There was a side of Eddie Van Halen most never had the chance to see, according to guitarist George Lynch. During his appearance on the Appetite for Destortion podcast, Lynch (Dokken, Lynch Mob) talked about the impact Eddie’s death had on him. "I mean, David Bowie, I mean, George Michael, all these people - Prince - these giants - Tom Petty - all at once it seemed like,” … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar On Adding Van Halen Songs To Upcoming Setlists, The Story Behind ‘Poundcake’
Sammy Hagar continues to promise a setlist heavy on Van Halen songs during his upcoming concerts. During a recent Instagram live chat with The Washington Post's Geoff Edgers, Hagar said he and Circle bandmate Michael Anthony have been adding more and more songs from Hagar's time in Van Halen to upcoming shows. "We're goin' heavy on Van Hagar lately," said Hagar. … [Read more...]
Miles Copeland On Eddie Van Halen, Sammy Hagar & Hagar’s One-Time Opening Act Steven Seagal
Legendary music manager and label owner Miles Copeland has worked with many of the biggest artists in music history including The Police, The Go-Go's, The Bangles and R.E.M. One musician he wishes he could have worked with but never had the chance to was Eddie Van Halen. "He's an artist I would have liked to have worked with because he really was a great guitar player and he … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar To Play All Of Van Halen ‘OU812’ Album During Las Vegas Residency
Sammy Hagar said he'll be playing Van Halen's 1988 album OU812 in its entirety during his upcoming Las Vegas residency. Hagar revealed the news to Ultimate Classic Rock's Matt Wardlaw. "The idea is to start doing things like playing a whole album," Hagar said. "Like, we’re going to play the Montrose record for the first half of the show. Things like that. We’re … [Read more...]
Wolfgang Van Halen On Being Chosen By GNR For Summer Tour, What He Misses Most About Dad Eddie
For Wolfgang Van Halen, being able to finally take his band Mammoth WVH out on tour is exciting enough. To be chosen as the supporting act for Guns N' Roses? That's taking excitement to a whole new level. "It’s insane," said Wolfgang during a recent interview with Audio Ink Radio. "I can’t believe- it’s the highest honor that they thought of us and want to take us out. I … [Read more...]
Van Halen Author Greg Renoff Interview At Sunset Sound Recorders
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...]
SPIN Revisits 1986 Interview With David Lee Roth
The summer of 1986 was quite an interesting time for Van Halen fans wasn't it? It was hard not to come across something on the TV, radio or on a local newsstand with something related to either the band's new lineup with Sammy Hagar or the now solo David Lee Roth. This week SPIN magazine revisited an April 1986 cover story with Roth in honor of the 35th anniversary of his … [Read more...]
Mick Jones On ‘Intense But Very Special’ Experience Producing ‘5150’
Mick Jones said producing Van Halen's 1986 album 5150 may have been an exhausting experience but it was also equally as rewarding. "I was completely exhausted at the end of it,” Jones recently told Guitar World. "We were running a bit late -- and the band had a tour booked. So there was pressure…It was a pretty intense experience but we achieved something very … [Read more...]
Billy Gibbons On First Van Halen Concert: ‘That Blew My Mind’
Credit: Neil Zlozower ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons said seeing Van Halen perform for the first time lived up to all of the hype and then some. Gibbons was a guest on Eddie Trunk's SiriusXM show Trunk Nation recently. At one point in the interview the conversation steered towards Eddie Van Halen. Gibbons said he had heard all about Eddie's talents, even had Van Halen's 1978 … [Read more...]
Van Halen On ‘The Today Show’ – July 1986
It's time to revisit another moment in Van Halen history. We go back 35 summers for the band's July 1986 appearance on The Today Show. At the time of the interview, Van Halen had just kicked off the second leg of its North America tour to support the 5150 album. They were about to perform a show at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado on July 12th of '86. As expected, the … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar Apologizes For Exposing Eddie Van Halen’s ‘Dark Side’ In Autobiography
Sammy Hagar said he is sorry for exposing "the dark side" of Eddie Van Halen in his 2011 autobiography Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock. "Because of the untimely and tragic death of Eddie Van Halen, I apologize from the bottom of my heart for exposing his dark side to where I don't think anyone wants to hear that now, and, unfortunately, it's in the book," Hagar said in … [Read more...]
LISTEN: Van Halen’s Never-Before-Heard ‘In The Studio’ 1991 Interview
For the 30th anniversary of Van Halen's For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge the syndicated radio show In The Studio with Redbeard has released "an ultra rare 'fly on the wall' listen" to the band's interview after performing a free concert on the streets of downtown Dallas in December of 1991. Here is what host Redbeard posted to the In The Studio website: The late Eddie Van … [Read more...]