Michael Anthony, Steve Smith, Neal Schon, and Eddie Van Halen on tour together in 1978 First, we at VHND want to congratulate JOURNEY for their recent Rock And Roll Hall of Fame induction. Well deserved! Before supporting Black Sabbath, Van Halen opened for Journey and Montrose for a few months. (Montrose was touring as an instrumental band, after Sammy Hagar departed). … [Read more...]
Video: Eddie Van Halen’s ‘Beat It’ Solo Played on Bottles
And now for something completely different. Ever blow into empty bottles and notice the wide range of tones you can produce? Well, the "Bottle Boys," as they're called, have turned it into an art form. They cover famous songs using nothing but bottles. They blow into different types of bottles to produce specific tones. They recently accepted a challenge to cover Michael … [Read more...]
Looking Back at Eddie’s 1995 Rolling Stone Interview
“You’re either rock and roll or you’re not,” Eddie Van Halen said in this 1995 cover interview with Rolling Stone, which hit newsstands on this day in 1995. We read the whole interview today, for the first time in years. There's actually lots of interesting stuff, especially in light of everything that has happened since then. Not too surprisingly, there was the quote about … [Read more...]
Watch this Strange ‘Hot For Teacher’ Cover by a Heavy Metal Mariachi Band
Sit down, Waldo. Now put on your sombrero, and watch one of the strangest Van Halen covers you will ever see! Van Halen's 1984 epic "Hot For Teacher" has now been covered by a heavy metal mariachi band. (You read that right). And they've gone to the trouble of creating a professional video to accompany it, complete with in-your-face pelvic thrusts from a trumpet player … [Read more...]
Eddie Van Halen “Strike” Instrumental from ‘The Wild Life’ (Exclusive)
Let's get to more of Eddie Van Halen's music from The Wild Life! Here’s what we call “Strike,” a short but sweet guitar track from the 1984 movie The Wild Life. This has never been heard in full until now. (This track was only played for a few seconds, as someone in the movie bowls a strike at a bowling alley). Our guess is that this piece might be one of the first recordings … [Read more...]
Watch Van Halen Cover ZZ Top in Europe, 1993
On this day in 1993, Van Halen kicked off the Right Here Right Now Tour in München, Germany (Munich in English) in support of their live double album Live: Right Here, Right Now and the accompanying video Van Halen: Right Here, Right Now – Live. It was the very first time the band played European dates with Sammy Hagar. We just discovered the above video, and it kicks so … [Read more...]
‘Runnin’ with the Devil’ Full Band Cover by Jacob Deraps, Josh Gallagher & William Lachance
Jacob and Josh are back! And this time, with a full band Van Halen cover! Premiering exclusively on the Van Halen News Desk, guitarist Jacob Deraps and drummer Josh Gallagher have released their very first full band video. It's Van Halen’s “Runnin' with the Devil,” with Jacob not only playing guitar, but singing lead vocals. Jacob says, “Hello everyone! Here's a brand new … [Read more...]
VHND’s Van Halen Album Pages & Tour Pages
While Van Halen continues their hiatus after the 2015 tour, we at the Van Halen News Desk are always working on the website. Check out what we just pulled up from our archives... Shown here is an incredibly rare poster promoting Van Halen's second stop on their 1979 “World Vacation" tour, at the Jackson County Expo in Medford, Oregon, which took place this week in 1979. … [Read more...]
Van Halen 3: Was It Really That Bad?
Van Halen III was released 19 years ago today. Here's a new video review of the album, by "The Happy Spaceman." Sure, he gets a couple facts wrong (in his defense, most reviewers do!) and we sure don't agree with everything he says. Nevertheless, his review is fairly entertaining. Was he too hard on the album? Do you agree or disagree with what he says about the three "Eras" … [Read more...]
Wolf Van Halen Teases Do-It-All Solo Album
Being that it's Wolf Van Halen's birthday today, we're putting all his little teases about his upcoming solo project into one convenient place. And get this! We at the Van Halen News Desk received a small but amazing update about his project today... The talented 26-year-old, who's been playing bass in Van Halen since 2006, is doing it all (bass, drums, guitar, vocals, … [Read more...]
Wolf Van Halen & Girlfriend Celebrate Birthdays Together
Very cool that Wolf Van Halen and his girlfriend, Andraia Allsop, celebrate their birthdays together. She was born March 15th, and of course we know he was born March 16th, as his dad named the instrumental "316" after him. Have a great day, you two! Below are embedded tweets from Wolf and Valerie Bertinelli. (Links lead to Twitter, where you can follow Wolf and/or … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar on What a Van ‘Hagar’ Reunion Would Take
In a new interview with Billboard today, Sammy Hagar talks about attending his first South By Southwest conference this week in Austin, Texas, where he plans to do some filming for his Rock & Roll Road Trip show on AXS. Hagar was asked if Chickenfoot will be making any music soon, but he doesn't think anything is likely soon. "I love the band. I love those guys," he … [Read more...]