White House Shines Red, White & Black in Tribute to Eddie Van Halen
The White House was illuminated in Red, Black & White abstract colors for the evening, a nod to the passing of rock star and guitarist extraordinaire, Eddie Van Halen.
Rock Superstar, Eddie Van Halen passed away in 2020 at the age of 65 after a long bout with cancer. To honor the virtuoso guitarist, the WH was lit up the colors of Eddie Van Halens, “Frankenstrat” guitar.
Frankenstrat
Eddie created the “Frankenstrat” guitar in an attempt to combine a Fender Strat and Gibson. The guitar has a maple neck and fretboard, chrome hardware, and was painted with a black and white striped design until arriving at its final combination of red background with black and white stripes. A copy of the “Frankenstrat” is housed in the National Museum of American History, part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The color scheme has since become an unofficial logo and backdrop for Van Halen.
Earlier this year, Eddie’s son Wolfie, left the original Frankenstrat guitar on the bus. Wolfie left his apartment on La Cienega and boarded the 218 Bus at approximately 11AM. He was headed to the 5150 studios in Studio City. “I had ‘Frankenstrat’ with me and I sat in the back of the bus. During the ride I ate my bear claw and drank a Yoo-hoo while listening to the Madhouse Magazine Radio Hour podcast. I was laughing so hard, some Yoo-hoo came out of my nose.”
Spicy Cheetos
“When I got off the bus at my stop and walked a block to the studio. I stopped at the news stand and bought a Red Bull and some spicy Cheetos. When I got to the studio, I greeted guitarist Frank Sidoris and he asked me where’s the guitar? My heart sank and my knees buckled. I ran out into the street but the bus was long gone. I could not believe I lost Frankenstrat.”
A sizeable crowd had gathered outside the White House to celebrate Van Halen and catch a glimpse of the light display. Adam Smith and Kevin Barragan, two Van Halen supporters, hopped on a bus together as soon as they heard the White House was going to be lit up.
It was a beautiful thing to see people put aside their differences for one night and come together for a moving tribute. Fans hugged, held hands and performed a mass sing along to the Van Halen hit song, “Jump”.
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Related Stories: Wolf Van Halen Loses Famous ‘Frankenstrat’ Guitar on Bus
Yeah, no they didn’t. No one in the White House is that cool. Pretty funny, though. Get a better artist to color in the pic next time. 😂
It’s so obvious that this is fake and badly photoshopped!
A friend send me just the pic. I thought it was true and told everyone. And when understanding it was fake I was a little dissapointed. Not even that is he getting done. I guess he will when Ted Nugent goes.
IF YOU GOOGLE ‘THE WHITE HOUSE’ , AND HIT THE CONTACT LINK YOU CAN CHOOSE TO SEND SOMETHING TO THE PRESIDENT. ASK HIM TO DO IT, IN A NICE WAY!
Lets make this happen!