Seventeen years ago this week Van Halen released its two-disc best of collection titled The Best Of Both Worlds. While Sammy Hagar did get to record three new tracks with the band, he said he wishes there could have been more. "Looking back now, I really wish we would've made a whole new record," Hagar said in a recent post to his and Michael Anthony's Van Hagar/Other Half … [Read more...]
43 Years Ago Today: Van Halen Performs At ‘Day on the Green’ Concert In Oakland, California
Van Halen performed Bill Graham's Day on the Green in Oakland, California on July 23rd, 1978. Here's the story of that day along with a plethora of photos! Over 57,000 rock fans (57,512 to be exact) witnessed this legendary show. General admission tickets were $11, and the lineup was AC/DC, Van Halen, Pat Travers, Foreigner, and Aerosmith. Eddie Van Halen also gave … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar Returning To Catalina For 2021 Birthday Bash
Sammy Hagar's Birthday Bash is coming back to Catalina. For the second straight year Hagar will celebrate his birthday in Catalina instead of his usual location - The Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The event is scheduled for October 7th, 8th and 9th. More details are to come according to Hagar, who posted the news to his website redrocker.com: In 31 years … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar To Add ‘Balance’ Deep Track To Playlist, Posts Rare ’95 Live Clip
Sammy Hagar has another surprise in store for Van Halen fans. Shortly after revealing he will play the band's 1988 album OU812 in its entirety in Las Vegas, he has added an "almost forgotten" deep cut from Van Halen's 1995 album Balance. In a recent post to his and Michael Anthony's Van Halen/Other Half Facebook page, Hagar shared a live clip of Van Halen performing the song … [Read more...]
Billy Sheehan, Gregg Bissonette To Discuss Making Of DLR’s ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile’ At Upcoming Rocknpod Expo
Former David Lee Roth band members Billy Sheehan and Gregg Bissonette will be the featured panel guests for a discussion of the making of Roth's classic 1986 album Eat 'Em and Smile. Their appearance is part of the Rocknpod Expo Saturday, August 7th in Nashville, Tennessee. Sheehan and Bissonette are among several special guests and events slated to appear at the expo. Among … [Read more...]
Photographer Darren Balch Recalls Career Inspiring Van Halen Concert 40 Years Later
From Aerosmith to ZZ Top and just about every classic rock band in between, photographer Darren Balch has seen and shot them all. It's a stellar career that all began forty years ago watching Van Halen at the Spokane Coliseum in Spokane, Washington - Section 19, three rows down the aisle to be exact. Balch recalled his personal "eureka moment" Van Halen story in a post to … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar To Play All Of Van Halen ‘OU812’ Album During Las Vegas Residency
Sammy Hagar said he'll be playing Van Halen's 1988 album OU812 in its entirety during his upcoming Las Vegas residency. Hagar revealed the news to Ultimate Classic Rock's Matt Wardlaw. "The idea is to start doing things like playing a whole album," Hagar said. "Like, we’re going to play the Montrose record for the first half of the show. Things like that. We’re … [Read more...]
Mammoth WVH Prepares For Tour, Wolfgang Van Halen Reaches Out To Fans For Setlist Requests
As the debut Mammoth WVH tour nears, Wolfgang Van Halen is reaching out to fans for setlist ideas. "Working on Mammoth WVH setlists," Wolfgang wrote in a post to his Twittter page. "What songs do you need to hear?" Working on @MammothWVH setlists. What songs do you NEED to hear??— Wolf Van Halen (@WolfVanHalen) July 6, 2021 Many responded with requests for … [Read more...]
SPIN Revisits 1986 Interview With David Lee Roth
The summer of 1986 was quite an interesting time for Van Halen fans wasn't it? It was hard not to come across something on the TV, radio or on a local newsstand with something related to either the band's new lineup with Sammy Hagar or the now solo David Lee Roth. This week SPIN magazine revisited an April 1986 cover story with Roth in honor of the 35th anniversary of his … [Read more...]
Mick Jones On ‘Intense But Very Special’ Experience Producing ‘5150’
Mick Jones said producing Van Halen's 1986 album 5150 may have been an exhausting experience but it was also equally as rewarding. "I was completely exhausted at the end of it,” Jones recently told Guitar World. "We were running a bit late -- and the band had a tour booked. So there was pressure…It was a pretty intense experience but we achieved something very … [Read more...]
Car Engineer Claudio Zampolli, The Man Who Led Sammy Hagar To Van Halen in ’85, Has Died
Italian car engineer Claudio Zampolli, the man who facilitated the Sammy Hagar era of Van Halen, died yesterday (July 7th) at the age of 82. No cause of death has been given. Zampoli is best known to car fans as the creator of the Cizeta V16T Supercar, but Van Halen fans will remember him as the man who gave Eddie Van Halen Hagar's phone number back in 1985. At the time, … [Read more...]
The Everlasting Impact Of Eddie Van Halen On Today’s Guitarists
The genius of Eddie Van Halen continues to influence and inspire today's guitarists. Guitar World spoke with ten of those leading modern guitarists recently to find out what they learned from "King Edward". Here are some of comments from the article: YVETTE YOUNG How important was EVH’s role in the evolution of guitar playing? I always loved his attitude towards … [Read more...]