Alice in Chains‘ Jerry Cantrell looked back on his friendship with Eddie Van Halen in a new interview with Gibson TV, including the time EVH gifted him with a garage full of gear.
It goes back to 1991 when Van Halen tapped Alice in Chains as support on the “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour,” a decision made by Sammy Hagar after he saw the video for “Man in the Box” on MTV.
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As Cantrell recalled in the chat with Gibson, he met Eddie for the first time just moments before AIC was set to take the stage as the opening act.
“The first time I met Ed Van Halen I was getting ready to go onstage [to open] for his band,” he said (as transcribed by Metal Injection). “He was standing in my pit with [his wife] Valerie [Bertinelli] right next to him and Wolfie in her arms. He’s got his guitar on, and he’s running scales like, ‘Hey, dude, what’s up?’ And I’m like, ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’”
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Added Cantrell, “I think it was probably the worst show I ever played in my life, because I could not stop thinking, ‘He’s right there!’ I couldn’t focus.”
Cantrell and Eddie would become fast friends as the tour went on, engaging in backstage jams and talking gear. Jerry had a particular affinity for the then-brand-new Peavey 5150 amps Eddie was using on the tour, as well as his Ernie Ball Music Man EVH signature model guitars. At one point, he offhandedly asked Eddie if he could score one on a discount.
“He was like, ‘Fuck that dude, I’ll just give you a guitar! Everybody gives me everything for free now, when I can totally afford it. When I couldn’t afford it, nobody would give me anything. So let me do that for you,’” recalled Jerry of Eddie’s offer.
Flashforward to the end of the tour in mid-1992. Cantrell was living with Alice in Chains manager Kelly Curtis and his wife at the time, and upon returning, the guitarist was greeted by his manager: “He’s like, Hey man, welcome home. You had a good tour? Now you can relax.’ Hey, by the way, do you think you could clear your shit out of my garage? I need to put my car in there.’”
A confused Cantrell asked what he meant.
“He says, ‘Eddie Van Halen filled the garage with gear for you. I haven’t been able to park my car in my garage for months,’” Cantrell said.
You can watch the full Gibson TV clip with Jerry Cantrell below.
