In absolutely wild news, a new book claims that Eddie Van Halen once allegedly held a gun to Fred Durst’s head. Van Halen’s former photographer and video producer, Andrew Bennett, detailed the incident in the book.
The photo book is called Eruption in the Canyon: 212 Days and Nights with the Genius of Eddie Van Halen and it documents the photog’s time working with Van Halen in their studio between 2004 and 2006. It was supposed to go towards a documentary, however, Van Halen wasn’t satisfied with the footage and that launched a legal battle against Bennett.
And while that is interesting, it doesn’t come even close to living up to one anecdote shared in the book. Bennett tells the story of Eddie Van Halen holding a gun to Fred Durst’s head.
So, apparently, around 2001, Fred Durst attended the same party as Eddie. It was shortly after Wes Borland had left the band and a music executive suggested to the pair that they work together. Durst apparently joked, “That would be hilarious. The greatest guitar player ever plays with the worst band ever.”
To which Eddie apparently responded, “F**k it, let’s jam.”
Eddie went and jammed with Limp Bizkit in Beverley Hills but ended up leaving because too many people started smoking weed. He described the experience as, “like being a scholar amongst kindergartners.” He left his equipment there and went to pick it up the next day.
But Fred Durst didn’t answer Eddie’s phone calls. This is when Eddie Van Halen allegedly hopped into an assault vehicle which he’d acquired from a military auction and drove to Limp Bizkit’s rehearsal house.
Bennett quotes Van Halen in the book saying, “That asshole answered the door. I put my gun to that stupid f**king red hat of his, and I said, ‘Where’s my shit, motherf**ker?’ That f**king guy just turned to one of his employees and starts yelling at him to grab my shit.”
Bennett says Van Halen continued to hold the gun on Fred Durst until the amps and guitars had been loaded into the vehicle.
Back in 2003, MTV published an article where Durst said Van Halen had been one of 11 guitarists who auditioned to join the band. However, neither Durst nor Van Halen have confirmed the incident.
