Eddie Van Halen is 57 today, born in Holland in 1955. Cheers to one of my favorite guitar players -- I love his inimitable, melodic style, even if others I'm a huge fan of don't.  I'll never forget reading where an interviewer asked Eric Clapton what he thought of  (new guitarist at the time) Eddie's playing.  Clapton's response..."I don't do guitar gymnastics."  Priceless.  With Van Halen coming back to Atlanta April 19th, and talking it up on the air, I can't help but think back to the times I've seen and talked to them over the years.   Backstage and for interviews, Dave, Sammy and Michael were always very accessible -- Alex, sometimes -- Eddie never.  That is, until their first show at Lakewood.  Lakewood had built a DJ booth for our live broadcasts in the backstage fence that had a big window in front where concert-goers could SEE me interviewing the rock stars, and the stars had access to the booth from behind the fence.  I was busy interviewing Sammy, aware of the oglers in front of us, but not aware that Eddie and Michael were sneaking up behind me.  I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to a wet, sloppy kiss on the cheek from none-other-than Eddie Van Halen!  Of course, this happened while I was live on the air and I started babbling like a goofball. Priceless for me, and exciting to get a chance to interview him, too, finally!

I'll be giving you a chance to win FRONT ROW TICKETS to the April 19th Philips Arena show 8:20 tomorrow morning! Stay tuned...