Homework was never quite as cool as this. It's a crash course in "Frankenstrat 101". A recent video produced by the YouTube channel Secrets of Rock traced the history of Eddie Van Halen's iconic homemade guitar from its inception in the mid 70s to the 90s as it went through many modifications. Included are soundbites from Eddie himself along with plenty of EVH photos. They … [Read more...]
Van Halen News
Sammy Hagar On 2004 Van Halen Reunion: ‘I Really Wish We Would’ve Made A Whole New Record’
Seventeen years ago this week Van Halen released its two-disc best of collection titled The Best Of Both Worlds. While Sammy Hagar did get to record three new tracks with the band, he said he wishes there could have been more. "Looking back now, I really wish we would've made a whole new record," Hagar said in a recent post to his and Michael Anthony's Van Hagar/Other Half … [Read more...]
July, 22nd 1980: Van Halen Invades Baltimore [AUDIO]
Credit: Mark Weiss Save the women and children first! Van Halen is about to invade Baltimore! On this night in 1980 Van Halen rocked the Baltimore Civic Center in Baltimore, Maryland while on the second North American leg of the World Invasion Tour - dubbed by the band as the "Party 'til You Die Tour". The trek, which began on March 19th, 1980 in Canada (Victoria, … [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...]
Musician Frank Meyer On Hangin’ With David Lee Roth, Hearing Secret DLR/Van Halen 2000 Recordings
Frank Meyer is a man with stories to tell. Being a veteran musician, author, journalist and film director, he's met plenty of interesting people, seen plenty of interesting things. But it's what he heard that may be of most interest to Van Halen fans. While a guest on the podcast The DLR Cast, The Streetwalkin' Cheetahs singer/guitarist told co-host Darren Paltrowitz of his … [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...]
40 Years Ago Tonight: Van Halen Headlines New York City’s Madison Square Garden For The First Time [AUDIO]
New York City...Make it there and you can make it anywhere. On this night forty years ago Van Halen had officially made it... On July 17th, 1981 the mighty foursome of David Lee Roth, Eddie and Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony headlined the legendary Madison Square Garden in New York City for the first time. Van Halen was on tour in support of its fourth studio album Fair … [Read more...]
Photographer Darren Balch Recalls Career Inspiring Van Halen Concert 40 Years Later
From Aerosmith to ZZ Top and just about every classic rock band in between, photographer Darren Balch has seen and shot them all. It's a stellar career that all began forty years ago watching Van Halen at the Spokane Coliseum in Spokane, Washington - Section 19, three rows down the aisle to be exact. Balch recalled his personal "eureka moment" Van Halen story in a post to … [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...]
Eddie & Alex Van Halen Childhood Home & The Graffiti They Left Behind [VIDEO]
A YouTuber has given Van Halen fans the chance to get an up close look at the childhood home of Eddie and Alex Van Halen along with some graffiti the brothers left behind! The host of SCOTT ON TAPE took a trip to Las Lunas Street in Pasadena, California to get a good view of the home and neighborhood Ed and Al hung out at. He also managed to get a shot of the shed in back … [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...]
Early Van Halen Backstage Stories From Custom Guitar Builder Karl Sandoval
Van Halen on stage. There was no show like it before or since. Turns out, Van Halen back stage was every bit the show for those lucky enough to witness it. Karl Sandoval is one of those lucky guys and he recently shared that experience with fans. Sandoval is a custom guitar builder, best known for making a polka-dot finished guitar for Randy Rhoads in the style of a Gibson … [Read more...]