Fan Halen wasn’t nervous about playing The Mixx in Pasadena, Calif., the hometown of his namesake, Van Halen.
Several years ago, Fan Halen performed at a Pasadena bar for Greg Renoff, who wrote the book “Van Halen Rising.” A who’s who of Van Halen fans, friends and family filled the room.
“All the people in and around the band at the time participated in the book and they were there,” said Fan Halen guitarist Derek Fuller. “The pressure, as you can imagine, was intense. We were a little worried. But people came up to us and said, “We just went back in time. It was really, really special.
“From this point of view, the pressure is a little released. We played in front of the most critical people.
Fan Halen will headline Casino Arizona on Friday March 17th and Saturday March 18th to celebrate the music of the group “Hot for Teacher”.
“We love music,” Fuller said of Van Halen. “We are fans like everyone else. We celebrate this music and this time when they dominated rock ‘n’ roll.
Based in Huntington Beach, California, Fan Halen was founded over 10 years ago and has since performed around the world, including Japan, South and Central America, Canada and Mexico.
Fan Halen focuses on Van Halen’s first six albums, from 1970 to 1984 – not “Van Hagar”, when Sammy Hagar replaced original vocalist David Lee Roth.
The group includes vocalist Ernie Berru, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Roth. Fuller recreates Eddie’s riffs and enthusiastic live persona.
Bassist Andy Catts is a Michael Anthony lookalike – in looks, musicianship and vocals. Alex Van Halen’s drums are courtesy of Michael Thompson, who brings an 18-piece Ludwig double-barrel bass drum kit from 1981.
bring the sound
As a teenage guitarist in Hacienda Heights, Fuller started following Aerosmith and Ted Nugent – until Van Halen came on the scene.
“Hundreds of millions of other guitarists and I turned to them,” Fuller recalled. “It was so different and so impactful. It was an easy choice for me. There’s only one choice for me: it was Van Halen.
“If you’re a tribute band and you have a passion for this music, it transcends your show. We lived it, breathed it. That’s what we like.
Fuller says Fan Halen worked for about three years to perfect his live show.
“The biggest compliment is someone who said, ‘It just took me back to 1979, The Forum, when I was in high school. I brought a date,” Fuller said. “‘This show changed my life and your show brought me back right away.’
“When we saw rock shows like Aerosmith and Kiss, it was just four guys going wild. There was nothing wrong with that. When Van Halen came out, it was like a party. David Lee Roth was this ringmaster doing the riser splits and Eddie playing guitar, jumping like crazy too. It was just a party, and you couldn’t help but feel so happy. We bring it Also.
Halen fan
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday March 17 and Saturday March 18
OR: Casino Arizona, 524 N. 92nd Street, Scottsdale
COST: Tickets start at $15
INFORMATION: casinoarizona.com, ticketmaster.com, fanhalen.net
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