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Eruption ready to explode

Van Halen cover band returns Whistler after two-year break

WHAT: Eruption

WHERE: The Boot Pub

WHEN: Aug. 20

TICKETS: $7 at the door

According to music industry sources Van Halen is still going strong, just taking a well-deserved break after their triumphant 80-city, 2004 reunion tour.

But according to some diehard fans, Van Halen really ceased to exist on April 1, 1985 when frontman and self-professed gigolo David Lee Roth left the band citing artistic differences.

Some fans stuck with Van Halen through the fast-driving Sammy Hagar years, and a few even gave former Extreme singer Gary Cherrone the benefit of the doubt when Hagar himself quit over more unspecified artistic differences. Hagar replaced Cherrone again in 2004 for the reunion tour, but not before rumours could start to circulate of a possible reunion with David Lee Roth.

While the history of Van Halen might read like the plot of a Mexican soap opera, for almost a decade under Roth’s influence Van Halen was one of the biggest and most influential bands on the planet. And for good reason – rippin’ guitar solos, heavy beats, and the kind of tunes that reverberate in your head for days.

That’s why the David Lee Roth years are the only era that B.C.’s own Eruption, a Van Halen cover band with more than 10 years on stage, is interested in playing.

"Sometimes people will be yelling ‘play some Sammy tunes’, but the singer doesn’t like that because he’s a David Lee Roth fan, and yells back ‘this ain’t no Van Hagar show’," laughs Bart Ings, drummer and founding member of Eruption. Ings is also part of the Whistler heavy metal band Crepetus, along with Creekside Phil.

"Not that there’s anything wrong with Van Hagar," adds Ings, "We just decided to stick with the David Lee Roth years, which was when we really discovered the band and it’s the era we know the best. There’s definitely no shortage of good tunes to pick from those days."

And what days they were. Between 1978 and 1985, Van Halen produced six awesome records – Van Halen, Van Halen II, Women and Children First, Fair Warning, Diver Down and 1984 . During that time the band created an entire new hard rock sound, heavily influenced by Eddie Van Halen’s original and revolutionary guitar style.

Ings personal favourite song to play live is Unchained, from the very underrated Fair Warning LP, although as the band’s drummer he’s also partial to Hot for Teacher from 1984 with its frenetic popcorn drum solo intro. Released for Christmas of 1983, 1984 remains one of the top selling albums of all time with more than 10 million copies sold. The only album in 1984 to sell more copies was Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

Ings admits that there are easier bands out there to cover, but the sheer difficulty of replicating Van Halen is one of the attractions.

"We love Van Halen, I grew up listening to Van Halen, I started the band as a huge Van Halen fan," he said. "It’s always been Van Halen for us, and all the different bands we played in have 4always had a Van Halen influence.

"I just love the guitar, and the whole sound of the band. It’s definitely a lot more technical to play than a lot of today’s music, but that’s part of the appeal for us I think. We all like to play fast."

Eruption is definitely up to the challenge. Ings has been drumming for 25 years, while guitar player David Groves is a three-time Guitar Wars champion and can match Eddie Van Halen lick for lick. John Vander sings like a clone of David Lee Roth, while bassist Mike Wilson holds down Mike Anthony’s low end and back-up vocals.

It’s been two years since Eruption’s last show in Whistler, but the Eruption that will take the stage at The Boot includes all the original members of the cover band, "and it sounds just great," said Ings. They’ve been practicing hard to get ready for a month-long B.C. tour, which will kick off in Whistler.

Their repertoire of VH songs is a huge with six albums to choose from, so they often tailor their sets to fit the mood of the crowd.

And they are expecting a crowd.

"We get the 30-ish crowd now because those are the people that really remember Van Halen. We also get a lot of women out for some reason, which gets out the guys, which makes the bars happy," said Ings.

Visually, Van Halen fans can expect actual costumes from the band’s early days; Ings to break out Alex Van Halen’s flaming drumsticks; and Groves to play red Fender guitars with white and black stripes that Eddie made famous.

If you’re up for a little Runnin’ with the Devil, Jump, Panama and all the other tunes that gave Van Halen its own chapter in rock history, Eruption is playing a rare Saturday night show at The Boot Pub on Saturday, Aug. 20. Tickets are $7. The band won’t go on until later, but real Van Halen fans should get there when the doors open at 8 p.m. – Eruption are good at what they do and have a solid following in Whistler and the Lower Mainland.

The band is dedicating the show to local Van Halen fanatic Peter James Bondy – after all it was his idea to dust off the jump suits and headbands to play another show in Whistler.