As you might've detected from the non-stop TV commercials and internet ads, Minions opened in theaters today.
The animated comedy, which is about gibberish-spewing yellow creatures who are looking for someone to serve, happens to feature a touch of Eddie Van Halen's "Eruption."
As you can see in the video below, one of the main Minions—his name seems to be Stuart—is handed a guitar and told it’s a “super mega ukulele.” As the Van Halen News Desk point out, Stuart “plucks a few tentative notes” before he’s overtaken by the spirit of rock and slays the crowd with his six-string prowess (or four-string prowess in this case; take a look at the headstock).
He does this by playing several bars of “Eruption,” the shred fest against which all other shred fests are judged. He even plays some of it with his tongue and finishes by completely smashing his little red animated guitar, rosewood neck and all.
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
