Sammy Hagar & The Circle have announced they'll be part of the first-ever Afterburner Music Festival in Southern California to be held on October 1st and 2nd. The show will be in celebration of Van Halen's classic 1986 single "Dreams" along with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, who starred in the song's video (above). Hagar and his bandmates Michael Anthony (bass), Jason … [Read more...]
Billy Sheehan On ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile’ Tour Bass/Guitar Duel With Steve Vai: ‘Dave Said It Should Be Like A Tractor Pull’
If you were fortunate enough to attend one of David Lee Roth’s concerts 35 summers ago, you’ll likely remember the epic onstage bass/guitar duel between bassist Billy Sheehan and guitarist Steve Vai. Then again, if you were at one of the first few shows, odds are you didn’t see it at all and Sheehan can explain why. During a recent appearance on the podcast Breaking … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar On Adding Van Halen Songs To Upcoming Setlists, The Story Behind ‘Poundcake’
Sammy Hagar continues to promise a setlist heavy on Van Halen songs during his upcoming concerts. During a recent Instagram live chat with The Washington Post's Geoff Edgers, Hagar said he and Circle bandmate Michael Anthony have been adding more and more songs from Hagar's time in Van Halen to upcoming shows. "We're goin' heavy on Van Hagar lately," said Hagar. … [Read more...]
Latest ‘Runnin’ With The Dweezil’ Podcast Clip On The ‘Greatness’ Of Eddie Van Halen’s ‘Good Enough’ Guitar Work
Listening to Zappa's podcast Runnin' With The Dweezil often feels like being a fly on the wall. We get to hear two veteran guitarists talk shop. In the case of this podcast, it's a shop filled with the sounds of Eddie Van Halen's legendary guitar riffs, solos, bending licks and whatever other head scratching "how the hell did he do that?" sounds. Take Eddie's elephant roars on … [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...]
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...]
David Lee Roth’s ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile’ Turns 35
And so the adventure continues...! Thirty five years ago today David Lee Roth released his debut full-length studio album Eat ‘Em and Smile. Released on July 7th, 1986, the album peaked at #4 on the US Billboard 200 while eventually achieving platinum status for a million sales. For his first full-length release, Roth worked with long-time Van Halen producer Ted … [Read more...]
Van Halen On ‘The Today Show’ – July 1986
It's time to revisit another moment in Van Halen history. We go back 35 summers for the band's July 1986 appearance on The Today Show. At the time of the interview, Van Halen had just kicked off the second leg of its North America tour to support the 5150 album. They were about to perform a show at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado on July 12th of '86. As expected, the … [Read more...]
Van Halen’s ‘Dreams’ Reawakened Through New Generations Of Musicians
Of the many hit singles Van Halen recorded during their run with Sammy Hagar, there seems to be one in particular that younger generations of musicians prefer most – “Dreams”. In March the synthwave artist Arena recorded a cover of the song. Their recording even received the stamp of approval from Hagar himself. “I wanna tell you guys I love what Arena did with … [Read more...]
Unearthed: Eddie Van Halen Playing ‘Amsterdam’ At 5150, In 1987
Coming hot on the heels of the lost Van Halen 'dinosaur' video comes yet another unearthed gem! And this one is even better! We've all wanted to be a fly on the wall at 5150. Or a friend of Eddie Van Halen's who could get to hear amazing stuff that he's working on. Well, this video below is just that! The unknown videographer starts filming as he opens the studio … [Read more...]