UPDATE: In this poll, Eddie was winning with 75% until recently, when Joe suddenly received a HUGE boost in votes. That is solely because Chickenfoot's official facebook page made a post telling all their fans to go vote for Joe. Chickenoot's facebook page has 197,000 followers, so it's no surprise that he's getting tons of new votes. Van Halen's facebook page, on the other … [Read more...]
Van Halen News
John 5’s hero is Eddie Van Halen
Guitarist John 5 contributed to the new hardcover photo book, Eddie Van Halen, by Neil Zlozower. The Van Halen News Desk has the exclusive what the guitarist had to say about Van Halen: "Eddie's music came into my life in 1978, and from that point forward I knew exactly what I was going to do with my life. Not only did he reinvent the guitar forever, and influence all of us … [Read more...]
A Passion for Van Halen
Last year, we featured a story about a podcast from The Guardian’s film & music editor, Michael Hann, where he professes his passion for Van Halen, whom he describes as “the most important and influential white rock band apart from the Beatles.” Hann really gets how Van Halen totally reinvented hard rock and how David Lee Roth helped make them much more interesting than the … [Read more...]
VHND’s Official Rules For Posting Comments
The new rules are listed here. … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar and ‘That Metal Show’ Hosts Chose Their ‘Top 5 Roth-Era Van Halen Songs’
Sammy Hagar co-hosted That Metal Show this week, where the four hosts tried to choose the top five best David Lee Roth-era Van Halen songs. Trunk called the task "Impossible because the first four albums, top to bottom, were amazing." Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine, and Don Jamieson primarily chose deep tracks, while Hagar argued more for the hits such as "Jump" and "Panama." Don … [Read more...]
The First Video That Meant Something To Me: Van Halen’s ‘Panama’
Part of a series for the new Awl Music app. For a 12-year-old boy, this video had it all: a cool airplane, jumping, kicking, spandex, karate, cops, chest hair, head hair, hot chicks, motorcycles, booze, screaming fans, rhythm gymnastics. It was the perfect music video for the confused sexuality of puberty. My friend Sam and I would watch this video on his VCR and act it … [Read more...]
Irreplaceable Replacements
From GazetteExtra.com: If a band changes its members, when does it cease to be the band it started as and continue in name only? When David Lee Roth left Van Halen in 1985, the band continued under a new guise with Sammy Hagar as the lead singer. After the Van Halen/Hagar relationship soured in the mid-1990s, things got weird. The band brought Roth back into the fold … [Read more...]
Poll: The Greatest Guitarist of All Time, Round 4 — Eddie Van Halen Vs. Randy Rhoads
From GuitarWorld.com: Welcome to our first-ever Greatest Guitarist poll, where 128 132 guitarists go head to head, round by round, in a bracketed format, all to crown your choice for the Greatest Guitarist of All Time. We filled all but four of the slots with the names of a host of incredible guitarists (dead and living) — players chosen for their technical ability as … [Read more...]
Eddie Van Halen Update From CNN
From CNN: Eddie Van Halen is home recovering from surgery. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist had an operation for diverticulitis, an inflammation and infection of the intestines. According to a rep for the rock group Van Halen, the guitarist first developed the condition while on tour. When he came off the road, he had a serious flare-up. Eddie Van Halen … [Read more...]
Statement From Eddie Van Halen
This statement just in from the Van Halen camp: "Eddie Van Halen underwent an emergency surgery for a severe bout of Diverticulitis. No further surgeries are needed and a full recovery is expected within 4 - 6 months. Van Halen's scheduled November 2012 tour of Japan is currently being rescheduled and the band looks forward to seeing and playing for their fans in 2013." … [Read more...]
Voice Teacher Peter Strobl on Coaching, Technique and Working with Wolfgang Van Halen
Freelance writer Alison Richter interviewed Wolfgang's vocal coach, Peter Strobl. All the Van Halen content is below. For the entire interview, see Examiner.com. The human voice is our most widely used instrument, and one we don’t often care for properly. From public speaking to fronting a band, voices take abuse on a daily basis, and with neglect, the damage may become … [Read more...]
Growing Up With The Van Halens
VHND exclusive: Interview with Dennis Travis, ex-member of the Trojan Rubber Company (Eddie and Alex Van Halen's band in 1971) While many claim to have known the Van Halen brothers in their formative years before signing with Warner Brothers, few can call them their childhood friends. However, Dennis Travis not only knew the Van Halens, but was a member of one of their first … [Read more...]