The "just for fun" Star Fleet Project project consisted of Queen's Brian May, Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alan Gratzer (of REO Speedwagon), Phil Chen (session bassist who played with Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart), and Fred Mandel (session keyboard player who also played as additional keyboard player on Queen's Hot Space World Tour and The Works). Roger Taylor, Queen's drummer, … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2013
Michael Anthony on Wolfgang Van Halen: “He’s a Great Bass Player”
For Bass Players Only’s Jon Liebman caught up with Michael Anthony before a recent concert with Sammy Hagar in Michigan and conducted a video interview with the legendary bass player. Naturally, the subjects ranged from Michael touring a bit with Sammy Hagar this year, Chickenfoot's current hiatus (they're planning to write new songs early this year), Michael's new Peavey VB-MA … [Read more...]
Video: Pearl Jam Covers Van Halen’s “Eruption” & “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love”
After seeing Van Halen on tour in 2012, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready has called Eddie Van Halen "The Mozart of the guitar.” Friday night, Pearl Jam performed a Van Halen medley during their show at Hartford, Connecticut’s XL Center. It was during a 2010 show at the very same venue that they surprised the crowd by launching into “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love.” At this … [Read more...]
VHND’s All Access Photo: Halloween ’76
From left to right: Alex Van Halen, unknown, unknown, Eddie Van Halen, David Lee Roth. On Halloween, Alex and Edward Van Halen and David Lee Roth dress as punks (posing with two unknown people). Their disguises make it hard to identify the year of the photo, but after doing a little bit of detective work, we figured it out. On either side of the group are promo … [Read more...]
Van Halen’s ‘5150’ VS. David Lee Roth’s ‘Eat ‘Em And Smile’ – Great Rock Debates
From Ultimate Classic Rock.com: Rock and roll history is rife with intra-band family feuds, but perhaps none received quite as much publicity or caused a bigger fan base rift than Van Halen’s ugly divorce from singer David Lee Roth in 1985. Certainly, this was the battle royal of ‘80’s hard rock! After all, no other American band did quite as much as the Roth-fronted Van … [Read more...]
20th Anniversary of Roth’s ‘Crazy From The Heat’ Autobiography
David Lee Roth's autobiography 'Crazy From The Heat' was released on this day in 1997. What's your favorite story from the book? … [Read more...]
Eddie Van Halen Donates Guitar For ‘Last Chance For Animals’ Auction
Eddie Van Halen is donated two items for a live auction this Saturday, Oct 26th, for Last Chance for Animals. Eddie donated a signed EVH Stripes Series guitar (Ed signed the head stock and the body) and a personalized Hockey Jersey that he owned. Rumors are that Eddie might attend the auction Saturday. Last Chance for Animals (LCA) is a national, non-profit organization … [Read more...]
A Very Special Gift From Eddie Van Halen
Yesterday, Eddie Van Halen visited his friend, photographer Christopher Ameruoso. Ed presented him with a a very special gift - a signed EVH Stripes Series guitar! Christopher tells VHND, "Eddie has been so cool with me since we did the photos shoot together for the Elvis tribute. I love the guitar and Eddie did sign it to me on two spots on the guitar the head stock and the … [Read more...]
VHND’s All Access Photo: Japan Bus ’78
David, Alex, Edward and Michael posing by an extravagantly decorated bus in Japan. This photo is from Van Halen's first Oriental tour in June 1978, when they performed 7 concerts in Japan over a period of 11 days. “All Access” Van Halen photos is a weekly feature at VHND.com. Every weekend we feature a photo from a roadie, friend, or band insider. Many are … [Read more...]
Van Halen News Roundup
Leslie Feffer at Examiner.com has been rounding up Van Halen news from all over the web and we're combining her latest three updates into one update below. Most of these news stories have already been featured on VHND, but it's nice to have all these news tidbits right here, in one article. New Van Halen Studio Recordings? Should Van Halen fans dare to hope that another … [Read more...]
Van Halen: A “Perfect Storm” of Talent and Chronology
Here's a cool little Van Halen blog entry from Greg's Horrible Waste of Internet Bandwidth: On Van Halen... A short time ago, conversation among friends turned to Van Halen (no idea why). We were discussing the band, their history, and the eighties. One friend turned to me and said "they (the band) are so overrated..." "Overrated?", I replied. "Are you kidding … [Read more...]
This Day in 1982: Eddie Van Halen Fractures Wrist
On this day in 1982, Eddie Van Halen hurt his wrist while “horsing around” in his hotel room. That same day, his right wrist was x-rayed at Hand Surgery Associates in New York, NY. A broken hairline fracture is found that results in the postponement of three shows on the band's Diver Down tour (two in East Rutherford, NJ and one in Uniondale, NY). The tour resumed for a … [Read more...]