Here's a review of A Different Kind Of Truth that we've never featured. Well worth reading. From: The Editing Room Floor By Doug Fox Back in the late 1970s and early 80s when Eddie Van Halen was constantly rewriting prevailing wisdom on what people presumed possible to achieve on electric guitar, he used to describe his playing approach as falling down the stairs and … [Read more...]
Archives for 2013
15 Years On: Eddie Van Halen Interview Revisted
The following is an Eddie Van Halen interview from 15 years ago with new commentary by the interviewer, Doug Fox. "Why?" asked the voice on the other end of the phone. "I'm just a normal schmo like anyone else." Like Michael Jordan was just another dude that laced up Nikes. Like Walt Disney was just your average everyday daydreamer. Like Beethoven was simply another … [Read more...]
Update: Eddie Van Halen to Perform with LL Cool LATE SUMMER in Hollywood
UPDATE 6/7/13: LL has postponed the guest performance to late summer at the Hollywood Bowl. Eddie Van Halen will appear as a special guest at the final stop on LL Cool J's “Kings Of The Mic” Tour. The tour is billed as this summer’s ultimate Hip-Hop music experience, where LL is joined by legendary artists Ice Cube, Public Enemy and pDe La Soul. The show is at the Greek … [Read more...]
Korn’s Ray Luzier on David Lee Roth: “A Lot of People Don’t Understand His Intelligence”
Former DLR Band drummer, Ray Luzier, told Ultimate Classic Rock in a new interview that he's quite fond of his time with former boss David Lee Roth. Luzier (who is currently the drummer in KORN) performed on 1998?s DLR Band and 2003?s Diamond Dave albums. When asked to recall his favorite DLR story, Luzier explains, “Roth is so eccentric and out there and I’ve learned so … [Read more...]
Rarest Van Halen Music Video: “Loss Of Control”
Women And Children First's "Loss Of Control" is perhaps the fastest, and one of the most insane, Van Halen songs of all time. Many fans are unaware that there is actually a music video for this song. The video, which was never commercially released, and never even aired in the U.S., features the band in surgical outfits. The video can be viewed on the Van Halen News Desk's … [Read more...]
Video Upgrade: 1978 Japanese TV Appearance – “You Really Got Me” & Interview
The video above is yet another great addition to the Van Halen News Desk's new YouTube channel, the Van Halen Vault! This is a video of a Van Halen's lip-sync performance of "You Really Got Me" - followed by a quick interview - that was broadcast during their first visit to Japan to promote the Japanese leg. 35 years later, this is still a rarely seen video. Even if you've seen … [Read more...]
Van Halen: Behind-the-Scenes in Osaka
Van Halen completed their Japan tour with two shows at the City Central Gymnasium in Osaka on June 24th and 26th, 2013. Thanks to Alex's son, Malcolm, we have some great backstage photos. Set List for both nights: 1. Unchained 2. Runnin' With The Devil 3. She’s The Woman 4. I'm The One 5. Tattoo 6. Everybody Wants Some!! 7. Somebody Get Me A Doctor 8. China … [Read more...]
Van Halen Rocks the Tokyo Dome! (Videos, Photos, Setlist)
Today, Van Halen played the Tokyo Dome, the second stop on their 2013 Japan Tour. Van Halen rocked the house of 50,000 fans and put on a superb show. The setlist was the same as Tuesday's show in Nagoya, but they swapped out "Jamie's Cryin'" for another song from Van Halen, "I'm The One", which hasn't been played since the 2007-08 Reunion Tour. Setlist: 1. … [Read more...]
Happy Birthday, Michael Anthony!
Happy Birthday to Michael Anthony! You can wish Michael a "Happy Birthday" on our Facebook page like thousands of his fans have already done. Note to people in southern California: In celebration of Michael Anthony's birthday, the band ROTUS (with the release of the debut single "Daddy's Home")...will be playing the Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa, CA, this Saturday, June … [Read more...]
‘My prayers had to be altered’: Gregg Bissonette never played with Van Halen, but he got close
From SomethingElseReviews: For drummer Gregg Bissonette, as a youngster, Van Halen was the pinnacle. There was one problem, of course. “My dream was always to play in a rock back — and to me,” Bissonette says in the Vic Firth video below, “there was no other rock band than Van Halen. I loved Van Halen.” The problem, of course, was that Van Halen already had a drummer — … [Read more...]
Van Halen Kicks Off Japan Tour in Nagoya! (Videos, Photos & Setlist)
Updated with the two pre-show Eddie photos below: Today (June 18th) Van Halen kicked off their Japan 2013 tour at the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya, Japan! (Showtime was 7PM in Japan, which was 3AM Pacific time) This morning, Wolf tweeted, "Show day in Nagoya", followed by "We're almost ready for ya, Nagoya. Just gotta tune up real quick... " with … [Read more...]
VHND’s All Access Photo: Happy Father’s Day!
Happy Father's Day! To celebrate, this week's All Access Photo is a picture of Eddie and his father, Jan Van Halen. Early on, Jan and Eugenia Van Halen impressed upon their sons a love of music that originally meant classical training. In Alex's case this meant playing classical guitar. He didn't take to it, though, and preferred playing his brother's drums. When Eddie … [Read more...]