that certain someone that hooked me up to see the Sammy and Dave show could find a way to pass along a backstage pass or two so I can complete my life's dream in meeting my idols, Eddie and Alex Van Halen.

Eddie’s guitar playing did influence me to pick up the guitar.  I even started my own band as a junior in high school.  I recruited another guitar player and we started looking for a drummer and a bass player.  As we hung out and jammed with all kinds of people, we could not find a bass player to save our lives.  My short career as a guitar player was over and I picked up the bass.

Now 20 years have gone by, I  have a wonderful wife and a 1 year old son.  I picked up the guitar again last year for the first time in 10 years.  I forgot just about everything.  I still pluck away at it once in a while, but with diaper duty and trying to entertain a very active one year old, I just don’t have the time.

I started vhrocks.com as a fallout shelter when the dome closed. My main intention was to create a place for displaced Domers to hang.  We got off to a good start and even had a Bart Walsh interview lined up when someone hacked the server on Memorial Day 2 years ago.  I almost didn’t bring it back.  But I did because thru vhrocks I have met some of the finest Van Halen fans in the world.  I consider each and every one of these fine folks my friends.  They know who they are.  I’d list them but with my luck, I’d forget a name and hurt someone's feelings.  So to all of the original non-mods at vhrocks and the folks who visit everyday, I thank you for keeping the place dust free.