https://www.npr.org/2020/10/06/834995224/eddie-van-halen-guitar-hero-dies-at-65

So y'all don't keep clicking on a message without further content. The Van Halens were Pasadena kids who played local L.A. talent nights when "everybody" said local musicians could not make the Big Time in Los Angeles, too much competition from other areas of the US, record labels were not looking for new local talent, etc., etc. Well, everybody wuz wrong!