Derek Day has clearly caught some of that Van Halen magic. The singer/guitarist from Los Angeles stopped by the legendary Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood to perform "Could This Be Magic?" from Van Halen's 1980 album 'Women and Children First'. "This is my favorite song off the album," said Day. "Going on tour I always play this album, riding through Nebraska and stuff. … [Read more...]
Dweezil Zappa & Blues Saraceno Dive Deep Into Van Halen’s ‘Women and Children First’
Abandon ship! Better save the 'Women and Children First' album first! So say guitarists Dweezil Zappa and Blues Saraceno, who have chosen this classic 1980 Van Halen album for discussion. Zappa and Saraceno took a deep dive into the album for Zappa's Runnin' With The Dweezil podcast. Below is a clip from the episode where they break down the WACF tracks "Take Your Whiskey … [Read more...]
Angus Young Looks Back On Good Times & Late-Night Call With Eddie Van Halen
Credit: Neil Zlozower AC/DC's Angus Young will always remember Eddie Van Halen as a man full of fire on stage, full of warmth off. "He was just all charm - full of warmth, happy to see me," Young recalled during a recent interview on the Talk is Jericho podcast. "At first, I was a bit shocked. I got this guy, he's talking like, 'You crazy motherfucker!', he's hugging … [Read more...]
Guitarist Blues Saraceno On Why He Almost But Never Golfed With Eddie Van Halen
Guitarist Blues Saraceno appeared on the latest episode of Dweezil Zappa's podcast Runnin' With The Dweezil and shared a story of the time in the early 90s Eddie invited him to play a round of golf. "I don't remember exactly what year it was but at some point I got invited to one of these T.J. Martell celebrity golf charity things," said Saraceno. "And you don't really … [Read more...]
Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs, Warrior Soul, City Kids Members Release Eddie Van Halen Tribute; All Proceeds To Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation [VIDEO]
Musician/Producer Frank Meyer has assembled an international all-star lineup to record a Van Halen classic in tribute to Eddie Van Halen. “In A Simple Rhyme” was originally released on 1980’s 'Women and Children First' and Meyer’s cover is available at Bandcamp and all digital platforms today. The one-off project is a tribute to Meyer’s hero Eddie Van Halen and all proceeds … [Read more...]
Watch Fan Halen Guitarist Play Every Riff From Van Halen 1 In 10 Minutes
Guitarist Derek Fuller has performed Eddie Van Halen's classic riffs more times than he can remember but this is one performance he'll likely never forget. The guitarist for the Van Halen tribute band Fan Halen stopped by Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood to perform every classic riff from Van Halen's 1978 debut album in just 10 minutes. "This is truly a bucket list for … [Read more...]
Documentarian Sam Dunn: ‘The Definitive Van Halen Story Is Yet To Be Told’
Credit: Neil Zlozower Canadian documentarian Sam Dunn says a Van Halen documentary remains the "Holy Grail" of stories yet to be told. Dunn (Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, Super Duper Alice Cooper) was asked by Death Angel's Ted Aguilar during an "Alive & Streaming" YouTube interview if he had a bucket list of documentary … [Read more...]
Loudersound Picks Out The Best Of Van Halen Album Catalogue
The staff at Loudersound has gone through their Van Halen album collection to highlight the ones they say are most worthy of a needle drop. "Van Halen albums have it all: One of the most innovative guitarists of all time, your choice of rock star frontmen, and some great tunes," writes Paul Elliott. "If ever a back catalogue epitomized the American Dream, it's the albums of … [Read more...]
Hear Never Before Heard Outtakes/Alternate Endings Of Early Van Halen Tracks [VIDEO]
Credit: Sunset Sound Recorders YouTube channel Sunset Sound continued its Van Halen November series with parts 2 and 2.5 of their interview with engineer Brian Kehew. This time Kehew takes us into the studio to hear never before heard outtakes and alternate endings of classic Van Halen tracks. Kehew was hired by Warner Bros. around 2005 as an independent contractor to … [Read more...]
Anthrax’s Scott Ian Calls Eddie Van Halen ‘The John Lennon And Paul McCartney Of Hard Rock’
Credit: Scott Ian's Instagram page Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian has paid Eddie Van Halen the ultimate tribute by saying his musical skills were those of both John Lennon and Paul McCartney combined. Ian talked about Eddie's legacy during a recent appearance on Dean Delray's "Let There Be Talk" podcast. "There's not a bad song from 'Van Halen I' to '1984' -- for me, … [Read more...]
Engineer Brian Kehew Talks Unreleased Van Halen Songs With The Van Halen News Desk
Credit: Neil Zlozower Ah, wow, man. Wait a second, man. Waddaya think “Hot For Teacher” is gonna sound like this time? It’s hard to imagine hearing Van Halen’s classic “Hot For Teacher” and not being able to recite every lyric word for word. Even harder to imagine is hearing the song with an entirely different set of lyrics but that's exactly what engineer Brian Kehew … [Read more...]
Make America ’80s Again
"When I die, sprinkle my ashes over the '80s." - DLR The '80s was a fun, carefree decade that was all about hairspray, spandex, and rockin' music that still brings back childhood memories. What was the soundtrack to your life? Your drive to school? Your first kiss? Your high school years? Road trip weekends? No rock band exemplifies the best of ‘80s “Big Rock” and … [Read more...]