Eddie Van Halen's father recommended that he drink vodka to help deal with stage fright. The interview segment with late legendary guitarist is just one of many rock icons featured in the latest episode of the "Backstaged: The Devil in Metal" podcast that deals with metal rockstars pushing "the boundaries of excess with alcohol."
Van Halen explains how he began drinking when he started performing in public. He said, “When we started playing in front of people, God I would be so nervous. But I didn't start drinking until we started playing in front of people.
"I asked my dad how do I get up in front of people and play every night. He gave me a shot of vodka and I was like 'hey, it works!'. He didn't mean any harm by it if you really look at it.“
Ozzy Osbourne shared the other side of the coin, getting sober in the new episode of the Diversion Podcasts' hit series hosted by Jon Wiederhorn. He shared, “When you drink, you become Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde because I honestly didn't know, and that was the biggest fear I and recount I had as a blackout drinker.
"I didn't know what I was doing and that was horrendous. Just waking up and thinking what have I done now. You wake up covered in blood and you don't know where the blood has come from.” Stream the full show here.
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