Jason Bonham had to exit Sammy Hagar's "The Best Of All Worlds" tour due to an undisclosed family matter. Kenny Aronoff, a former bandmate of Hagar in Chickenfoot, covered for Bonham on Tuesday (August 27) in Cincinnati and last night (August 28) in Nashville. Two shows remain on the summer run. It's unclear whether Aronoff will finish out the tour on drums or if Jason Bonham … [Read more...]
David Lee Roth Deep Track ‘Black Sand’ Featured In New Animated Video
An underrated and underappreciated summertime gem from David Lee Roth is having its day in the sun thanks to a new animated video released by the Mojo Dojo YouTube channel. Artist Ramses Rios has put together a video set to the sounds of Roth's 1998 song "Black Sand", originally included on his album DLR Band. "Perhaps one of David Lee Roth’s greatest and most underrated … [Read more...]
Mike Tramp Recalls One-On-One Career Advice From David Lee Roth
During a recent appearance on The Paltrocast, Mike Tramp of White Lion recalled a one-on-one meeting with David Lee Roth that would eventually take him to New York in pursuit of rock stardom. The meeting occurred in 1981 when Van Halen was in Madrid, Spain. Tramp was fronting the band Studs, who had just released their debut album. "I'm probably one of the only ones in … [Read more...]
Hagar Reveals Next Van Halen Re-Issue, Says New Music From Best Of All Worlds Band Is Coming
Sammy Hagar dropped a few reveals during a recent interview, starting with the next Van Halen album to receive the re-issue treatment. It'll be the final album he recorded with the band - 1995's Balance. “It's next. Balance is next,” Hagar said during an appearance on the Bogus Otis podcast. Hagar didn’t give the release date or what bonus content will be included, but a … [Read more...]
Van Halen’s ‘Dreams’ Video: The Blue Angels Collaboration Story
Thirty-eight summers ago, Van Halen's latest single "Dreams" reached all-new heights thanks to an unexpected collaboration with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. A recent online article from the website Simple Flying tells the story behind how this collaboration came to be. Below is an excerpt from an article written by Simple Flying's Mike Scanlon: Shortly after [Van … [Read more...]
Hootie Guitarist Mark Bryan Highlights Edward Van Halen’s Overlooked Talent
Hootie & The Blowfish guitarist Mark Bryan says he's a "gigantic" Van Halen fan and praises Edward Van Halen's ability to come up with undeniable riffs. "I wanna say this because everybody puts him on the top with the guitar playing [makes fingers on the fretboard impression] and he is but he's also one of the all-time greatest riff masters," Bryan said during a recent … [Read more...]
Michael Anthony Reflects On Missed Opportunities Of 2004 Van Halen Tour
Michael Anthony looks back on Van Halen's 2004 tour as one of those "what could have been" experiences. During a recent interview with Ultimate Guitar's Greg Prato, Anthony discussed the troubled Van Halen tour that took place 20 summers ago. It launched on June 11th, 2004, and lasted 80s shows until the plug was pulled. Here is the article Prato originally posted to … [Read more...]
Listen To Wolfgang Van Halen On WTF with Marc Maron
WVH on WTF. Wolfgang stopped by the WTF with Marc Maron podcast recently to talk about his relationship with his dad Edward, Van Halen, Mammoth WVH, and more! From the WTF with Mark Maron podcast: For Wolfgang Van Halen, learning the drums, guitar, and bass came easier than learning to deal with the trolling and resentment he faced for being the son of Eddie Van Halen. … [Read more...]
The Frank Zappa Song Edward Van Halen Admitted He Could Never Play
EVH Photo Credit: Neil Zlozower It turns out there was one guy who could stump Edward Van Halen and that was Frank Zappa. During a recent radio interview, Dweezil Zappa revealed the one song Edward could never play. Greg Prato shared his article originally posted to Ultimate Guitar with the VHND: Frank Zappa was known to compose some extraordinarily difficult … [Read more...]
John Bonham Once Took A Swing At Alex Van Halen
John Bonham, meet Alex Van Halen. Alex Van Halen, meet John Bonham's fist. During a recent radio interview, Jason Bonham shared the story of the first time Alex met Bonzo and it didn't turn out as Alex had hoped. Greg Prato shared his article originally posted to Ultimate Guitar with the VHND: There's a famous saying, "Never meet your heroes." And it turns out that this … [Read more...]
Hagar Discusses Tour, Van Halen Re-Issues & Unreleased Tracks On Trunk Nation
Sammy Hagar says he and Michael Anthony are determined to keep Van Halen "live and alive" with this summer's Best Of All Worlds tour. At a time when many legacy artists are under fire for using pre-recorded tracks, what you hear from Hagar and his band is all live. "I can't tell you how perfect this lineup is, how much fun we're havin', and how it's live," said Hagar during … [Read more...]
Did Van Halen Have Enough Material For A Follow-Up To ‘Van Halen III’?
Van Halen recorded music for a follow-up to their 1998 album Van Halen III. But was there enough material recorded for a full album? "There were a few things," Anthony recently told Ultimate Guitar's Greg Prato. "There were a couple of songs that actually Gary [Cherone] had written lyrics and he had a melody for. And there was music written, too, that hadn't really been … [Read more...]