The legendary drummer Alex Van Halen, who is the co-founder of Van Halen alongside his late brother, the guitarist Eddie Van Halen, announced that he will auction his personal gear and instrument collection. The sale was announced by Backstage Auctions Inc.
The last time Alex Van Halen performed live was at the final Van Halen concert back in 2015 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California. Since his brother’s death in 2020, rumors about a possible reunion of the band to pay tribute to Eddie have been circulating but as Eddie’s song Wolfgang Van Halen said, it was David Lee Roth who prevented the reunion from happening.
In an official statement, Alex talked about the items, saying:
“I kept all these drums, cymbals, heads, and all other kinds of gear, instruments, and road cases in my warehouse for decades and it will bring me great pleasure to see them end up in the hands of my fans and fellow drummers. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Ride On Therapeutic Horsemanship charity to further support the services they provide to those in need,” Alex Van Halen said.
The company Backstage Auctions gave more information about the items which will be auctioned
“Backstage Auctions is proud to present The Alex Van Halen Collection, our most anticipated and historical auction event of the year featuring the personal collection of legendary drummer Alex Van Halen. It is an unbelievable honor to represent one of the greatest rock drummers of all time and we could not be any more excited. Alex is the reason why so many people picked up a pair of drumsticks and this auction is a fantastic opportunity to see so many of his instruments and gear go to new homes.”
“All of these pieces have a thick layer of magic “Al” dust and we can only hope that it will bring boundless joy and thrills to their future owners.
The collection features over 350 lots, with a wide array of memorabilia, such as drum kits, snare drums, kick drums, road cases, drumheads, cymbals, gongs, sticks & mallets, personal items, record awards, autographed pieces, and so much more.
“The auction is definitely one of those once in a lifetime opportunities for fans and collectors to own a piece of Van Halen history. Each lot sold will come with a personally signed COA from Alex, which is a collectible in itself! Rock on over and ‘preview’ the entire auction now. The bidding will run from June 1st to June 9th,” Backstage Auctions said.