Veteran guitarist Carl Verheyen has shared a hilarious, and nerve-wracking, story about the time Eddie Van Halen crashed one of his gigs, blew everyone away with an impromptu jam, and then almost destroyed a Gibson Les Paul in the process.
Speaking in a recent interview, Verheyen — known for his work with Supertramp and as one of L.A.’s most respected session players, recalled a night from the late 1970s when Van Halen, still basking in the glow of his band’s early fame, showed up at a local club and couldn’t resist joining in.
“We were playing this little bar gig,” Verheyen remembered. “Suddenly, Eddie walks in with that huge grin of his and says, ‘Hey man, can I sit in?’ Of course, nobody in their right mind says no to Eddie Van Halen.”
Eddie picked up a Gibson Les Paul Standard that belonged to one of Verheyen’s bandmates, a beautiful, vintage instrument. As soon as he plugged in, the room changed. “He played like he was on fire,” Verheyen said. “He just started tearing it up, doing all his signature stuff, tapping, dive bombs, harmonics, on a guitar that wasn’t even his. Within seconds, he just blew us all off the stage.”
But the awe quickly turned to panic. Mid-solo, Eddie’s enthusiasm went a little too far.
“He started swinging the Les Paul around by the strap, doing these wild moves,” Verheyen said with a laugh. “At one point he nearly smacked the mic stand and I just yelled, ‘Ed, what are you doing!?’ We were all watching this priceless guitar come about two inches away from destruction.”
Fortunately, the Les Paul survived the chaos — though Verheyen admitted the band was collectively holding its breath until Eddie handed it back. “He stopped, laughed that mischievous laugh of his, and said, ‘Man, this thing plays great!’”
Verheyen says the moment perfectly captured Eddie’s spirit: boundless, fearless, and completely in love with making noise. “That was Eddie, total joy in playing, zero hesitation. He didn’t think about limits or fear. He just played.”
Looking back, Verheyen sees that night as more than a close call, it was a reminder of why Van Halen became a legend.
“He had this childlike wonder about music,” he reflected. “Even when he was the best guitarist in the world, he still acted like a kid discovering how fun it all was. That’s why people loved him, and why there’ll never be another like him.”
The Les Paul lived to tell the tale, and so did everyone in the room, with a story that perfectly sums up Eddie Van Halen’s mix of brilliance, mischief, and pure rock ’n’ roll magic.
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