Author/Van Halen historian Greg Renoff sat down for in-depth interview at the site of Van Halen's classic early recordings - Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood. Renoff, the author of Van Halen Rising: How A Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal and Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life in Music, had plenty of stories to tell regarding Van Halen's … [Read more...]
Early Van Halen Backstage Stories From Custom Guitar Builder Karl Sandoval
Van Halen on stage. There was no show like it before or since. Turns out, Van Halen back stage was every bit the show for those lucky enough to witness it. Karl Sandoval is one of those lucky guys and he recently shared that experience with fans. Sandoval is a custom guitar builder, best known for making a polka-dot finished guitar for Randy Rhoads in the style of a Gibson … [Read more...]
June 29th, 1976: Van Halen Rocks The Starwood
Summertime on the Sunset Strip with Van Halen….gu-gu-gu-gauranteeeeed to satisfy! Forty five years ago tonight Van Halen performed at the legendary Starwood nightclub in West Hollywood. It wasn't too long before this gig that the lineup of David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony had been been confined to playing mostly cover songs but the tides … [Read more...]
Don Dokken Says Seeing Eddie Van Halen Perform Convinced Him To Give Up The Guitar
How good was Eddie Van Halen? So good he could make a guitarist give up the guitar. Dokken recently recalled the first time he saw Eddie perform live. It was at a venue in California in the 70s when Dokken was the lead guitarist and lead singer of a Los Angeles band called Airborn. "This is before the Dokken days, before I got signed," Dokken said while a guest on the … [Read more...]
‘I Know This Band!’ – Twisted Sister’s Mark Mendoza Tells Van Halen FKA Mammoth Radio Contest Story
Rock & Roll can be a small world. Just ask Twisted Sister’s Mark Mendoza. Before he gained fame as the bassist in Twisted Sister, Mendoza was a member of a New York City punk band called The Dictators. On one particular night in the mid 70s, Mendoza and his bandmates were in Los Angeles and just happened to catch a local band on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip called Mammoth … [Read more...]
David Lee Roth Talks Origins Of Van Halen On Joe Rogan Podcast
What a ride it was. David Lee Roth returned to the Joe Rogan Experience podcast to take Rogan through more trips down Van Halen memory lane. Roth talked about the perfect musical chemistry Van Halen, which came out of the hard rock side of Eddie and Alex Van Halen and the funk and soul side of Roth. "[Eddie & Alex's] music was all Led Zeppelin, Stones, The Who, … [Read more...]
Disc Jockey Rodney Bingenheimer On Breaking Van Halen On KROQ Radio, Booking Band Gigs At The Starwood
Legendary American disc jockey Rodney Bingenheimer recently stopped by the Sunset Sound Studios to recall the time he helped Van Halen break into the big time. Bingenheimer was best known as a disc jockey at the Los Angeles rock station KROQ starting in the mid 70s. He helped several bands become successful in the American market including Blondie, the Ramones, The Sex … [Read more...]
10 Most Intriguing Songs Van Halen Covered In Their Club Days
From the Top 40 dance hits of the day to future hard rock and metal classics, The Houston Press has come up with the list of Van Halen's most intriguing cover songs from their early club days. David Rozycki wrote: "Fans around the world were shocked and saddened when they learned that Eddie Van Halen died on October 6, 2020, after years of battling cancer. It was obvious … [Read more...]
‘The Van Halen Story – The Early Years’ Now Available on DVD
The Van Halen Story - The Early Years has been released again on DVD! This DVD documentary chronicles the rise of four young musicians from their formative years to their transformation into a worldwide phenomenon. Witness the group's gripping tale told by the people who were there when it began - the childhood friends, fellow musicians, roadies, bodyguards, producers, and … [Read more...]
LISTEN: Gene Simmons/KISS Demos Featuring Eddie & Alex Van Halen
The complete versions of all three demos Gene Simmons recorded with Eddie & Alex Van Halen can now be heard. YouTuber ShockMe1994 had uploaded "Christine Sixteen" and "Have Love Will Travel" back in October. Just recently he uploaded the the last of three tracks - "Tunnel Of Love" - to his channel. Simmons officially released the long sought after recordings in … [Read more...]
Great White Guitarist Recalls Van Halen’s Backyard Concert Days
Great White guitarist Mark Kendall shared his memories of Van Halen's pre-fame days during a recent interview with Alabama Life & Culture. Kendall, who grew up in Huntington Beach, California, was an aspiring guitarist in his teens when he first saw Van Halen perform. "I was just kind of a beginner on guitar, starting to learn my way around the neck or whatever," said … [Read more...]
Michael Anthony Talks Early Cover Band Days Of Van Halen
Michael Anthony recalled Van Halen's early cover song club days during a recent interview with Southern California radio station 95.5 KLOS FM. "In Van Halen we would all get together at [David Lee Roth's] house 'cuz we would make up the flyers for some of the clubs we would play at," Anthony told Matt Pinfield for the KLOS video series New & Appoved. "Alex [Van Halen] … [Read more...]