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: How the recent release of the remastered Van Halen/Sammy Hagar era albums (The Collection II) led to the Best Of All Worlds … [Read more...]
Opera Singer Hears Van Halen’s ‘Right Now’ For First Time
Better late than never to hear Van Halen's "Right Now". For opera singer Elizabeth Zharoff, it was worth the wait. Zharoff has a popular YouTube channel The Charismatic Voice, where she gives first-time listens to several songs from the metal, rock, classic rock, and progressive rock genres. She recently featured Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" . This time, … [Read more...]
Why Trevor Rabin Of Yes Had To Say ‘No’ To Producing A Van Halen Album
Trevor Rabin says he could have produced a Van Halen album in the 80s but declined the offer due to commitments with his band Yes. In a recent episode of the Paltrocast, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was asked by host Darren Paltrowitz if he has ever worked with a member of Van Halen. "They asked me to produce them years ago when Sammy [Hagar] was in the band," … [Read more...]
David Lee Roth Opens Up In Candid 2019 Interview
The Tapes Archive channel has just made available a 2019 interview featuring a candid look inside the enigmatic mind of David Lee Roth. From The Tapes Archive: Last week, we released an interview with David Lee Roth from 1984. This week, we are releasing another Roth interview, but 35 years later. We go from the height of Roth’s Van Halen career to his twilight … [Read more...]
David Lee Roth Almost Teamed Up With Ronnie James Dio On Animated Musical Project
Credit: Neil Zlozower Wendy Dio, the widow and longtime manager of rock legend Ronnie James Dio, recently said her late husband had considered creating an animated movie in the 80s, using the voice of David Lee Roth for the main character. The main character was a demonic beast named Murray. Here's the excerpt from Wendy's recent appearance on The Metal … [Read more...]
Hear Diamond Dave Like Never Before In December 1984 Interview
Photo Credit: Neil Zlozower A never-published interview with Diamond David Lee Roth has arrived courtesy of the Tapes Archive! At the time of this interview in December 1984, Roth was just months away from being out of Van Halen. In the interview, Roth talks about the future of Van Halen, his need for attention, whether he’s a bad role model, and what he wants on his … [Read more...]
Desmond Child Reveals How David Lee Roth Blocked Him From Writing Songs For Van Halen
Photo by Neil Zlozower For nearly three decades, songwriter/producer Desmond Child has reigned as one of music's most successful hitmakers for the biggest bands like Bon Jovi, KISS, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Ratt, and Joan Jett. According to Child, Van Halen could have been another band on his resume, but David Lee Roth prevented that from happening. Child, a recent guest … [Read more...]
What If Van Halen Didn’t Implode At The ’96 VMAs?
In late February of 1996, the original four members of KISS officially reunited at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. It was to be the biggest story in music that year. But there could have been one just as big. Maybe bigger: The reunion of Van Halen's original four. As Van Halen fans know, the reunion of David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, and … [Read more...]
Engineer Mark Linett Recalls David Lee Roth ‘California Girls’ Recording Sessions
Producer/engineer Mark Linett is best known for his remixing and remastering of the Beach Boys' catalog. It wouldn't be his first Beach Boys recording experience, however. That came when he worked on David Lee Roth's cover of "California Girls". During a recent interview with journalist Darren Paltrowitz, Linett (The Beach Boys, David Lee Roth, Randy Newman, Frank Zappa, … [Read more...]
Kip Winger On How David Lee Roth Influenced His Stage Performance
Credit: Neil Zlozower Take a bit of ballet, add a nice mix of Paul Stanley and David Lee Roth and you've got Kip Winger's stage performance approach. The Winger frontman and bassist stopped by the Paltrocast with Darren Paltrowitz to talk about the new Paramount+ three-part docuseries I Wanna Rock: The '80s Metal Dream. Paltrowitz asked Winger, who has a background in … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar On Van Halen Manager Ed Leffler: ‘He Kept The Band Together’ (AUDIO)
Sammy Hagar says late Van Halen manager Ed Leffler was the glue that kept the band together. When Lefller passed away, everything fell to pieces. Leffler managed Van Halen from 1986 to 1993, when he lost his battle with cancer. During an appearance on The Bob Lefsetz podcast, Lefsetz asked Hagar how Leffler's death affected the band. "It totally broke up Van Halen," Hagar … [Read more...]