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...]
Archives for 2013
Billy Sheehan on Touring with Van Halen, “The Greatest Band in the World”
In a new interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, legendary bassist Billy Sheehan (The Winery Dogs, Talas, Mr. Big, David Lee Roth) talked about his moments sharing the stage with Van Halen, a dream which would eventually lead to a full-time gig with Roth’s solo band in the decadent Eat 'Em And Smile lineup that also featured guitarist Steve Vai and drummer Gregg … [Read more...]
Don Dokken Scared After First Seeing Van Halen
"The first time I saw Van Halen it changed the way I looked at music and performing forever. It was 1978 and I had just formed my own group, Dokken. We were opening up for them for two nights at the Starwood in Hollywood. I was standing in my dressing room when they went on. Their first record wasn’t out yet, but they hit the stage like they had already made it. I could hear … [Read more...]
Watch The Van Halen Brother’s Instrumental Jam at the US Festival
Enjoy this clear footage from the US Festival, 32 years ago! Through the intense instrumental "Girl Gone Bad," to Ed's melodic tapping of "Women in Love," to a reworked "I'm So Glad," the Van Halen? brothers take us on a ride that we don't want to end! A new, high quality 9-minute video clip of Van Halen's performance at the 1983 US Festival has been released online and can be … [Read more...]
Eddie Van Halen’s OUTRAGEOUS House Party & Backyard Concert!
On this day in 2006, a grandiose event occurred at the famous 5150 estate. Eddie Van Halen hosted an extravagant and decadent party to celebrate the release of a friend's movie release. The friend was Michael Ninn, and the movie was Sacred Sin. The movie was actually adult film, and much to everyone's surprise, Eddie Van Halen contributed two music tracks to the … [Read more...]
Jeff Beck Praises Eddie Van Halen
Here's what legendary guitarist Jeff Beck has to say about Eddie Van Halen: “I suppose what people are pointing at is Van Halen for being the innovator and the one that committed tapping, hammering-on and harmonic screams to tape before anybody else. That’s quite right. It’s something he should get credit for.” — Jeff Beck, from an interview in Guitar magazine “I … [Read more...]
33 Years Ago: Eddie Van Halen and Sammy Hagar First Perform Together
In a way, the birth of "Van Hagar" was exactly 33 years ago today. It was during the summer of 1985 that rock fans heard the devastating news that Van Halen and David Lee Roth had split up. There were rumors that the band was going to look for a new singer, but that's all that anyone knew. It was September 22, 1985, when "Red Rocker" Sammy Hagar performed at the first Farm Aid, … [Read more...]
VHND’s All Access Photo: 5150 Studios, 1985
Eddie Van Halen feeling at home in his 5150 Studios, 1985. We published this photo in The Inside magazine, but it's never appeared online until now. “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 never-seen-before exclusives. Tune in every weekend for more! … [Read more...]
The Roth Show Season 2 Promo Videos
Season 2 of The Roth Show is coming! Here's the two short promo videos that David Lee Roth has released. You can watch all 16 episodes of Season 1 here. … [Read more...]
Exclusive: Eddie’s “(Nearly) Good Enough” Instrumental from ‘The Wild Life’
Another Van Halen News Desk exclusive! Here’s what we call “(Nearly) Good Enough”, written and performed by Eddie Van Halen in 1983. This track is part of the musical score from the movie The Wild Life, released in 1984. Eddie wrote the entire musical score for the movie, playing guitar along with his electronic drum machine. This piece features some of what ultimately … [Read more...]
Vote For “Eruption!”
Vote for Eddie Van Halen's "Eruption" in the final round of Guitar World's 'Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time Readers Poll'. "Eruption" is up against Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb," and it's very close! Voting ends sometime tonight or tomorrow. You can vote only once (per device). VOTE HERE! … [Read more...]
Eddie Van Halen Talks to Girlfriend (Animated Video)
An animated Eddie Van Halen lets his fingers do the talking in this entertaining animated relationship primer. When it comes to saying just the right thing to your significant other, we could all take a page out of the Eddie's songbook! Watch the video embedded above. This funny cartoon is in the vein of Beavis & Butthead, Saturday Night Live, South Park, Robot Chicken … [Read more...]