Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong says his first-ever concert experience was seeing Van Halen in 1984. During Green Day's recent appearance on Howard Stern's show, Armstrong recalled the emotional experience. "When I saw Van Halen in '84 I was 12," Armstrong told Stern. "They were my favorite band and...I cried. [laughs] 'Cuz Eddie was so....it's like his guitar playing … [Read more...]
Satriani Having Amp Built To Replicate Eddie Van Halen’s Sound
In a new interview with Australian Musician, Joe Satriani said he's having a special amp built to replicate Eddie Van Halen's sound for the upcoming Best Of All Worlds tour. "What I learned from 'The Howard Stern Show', besides it's still important to rehearse and you can't do gigs without rehearsals... But what, what it confirmed was a couple of things I was thinking about, … [Read more...]
Behind-The-Scenes With David Lee Roth & Eddie Van Halen
Credit: Neil Zlozower You want David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen stories? Frank Meyer's got the stories! Just recently, the VHND's Eric Senich had the opportunity to interview Darren Paltrowitz, author of the new book DLR Book: How David Lee Roth Changed the World. Paltrowitz shared a few David Lee Roth stories from the book courtesy of author/musician/documentarian … [Read more...]
DLR Drummer Francis Valentino On The Challenging Changes Of ‘Unchained’
David Lee Roth drummer Francis Valentino says the most challenging of all DLR songs to perform is "Unchained". The reason? Nothing stays the same. Valentino, who was part of Roth's shows on KISS' End Of The Road World Tour in early 2020, was a recent guest on Paltrocast with Darren Paltrowitz. Paltrowitz asked Valentino to name the hardest DLR song to play. "That would be … [Read more...]
Frank Hannon: Eddie Van Halen Is Forever Rock Guitar’s ‘Mozart’
Credit: Neil Zlozower Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon says Eddie Van Halen's smile and style places him forever among music's elite, calling him "the Mozart" of rock and roll guitarists. During a recent interview with Cassius Morris, Hannon explained why he believes that the passing of Eddie has had such a profound impact on rock music fans worldwide. "Eddie Van Halen … [Read more...]
The Devo Joke David Lee Roth ‘Didn’t Like’
Credit: Neil Zlozower Devo is known for its sense of humor. But not everyone is in on the joke. Devo's Gerald V. Casale was a recent guest on the Paltrocast and recalled the time an in-concert joke at the expense of David Lee Roth didn't sit well with the Van Halen frontman. I only met David Lee Roth in passing," Casale told Paltrowitz. "Back then I never met … [Read more...]
Exclusive: In Conversation with Darren Paltrowitz, Author of ‘DLR Book’
The Van Halen News Desk had the chance to talk with Darren Paltrowitz, author of DLR Book: How David Lee Roth Changed the World. In the video above, Paltrowitz and the VHND's Eric Senich cover all things Diamond Dave including: Dave's contributions to Van Halen on and off stage Did Dave really quit Van Halen in '85? The DLR movie we never got to see: Crazy From … [Read more...]
A Very Merry Van Halen Christmas
It's time to bring the Van Halen fan family together, gather around the "On Fire"-place and enjoy some of the best holiday videos on the net! Santa Van Halen "Christmas Eruption" This video dates back to 2012 from Kevy Nova. Nova performed a very Eddie Van Halen-esque guitar solo adorned in a Santa suit with Eddie's iconic Frankenstein guitar strapped over his … [Read more...]
Video Series Celebrates Modern Drummer Hall-Of-Famer Alex Van Halen
Credit: Neil Zlozower Modern Drummer has rolled out the first of a series of videos dedicated to their 2023 Hall-of-Fame inductee Alex Van Halen! Alex, who has appeared on the cover of Modern Drummer four times: 1983, 1993, 2008, and most recently in March of 2021, was inducted back in September. This week, Modern Drummer's official YouTube channel released an Alex … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar Crashes Fan Podcast
Photo Credit: Brent Kinnaird & Darin Bristow The Sammy Hagar podcast The Bogus Otis Show recently had the chance to interview the Red Rocker himself! The Instagram comments started sometime in season two of the podcast, but they weren’t from any random listener. They were from Hagar himself. Bristow and Kinnaird would casually acknowledge their new listener on … [Read more...]
Wolfgang Van Halen On The Making Of ‘Mammoth II’
Wolfgang Van Halen gave Guitar World an in-depth look at the making of the Mammoth II album and the complete audio of the interview has been released! Rock journalist Chris Gill (co-author of Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen) recently interviewed Wolfgang for the cover feature of the January 2024 issue of Guitar World but tells us that there is even more material … [Read more...]
Wolfgang Van Halen Earns Best Guitar Riff Of 2023
Wolfgang Van Halen placed atop Guitar World's list of 2023's best guitar riffs list with the Mammoth WVH song "Right?" Wolfgang finished ahead of Greta Van Fleet's "The Falling Sky" (Jacob Kiszka), and Metallica's "72 Seasons" (Kirk Hammett) on Guitar World's list of the ten best riffs of the year as voted by GW's staff and readers. Here is what Guitar World's Jonathan … [Read more...]