This month marks the anniversary of a very special event in Van Halen history. In late December, 1978, Warner Bros. threw a crazy party for its newest platinum playthings. And what better place to host it than at the Body Shop in Hollywood—the first all nude strip club on the Sunset Strip! Van Halen manager Marshall Berle called upon his legendary uncle Milton Berle … [Read more...]
Archives for 2014
VHND’s All Access Photo: Ed & Wolf Jamming Today
Today, half of Van Halen jammed together. But this time it was Wolf on the drums, and Eddie on the bass! If YOU could join them on guitar, what songs would you want to jam? (Photo from Wolf's Instagram) All Access” 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 … [Read more...]
Sunday Old School: Van Halen
Metal Underground's latest "Sunday Old School" article is on VAN HALEN. Start reading it here, and you can continue reading it on their site... Though the Netherlands have given the world some excellent metal bands over the years such as Pestilence and God Dethroned, the country doesn’t receive as much attention as some others in Europe, such as their neighbours in Germany. … [Read more...]
Randy Bachman Recalls BTO Opening For Van Halen on 5150 Tour
When Van Halen was about to hit the road in 1986 in support of 5150 (their first with Sammy Hagar) they knew they might be facing in uphill battle. After all, their former singer, David Lee Roth, was arguably the most popular rock frontman on the planet at the time, and the band were about to tour North America without him. Greg Prato from Songfacts recently interviewed … [Read more...]
VHND’s All Access Photo: Crazy Eddie
Eddie Van Halen getting just a little bit crazy side-stage at Portland Meadows, Oregon, August 18th, 1993, during the Right Here Right Now tour. This never seen pic is courtesy VHND reader, Jon Storms. “All Access” 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 … [Read more...]
Happy Holidays from the Van Halens!
"Wishing everyone Happy Holidays!" (Posted on the Facebook pages of Eddie Van Halen & Kody Van Halen) … [Read more...]
Eddie Van Halen: ‘If there was any other vocalist I’d like to make a record with, it would be Joe Cocker’
Joe Cocker, the British singer whose impassioned, gravel-voiced covers of popular rock and blues songs were an indelible sound of 1960s counterculture, has died at age 70 after a battle with lung cancer. Cocker died Monday at his home in Colorado. Even a hard rocker like Edward Van Halen fantasized about making music with him. In 1991, he revealed to Guitar World, “I can … [Read more...]
Guitar Legends Recreate Photo 30 Years Later
What’s 30 years between friends? Back in 1978, Eddie Van Halen was thrilled to be touring with one of his idols, Black Sabbath. As this 1978 backstage photo shows, one day Queen’s Brian May attended a Black Sabbath/Van Halen show and hooked up with Eddie and Tony Iommi backstage. Luckily for guitar buffs, someone snapped this historic photo—showing three HUGE guitar legends … [Read more...]
Video: Billy Idol Covers Van Halen Classics
Below are 3 videos of Billy Idol (with guitarist Steve Stevens) covering Van Halen. Two performances of “Jump,” and one of “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love.” How do you think he did? “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” performed by Billy Idol with ‘THE BIG BALL STARS’ @ Club Vodka, Hollywood, Ca 3/29/2009. The photo below is from when Eddie and Billy performed together at NAMM in 1987. … [Read more...]
This ‘Panama’/’Beat it’ Mashup is a Real Thriller! (Video)
Okay, so we all know that whilst producing Michael Jackson’s Thriller album in 1983, Michael's producer, Quincy Jones called up the hottest guitarist on the planet—Eddie Van Halen—and had a conversation that led to Eddie playing the immortal guitar solo on "Beat It." But what if it was the other way round? Imagine if—while David Lee Roth was AWOL in the Amazon—Eddie called … [Read more...]
VHND’s All Access Photo: Eddie Skiing
VHND reader Shawn Wiles ran into Eddie Van Halen skiing at the Kirkwood Mountain Resort years ago. It sure would have been awesome seeing Eddie doing all those iconic scissor-kick jumps off every mogul! “All Access” 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 … [Read more...]
EVH iPhone 6 & 6 Plus Cases now available
"I like the way the STRIPES run up the back of your iPhone!" Van Halen iPhone 6 & 6 Plus cases have just arrived and make perfect Christmas gifts! (Also available for 4S, 5/5S & Galaxy S4). View all EVH Phone Cases HERE. iPad cases are also available: … [Read more...]