Former WHITE LION Guitarist VITO BRATTA On EDDIE VAN HALEN - "He Told Me, 'I Love The Way You Play; We're A Lot Alike, But You're Different'"
August 26, 2023, a year ago
Guitar World recently caught up with former White Lion guitarist Vito Bratta, and in the latest excerpt he commented on being called an Eddie Van Halen clone at the height of the band's career.
Bratta. "That always bothered me. I read all of it back in the ’80s. Guys will say they don’t read people’s words, but I did. I remember seeing it in magazines, and people would tell me, 'Oh, you sound and play just like Eddie.' At one point, it got under my skin enough that I called Eddie. I won’t say all that Eddie told me specifically – I’ll take that to my grave – but I will say that he told me, 'I love the way you play. We’re a lot alike, but you’re different. Remember that."
"I was 16 when I first heard Eddie play. Even though I knew next to nothing about anything, I knew that the guy re-wrote the book on guitar. And who do you think bought that book? If you guessed me, you’d be right!"
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White Lion was officially active from 1983 – 1992, releasing four albums: Fight To Survive (1985), Pride (1987), Big Game (1989) and Mane Attraction (1991). The band called it quits in September 1991 and Bratta retired from the music business.
