Less of a biography, more of an epic saga of heroes, villains, love, heartbreak, and Rock n’ Roll. But let’s be clear:

Steve Rosen didn’t write “Tonechaser” to be a biography of Eddie Van Halen. . . He’d signed a contract with EVH himself to write the only official, authorized Van Halen biography, but the book never materialized. Instead, years after their decades-long friendship had ended, and a half-decade after Eddie’s too-young death (fuck cancer), Mr. Rosen steeled himself to write this book, this catalogue of his close and deeply meaningful friendship with Eddie Van Halen.
“Tonechaser” is a mammoth. Pun intended. It painstakingly and exhaustively covers every iota of their time together, their interactions, and Rosen's feelings and reactions. Even though it’s been compiled decades after the fact, it’s written in a kind of diary format, giving detailed accounts of their interactions and adventures, with a constant accompaniment of Rosen’s feelings, thoughts, and interpretations of the events and what they may have meant to Eddie.
Steve Rosen has had an incredible journalism career, writing features and articles for the major guitar magazines, getting interviews and photo gigs for just about every legend you can name, from Blackmore to Brian May, Billy Gibbons, Les Paul, Tony Iommi and countless more. This guy did press photography for Jimi Hendrix. In the book, we learn how he met Eddie while covering a show, and then goes on to talk about how their friendship blossomed into hangouts, phone calls, coke benders, jam sessions, concerts, and a boatload of interviews. Many of the stories are fun, but there’s also a dark side that’s exposed here, from backtalk about other band members and other musicians – which was all apparently happening right from the beginning.
We see recountings of Eddie’s charm and his mesmeric effect on the public, whether onstage or out among his starstruck public. I loved the long sections of Eddie being a total guitar geek, just obsessively tinkering and talking up his gear. One of the most memorable chapters recounts a riveting conversation between Les Paul and EVH, where the two legends just deep geek over custom guitar builds and inventions.
The real heart of the book, though, is the dynamics, the backs and forths, and the highs and lows of their friendship. As conflicts occur, your sympathies constantly shift between Eddie, Steve, Valerie Bertinelli (Eddie’s first wife), Michael Anthony, and some of the others caught up in Eddie’s orbit. As long as this book is, it’s unputdownable. I wouldn’t say that Eddie is portrayed as explosive or volatile - - as a number of rockstars have been in the past - - but there was never a dull moment with this guy. His life was an endless whirlwind of creativity, music, love, drugs, bickering (whoever’s fault it was), and change. Thank you to Steve Rosen for this account.