Alex Van Halen recalled how his father’s death caused him to stop drinking, saying that he knew he had the “responsibility” to avoid “artificial inspiration”.
Jan Van Halen, himself a musician, was a great influence on his children and can be heard playing the clarinet in Van Halen’s 1982 song “Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)” with them. He died in 1986 after suffering a heart attack. At that time, Alex’s ability to drink had become notorious.
In an interview with Modern drummer, recently published, but recorded before Eddie Van Halen’s death, Alex said: “We spent the first 30 years of our lives trying to obscure what was reality … but when you’re 30, you better change your habits or you ain’t going to do it any further. I believe we are very lucky to be able to do this – make music, live on it and share it with people. We’re very lucky, so don’t screw it up. “
He noted that “when our father passed away, after our long life touring and making music [where] there was alcohol involved … I looked at him and silently said, ‘I will try to get better.’ So I stopped. You have an obligation and responsibility to [work] without artificial inspiration.
“We all look for some kind of meaning in life,” concluded the drummer. “But Ed and I were lucky to find him soon. Therefore, I cannot complain. “