In a recent interview by Jim Dunlop, Alice In Chains lead guitarist Jerry Cantrell recounts the prank battle between Van Halen and Alice In Chains as they toured together in 1991: "A lot of pranks get pulled on stage, it’s kind of a tradition to fuck with each other at the end of the tour, especially the opening bands. I remember the Van Halen guys got us like four times in … [Read more...]
Van Halen News
Anniversary of Van Halen’s 1981 Oakland Shows: Watch Highest Quality Footage!
From June 11-13th, 1981, Van Halen performed three shows in front of sold out crowds of 11,300 people each night at California's Oakland Coliseum. The Oakland '81 shows have become legendary, thanks to the band deciding to preserve some of their performance to film. The footage was edited into three videos which aired on MTV as promos for the Fair … [Read more...]
Wolfgang Answers Van Halen Questions on Twitter
The other day, Wolfgang Van Halen decided to do an on-the-spot Q&A session on Twitter. Here are the VH related highlights: Fair Warning or 1984 RT @thismusicsux: ok you've prob been asked 1000 times.Which is your fav VH album 78-84? — Wolfgang Van Halen (@WolfVanHalen) June 5, 2013 Balance RT @mr_bobmurdock: @wolfvanhalen What about Sammy era? — Wolfgang Van Halen … [Read more...]
Van Halen = Hot Lava?! David Lee Roth Explains
Lead singer of Van Halen, David Lee Roth, and Jay Mohr sit down with Opie & Anthony today (June 5th) and reminisce about David's childhood and playing the game 'hot lava'. David discusses the competitive and risky nature of the game and how it has developed into his band's current life; Van Halen trying to expand their parameters and pushing the edge during their … [Read more...]
Announcement: ‘Women And Children First’ Page Now Live!
As we have done for Van Halen's debut album and Van Halen II , VHND is unveiling our NEW PAGE dedicated entirely to Women and Children First. The new page is full of everything there is to know about the album. Features include: the recording of the album, sales information, photos from the cover shoot, never-seen photos, and more! This is a must-read for any Van Halen … [Read more...]
30th Anniversary of the 1983 US Festival
On this day in 1983, Van Halen headlined the US Festival, a music festival held from 5/28/83 through 5/30/83 at Glen Helen Regional Park in San Bernardino, CA. Van Halen performed on "Heavy Metal Day" (5/29/83) as headliners for the record-setting fee of $1.5 million. The 1984 Guinness Book of World Records created a new category based upon the price of this performance. For … [Read more...]
VHND’s All Access Photo: Eddie Backstage ’78
Imagine being backstage in 1978 and getting your own private performance from new kid on the block, Eddie Van Halen! Photographer Neil Zlozower took this shot shortly after the release of Van Halen's debut album. “All Access” Van Halen photos is a weekly feature at VHND.com. Every weekend we will be posting a photo from a roadie, friend, or band insider. Many will be … [Read more...]
Anniversary of Van Halen’s ‘OU812’
On this day in 1988 (May 24th), Van Halen's 8th album, OU812 ("Oh You Ate One Too"), was released. The album was the second to feature Sammy Hagar as lead singer. The number 1 album sold over 4 million copies in the US and featured 6songs that landed on the Billboard Hot 100 and/or the Mainstream Rock Tracks! Featured below is an interview with Eddie Van Halen … [Read more...]
14 Year-Old Girl Shreds Van Halen’s “Eruption”
Eddie Van Halen's revolutionary guitar solo,"Eruption," is arguably the most inventive, groundbreaking and utterly mind blowing rock guitar demonstration of the past 35 years. To this day, it’s the yardstick by which all shredfests are measured. Yesterday, a 14 year-old girl named Tina uploaded a video of her impressive cover of "Eruption." Not bad at all, Tina! A few … [Read more...]
Tom Morello: It Doesn’t Get Better Than Early Van Halen
Tom Morello (guitarist for Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave) contributed to the hardcover photo book, Van Halen, by Neil Zlozower. The Van Halen News Desk has the exclusive on how highly he regards Van Halen: "When I first heard 'Runnin’ with the Devil' on the radio, I was stunned and found myself dizzy, walking through my high school hallways thinking, “What was … [Read more...]
Mitch Malloy: “Eddie told me I was in Van Halen!”
Van Halen fans all know the two major eras of the band — the original era featuring lead singer David Lee Roth, the “Van Hagar” era with Sammy Hagar. There was also the album and tour with Gary Cherone. But most fans are unaware that during the Summer of 1996, before they auditioned Cherone, the band auditioned singer Mitch Malloy. During his audition, Eddie, Alex, and Michael … [Read more...]
Def Leppard Members Praise Van Halen
The Van Halen News Desk has the exclusive on what members of Def Leppard have to say about Van Halen: "I heard “Runnin’ with the Devil” and nearly shat myself!" — Joe Elliott "I still remember the night in 1978 when my friend rushed over to my house and insisted I listen to this album by this new, unheard-of band. He promised it was going to blow my mind. Well, he … [Read more...]