Related: Eddie Van Halen – a life in pictures The brothers attended Pasadena City College, as did the future Van Halen vocalist David Lee Roth, and Eddie and Alex also took piano lessons in San Pedro with the venerable teacher Stasys Kalvaitis.
Eddie originally played drums and Alex guitar, but by the time they formed their first serious group, Mammoth, they had switched instruments.
They initially called themselves Genesis, before learning of the British band of the same name.Eddie’s first guitar was a Teisco Del Rey six-string bought from Sears for $110.
They started off renting a PA system from Roth, then the singer with the Red Ball Jets, but soon concluded they could kill two birds with one stone by recruiting Roth for their own band..
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