Forty-five years ago today, Eddie Van Halen recorded his iconic solo "Eruption". Wolfgang shared a video on social media today to commemorate the anniversary. Below is the tweet Wolf sent out today: In honor of Eruption being recorded 45 years ago today, here’s me playing part of it on the guitar it was recorded on in 2015 while tracking some guitars for the first … [Read more...]
Ted Nugent On Eddie’s Musical Genius & Achieving Sobriety
Ted Nugent reflected on his friendship with Eddie Van Halen during an appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation" today (August 11). "What a great man he was," Nugent told host Eddie Trunk. "What a force to reckon with, how he enriched our lives with his musical genius." Nugent also took the opportunity to clear the air regarding claims that Nugent was envious of Eddie. … [Read more...]
Dutch Abstract Art, Pasadena Hot Rods & Punk Rock Guitars: The Origins Of Eddie’s Striped ‘Frankenstrat’ Design
Credit: Bill O'Leary Eddie Van Halen's classic red, black and white striped guitar affectionally named "Frankenstrat" may be the most recognizable instrument in music history. Rock journalist and author Greg Prato has shared an article he wrote for AllMusic with the Van Halen News Desk that digs deep into the origins of the guitar design. By Greg … [Read more...]
WATCH: David Lee Roth ‘Nothing Could Have Stopped Us Back Then Anyway’ Official Video
The official video for David Lee Roth's latest single "Nothing Cold Have Stopped Us Back Then Anyway" has been released. The video, created by Roth's guitarist John 5 along with Mike Savage of Vision Savage Media, includes vintage photos and video of Van Halen during their early days as they quickly rose to fame and acclaim. It was first posted by John 5 Friday (July 29). … [Read more...]
David Lee Roth Releases Van Halen Tribute Song ‘Nothing Could Have Stopped Us Back Then Anyway’
David Lee Roth has just dropped his latest single and this is one guitarist John 5 has been hoping we'd hear for quite some time. It's Dave's tribute to Van Halen titled "Nothing Could Have Stopped Us Back Then Anyway". The song is embedded below for your listening pleasure. Back in August of 2021 John 5 talked about the song to Alabama's AL.com: Speaking of rock legends, … [Read more...]
Guitar World Revisits The Evolution Of Eddie Van Halen’s Guitar Style
Credit: Neil Zlozower Who influenced Eddie Van Halen's? How did his individual playing approach evolve? Was it by happenstance or all carefully crafted? Guitar World has taken on the task of revisiting Eddie's roots and influences to come up with an answer to those questions. Before offering up six immersive studies of Eddie's groundbreaking sound, Guitar World's Phil … [Read more...]
New Clip From Upcoming Randy Rhoads Documentary Including Rare Eddie Van Halen Audio [VIDEO]
Credit: Neil Zlozower A teaser clip from a new documentary on Randy Rhoads titled Randy Rhoads: Reflections of a Guitar Icon includes archived audio from Eddie Van Halen giving his thoughts on the perceived Eddie vs Randy rivalry back in the Sunset Strip club days. The clip - premiered exclusively by Guitar World - revisits the days when Rhoads was the guitarist for … [Read more...]
LISTEN: ‘Unchained: The Eddie Van Halen Story’ Author Paul Brannigan Exclusive Interview
The VHND's Eric Senich talked with author Paul Brannigan to talk about his book Unchained: The Eddie Van Halen Story! Here's a rundown of the topics covered in the interview: Eddie's guitar and recorder always by his sideThe influence parents Jan and Eugenia had on EddieForget the Fab Four, Eddie's fire was lit by The Dave Clark Five!Eric Clapton was the Cream of the … [Read more...]
Stephen Pearcy On The First Time Seeing Van Halen Live, Becoming Friends With Eddie
Credit: Neil Zlozower Ratt frontman Stephen Pearcy recalled the time he had his mind blown by Van Halen during a recent interview with Metal Edge. Pearcy, who is from Long Beach, California, formed a band out of San Diego in 1977 called Mickey Ratt. In 1980, he decided to move his band to Los Angeles after seeing Van Halen for the first time. It was at a legendary … [Read more...]
Carmine Appice On Eddie & Alex Van Halen’s Love For The Band Cactus
Credit: Neil Zlozower Legendary drummer Carmine Appice is probably best known for his work with Vanilla Fudge and Rod Stewart but there were no bigger fans of his band Cactus than Eddie & Alex Van Halen. Cactus formed out of Long Island, New York in 1969 and featured Appice on drums, former Vanilla Fudge bandmate Tim Bogert on bass, Jim McCarty (Mitch Ryder's … [Read more...]
A Video Tour Of Alex Van Halen’s Drum Sets Through The Years
Credit: Neil Zlozower The YouTube channel 65 Drums has gone back through the legendary career of Alex Van Halen to highlight each and every drum set he used from his early pre-fame days right through to 2012's A Different Kind of Truth! Here's the complete video with a chapter breakdown below: CHAPTERS Early Years :44Bands Leading To Van Halen 1:41Early 70s … [Read more...]
The ‘Unchained’ Sessions, Donn Landee & More Covered In Latest Sunset Sound Van Halen Roundtable [VIDEO]
Credit: Neil Zlozower Guitarist/producer Doug Messenger returned to Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles to reveal more behind-the-scenes stories on Van Halen! Messenger first caught Van Halen perform in February of 1977 and quickly made a call to Warner Bros., urging them to check out this guitar hero named Eddie Van Halen. Soon after, the former Van Morrison … [Read more...]