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 album is in the works? Less than two years after the release of A Different Kind of Truth, David Lee Roth is teasing fans with that possibility.
Last month (September 20), the singer’s Facebook page featured a photo of him in a Lucha libre (Mexican pro wrestling) mask, with the caption: “Nothin’ but high reps and heavy training for the new Van Halen sessions, hell yeah, nothin’ but yeah…” A few days later, another masked photo of Roth – in front of the Intrepid – with a similar note appeared on his page: “High reps and heavy lifting in prep for upcoming VH doings, D-Ro bench presses air craft carrier 3 times, breaks record and celebrates by …”
Eddie Van Halen’s ‘The Wild Life’ Music Score: In recent weeks, the Van Halen News Desk has been digging up tracks that Eddie Van Halen wrote and recorded for the movie The Wild Life, which was released in 1984. You can listen to the synth-heavy “Back to School,” “(Nearly) Good Enough,” (which “ultimately transformed into “Good Enough” on 5150) the rockin’ “Top Down,” or the crazy “Out The Window,” which was also used in the movie Back To The Future when Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) travels back in time to his sleeping father (Crispin Glover).” Although it’s unlikely that The Wild Life soundtrack will ever be an official release, the VHND will be putting it online, one track at a time, over the coming months.
End of tour video: It looks like Van Halen’s 2012-13 world tour is over. Last month, David Lee Roth posted a video thanking fans for their support of the band’s A Different Kind of Truth album and tour. And that’s probably the closest the band will ever get to an official statement about it.
The Roth Show, Season 2: He has also been dropping hints about the return of his popular YouTube talk show, The Roth Show, with two short video promos – featuring clips from the first season – promising “THE ROTH SHOW SEASON 2 COMING SOON.”
Eddie’s Advice: While waiting for the next chapter in the Van Halen saga to unfold, Eddie Van Halen has been busy, as well. The legendary guitarist was featured in “The Life of Man,” a series of 80 photographs and mini-interviews celebrating the 80th anniversary of Esquire magazine. When asked about the best advice he ever received, he shared some wisdom that his father (also a musician) imparted him at an early age: “I would make mistakes and ask ‘What do you do?’ And he’d say … ‘Just keep pedaling through. Don’t stop and don’t let the audience know you made a mistake. Or smile and do it twice. Then people will think you meant it.”
‘Eruption’ voted best solo of all time: Last week (September 19), Guitar World announced that, after a summer-long poll, Eddie’s “Eruption”was voted the Greatest Guitar Solo of All Time by the magazine’s readers. Last year, readers selected him as the Greatest Guitarist of All Time.
Shades of Elvis: The gifted guitarist will be in an Elvis Presley tribute book (due for release in late November, 2013), called Shades of Elvis, which will feature photos of various rock stars and other celebrities wearing or posing with the late King of Rock’s sunglasses. Eddie did his photo shoot at the beginning of August, and an outtake was posted on his Facebook page on August 6.
Rolling Stone praises VH’s debut: In the Rolling Stone “Readers’ Poll: The 10 Best Metal/Hard Rock Rock Albums of the 1970s,”posted Thursday, Van Halen’s debut album (Van Halen, released in 1978) notched 5th place, behind Deep Purple’s Machine Head, Black Sabbath’s Paranoid, Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti, and Led Zeppelin’s Led Zeppelin IV, which took first place.
Sammy Hagar continues to slam Van Halen: Recently, ex-Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar has been giving interviews about his new album, Sammy Hagar & Friends, and his former band. When asked by Guitar World if he still enjoys performing Van Halen songs, he said that he does and then took a shot at his erstwhile bandmates: “The music that came from that era will always be in my repertoire, and even more so today because they can’t play that material. And it’s not because they hate it; although I’m sure Dave probably does [laughs]. But they won’t play it because they can’t.” In the same interview, Hagar disparaged Van Halen’s latest critically acclaimed album, A Different Kind of Truth, despite his band’s most recent eponymous album, Chickenfoot III, not doing near as well on the charts as ADKOT did. Chickenfoot III peaked at #9 on the Billboard 200 before dropping off quickly, while ADKOT debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and has sold nearly 500,000 copies in the U.S., and a total of nearly 900,000 worldwide.
Elsewhere on RollingStone.com, Sammy Hagar announced that he’s no longer open to a reunion – which has not been publicly offered – with the Van Halen brothers.
Water Damage at Eddie’s House: For now, the guitarist is dealing with more than a million dollars of damage to his home, apparently caused by a contractor. According to TMZ, a lawsuit against Troy Builders Group claims that “the shoddy work included poor drainage, leaky roof and chimney, poorly installed gutter and flashing – all of which caused water to flow into his home.”
Kelly Van Halen: In other Van Halen litigation news, the band is suing drummer Alex Van Halen’s ex-wife for alleged trademark infringement. “Kelly Van Halen’s ‘unauthorized’ use of the Van Halen name to market clothing, blankets and fashion accessories leads to ‘confusion’ among consumers and violates federal law, according to the complaint filed Thursday [October 10].” Kelly and Alex were married for 12 years, having divorced in 1996.
Upcoming David Lee Roth CD/DVD Deluxe Edition: While David Lee Roth keeps fans guessing about the possibility of new Van Halen recordings, the legendary frontman is putting out a CD/DVD compilation of his greatest solo hits. Greatest Hits: The Deluxe Edition will have 2 discs – a 16-track CD and a DVD highlighting his work from 1985-94. The Friday Music release will be available on November 19, and you can read more details and see the proposed track listing here.
Upcoming Eddie Van Halen Biography: Meanwhile, fans will have to wait until 2015 for Eruption, an (unauthorized) biography of Eddie Van Halen by British author Paul Brannigan. “The book promises to explore how it was the incendiary playing of the young guitarist which launched the band Van Halen into the consciousness of America in early 1978, and transformed the musical landscape. Offering the first real examination of a true musical icon, it will also turn up the volume on a life lived in popular music’s fast lane.”