In 2001, a jam session paired together two entirely different stars for a brief moment. Thankfully, they never followed through on these potential plans to collaborate. By then, Limp Bizkit was among the most prominent nu metal bands following the success of their 1999 sophomore album and its 2000 follow-up. Shortly after, guitarist Wes Borland left the band, citing creative differences. Fred Durst and Limp Bizkit were left wondering what to do next when a record executive introduced Fred Durst to legendary rock guitarist Eddie Van Halen at a Hollywood party.
In the bizarre meeting, Durst joked about how funny it would be to have the world’s greatest guitarist in the world’s worst band. Eddie Van Halen agreed to jam with the band to feel out the situation. Author Andrew Bennett detailed the experience in his book Eruption in the Canyon: 212 Days & Nights With the Genius of Eddie Van Halen.
The jam session was to take place at Durst’s Beverly Hills home. Quickly, the jam session derailed as Eddie Van Halen wasn’t fond of the band smoking weed. Bennett noted how Eddie said the jam session was like “being a scholar among kindergarteners.” Van Halen left abruptly, leaving behind his gear in the process. The next day, he attempted to call Durst to retrieve his equipment, but there was no answer.
After days of radio silence, Eddie van halen took matters into his own hands
In the book, Bennett explains, “Eddie once bought an assault vehicle from a military auction. It has a shine gun mount on the back and is not legal. Eddie drove that assault vehicle through L.A., into Beverly Hills, then parked and left it running on the front lawn of the house Limp Bizkit were rehearsing in.” Bennett further explains in great detail, “He got out wearing no shirt, his hair in a Samurai bun on top of his head, his jeans held up with a strand of rope, and combat boots held together by duct tape. And he had a gun in his hand.”
Bennett recalls Eddie telling how “that a**hole answered the door, and I put my gun to that stupid f**king red hat of his, and I said, ‘Where’s my s**t, motherf***ker?’ That f***king guy just turned to one of his employees and starts yelling at him to grab my s**t.” Eddie Van Halen, with a cigarette in his mouth, held Durst at gunpoint while employees loaded equipment into the assault vehicle. The “Break Stuff” singer was humbled instantly by the sight of a gun pointed at him. As Eddie Van Halen was mostly happy and smiley in the 1980s, this certainly paints a different picture of the legendary guitarist.
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