After changing its name from Mammoth, Van Halen strutted a glam-punk attitude when it burst onto the national scene in 1978 with its self-titled debut album. Featuring the template-smashing talent of the whammy-bar-happy, two-hand-tapping guitarist Eddie Van Halen and his percussive-dynamo brother, Alex, Van Halen the band, to many, became the obvious successor to the hard-rock … [Read more...]
Van Halen News
Van Halen 35th Anniversary: In The Studio Interview with Dave, Eddie, Alex & Michael
From InTheStudio.net: The four original members of Van Halen, guitarist/songwriter Eddie Van Halen, big brother drummer Alex Van Halen, lead singer/lyricist David Lee Roth, and ex-bass player/backing vocalist Michael Anthony are all unanimous in this classic rock interview in their recollections of their unaided efforts before signing their record deal and releasing that … [Read more...]
Top 10 Eddie Van Halen Guitar Solos
From UltimateClassicRock.com: Guitar wunderkind Eddie Van Halen is undoubtedly one of the most important rock musicians of the last 35 years. Beginning with Van Halen‘s 1978 debut, he virtually single-handedly re-invented the entire rock guitar lexicon with his blend of tone, technique and sheer musicality. The legendary axeman is most celebrated for his hard rock influence … [Read more...]
Happy Birthday, Eddie Van Halen!
Edward Lodewijk van Halen (Lodewijk is the Dutch version of Ludwig, as in Ludwig van Beethoven) was born in Nijmegen, Netherlands, on January 26th, 1955. Happy Birthday to the “King of Ten Fingers & Six Strings!” “Eddie’s accomplishments are enormous. Positively towering… there isn’t one aspect of the electric guitar he hasn’t changed, rearranged, or reinvented. He’s … [Read more...]
Van Halen’s Director of Security: “Ah, what these eyes have seen!”
Ed Anderson was director of security and David Lee Roth's bodyguard from 1980-1984. "Big Ed" contributed to the hardcover photo book, Van Halen, by Neil Zlozower. VHND.com has the exclusive on what he had to say about his amazing job: "Ah, what these eyes have seen! I was there, brother, for the insane ’round-the-world ride that was 1980 through 1984. Van Halen were kings . . … [Read more...]
Ultimate Classic Rock Bowl Rd 3: Van Halen VS. Rush
Make sure to cast your vote HERE. You can vote once per hour until this Sunday at midnight. RUSH themselves have officially promoted this poll, therefore Van Halen is way behind and really needs our votes! From Ultimate Classic Rock: The 2013 Ultimate Classic Rock Bowl has reached the semifinal round! As you can imagine, that means some pretty important bands are facing … [Read more...]
Van Halen Videos with New Commentary By Sammy Hagar
This new TV special features Sammy Hagar and Van Halen director Andy Morahan giving commentary on classic Van Halen music videos. This is the Van Halen episode of the UK TV show, "Video Killed the Radio Star", which aired Dec. 12th, 2012. Videos featured: Finish What Ya Started Feels So Good When It's Love Poundcake Right Now Amsterdam … [Read more...]
Infographic: Van Halen Vocab
Paste Magazine looks back at some of the most-used words in Van Halen singles from 1978 to 1985. … [Read more...]
Happy Birthday, Gary Cherone! Gary Reflects on His Years In Van Halen
Today we wish a Happy Birthday to Van Halen's third singer, Gary Cherone! A few years ago, Rolling Stone conducted an in-depth interview with Gary on his three years in Van Halen: This interview with Gary Cherone was conducted by Andy Greene just as Van Halen's 'A Different Kind of Truth' was being released (February 2012). 'I was one of the three singers in the mighty Van … [Read more...]
Van Halen Wins “Comeback of the Year”, “Best Rock Guitarist”, and “Most Valuable Player” in Guitar World’s 2012 Reader’s Poll
Guitar World has announced the official results from their 2012 Reader's Poll in their February 2013 issue. Van Halen came in at first or second place in all 5 categories in which they were nominated. The results are as follows: Comeback of the Year Van Halen-44% Rush-28% Aerosmith-15% Green Day-8% Down-5% Best Rock Guitarist Eddie Van Halen-52% Slash-20% Billy … [Read more...]
Ultimate Classic Rock Bowl Rd 2: Van Halen VS. Pink Floyd
After defeating Motley Crue by by a margin of two to one, VAN HALEN is back in Round 2 of the Ultimate Classic Rock Bowl against PINK FLOYD, who stomped Metallica. This round should be much closer! From Ultimate Classic Rock: The second round of the 2013 Ultimate Classic Rock Bowl features a lot of interesting matchups — perhaps none more intriguing than the one pitting Van … [Read more...]
1986: EVH on “5150” vs. Vai on “Eat ‘Em And Smile”
From Premiere Guitar: How Van Halen's split broadened the musical landscape of the mid-'80s. I remember the days of running down to the mailbox to see if the latest of many guitar magazine subscriptions had arrived, always hoping for one of two players to be on the cover: Eddie Van Halen or Steve Vai. Nothing drove me to my room faster for a three-hour session with the … [Read more...]