Credit: Neil Zlozower Imagine what it was like being a teenager witnessing Van Halen for the first time. You're among an estimated 670,000 people packed into Glen Helen Regional Park on a hot summer day under the sun for the massive event known as the 1983 US Festival. The Van Halen News Desk spoke with two people who didn't have to imagine it. They lived through the … [Read more...]
A Closer Look At The EVH Guitar Gifted To Jason Becker
On December 14th, the guitar Eddie Van Halen gifted to his friend Jason Becker in 1996 will go up for auction. It was a special gesture from one friend to another. The Van Halen News Desk caught up with Becker's close friend and assistant Stephen Correa to get the story behind this one-of-a-kind guitar and share Becker's inspirational story. As you'll see Correa talk about … [Read more...]
Nuno Bettencourt On The Drumming Origins Behind ‘Mean Street’ Intro
Credit: Neil Zlozower Discussing the "Mean Street" intro during his recent appearance on The Jeremy White Show, Nuno Bettencourt said playing it is "going into hallowed ground", adding “nobody can do you like you and nobody can play like Edward.” The Extreme guitarist also reflected on the genius of the "Mean Street" intro’s construction, calling it "the perfect … [Read more...]
Listen To ‘Best Of All Worlds’ Interview On Trunk Nation
Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani, and Jason Bonham appeared on Sirius/XM's Trunk Nation last week (November 15th) and the entire interview has been released! Here's a rundown of what you'll hear followed by the complete episode: … [Read more...]
Nuno Bettencourt Defends Satriani’s Attempt To Play Van Halen
Nuno Bettencourt is defending Joe Satriani's perceived 'screw-up' of Eddie Van Halen's "Mean Street" intro last week on The Howard Stern Show. Much has been said about Satriani's performance last week (Nov. 17), who joined Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, and Jason Bonham for the announcement of Hagar's upcoming Best Of All Worlds tour, and not all of it has been positive. … [Read more...]
Hagar: That’s Not What I Meant
Big news again, today! First, Hagar announced his 'Best Of All Worlds' Van Halen tribute tour on The Howard Stern Show last week (November 14th). His tour lineup features Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani, and Jason Bonham. During his appearance, he stated that both Alex Van Halen and Roth are welcome: "If Alex Van Halen wants to jump out, if David Lee Roth wants to come out and … [Read more...]
Roth Responds To Hagar’s Tour Invite: ‘Let’s Do This’ [VHND Exclusive]
The Van Halen News Desk has an exclusive quote from David Lee Roth, intended for Sammy Hagar. Roth has responded to Hagar's open invite to his upcoming 'Best Of All Worlds' tour! Hagar announced the 'Best Of All Worlds' tour during a visit on The Howard Stern Show last week (November 14th) along with his tour lineup featuring bassist Michael Anthony, lead guitarist Joe … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar, Artimus Pyle Cover Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Simple Man’
Sammy Hagar is set to feature as a special guest on a forthcoming Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute album by the band's ex-drummer, Artimus Pyle. In anticipation of the album's upcoming release, their rendition of "Simple Man" has been released. The collection titled Anthems: Honoring the Music of Lynyrd Skynyrd is due on Feb. 2, and features a number of marquee collaborations between … [Read more...]
Van Halen Among Top Ten Bands Who Outshined The Headliner
Credit: Neil Zlozower It's not often an opening act leaves a bigger impression with fans than the headliner they came to see but that's just what happened back in 1978 when Van Halen opened for Black Sabbath. Their outshining of Sabbath recently put them on the list of greatest show openers. Here's an excerpt from Greg Prato's recent article for Ultimate-Guitar titled … [Read more...]
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Honored To Have Known Eddie Van Halen
Getting chosen to go out on a tour with Van Halen is quite the honor. For Kenny Wayne Shepherd, he can say he was honored twice over. Shepherd, who supported Van Halen on two different tours - one in 1998 (with Gary Cherone) and again in 2015 (with David Lee Roth), talked about those experiences as a guest on the My Weekly Mixtape podcast. "We did the final Van Halen tour … [Read more...]
Restored Edward Van Halen Miura Unveiled!
Credit: YouTube by VHND Contributing Writer Jeff Goebel Over the last four years, I have been chasing the story of not just Edward Van Halen’s famous Red Lamborghini Miura’s Restoration but also the location of his former 1985 Black Lamborghini Countach. Edward’s love for fast cars was legendary and owned a vast collection of them. But what makes his … [Read more...]
Satriani: You Can Wear Eddie’s Shoes, But Can’t Fill ‘Em
Joe Satriani says he doesn't expect to fill Eddie Van Halen's shoes since that is simply impossible. "You can't fill them," Satriani recently told Forbes' Steve Baltin. "You can put them on, but you can't fill them." Satriani will be tasked with performing several of Eddie's classic riffs during the upcoming Best Of All Worlds Tour with Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, and … [Read more...]