Edward Van Halen saw This Is Spinal Tap. He also lived it. During a recent interview with Jeremy White, Dolby recalled a conversation with Edward when the topic of Spinal Tap came up. At the time, Edward was lending his guitar talents to a few tracks on Dolby's then-upcoming album Astronauts & Heretics - "Eastern Bloc" and "Close But No Cigar". "I went up to his … [Read more...]
Eddie Van Halen News
Edward Van Halen’s ‘Frankenstein’ Ranked 3rd Most Iconic Guitar Of All Time
Edward Van Halen's homemade "Frankenstein" guitar placed third on Billboard's recent list of the 100 most iconic guitars of all time. Before we get to what Billboard had to say about Edward's guitar and their rankings, here is how they came up with their list: What is "the greatest"? Iconic, influential, inventive, famous, game changing? Unusual, oddball, beautiful, even … [Read more...]
Michael Anthony Expects Alex Van Halen’s Book To Focus On The Good Times
Michael Anthony doesn't know what's inside Alex Van Halen's upcoming book "Brothers" but he expects Alex will focus on the good times had rather than the dirt. "Alex, basically, like myself — I've never been one to wanna talk smack about the band or whatever, 'cause I choose to remember all the good stuff and all the good times that we had," said Anthony during a recent … [Read more...]
Van Halen’s ‘Dreams’ Video: The Blue Angels Collaboration Story
Thirty-eight summers ago, Van Halen's latest single "Dreams" reached all-new heights thanks to an unexpected collaboration with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. A recent online article from the website Simple Flying tells the story behind how this collaboration came to be. Below is an excerpt from an article written by Simple Flying's Mike Scanlon: Shortly after [Van … [Read more...]
Hootie Guitarist Mark Bryan Highlights Edward Van Halen’s Overlooked Talent
Hootie & The Blowfish guitarist Mark Bryan says he's a "gigantic" Van Halen fan and praises Edward Van Halen's ability to come up with undeniable riffs. "I wanna say this because everybody puts him on the top with the guitar playing [makes fingers on the fretboard impression] and he is but he's also one of the all-time greatest riff masters," Bryan said during a recent … [Read more...]
Michael Anthony Reflects On Missed Opportunities Of 2004 Van Halen Tour
Michael Anthony looks back on Van Halen's 2004 tour as one of those "what could have been" experiences. During a recent interview with Ultimate Guitar's Greg Prato, Anthony discussed the troubled Van Halen tour that took place 20 summers ago. It launched on June 11th, 2004, and lasted 80s shows until the plug was pulled. Here is the article Prato originally posted to … [Read more...]
Listen To Wolfgang Van Halen On WTF with Marc Maron
WVH on WTF. Wolfgang stopped by the WTF with Marc Maron podcast recently to talk about his relationship with his dad Edward, Van Halen, Mammoth WVH, and more! From the WTF with Mark Maron podcast: For Wolfgang Van Halen, learning the drums, guitar, and bass came easier than learning to deal with the trolling and resentment he faced for being the son of Eddie Van Halen. … [Read more...]
The Frank Zappa Song Edward Van Halen Admitted He Could Never Play
EVH Photo Credit: Neil Zlozower It turns out there was one guy who could stump Edward Van Halen and that was Frank Zappa. During a recent radio interview, Dweezil Zappa revealed the one song Edward could never play. Greg Prato shared his article originally posted to Ultimate Guitar with the VHND: Frank Zappa was known to compose some extraordinarily difficult … [Read more...]
Hagar Discusses Tour, Van Halen Re-Issues & Unreleased Tracks On Trunk Nation
Sammy Hagar says he and Michael Anthony are determined to keep Van Halen "live and alive" with this summer's Best Of All Worlds tour. At a time when many legacy artists are under fire for using pre-recorded tracks, what you hear from Hagar and his band is all live. "I can't tell you how perfect this lineup is, how much fun we're havin', and how it's live," said Hagar during … [Read more...]
Satriani: ‘Every Show Eddie Would Just Do It A Little Different’
To prepare for the Best Of All Worlds tour, Joe Satriani watched as many live performances of Van Halen as he could. It led him to an even bigger appreciation for Eddie Van Halen's creativity. During an appearance on Sirius/XM's Trunk Nation this week (July 25), Satriani told host Eddie Trunk he took advantage of YouTube to get closer to Eddie Van Halen's sound. "Well, … [Read more...]
Did Van Halen Have Enough Material For A Follow-Up To ‘Van Halen III’?
Van Halen recorded music for a follow-up to their 1998 album Van Halen III. But was there enough material recorded for a full album? "There were a few things," Anthony recently told Ultimate Guitar's Greg Prato. "There were a couple of songs that actually Gary [Cherone] had written lyrics and he had a melody for. And there was music written, too, that hadn't really been … [Read more...]
Hagar: There’s Enough Vault Material For A New Van Halen Record
Sammy Hagar believes there's "a ton" of unreleased material in the 5150 vaults. Enough to turn into a new Van Halen record. During a recent appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation" , Hagar said he'd be more than happy to help go through the tapes left behind by Edward Van Halen. Getting Alex Van Halen to invite Hagar into those vaults, however, is the biggest hurdle. "I … [Read more...]