The staff at Loudersound has gone through their Van Halen album collection to highlight the ones they say are most worthy of a needle drop. "Van Halen albums have it all: One of the most innovative guitarists of all time, your choice of rock star frontmen, and some great tunes," writes Paul Elliott. "If ever a back catalogue epitomized the American Dream, it's the albums of … [Read more...]
Visiting Eddie Van Halen’s Home Studio In 1998 [VIDEO]
Plenty of rarely-seen footage of Eddie Van Halen has surfaced over the last week. MTV just uploaded one where Eddie gives us a tour of his home studio. The video posted on October 7th shows Chris Connelly of MTV News visiting Eddie's home studio in 1998 around the release of the 'Van Halen III' album. Eddie discusses building the space, breaking down guitars, and being a dad … [Read more...]
Gary Cherone Talkin’ ‘Bout Van Halen: Hear Complete ‘Trunk Nation’ Interview
On the anniversary of Van Halen III today, it's a good time to highlight the recent talk former Van Halen singer Gary Cherone had with Sirius/XM’s ‘Trunk Nation’ host, Eddie Trunk. Gary spoke about his time singing for Van Halen, including a small update on his current relationship with the Van Halen brothers. The interview led to some interesting responses from Cherone, … [Read more...]
20 Years Ago: Gary Cherone Leaves Van Halen
The Toughest Job In Rock If anyone ever had it, Gary Cherone sure as hell did - and he handled it with style On November 5th, 1999, Gary Cherone officially parted ways with Van Halen. You could almost picture him, back on familiar Boston turf, breathing a long-overdue sigh of relief. At least that’s what we hope he was doing. After all, nearly three years of constant … [Read more...]
Roundtable: What Went Wrong with ‘Van Halen III’?
Twenty years after the release of Van Halen III - the band's 11th studio album - our friends at Ultimate Classic Rock hosted a roundtable discussion about the album most fans say is their least favorite. Featuring UCR writers and VHND's Jeff Hausman, it focused on five of the biggest questions... answered in no-holds-barred fashion. Take a look... From UCR: After … [Read more...]
Van Halen 3: Was It Really That Bad?
Van Halen III was released 19 years ago today. Here's a new video review of the album, by "The Happy Spaceman." Sure, he gets a couple facts wrong (in his defense, most reviewers do!) and we sure don't agree with everything he says. Nevertheless, his review is fairly entertaining. Was he too hard on the album? Do you agree or disagree with what he says about the three "Eras" … [Read more...]
15 Years On: Eddie Van Halen Interview Revisted
The following is an Eddie Van Halen interview from 15 years ago with new commentary by the interviewer, Doug Fox. "Why?" asked the voice on the other end of the phone. "I'm just a normal schmo like anyone else." Like Michael Jordan was just another dude that laced up Nikes. Like Walt Disney was just your average everyday daydreamer. Like Beethoven was simply another … [Read more...]
20 Years Ago Today: Van Halen Release ‘III’
Today marks the 20th anniversary of Van Halen III, the only Van Halen album with Gary Cherone at the vocal helm. The album was released in the U.S. on 03/17/98 and in Japan about a week earlier. It was certified gold on 08/19/98. Over 550,000 copies have been sold in the U.S. The cover was picked by Alex, who considered it extremely funny. Mike Post was picked by Gary to … [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...]
Rare Video: Young Fan Meets Van Halen
In 1998, MTV had a contest were viewers submitted their own home video explaining why they should get to meet Van Halen. Enjoy this rare glimpse of a fan getting to meet the band! … [Read more...]
Gary Cherone on Fronting Van Halen
A couple of us from the Van Halen News Desk just had the fortune of seeing Extreme perform in last week in Phoenix. Their show was absolutely killer! They're an unbelievably talented band and one of the top rock acts around. They put on a really fun show. David Carr at KNAC.com recently interviewed Gary Cherone to discuss Extreme's latest album, Saudades de Rock, and … [Read more...]
Van Halen III Released 11 Years Ago Today
Van Halen III was released 11 years ago today, on March 17th, 1998. The album is considered to be the only disappointing Van Halen album ever made, but the tour was another story. The 1998 tour was the second Van Halen tour when Eddie was clean and sober. While many fans didn't think Gary Cherone was a good fit for Van Halen, most fans who caught a concert that year loved … [Read more...]