I originally began my music career with piano lessons. Then I thought I wanted to be a drummer, but we couldn’t afford a full kit and you can’t do a whole lot with just 1 drum (my parents got me one for Christmas one year.) Then my mom got a guitar and my brother started playing that and got some tab, so I taught myself how to play guitar, and I’ve done that ever since.

But I’ve always loved the drums and wish I had the beat to play them. I was especially blown away when a friend back in 1986 had a bootleg cassette of a Van Halen concert with a solo by Alex that goes on for over 5 minutes, and at one point he’s doing a roll so fast that it literally sounds like a helicopter.

I’ve been wanting to replay that solo ever since but could never find that old cassette my friend gave me.

Well I finally found it! Ok actually the people at Drumeo found it because they posted a video with Wolfie doing some drum stuff to Van Halen songs and they included that exact snippet in this video. I know its the same one for 2 reasons: 1. Sammy Hagar introduces Alex as “Alex Bocephus VO Halen” and not Van Halen. I assume it was a one time flub in a live concert, but that makes it almost guaranteed that this is the solo I’ve been looking for since the late 80’s! And 2. Wolfie is talking about this solo and he says the same thing I’ve said since I first heard this in ‘86, that at one point it sounds like a helicopter.

Listen to him say it here at 4:55

Now so you can hear the whole solo, which in my opinion is quite possibly the greatest drum solo ever recorded (sorry Bonzo fans), I’ve found that very same solo, and Sammy calls him VO Halen so I know its the right one.