Early Life
Alex Van Halen was born in Nijmegen. His Dutch father Jan (1920-1986) was an accomplished jazz saxophonist and clarinet player. His mother Eugenia (1914-2005) is an Indo (Eurasian) from Indonesia. He spent his childhood in Nijmegen in the east of the country. The family moved to Pasadena, California in 1962.
Both Alex and Eddie Van Halen were trained as classical pianists in their childhood. Although Alex is known as a professional drummer, he began his musical aspirations as a guitarist, with his brother Eddie taking up drums. While Eddie was delivering newspapers to pay for his drum kit, Alex would practice playing on them. When Eddie heard Alex's mastery of The Surfaris drum solo in the song "Wipe Out", he decided to begin learning to play the electric guitar. He was also influenced by Budgie drummer, Ray Phillips.
Alex and Eddie formed their first band with three other boys, calling themselves The Broken Combs, performing at lunchtime at Hamilton Elementary School in Pasadena and this was identified as the first time when the desire to become professional musicians was formed (when Eddie was in the 4th grade).
In 1971, Alex graduated from Pasadena High School in California. He then took classes in music theory, scoring, composition and arranging at Pasadena City College for a short while. While attending Pasadena City College, Alex met Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth. They formed the band Mammoth, and Alex, along with the others, left Pasadena City College.
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