Night Ranger guitar Brad Gillis says his mastery of the whammy bar all began with the guitar master himself - Eddie Van Halen. During a recent interview with 80's Metal Recycle Bin, Gillis talked about the origins of his guitar technique, one that helped take Night Ranger to the top of the charts with multi-platinum records and sales reaching over 17 million around the … [Read more...]
Van Halen News
25 Years Ago: Van Halen’s Original Lineup Reunites On MTV
On this night 25 years ago (Sept. 4th, 1996), Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony made MTV and rock history when they appeared on stage together for the first time in over a decade. In the summer of 1996, Van Halen parted ways with Sammy Hagar, leaving Eddie, Alex and Michael without a frontman. Soon after they reached out to Roth to … [Read more...]
Jerry Cantrell On The Stolen EVH Guitar That Found Its Way Back Home
Imagine Eddie Van Halen giving you an EVH guitar only to have it stolen. That's exactly what happened to Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell but, thankfully, this story has a happy ending. Even better, Cantrell was able to share the good news with Eddie himself. Back in 1991 Alice in Chains was chosen as the opening act for Van Halen. Cantrell said Eddie ended up … [Read more...]
Dweezil Zappa Is All Fired Up For ‘OU812’ Deep Track ‘A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)’
Dweezil Zappa says Van Halen's "A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)" is firing on all cylinders no matter who the singer is. In fact, it could have worked just fine with no singer at all. "If there was never a vocal on this, this would be a great Van Halen instrumental," Zappa told Maroon 5 guitarist James Valentine in a recently released clip of his podcast Runnin' With The Dweezil. … [Read more...]
This Day in 1984: Van Halen’s Original Lineup Plays Final Concert [VIDEO & AUDIO]
On this day in 1984, the original lineup of Van Halen — David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony — played their very last show together. A total of five "Monsters of Rock" Festival dates in Europe were to be Van Halen's last shows of their massive 1984 tour. Those festival dates kicked off on August 18th in Leicestershire, England, and ran through … [Read more...]
Mammoth WVH Adds More Headlining Dates
Mammoth WVH has announced over a handful of upcoming headlining dates, all set to happen in October. Wolfgang Van Halen posted the new dates to his social media sites yesterday, adding that the all-female band Plush will once again be the opening act. Plush had opened for Mammoth WVH's previous headlining dates. Below are the new shows added: October 15: Wichita, KS - … [Read more...]
David Lee Roth Declines Offer To Join Mötley Crüe’s Stadium Tour
David Lee Roth was offered to be included in Mötley Crüe's 'The Stadium Tour' along with Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts but declined, according to Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx. The news came via the Los Angeles Times, who posted an article titled "The 25 Concerts, Festivals, Albums and Music Docs We're Most Excited For This Fall". Included in the … [Read more...]
35 Years Ago: Van Halen Shoots ‘Live Without A Net’ Concert Video
It was on this hot "Summer Night" in 1986 that Van Halen performed in New Haven, Connecticut for what would become the band's first-ever commercially released concert - "Live Without A Net". This was the second of two consecutive nights Van Halen performed in New Haven before 12,000 crazy, flipped out 5150s at the now-defunct Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which officially … [Read more...]
Wolfgang Van Halen On Including Van Halen’s ‘Sunday Afternoon In The Park’ Synth On Mammoth WVH Song ‘Mr. Ed’
Wolfgang Van Halen says he was just waiting for the right moment to insert his dad Eddie's synthesizer into a Mammoth WVH song. That moment arrived with the track "Mr. Ed". Just in case you haven't picked up on it yet, Wolfgang used the original Electro-Harmonix Micro-Synthesizer Eddie used on Van Halen's "Sunday Afternoon In The Park" from Van Halen's 1981 album Fair … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar Says There Are A Few More Van Halen Jams In The Vaults
There may be a few more completed Sammy-era Van Halen songs left in the 5150 vaults, according to Sammy Hagar. During a recent interview with Ultimate Classic Rock's Matt Wardlaw, Hagar said, although there isn't much, there are still "a few jams" that remain from his time with the band. One of those songs Hagar cited was a demo recorded during the 5150 sessions titled … [Read more...]
Guitarist John 5 On Unreleased Van Halen-Inspired DLR Track ‘Nothing Could Have Stopped Us’
Guitarist John 5 said there is a Van Halen-inspired track he recorded with David Lee Roth that has yet to be released titled “Nothing Could Have Stopped Us”. During a recent interview with Alabama's AL.com, John 5 revealed some of the details behind the track: Speaking of rock legends, you played guitar on the David Lee Roth solo album “DLR Band.” But … [Read more...]
Van Halen: The Life. The Music. The Joy.
The coveted Van Halen special issue by LIFE is now available at Van Halen Store! Beautifully printed and informative, this “bookazine” is high quality - more like a book than a magazine. Well-written and loaded with amazing color photos - many rare or never-before-seen. This LIFE special issue is 96 pages of pure Van Halen (no ads, or any non-VH content) and will be enjoyed … [Read more...]