Arts & Culture

Musician pays tribute to Van Halen through song

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski Pasadena Weekly Executive Editor

Ted Nugent was a rock star to David Haerle, but, he said, Eddie Van Halen “performed miracles on six strings.”

After Van Halen’s death, many musicians and fans mourned. Haerle, a singer, songwriter and guitarist, turned it into a song called “Eddie.”

“I realized I wanted to write in a song, from the perspective of a young boy, what it meant to me,” said Haerle, who lives in Los Feliz. “That’s what I hope to convey in this song. As an artist, you want to try to say things in a way people will connect with them. I hope I did that.”

“Eddie” is available to stream/buy on all digital platforms and the music video can be viewed on YouTube.

“He was a total game changer,” Haerle said. “It leveled the guitar world. He turned the guitar world on its head. I loved the whole band, the songs and the musicality.”

“Eddie” is the latest release in a series of other heartfelt and personal tracks from Haerle, including “Train Down Memory Lane,” “No More We” and “True Liberty.” His May 2020 sophomore album “Death Valley” was praised by acclaimed music magazines.

A new love

Haerle said he was 11 years old when he heard “Runnin’ with the Devil” while driving with his dad near their Los Angeles home. The song spoke to him.

“The song starts off with the backward blare of car horns and a thumping bass line,” he said.

“It’s followed by the sound of Eddie Van Halen’s guitar and the drums kicking in. Then comes that distinctive lead vocal and their trademark harmony singing. It was like a bomb went off in the rock world that February 1978. Especially for guitar players. I started playing myself not long after that on a Fender Stratocaster and amplifier gifted to me by my parents.”

Haerle was a fan of the entire band, though, for its “incredible new sound.”

“Looking back on those younger years, it felt different,” he said. “There was a lot of seriousness in guitar playing, with Eddie jumping around the stage with a big grin. I loved the attitude and feeling he conveyed.”

He attended multiple Van Halen concerts, but after the 1980s-era show, he felt down.

“I felt, hmmm, ‘depressed’ is too strong,” he recalled. “I felt down because the show was so great. I was feeling so great. I was already playing the guitar at that point. I thought, ‘Who can go anywhere from here?’ I remember like it was yesterday.”

Musical family

Haerle isn’t the only music fan in his family. Born in Germany, his father had an encyclopedic knowledge of country music, which he garnered by listening to Armed Forces Radio Network.

“He started a record label (CMH Label Group) in 1975,” Haerle said. “Music was the business of my family, especially my father. I rejected country and bluegrass for a while. Very early on, when I first heard ‘Fame’ by David Bowie, that was a pivotal moment. When I heard Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen and Jimi Hendrix, that planted a seed that I wanted to do this.”

He left school in the 11th grade and earned his GED. He floundered for a couple years and played in alt-rock bands. Haerle landed a job at the International Creative Management (ICM) mail room.

At ICM, he met “the woman I would be married to for many years.” When Haerle was 24, his father died unexpectedly. For a few weeks, he pondered whether or not he wanted to continue CMH Label Group.

“For the next 20 years, much of my energy went to CMH Label Group,” he said. “At the 20-year mark, a shift started to happen to me. I’m a late bloomer. I was in conversation with a particular person in my life. I said I’d like to take singing lessons. I had sung in my life.

“The next thing I knew, my life changed like I had never expected. It led to wanting to

David Haerle of Los Feliz runs his late father’s record company, CMH Label Group.

work part time and dedicate half of my life as an artist.”

He released “Garden of Edendale” in 2018, and “Death Valley” in 2020. Haerle is planning to release his third collection later this year or early in 2022.

“I owe a lot to my colleagues and the support I have at this company,” he said. “It could not have been possible without them. I give credit where credit is due.”

He returns to Bowie, saying that was his first experience with a loss of a favorite artist.

“David Bowie was the biggest one that had happened in my life,” Haerle said. “He’s been a big idol and influence for me. I remember cutting out his obit from the physical paper and tucked it away in a special place.

“I heard the news about Eddie online. It really hit me — as it did so many people — hard. I knew what would happen. I saw it on the front page, and I just burst into tears. I knew I would. It felt good to cry. Yes, you changed my life, Mr. Eddie Van Halen. I read the obit and tucked it away with David Bowie.”

More info David Haerle davidhaerle.com CMH Label Group cmhlabelgroup.com

By Bliss Bowen Pasadena Weekly Contributing Writer

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