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...]
When David Lee Roth Got Stuck On A Bridge…And Decided To Jog To His Radio Appearance!
Come hell or highwater, David Lee Roth will show up for his interview. Even when the bridge over those very waters isn't working. This story takes place circa 1988 while Roth's tour landed in Florida. To promote the upcoming show, Roth was scheduled to appear on WYNF-FM's Ron & Ron Morning Show in Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, Roth's limo got stuck on the Howard Frankland … [Read more...]
Sunset Sound Discovers Hand-Written Mic Setup For ‘Van Halen II’ [VIDEO]
Cue up the Indiana Jones music, Sunset Sound's Drew Dempsey has just discovered a priceless Van Halen artifact! Dempsey recently posted a video to the Sunset Sound Recorders YouTube channel in which he shares "one of the most amazing documents ever." In his hands is the hand-written microphone set up for the tracking of 1979's Van Halen II, which was recorded at the Sunset … [Read more...]
Should ‘Without You’ Have Been Left Out Of Van Halen’s ‘Best Of Both Worlds’ Compilation?
On this day in 1998 Van Halen released the single "Without You", the very first to feature Gary Cherone on lead vocals. The track debuted at number one on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Yet, when Van Halen released their Best Of Both Worlds compilation in 2004, "Without You" was not included among the 36 "best" Van Halen tracks. Should it have been? Let's first go … [Read more...]
‘You Can Mess With Us, But Not With Our Fans’: Two Times Van Halen Stood Up For Their Fans [VIDEO]
The YouTube channel Rock N' Roll True Stories has released a video recalling two times Van Halen stood up for the fans and gave the big ole "FU" to authorities in the early 90s. Both stories took place in 1992 while Van Halen was on tour promoting their 1991 album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. The first occurred when the band played at the Five Seasons Center outside Cedar … [Read more...]
Michael Anthony Sings DLR-Era Van Halen With The Circle In Vegas [VIDEO & SETLISTS]
Sammy Hagar & The Circle busted out plenty of Van Halen classics during their recent residency at the Strat in Las Vegas and they weren't all Sammy era. On Saturday night (February 12th) Michael Anthony took lead vocal duties on a couple of David Lee Roth era VH songs - "Runnin' With The Devil" and "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love. Below are videos from those performances … [Read more...]
Wolfgang Van Halen Talks Grammy Nomination, Musical Influences & More On ‘New & Approved’ With Matt Pinfield [VIDEO]
Wolfgang Van Halen made an appearance on Matt Pinfield's "New & Approved" show to talk about his Grammy nomination, his love of Blink 182 and AC/DC, the upcoming Mammoth WVH tour with Dirty Honey and more. Here's a rundown of what Wolfgang talks about in the video above: Being nominated for a GrammyLearning how to play drums, guitar, bass and keyboardsPlaying with Van … [Read more...]
Yano Anaya AKA ‘Michael Anthony Jr’ Shares Behind-The-Scenes ‘Hot For Teacher’ Video Stories
Actor Yano Anaya, who portrayed Michael Anthony Jr in Van Halen's classic "Hot For Teacher" video, took fans behind the scenes on the video shoot in a recent interview with Classic Rock. Anaya was one of four young actors hired to play "junior" members of the band - David Lee Roth (played by BIll Bookmeyer), Eddie Van Halen (played by Brian Hitchcock), Alex Van Halen (played … [Read more...]
Ultimate Jam Night Celebrates Eddie Van Halen Tonight; Livestream Available
Via Bravewords: Ultimate Jam Night, the long-running community-oriented music show presents its night to honor Eddie Van Halen, tonight, Tuesday, February 1. The evening will be held at its long-time residency location, The Whisky A Go-Go in West Hollywood, California. Doors are at 8 PM. Admission is free for anyone over 21 years of age. The event will livestream worldwide … [Read more...]
Watch Bumblefoot, Michael Starr & More Pay Tribute To Eddie Van Halen On ShipRocked Cruise
This year's ShipRocked cruise featured an all-star tribute to Eddie Van Halen. Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, singer Michael Star of Steel Panther (formerly of the VH tribute The Atomic Punks), Alice Cooper guitarist Nita Strauss and former Five Finger Death Punch lead guitarist Jason Hook all joined the all-star band The Stowaways to perform nine VH … [Read more...]
South Of Eden Pays Tribute To Eddie Van Halen With Cover Of ‘Drop Dead Legs’ [VIDEO]
The Columbus, Ohio band South Of Eden released a rousing cover of Van Halen's "Drop Dead Legs" on Eddie Van Halen's birthday Wednesday (January 26). "Today we commemorate the great Eddie Van Halen with a cover of one our favorite VanHalen songs," the band posted to Facebook. "'Drop Dead Legs' is one of many VH songs where the riff, lyrics, and groove come together to form a … [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...]