Eddie Van Halen's longtime former guitar tech Rudy Leiren is heading up a team tasked with bringing a memorial of the late-music icon to his hometown, Pasadena, California.
Leiren worked for Van Halen for over 20 years, starting in 1978 on the band's first major tour.
He was named to the team following the city's October resolution to create an official memorial to Eddie, who died of cancer on October 6 at age 65.
"The city is reviewing various ideas that have emerged in the last two months and the city has been in touch with the firm that represents the interests of Van Halen," Pasadena City Special Projects Manager Michelle Garrett told Pasadena Now.
Together with Eddie's estate, the city will draw up plans for an appropriate memorial. Many have suggested that the memorial pay tribute to the entire Van Halen band, in addition to its virtuoso lead guitarist.
Pasadena advancing its vetting process comes after Guitar Center's flagship store on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood unveiled a gigantic Eddie Van Halen mural at its rear entrance.
Eddie and his brother Alex Van Halen grew up in Pasadena. It was there that the two began playing rock music and formed Van Halen, which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
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