Dweezil Zappa says Van Halen's "A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)" is firing on all cylinders no matter who the singer is. In fact, it could have worked just fine with no singer at all. "If there was never a vocal on this, this would be a great Van Halen instrumental," Zappa told Maroon 5 guitarist James Valentine in a recently released clip of his podcast Runnin' With The Dweezil. … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar Says There Are A Few More Van Halen Jams In The Vaults
Credit: Mark Weiss There may be a few more completed Sammy-era Van Halen songs left in the 5150 vaults, according to Sammy Hagar. During a recent interview with Ultimate Classic Rock's Matt Wardlaw, Hagar said, although there isn't much, there are still "a few jams" that remain from his time with the band. One of those songs Hagar cited was a demo recorded during … [Read more...]
George Lynch: ‘Eddie Van Halen Was A Super-Sensitive Guy, Which Allowed Him To Be This Incredible Musician’
There was a side of Eddie Van Halen most never had the chance to see, according to guitarist George Lynch. During his appearance on the Appetite for Destortion podcast, Lynch (Dokken, Lynch Mob) talked about the impact Eddie’s death had on him. "I mean, David Bowie, I mean, George Michael, all these people - Prince - these giants - Tom Petty - all at once it seemed like,” … [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...]
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...]
On This Night In 1988: Van Halen Headlines Giants Stadium During ‘Monsters Of Rock’ Tour
Thirty three years ago tonight Van Halen's "Monsters of Rock" tour invaded Giants stadium in New Jersey for the first of two concerts. Van Halen was just about midway through the 23 city, 29-date tour when they arrived in New Jersey. It kicked off on May 23rd at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin and ended on July 30th in at Mile High Stadium in Denver, … [Read more...]
32 Years Ago Van Halen Finishes Two-Night Stand In Tokyo, Japan
On February 2nd, 1989 Van Halen played the second of two consecutive shows at the Superdome in Tokyo, Japan as they were winding down their highly successful 'OU812' tour. The lineup of Sammy Hagar, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony were coming off of their second straight #1 album with 'OU812', which topped the charts on June 25th, 1988. It's since gone … [Read more...]
WatchMojo Pays Tribute To Eddie Van Halen [VIDEO]
The YouTube channel WatchMojo paid tribute to Eddie Van Halen by highlighting his best career moments. In the video above WatchMojo takes a look at the accomplishments of Eddie by counting down his past appearances on: Top 10 Songs That Make You Want to Jump, Top 10 Iconic Guitars of All Time, Top 10 Musical Siblings, Top 10 Coolest Rock Vocal-Guitar Duos, Top 10 Most Insane … [Read more...]
Loudersound Ranks Van Halen’s Greatest Cover Songs
The music detectives at Loudersound have just returned from what we can assume was a very entertaining undercover mission: To come up with the ten greatest Van Halen cover songs of all time. As fans know it was Van Halen's 1978 cover of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" that helped launch the band's career. But there are plenty more masterful Van Halen-ized cover songs the band … [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...]
Sammy Hagar Talks Eddie Van Halen, The Would-Be VH Reunion, 5150 Vaults
Sammy Hagar appeared on Sirius/XM's Trunk Nation to talk about his friend and former bandmate Eddie Van Halen but said he's still coming to terms with his death. "To talk about someone like Eddie Van Halen, the greatness of him and to try to explain it to people or try to tell old stories, it's still not time. I don't feel comfortable with it yet," Hagar told host Eddie … [Read more...]
Video: Van Halen ‘Monsters of Rock’ Buffalo NY, June 19th, 1988
32 years ago today, Van Halen's "The Monsters of Rock" summer stadium tour came to Rich Stadium in Buffalo, New York. This year, a good-quality audience-filmed bootleg surfaced on YouTube. Watch Van Halen's full set, embedded above. Setlist:A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)Summer NightsThere's Only One Way to RockPanamaBass SoloRunnin' With the DevilWhy Can't This Be LoveMine All … [Read more...]