On this day in 1984, Kurt Jefferis won a “Lost Weekend With Van Halen” MTV contest out of more than 1 million entrants. This is his story! When MTV announced its "Lost Weekend With Van Halen" contest in early 1984, the network received over a million postcard entries for a chance to spend three days with the band during their 1984 tour. The lottery couldn't have … [Read more...]
Guitar World Revisits 2012 Eddie Van Halen Interview For Tenth Anniversary Of ‘A Different Kind Of Truth’
Guitar World has commemorated the tenth anniversary of Van Halen's A Different Kind Of Truth album by revisiting a 2012 interview with Eddie Van Halen. Here are the excerpts from the interview (originally run in the August 2012 issue of Guitar World) regarding the album conducted by Guitar World's Chris Gill. Q: You're using a lot more wah on your solos on this … [Read more...]
Steve Vai On David Lee Roth’s Retirement & The Origins Of DLR’s ‘Damn Good’
The Eat 'Em and Smile Band L-R: Billy Sheehan, David Lee Roth, Steve Vai, Greg Bissonnette Steve Vai says David Lee Roth's retirement is well earned and will be forever grateful for making him "famous almost overnight". Vai, who is promoting his latest solo release Inviolate, was asked by eonmusic if he planned on showing up for Roth's initially scheduled final … [Read more...]
Valerie Bertinelli Opens Up About Eddie & Wolfgang On ‘The View’
Valerie Bertinelli shared her regrets and joys regarding Van Halen past and present during a recent appearance on "The View". Bertinelli, who has written extensively about her marriage to Eddie in her new memoir titled Enough Already, said the reason for their divorce in 2007 was mainly due to his abuse of drugs and alcohol. It was a world she didn't want her son Wolfgang … [Read more...]
Sunset Sound Roundtable: Alex Van Halen Can Bring The Swing!
Credit: Neil Zlozower Alice Cooper drummer Glen Sobel gave it up to the "King of Swing" Alex Van Halen during a recent visit to Sunset Sound Studios. During his roundtable interview with Sunset Sound Recorders host Drew Dempsey, Sobel was asked why Van Halen's "I'm The One" is such an important song. "[Because] it swings," said Sobel of the song recorded at Sunset … [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...]
LISTEN: ‘Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen’ Authors Exclusive Interview
The VHND's Eric Senich talked with Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen authors Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill for an exclusive, in-depth discussion of Eddie Van Halen's legendary career! Throughout the interview Tolinski and Gill give their insight and opinions on a wide range of EVH topics including: Eddie's childhood days overcoming his shynessHis relationship … [Read more...]
Author Greg Renoff On The History & Legacy Of Van Halen
Author Greg Renoff sat down for an in-depth discussion on Eddie Van Halen and Van Halen history during a recent appearance on the Making Waves with Tom Prather podcast. Prather covered a wide range of Van Halen-related topics while also learning some Greg Renoff history. Long before writing his critically acclaimed books Van Halen Rising: How a Southern California Backyard … [Read more...]
Exclusive Interview: ‘Van Halen: The Eruption and the Aftershock’ Author Michael Christopher
The Van Halen News Desk's Eric Senich talked with music journalist Michael Christopher about his new book Van Halen: The Eruption and the Aftershock! Below is the complete interview conducted by Senich for his podcast Booked On Rock. Christopher discusses a wide range of topics related to Van Halen including: The band's early days in Pasadena and original bassist Mark … [Read more...]
New Van Halen Book ‘The Eruption And The Aftershock’ Released
A new Van Halen full-band biography entitled Van Halen: The Eruption And The Aftershock has been published by Backbeat Books. The book is now in stock at Van Halen Store. Order direct from Van Halen Store to have your copy shipped immediately! Here's the scoop: Come the late '70s, the rock music landscape was littered with the bloated carcasses of bands who … [Read more...]
WATCH: Van Halen Photographer Neil Zlozower Interview At Sunset Sound Studios
Photographer Neil Zlozower has shot as many classic Van Halen photos as Van Halen has recorded classic songs. That's a lot, which means he has just as many stories to tell. Zlozower sat down for a lengthy interview at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, California to share the stories of his time "hangin', gettin' into trouble together and workin' together" with David Lee … [Read more...]
Wolfgang Van Halen: ‘Mike Anthony Is Such A Fantastic Bassist’
Wolfgang Van Halen praised the talents of Michael Anthony during a recent interview with Guitar World. Below is an excerpt from his interview with Guitar World's Bass Player Staff featuring his comments on Anthony and Van Halen. How old were you when you got started on bass? “It was shortly after I picked up guitar, so it was probably around 13 or 14. I just started … [Read more...]