Rock and roll can be a small world indeed. Who knew Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli may have never met if not for Kenny Wayne Shepherd's dad? Valerie and Eddie first met in 1980. At the time, she was staying at her parents’ home in Shreveport, Louisiana due to an actors strike and scored backstage passes to see Van Halen perform in the area. Those passes were … [Read more...]
Eddie Van Halen News
Eddie Van Halen, Jason Becker Unseen Footage Released
Bonus footage of Eddie Van Halen's August 1996 visit with Jason Becker has been released! An amazing meeting took place on August 31st of '96. Eddie spent the day with Jason, who had by then been diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Eddie came to Jason’s house to give love and support—as well as a guitar—to his friend and to film an ALS awareness promotional video. … [Read more...]
Director: ‘Mean Street’ Would Be Perfect For Horror Movie Song
Credit: Neil Zlozower Later this week (December 8) Magnet Releasing will release the horror film Lord Of Misrule to theaters and on-demand outlets. "Horror film? What does that have to do with Van Halen?" Lord Of Misrule was directed by William Brent Bell (The Boy, Orphan: First Kill, Stay Alive, The Devil Inside, Brahms: The Boy II) and written by Tom de Ville (The … [Read more...]
George Lynch Recalls Early Van Halen Memories
Credit: Neil Zlozower George Lynch opened up about his earliest memories of a "hungry", "on fire", and "vicious" club-era Van Halen in a recent interview. Lynch (Dokken, Lynch Mob) told the Van Halen New Desk's Jeff Goebel he saw Van Halen for the first time at The Golden West Ballroom in Norwalk, California. Lynch said it was the best show he had ever seen by the … [Read more...]
Satriani Aiming To Recreate Sound Of Each Era Of Van Halen
Credit: YouTube Joe Satriani wants to capture the best of all Eddie Van Halen tones on the upcoming Best Of All Worlds tour. In a recent Q&A with Rolling Stone's Andy Greene, Satriani was asked if he intends to try and replicate Eddie Van Halen's guitar tone. Below is Satriani's response: It's really interesting. There's an interesting period with Ed, which he … [Read more...]
Van Halen Holiday Gift Guide
We’ve compiled the ultimate guide for the hottest Van Halen gift ideas this Holiday season. Whether you want something for yourself, or Christmas presents for the huge Van Halen fan in your life, you can’t go wrong with any of these awesome items. With over 250 items in stock, this is your one-stop shop for the perfect gift ideas for Van Halen fans! These items are available … [Read more...]
What’s Your Ultimate Van Halen Mixtape?
Credit: Neil Zlozower It's time for a throwback party. Forget streaming services, we're looking for someone with the ultimate Van Halen mixtape! The Van Halen News Desk's Eric Senich was a recent guest on the podcast My Weekly Mixtape to come up with the ultimate Van Halen mixtape. A good excuse to ask our VHND readers to get in on the fun. Tell us what your ultimate … [Read more...]
Reliving Van Halen’s Iconic 1983 US Festival Performance
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...]