From Premiere Guitar: How Van Halen's split broadened the musical landscape of the mid-'80s. I remember the days of running down to the mailbox to see if the latest of many guitar magazine subscriptions had arrived, always hoping for one of two players to be on the cover: Eddie Van Halen or Steve Vai. Nothing drove me to my room faster for a three-hour session with the … [Read more...]
Ultimate Classic Rock Bowl: Van Halen VS. Motley Crue
From UltimateClassicRock.com: The sixth matchup of the 2013 Ultimate Classic Rock Bowl features two of the most explosive groups ever to come out of Los Angeles — Motley Crue and Van Halen. Over the next month, 16 of rock’s biggest bands will square off against each other in a series of single-elimination battles to determine the true champ. Edward Van Halen and company … [Read more...]
The Roth Show, Episode 8: Stay Frosty/Ice Cream Man
In Episode 8, your host, David Lee Roth, discusses Stay Frosty landing at #16 on Rolling Stone's Top 50 songs of 2012. Also discussed is Ice Cream Man (the song and the vocation). The episode winds up with a touching story about strippers. Everything as it should be ... on The Roth Show. Also: catch glimpses of never before seen footage from 1978 and 2012. … [Read more...]
Van Halen’s “No Brown M&Ms” Concert Rider Infographic
Perhaps the most famous concert riders of them all are the ones in which Van Halen famously stipulated that brown M&M's were to be banished from the band's dressing room. Feast your eyes on this cool infographic based on the actual 1982 Van Halen World Tour rider, below. The rider contains items such as "Schlitz Malt Liquor beer (16 ounce cans)", "One (1) large tube KY … [Read more...]
Full Blast & Top Down: The Making of 1984 (Part 4)
. Continued from Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3 Los Angeles also provides Roth’s canvas for "Top Jimmy", but this time the picture he painted was more grounded in his day-to-day life. Easily the oddest cut on the album, it features Eddie sounding as if he is playing a guitar strung with elastic bands—partly the result of the fact that he is often slapping the strings. It is one … [Read more...]
David Lee Roth’s Super Terrific New Year’s Eve Dance Party Spectacular! (The Roth Show #7)
It's David Lee Roth's Super Terrific New Year's Eve Dance Party Spectacular! Your host, David Lee Roth, dances his way through this special edition of The Roth Show. Featuring music from The DLR Vegas Band and some of Dave's "word jazz." … [Read more...]
Santa Eddie
Kody Van Halen asks, "Sittin on Santa Daddy's lap. Do you think I have been naughty or nice? hehehehe!" … [Read more...]
Caption This Photo, #10
Van Halen photo from 1979. Write your own caption/punchline in our Comments section. (Captions only). … [Read more...]
Full Blast & Top Down: The Making of 1984 (Part 3)
Continued from Part 1 & Part 2 Opening with the unexpected sound of a warm electronic swell, MCMLXXXIV/1984, seemed to herald the arrival of some new mutant, synth-driven, Van Halen. But the truth was that the synths had taken outings on the previous two Van Halen albums, as well, and would likely have featured more had Eddie gotten his way earlier. The short instrumental … [Read more...]
Full Blast & Top Down: The Making of 1984 (Part 2)
Story by John Scanlan (Author of Van Halen: Exuberant California, Zen Rock’n’Roll) Continued from Part 1. Roth’s return from the Amazon was just in time to prepare for a giant outdoor show Van Halen were co-headlining in San Bernardino County, California. The US festival, styling itself as a latter-day Woodstock, had been named “us” as in ‘we’—not US, or “United … [Read more...]
Wolfgang Van Halen To Tour With Tremonti in February
Mark Tremonti is setting up some 2013 tour dates for his solo album All I Was, and the good news is Wolf Van Halen will be joining him once again. In the video above, Wolf tells Artisan News he's a huge fan of their album. Mark Tremonti Tour Dates (17 total) Click here to visit the official Tremonti tour page … [Read more...]
Full Blast & Top Down: The Making of 1984 (Part 1)
Story by John Scanlan (Author of Van Halen: Exuberant California, Zen Rock’n’Roll) The singer, on one of his many exotic adventures, is lost in the Amazon rainforest weeks before the biggest gig the band will ever play. The guitarist is threatening to burn the master tapes of the new album, which is taking considerably longer than the usual five days to record. Drunken insults … [Read more...]