About the Author

Brad Tolinski was the Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine, the best-selling magazine for musicians in the world, for over 25 years. He is also the author of Light & Shade: Conversations with Jimmy Page and Play it Loud: An Epic History of the Style, Sound and Revolution of the Electric Guitar, which was the inspiration for the Play It Loud exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2019. He lives in New York.Chris Gill was the Editor-in-Chief of Guitar Aficionado magazine and a regular contributor to Guitar World magazine. He is also the author of Guitar Legends: The Definitive Guide to the World s Greatest Guitar Players, and he contributed extensive guitar background and historical text to Eric Clapton s Six String Stories and Jeff Beck s Beck 01: Hot Rods and Rock & Roll.

Reviews

An Amazon Bestseller in Music Biographies

"ERUPTION is the closest you will get to hearing Eddie's side of the story when it comes to his extraordinary life. It's a comprehensive and compelling nonfiction narrative about the guitar virtuoso and visionary. Kudos to Tolinski and Gill for bringing this to fruition."
--The Aquarian

"Fans and guitar enthusiasts will appreciate this fresh look at the legendary Van Halen, with an emphasis on his technical wizardry."
--Library Journal

"A respectful and detailed....tribute to a guitar legend."--Kirkus

"During Eddie Van Halen's lifetime, few--if any--journalists were granted the access that journalists Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill were afforded. And as Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen demonstrates, the guitarist's trust was not misplaced. This is the final word on what made this epochal musician, guitar innovator and, it must be said, complicated man, tick."--Tom Beaujour, New York Times bestselling co-author of Nothin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion

"Few journalists get a front-row seat to witness genius at work the way that Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill did over decades with Eddie Van Halen. In this comprehensive look at the late guitar virtuoso's art and artistry, the pair share everything they learned from the man himself."--Kory Grow, Rolling Stone

"Guitarists and rock fans can rejoice that Eddie Van Halen's story has finally been told, accurately and with insights from those who knew him best. Tolinski and Gill compellingly unravel such details as the development of Ed's two-handed tapping technique and the Frankenstein guitar, and sheds new light on every corner of Van Halen's life and prodigious artistry. It's a long-awaited and vital read about the most important and influential guitarist of the modern age."--Christopher Scapelliti, Editor-in-Chief, Guitar Player magazine

"Though he lived his adult life under a spotlight, Eddie Van Halen remains shrouded in mystery. There is no duo better suited to peel away the fictions and fog and get to the heart of Van Halen the man and the musician than Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill, two of the greatest guitar journalists of our era. That's exactly what they do in Eruption. Even the keenest fan will find surprises on every page."--Alan Paul, New York Times bestselling author of Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan and One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band