Here’s a blast from the past…

Do you remember this commercial? This 1996 Toy Story-esque ad for the Nissan 300ZX Turbo featured Van Halen’s stompin’ remake of the Kinks’ ”You Really Got Me” and used stop-motion animation to depict a G.I. Joe-esque character picking up a Barbie-esque character. The ad was so good that Mattel sued to take it off the air. It’s not only the best car commercial to ever air during the Super Bowl, it’s one of the best car commercials ever.

Van Halen’s commercial reward — The band members each received a limited-edition 1996 Nissan 300 ZX for Nissan’s use of their ”You Really Got Me” remake.

Here’s a NY Daily News article about the popular commercial.

Chickenfoot Performs “Sexy Little Thing” on Jimmy Kimmel Live. This was taped Nov 5th and aired Nov. 6th.

Michael Anthony leaving the Jimmy Kimmel Live show on Nov. 5th:

Chickenfoot, 2009’s stand out rock collaboration comprised of guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith, and Van Halen front man Sammy Hagar and bassist Michael Anthony were named “Best New Band” at Classic Rock Magazine’s annual awards ceremony in London on November 2nd.

The guys take a moment out of a show to record a Thank You for being selected as “BEST NEW BAND” at the Classic Rock Awards 2009:

Chickenfoot has also received critical success:

“Hagar and Satriani have embedded plenty of hooks and compact solos in these tunes, and the refreshingly agile rhythm section motors them along.” – USA Today

“Chickenfoot’s self-titled debut favors straight-ahead rockers like the single “Oh Yeah” or the blues-fed “Sexy Little Thing,” and “Soap on a Rope” sounds like a Led Zeppelin outtake sent back from the year 2019.” –Billboard”

The album is an 11-song slab of raging rock.” –Guitar World

Also, dont’ forget Chickenfoot on TV tonight! Chickenfoot will be performing “Sexy Little Thing” and “Oh Yeah” on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Friday, November 6th.

From Spinner.com:

Guitarist Steve Vai has a new live DVD, ‘Where the Wild Things Are,’ that highlights his 25 plus years of performing for sold-out audiences. Vai, who is known for his wild guitar licks onstage, was no match for the backstage antics he experienced on tour with Van Halen’s David Lee Roth.

“Actually, I was never really wild,” he tells Spinner. “I guess back in the ’80s when I was touring with Dave Roth, that was pretty wild. I was just a naïve kid and I’d been touring with Frank Zappa, which was tough enough but I wasn’t ready for the Dave Roth experience. We would pull into town and every night there was this tremendous party backstage because Dave really knew how to do it. There would be food and drinks and a big PA system and lights and there was usually 50 or so chosen girls from the audience that were very happy to be at the party. The techs would go out and invite somebody backstage or if somebody in the band saw a girl in the audience he’d give a cue to the tech or would go out and give them a [backstage] pass. Back then, we were playing those arenas [and] it was 80% girls in their underwear. It was crazy. I was like a bee sitting on the rim of the cup sipping the honey. I just had a taste now and then. It was really an amazing experience.”

Vai was just a wide-eyed 24-year-old when he rolled into town with Diamond Dave for the first gig, an experience that he could never have imagined. “I remember the first day on tour with Dave we got in Huntsville, Alabama or something in 1984 or 1985 [it was 1986 - VHND] and we would rent two floors of every hotel because one floor was all for us and the other floor was just a buffer floor so nobody would stay there. When we got there a few days early I was sitting in the executive lounge of the hotel and I see this smoke coming out from underneath this sink and there are two girls dressed like maids who had been sitting there for two days waiting for us to get the floor.

“That night when we came back to the hotel the entire floor was like a circus. I’ll never forget — I came out of my room and looked down the hall and saw one of the notorious techs and he’s walking down the hall naked with one of these girls I saw under the sink and she was naked. That was my introduction to day one with David Lee Roth on tour!”

From Eddie Van Halen’s Myspace:

“For those who have been asking - left handed EVH Brand Wolfgang guitars will become available as a special order from EVH Brand in January 2010. Official ordering procedures will be issued in late January 2010. Stay tuned and thanks for your interest and support in EVH Brand guitars!”

Gibson recently conducted an in-depth interview with Sammy Hagar:

By Russell Hall, Aug. 28, 2009

To paraphrase a well-known ad slogan, with a name like Chickenfoot they had better be good.

And are they ever. Comprised of guitar maestro Joe Satriani, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, and Van Halen alumni Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, the star-studded Chickenfoot is one of those rare supergroups whose whole is better than the sum of its parts. First and foremost they are a band – a well-oiled unit that sounds as if its members have been playing together for years rather than just months.

Released in June, Chickenfoot’s self-titled debut rocks with a vengeance, mixing scorched-earth metal with good-timey riff-rock in ways that bring to mind more virtuosic versions of, say, AC/DC or Grand Funk Railroad. On tour, the band has been treating fans to a well-rounded set that includes such treats as the Montrose classic “Bad Motor Scooter” and Deep Purple’s “Highway Star,” as well as all the songs from the Chickenfoot album.

While recording the studio disc, Hagar left all the six-string duties to Satriani, but on-stage the charismatic frontman breaks out his trusty Explorer Pro and his Les Paul for several songs. In this first installment of a two-part interview, the veteran singer talks about the Chickenfoot’s chemistry, how Satriani differs from Eddie Van Halen, and his go-to guitars.

Click “Read the rest” for the full interview with Sammy.

For all you guitar players out there - there’s a brand new guitar instructional DVD that is much more in-depth than the Guitar Method In The Style Of Van Halen DVDs that have been out for years. This one is called Phrase By Phrase™ Guitar Method: Classic Van Halen and it looks like it’s the best DVD lesson yet for learning how to play guitar like Eddie Van Halen. Here’s the full description:

Phrase By Phrase™ Guitar Method: Classic Van Halen DVD

A five-hour long instructional DVD that breaks down the radical guitar methods of Eddie Van Halen in an easy-to-play format.

In this Phrase By Phrase™ Guitar Method: Classic Van Halen DVD, you’ll learn what it’s really like to play guitar like Van Halen. Mark John Sternal at MJS Music Publications dissects Eddie Van Halen’s inventive guitar style which redefined how rock guitar was played. Learn to play all of the leads, rhythms, and fills to popular songs from the albums Van Halen, Van Halen II, Women and Children First, Fair Warning, and 1984.

The Phrase By Phrase Guitar Method explores some of the greatest guitarists of all time, breaking their complex styles into simple, recognizable phrases. Thorough, easy-to-understand tutorials teach proper finger placement and techniques, followed by half-speed practice tempos and combined sections that are played at full speed.

Features:

Song lessons:
1: Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love
2: Runnin’ With The Devil
3: Somebody Get Me A Doctor
4: Beautiful Girls
5: Everybody Wants Some!!
6: Romeo Delight
7: Unchained
8: Panama

Bonus guitar solo lessons:
9: Eruption (Complete Guitar Parts)
10: Hot For Teacher (Intro Guitar Solo)

If you’re interested in learning to tear up the fretboard like Eddie Van Halen, then this is the DVD for you.

Get The Full DVD
10 Song Lessons - 5 hours!

List price: $24.95 Just $19.95 at Van Halen Store

Click here to ORDER IT NOW at Van Halen Store and SAVE $5. They’ve got the guaranteed lowest price, and it’s in stock & shipping now.