Michael Lemmo has recalled the time he crossed paths with Eddie Van Halen – because the late god was dating his friend’s mom. In a recent episode of ’s Rig Rundown, the Norms' Rare Guitar regular reflected on the time when a new kid in town – and his mom – proved to be the key behind meeting one of his biggest heroes. As Lemmo notes, he was only a 14-year-old when he met Eddie Van Halen, who had begun dating one of his friend’s mothers.
It was at a time when rap was on the rise, and Lemmo’s burgeoning guitar talents were starting to appear (at least to himself) obsolete. “When I was a kid, I used to cry about Eddie Van Halen, because this was when rap was mega,” he begins. “All my friends were like, ‘Van Halen is not cool.
’ I was like, ‘I have a useless gift; no-one wants to hear this stuff.’” However, Lemmo’s obsession with the guitar and Van Halen was soon to be vindicated, when he got the chance to meet his hero following a rather surreal phone call he received from a close friend. “I was obsessed,” Lemmo continues.
“Sure enough, after all that yearning, he was on tour – this was 2004 with Sammy Hagar – and he was dating my friend’s mom. It was my good friend Ryan Crosley, and he was new to the town. He'd just moved in.
“His mother hit it off with Eddie, and I went to the house. My friend Terry goes, ‘You’re not going to believe it. Eddie Van Halen is at our friend Ryan’s house.
I was just over there hanging out with him!.