Brothers

By: Alex van Halen

Narrated by: Alex van Halen

Featuring an exclusive, never-before-heard piece of music, the last written together by the legendary Van Halen brothers!

In this intimate and open account—nothing like any rock-and-roll memoir you’ve ever read—Alex Van Halen shares his personal story of family, friendship, music and brotherly love in a remarkable tribute to his beloved brother and band mate.

Told with acclaimed New Yorker writer Ariel Levy Brothers is seventy-year-old drummer Alex Van Halen’s love letter to his younger brother, Edward, (Maybe “Ed,” but never “Eddie”), written while still mourning his untimely death.

In his rough yet sweet voice, Alex recounts the brothers’ childhood, first in the Netherlands and then in working class Pasadena, California, with an itinerant musician father and a very proper Indonesian-born mother—the kind of mom who admonished her boys to “always wear a suit” no matter how famous they became—a woman who was both proud and practical, nonchalant about taking a doggie bag from a star-studded dinner. He also shares tales of musical politics, infighting, and plenty of bad-boy behavior. But mostly his is a story of brotherhood, music, and enduring love.

""I was with him from day one,” Alex writes. “We shared the experience of coming to this country and figuring out how to fit in. We shared a record player, an 800 square foot house, a mom and dad, and a work ethic. Later, we shared the back of a tour bus, alcoholism, the experience of becoming successful, of becoming fathers and uncles, and of spending more hours in the studio than I’ve spent doing anything else in this life. We shared a depth of understanding that most people can only hope to achieve in a lifetime.""

There has never been an accurate account of them or the band, and Alex wants to set the record straight on Edward’s life and death.

Magnificent!

What a truly beautiful story about the greatest band of all time! Hartstikke bedankt Meneer Van Halen!

A treasured voice from the grave

After so many books emerged after the tragic loss of EVH, the definitive voice of Alex Van Halen is as close as we’ll ever get to hearing directly from Ed. Unapologetic and brutally honest, this is the book I’ve been waiting for.

Rereading now, totally worth the wait

I've been waiting for this book for about a year. Since the very first rumors that Alex Van Halen was writing it. It was absolutely worth the wait. It's honest without being salacious and it has a lot to say about the creative process, and in this way parts of it are like the Rick Rubin book on creativity. I saw Van Halen the first time when I was 12 years-old, with the classic Dave, Eddie, Alex, and Mikey line up, and I'll never stop wondering how that magical band happened. I've read all of the books and the story just keeps getting more interesting. Thank you, Alex for sharing your story. I'm going to read it again now.

No Sammy

Although it was a great listen, it totally left out the Sammy era. The Dave time was great, but I think they went to new heights with Sammy.

A tale of Two Brothers

Very nice remembrance and tribute to a shared immigrant American experience of two brothers who rose to the literal top of their chosen professions. And while doing so inspired many of us to play and share that dream. As a kid I devoured everything written about Edward, it was great to finally hear Alex’s voice and his perspective.