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...]
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...]
Unearthed: Eddie Van Halen Playing ‘Amsterdam’ At 5150, In 1987
"You're gonna dig this." 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 … [Read more...]
Van Halen’s Hidden Gem ‘Crossing Over’ Released 26 Years Ago Today
Ask the average fan to describe Van Halen's music and they'd probably think of good times, backyard parties, reaching for the skies and achieving dreams. But there is, as die-hard VH fans know, a darker side to the band, one that can deliver every bit as much power and emotion as their most uplifting tunes. A prime example is the song released 26 years ago today - "Crossing … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar On Singing Van Halen Songs Then & Now
No matter how hard they may be to sing all these years later, Sammy Hagar said there are certain Van Halen songs he has to keep singing. They're just too important not to. Hagar was a guest on the syndicated interview series Kyle Meredith With... to talk about his latest Sammy Hagar & The Circle release 'Lockdown 2020', which includes current recordings of the Van Halen … [Read more...]
Van Halen’s ‘Balance’ Released On This Day In 1995
Balance is Van Halen's fourth and final album with vocalist Sammy Hagar Released January 24th, 1995, Balance became Van Halen's fourth consecutive number 1 studio album. It quickly went double platinum— just two months after it's release—proving that this hard rock outfit could do just fine, thank you, during the new grunge era. It was later certified triple … [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...]
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...]
Valerie Bertinelli Shares Family Photos In Tribute To Eddie Van Halen
Valerie Bertinelli has shared some rare family photos of herself, Eddie and Wolfgang Van Halen during happy times together over the years. She posted this photo video on her Instagram page yesterday. It's set to the music of the Eddie Van Halen instrumental "316", titled in honor of Wolfgang's date of birth - 3/16/91: View this post on Instagram A … [Read more...]
25 Years Ago: Van Halen Performs During Summer Snowstorm
It was exactly 25-years-ago-today that Van Halen, during the summer leg of the Balance tour, performed during a surprise snowstorm! Those who were there will never forget it. It was Sept 20th, 1995, at the Fiddler's Green in Denver, Colorado. The unusual weather was what made this concert so different from the typical amphitheater shows that the band played throughout the … [Read more...]
Watch Van Halen’s Balance Concert Video Which Almost Got Released (Updated)
UPDATE with more footage: There are two YouTube videos of this show to watch. The first is the complete Pay Per View Special, which is most of the concert, but not all. The second video is NOT the Pay Per View version... it's only an hour long, but contains 4 additional songs which aren't on the Pay Per View. All the footage is from Aug. 18th and 19th, 1995. 25 years ago … [Read more...]