Two Mammoth WVH songs are among the 20 best rock songs released during the first half of 2021, according to Ultimate Classic Rock. While "Don't Back Down" placed at #16, "Think It Over" ranked #6 on UCR's list. Both songs come off of the debut Mammoth WVH album released on June 11th. Here is what Matthew Wilkening had to say about each track: "Don't Back Down" … [Read more...]
Wolfgang Van Halen Announces Surprise Mammoth WVH Debut Headlining Concert, Happening Tomorrow Night In Kansas!
Wolfgang Van Halen has just announced that his band Mammoth WVH is the "Secret Show" headliner tomorrow night (Wednesday, July 27th) at The Bottleneck club in Lawrence, Kansas. This will be the band's first ever concert! Wolfgang posted the news to his Twitter page just a few hours ago. The show has since sold out: Here we gooooooo!!! ? https://t.co/tbTK9AGqU8— Wolf Van … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar Returning To Catalina For 2021 Birthday Bash
Sammy Hagar's Birthday Bash is coming back to Catalina. For the second straight year Hagar will celebrate his birthday in Catalina instead of his usual location - The Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The event is scheduled for October 7th, 8th and 9th. More details are to come according to Hagar, who posted the news to his website redrocker.com: In 31 years … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar To Add ‘Balance’ Deep Track To Playlist, Posts Rare ’95 Live Clip
Sammy Hagar has another surprise in store for Van Halen fans. Shortly after revealing he will play the band's 1988 album OU812 in its entirety in Las Vegas, he has added an "almost forgotten" deep cut from Van Halen's 1995 album Balance. In a recent post to his and Michael Anthony's Van Halen/Other Half Facebook page, Hagar shared a live clip of Van Halen performing the song … [Read more...]
Billy Sheehan, Gregg Bissonette To Discuss Making Of DLR’s ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile’ At Upcoming Rocknpod Expo
Billy Sheehan (L), Gregg Bissonette (R) photos courtesy of Neil Zlozower Former David Lee Roth band members Billy Sheehan and Gregg Bissonette will be the featured panel guests for a discussion of the making of Roth's classic 1986 album Eat 'Em and Smile. Their appearance is part of the Rocknpod Expo Saturday, August 7th in Nashville, Tennessee. Sheehan and Bissonette … [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...]
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...]
Mammoth WVH Prepares For Tour, Wolfgang Van Halen Reaches Out To Fans For Setlist Requests
As the debut Mammoth WVH tour nears, Wolfgang Van Halen is reaching out to fans for setlist ideas. "Working on Mammoth WVH setlists," Wolfgang wrote in a post to his Twittter page. "What songs do you need to hear?" Working on @MammothWVH setlists. What songs do you NEED to hear??— Wolf Van Halen (@WolfVanHalen) July 6, 2021 Many responded with requests for … [Read more...]
Car Engineer Claudio Zampolli, The Man Who Led Sammy Hagar To Van Halen in ’85, Has Died
Italian car engineer Claudio Zampolli, the man who facilitated the Sammy Hagar era of Van Halen, died yesterday (July 7th) at the age of 82. No cause of death has been given. Zampoli is best known to car fans as the creator of the Cizeta V16T Supercar, but Van Halen fans will remember him as the man who gave Eddie Van Halen Hagar's phone number back in 1985. At the time, … [Read more...]
Jason Becker Fundraiser: Becker’s Three Most Important Guitars To Be Presented By Guernsey’s Auctions On July 15th
Jason with Mother Pat & Father Gary Becker A fundraiser for Jason Becker is set to take place on July 15th with the proceeds to provide for Becker's ongoing battle with ALS. Becker was David Lee Roth's guitarist on the 1991 album A Little Ain't Enough and became a close friend of Eddie Van Halen in the years following his ALS diagnoses. Below is the press … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar & Friends To Launch Las Vegas Residency This Fall [UPDATE: MORE SHOWS ADDED]
Sammy Hagar will launch a Les Vegas residency this fall and some surprise special guests are expected to join the party. Sammy Hagar and Friends will launch Halloween weekend in the Strat Theater with the first shows set for October 29 and 30 and November 5 and 6. The shows will feature Hagar and his Circle bandmates Michael Anthony, guitarist Vic Johnson, drummer Jason … [Read more...]
The Van Halen Easter Eggs In ‘Mammoth WVH’ Album
Ultimate Classic Rock has been doing some Van Halen Easter egg hunting! A recent video uploaded to UCR's YouTube channel brought attention to a handful of nods and subtle tributes Wolfgang Van Halen gave to Van Halen in his debut Mammoth WVH album and below are the five they came up with. #1) The first Van Halen Easter egg is one the Van Halen News Desk and … [Read more...]