Early in their career, when Van Halen was still known as Mammoth , lead singer David Lee Roth had the idea to invite the owner of a talent agency to a wild party at his father's mansion – and Eddie Van Halen stole the show.
Catherine Hutchin-Harris , owner of Transatlantic Management and the band's first manager, recounted her first experience with the group in an interview with Paul Brannigan , author of Eruption: The Eddie Van Halen Story , a new biography about Eddie Van Halen scheduled for release in December. This excerpt from their first meeting was exclusively released by Classic Rock .
In 1974, Catherine received a call from Lee Roth inviting her to the party. At the time, the band was already attracting hundreds of people to their alcohol-fueled shows in the garden of the singer's family mansion. She decided to go, accompanied by an assistant named Lynore , to meet the band.
“We could hear the music streets away, and when we got to the party, it was crazy, absolutely crazy,” she said. “The first thing that struck me was Edward. He was unbelievable. He was fingerpicking on the frets [of the guitar], which nobody did back then, and I was absolutely stunned. Lynore and I looked at each other and I said, ‘My. Holy. God. This kid is a virtuoso.’ They were just another rock band until Edward let loose. David was brilliant on stage, but it was Edward who really got us.”
READ ALSO: Van Halen: Sammy Hagar would be embarrassed if he had changed the band's name
After the presentation, the two met David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen , who spilled a drink on Catherine's assistant's clothes. "Edward drank Singapore Slings – vodka was his drug of choice – and he drank a lot," she pointed out.
As the night wore on, the party reached new levels and became "very turbulent": most of those present were underage and completely drunk, and Catherine became worried. "Some of these kids were only fourteen or fifteen years old, and the band was under twenty-one, so I was worried that if the police came, I would be the oldest one there, I was afraid of being arrested!"
The decision to leave the party before it ended was interpreted negatively by Lee Roth, who called to understand what had happened. “I told him I didn’t want to spend a night in jail for drinking with underage girls, but I was interested in helping and getting them gigs,” Catherine continued.
According to Classic Rock , the partnership lasted until the second half of 1975, when the band finally changed its name to Van Halen. Catherine's management led to gigs at high schools and opportunities as the opening act for Sorcery .
READ ALSO: Sammy Hagar apologizes for the way he spoke about Eddie Van Halen in his autobiography
