Eddie Van Halen Once Gifted a ’90s Rock Star an Entire Garage of Music Gear

An endearing story of the late Eddie Van Halen‘s kindness and generosity recently resurfaced, with Alice in Chains’ guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell recalling the time, early in his career, when Van Halen gifted him a whole garage full of music gear.

Gibson TV recently spotlighted a clip from an in-depth interview with Cantrell that first came out in 2020, with the video titled “Jerry Cantrell on being friends with Eddie Van Halen.”

Cantrell explained that he first became friends with Van Halen in the early 1990s, when his band was opening for Van Halen during the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour.

While he was initially intimidated by the legendary musician, they got to know each other on tour, and at one point, Cantrell shared his appreciation for Van Halen’s amps and guitars, and the Ernie Ball Music Man EVH signature model in particular, which Van Halen designed.

Cantrell asked Van Halen if he might be able to get a discount on a guitar, but instead, the late musician surprised him by saying, “f–k that, dude, I’ll just give you a guitar.”

“Everybody gives me everything for free now, when I can totally afford it. When I couldn’t afford it, nobody would give me anything. So let me do that for you,” the Alice in Chains band member recalled Van Halen saying.

Cantrell Was Surprised by a Stunning Gift After the Tour

Flash forward to after the tour, Cantrell returned to where he was living with his band’s manager, Kelly Curtis, and his wife, Peggy.

Apparently, after warmly greeting the guitarist and welcoming him back, Curtis said, “By the way, do you think you could clear your s–t out of my garage? I need to put my car in there.”

Seeing how confused Cantrell was, Curtis explained, “Eddie Van Halen filled the garage with gear for you. I haven’t been able to park my car in my garage for months.”

Going on, Cantrell described the moment he saw the unbelievable gift, saying it was “like a scene from a movie,” with a couple of guitars, amps, and more sitting in the middle of the small garage.

“I’m just trying to process this, like, ‘Okay, Eddie Van Halen just filled my garage with gear,'” he remembered thinking. Cantrell noted that he still has the two guitars Van Halen gave him so long ago.

Related: Valerie Bertinelli Reveals “Priceless” Memory With Late Ex-Husband Eddie Van Halen and Their Son

Cantrell Lost One of the Guitars During a Later Tour

The story of Van Halen’s gift led Cantrell to explain how he lost one of the two EVH guitars on a later Alice in Chains tour, and over the following 18 years, he searched tirelessly trying to get it back.

Almost two decades after it went missing, Cantrell got an exciting surprise when a guitar collector contacted him claiming that he finally found the instrument on sale online.

After confirming that the guitar for sale was in fact his rare EVH, a kind friend helped Cantrell out, and he was finally reunited with the meaningful guitar.

Related: Rare Recordings Featuring ‘80s Guitar Legend Offered for Sale