Eddie Trunk writes about his introduction to Van Halen: I've had some arguments with friends over the years when they ask, "Will there ever be another Led Zeppelin?" Because my answer is yes, and they're called Van Halen. To me, the music of Van Halen is that essential and timeless. Listen to any of the David Lee Roth Era Van Halen recordings today and they sound as fresh and … [Read more...]
Van Halen News
Opponents Warn Society Resembles Van Halen’s ‘1984’
LOS ANGELES — Watchdog groups are voicing their concerns that modern society has started to resemble the dystopian world depicted in hard rock band Van Halen’s album 1984. “We’re definitely living in a world very similar to the hellish one described in 1984,” says John Bircham, who heads a group dedicated to monitoring developments that they describe as … [Read more...]
Van Halen’s 1984 Turns 30 Today — How Does It Hold Up?
Today's the 30th anniversary of Van Halen's 1984! Here's a tribute from The Village Voice. From The Village Voice Blogs: Today marks the 30th anniversary of Van Halen's 1984. Let's put that in perspective: Twice as much time has passed between today and the release of 1984 than between 1984's release and the moon landing (the 20th century's other crowning achievement). It … [Read more...]
‘1984’ 30th Anniversary Celebrated On ‘In The Studio’ (Audio)
Syndicated rock radio show "In The Studio" celebrates the 30th anniversary of Van Halen's colossal album, 1984! To truly comprehend just how massively popular this album was, it helps if you actually write it out numerically: 12,000,000 copies of Van Halen‘s sixth album, 1984, were sold in the U.S. alone in the three decades since it was released. Propelled by Van Halen’s … [Read more...]
VHND’s All Access Photo: “Tattoo” Video Shoot
Rare behind-the-scenes photos from Van Halen's video shoot for "Tattoo." Thanks to Dave for the black and white photo, and Wolf for the color photo. “All Access” Van Halen photos is a weekly feature at VHND.com. Every weekend we feature a photo from a roadie, friend, or band insider. Many are never-seen-before exclusives. Tune in every weekend for more! … [Read more...]
Video: 11-Year-Old Guitarist Performs Van Halen’s “Eruption” and “You Really Got Me” with Steel Panther
11-year-old rocker, Aidan Fisher, is going viral. His biggest idol is Eddie Van Halen, and his dream is "to make a Van Halen Tribute band. Have some cover songs and make some original songs on my own." From WOWT.com: One million hits on You Tube - and growing. An aspiring Omaha rocker is going viral and it's easy to see why he's someone to watch. He's only … [Read more...]
Eddie Van Halen Looks Back on Van Halen’s Landmark ‘1984’ Album and the Creation of 5150 Studios
This is an excerpt from the February 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the rest of this story, plus several vintage Van Halen photos and more — including Ozzy Osbourne & Zakk Wylde, the return of Jake E. Lee, Tosin Abasi, Steel Panther, Five Finger Death Punch and John Petrucci's monthly column — check out the February 2014 issue at VanHalenStore.com. Home Improvement: … [Read more...]
Eddie Van Halen Looks Back At ‘1984’ in New Guitar World Issue
In the February 2014 issue of Guitar World magazine they rewind 30 years to the making of of Van Halen's masterpiece; 1984. Eddie Van Halen details how how he built his own home studio and took control of his group's musical direction. The result was 1984, the groundbreaking album that established Van Halen as chart-topping superstars. (Note that this is a NEW interview with … [Read more...]
Van Halen “Hear About It Later” Acoustic Folk Cover
A Van Halen classic turned FOLK? That's right! Here's a very unique and beautiful interpretation of a classic Van Halen tune, from a lovely couple standing in a shower. Nashville-based cosmopolitan-folk duo State Room gives us their version of what they call "the best Van Halen song of all time," Fair Warning's "Hear About It Later." Faye and Mike from Ryegrass say, … [Read more...]
Randy Rhoads “Devastated” After First Seeing Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen and the late, great, Randy Rhoads were two of the youngest, hottest guitarists of the '70s. Both happened to live in southern California, and their paths crossed from time to time. Here's some Eddie Van Halen tidbits from Randy Rhoads biographer, Andrew Klein: The very first time Randy Rhoads saw Van Halen [in '76 or '77], he took his girlfriend Jan with … [Read more...]
Fan-Made Animated Video for Van Halen’s “On Fire” Demo
Check out this animated video for Van Halen's 1976 demo version of "On Fire." The animated video was created by Puerto Rican artist Jose H. Vazquez, known as "Vazz Toons." He's got plenty of other (non-VH) animated music videos on his Youtube channel. This demo of "On Fire" was produced in 1976 by Gene Simmons. The song was later rerecorded and released on Van Halen's debut … [Read more...]
Former Van Halen Engineer Donn Landee Discusses Recording Van Halen
Van Halen's engineer from the '70s and '80s, Donn Landee, rarely comments on his years with Van Halen. Here's some quotes from him on recording their classic albums... From SongWriter101.com, by Dave Simmons: The air-brushed album cover looked silly, an over-the-top rendering of “You Really Got Me” disgusted many a Kinks fan - and yet on their massive-sounding Warner … [Read more...]