Topic: Alex Van Halen

Alexander Arthur "Alex" Van Halen (born May 8, 1953) is a Dutch born Californian musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the 70s hard rock band Van Halen. Originally, his brother Eddie had taken lessons for drums, while Alex practiced guitar. After spending time playing Eddie's drum kit, Alex became more skillful at the drums than Eddie.

In 1974, the Van Halen brothers, David Lee Roth, and Michael Anthony formed a band, simply called Van Halen. They were signed to Warner Brothers in 1977 and released their first album in 1978. The two brothers are the only members of Van Halen who have been in the band for its entire duration.

Alex Van Halen was born in Amsterdam. His Dutch father Jan (b. 1920) was an accomplished jazz saxophonist and clarinet player. His mother Eugenia (b. 1914) is an Indo (Eurasian) from Indonesia. He spent his childhood in Nijmegen in the east of the country. The family moved to Pasadena, California, USA, in 1962.