Guitarist George Lynch can say he's among the few who got to see Van Halen before they were even called Van Halen. When they were an up and coming band called Mammoth. "Back in the late '70s, we used to do a lot of shows with Van Halen - well, they were called Mammoth back then, the early Van Halen," said Lynch, who recently appeared on Rock Talk with Mitch Lafon. "Half of … [Read more...]
Unearthed Footage Of Van Halen’s ’74 ‘Pasadena Backyard Party Melee’ Show [UPDATED]
Christmas isn't over yet. Author Greg Renoff has one more gift for Van Halen fans and this one is a biggie. Renoff ("Van Halen Rising: How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal" and "Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer’s Life in Music") posted a never before seen video of Van Halen's legendary headline-making backyard party performance in Pasadena on … [Read more...]
Gene Simmons Reveals The Van Halen Demo Most Deserving Of Release: ‘It’ll Make Your Jaw Drop’
If Gene Simmons could pick any Van Halen demo track for an official release it would most definitely be the band's original 1976 recording of “House of Pain”. “The original version is like a locomotive that doesn’t stop. Your jaw would drop,” Simmons said during a recent appearance on The Jeremy White Podcast which can be viewed above. Simmons has a personal connection to … [Read more...]
David Lee Roth Talks Eddie Van Halen Tribute Song “Somewhere Over The Rainbow Bar & Grill”
Mention the smell of fresh sawdust on the floor and David Lee Roth is immediately taken back to his earliest memories of performing with his longtime bandmate Eddie Van Halen. "I actually walked past the door of a local drinking establishment and smelled the sawdust and like Proust with a lemon cookie, it triggered volumes of memory," Roth recently told Variety. It's a … [Read more...]
Documentarian Sam Dunn: ‘The Definitive Van Halen Story Is Yet To Be Told’
Canadian documentarian Sam Dunn says a Van Halen documentary remains the "Holy Grail" of stories yet to be told. Dunn (Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, Super Duper Alice Cooper) was asked by Death Angel's Ted Aguilar during an "Alive & Streaming" YouTube interview if he had a bucket list of documentary ideas. "Van Halen, for me, … [Read more...]
Van Halen’s Pasadena High ’75 Set Surfaces [Audio]
A recording of Van Halen performing at Pasadena High School in the spring of 1975 has surfaced online. The video (above) posted to YouTube captures soundboard audio of the band in the high school's gymnasium in April of '75. David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony perform a high-energy, eight-song set made up of seven cover songs and one original … [Read more...]
Hear Never Before Heard Outtakes/Alternate Endings Of Early Van Halen Tracks [VIDEO]
Sunset Sound continued its Van Halen November series with parts 2 and 2.5 of their interview with engineer Brian Kehew. This time Kehew takes us into the studio to hear never before heard outtakes and alternate endings of classic Van Halen tracks. Kehew was hired by Warner Bros. around 2005 as an independent contractor to sort through their archives to find material worthy … [Read more...]
CHECK IT OUT! 1977 Sunset Sound Invoice For Van Halen Demo Recording
Sunset Sound Studios has just uncovered a work order for a 1977 Van Halen demo recording session. Below is the post from Sunset Sound's Facebook page along with the comment: "Woah!! Look at what we found!!! Subscribe [to] https://youtu.be/5-biL02KxE4 because we’re going through all the #vanhalen work orders and releasing audio and performances. No one has seen or touched … [Read more...]
Engineer Brian Kehew Talks Unreleased Van Halen Songs With The Van Halen News Desk
Ah, wow, man. Wait a second, man. Waddaya think “Hot For Teacher” is gonna sound like this time? It’s hard to imagine hearing Van Halen’s classic “Hot For Teacher” and not being able to recite every lyric word for word. Even harder to imagine is hearing the song with an entirely different set of lyrics but that's exactly what engineer Brian Kehew has revealed. In a recent … [Read more...]
David Coverdale Remembers ‘Monster Musician’ Eddie Van Halen
David Coverdale said he will remember Eddie Van Halen as “an absolute monster musician”. The Whitesnake frontman, who spoke to eonmusic recently, said he did see Van Halen perform during their club days at the Starwood nightclub but it wasn't until 1983 that he became fully aware of what Eddie could do on the guitar. "I remember seeing those guys in this watering hole in … [Read more...]
Read L.A. Times First-Ever Van Halen Review, From 1976
In memory of Eddie Van Halen The Los Angeles Times has reached into the archives to share its first ever mention of Van Halen. The band first arrived in the newspaper's print via advertisements that ran alongside the paper's music listings and reviews section which can be seen below: Van Halen earned its earliest editorial mention in a Dec. 18, 1976 L.A. Times story … [Read more...]
Greg Renoff Recalls Eddie Van Halen/David Lee Roth ‘Bromance’ For L.A. Times
David Lee Roth pays tribute to Eddie Van Halen during the last Van Halen concert (10/4/2015 at The Hollywood Bowl) Author Greg Renoff has been sharing his thoughts on the passing of Eddie Van Halen to many media outlets over the past week, including the Van Halen News Desk. Most recently he penned an in-depth article devoted to the legendary fire and ice chemistry between … [Read more...]