Credit: Neil Zlozower Imagine what it was like being a teenager witnessing Van Halen for the first time. You're among an estimated 670,000 people packed into Glen Helen Regional Park on a hot summer day under the sun for the massive event known as the 1983 US Festival. The Van Halen News Desk spoke with two people who didn't have to imagine it. They lived through the … [Read more...]
Michael Anthony
Listen To ‘Best Of All Worlds’ Interview On Trunk Nation
Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani, and Jason Bonham appeared on Sirius/XM's Trunk Nation last week (November 15th) and the entire interview has been released! Here's a rundown of what you'll hear followed by the complete episode: … [Read more...]
Nuno Bettencourt Defends Satriani’s Attempt To Play Van Halen
Nuno Bettencourt is defending Joe Satriani's perceived 'screw-up' of Eddie Van Halen's "Mean Street" intro last week on The Howard Stern Show. Much has been said about Satriani's performance last week (Nov. 17), who joined Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, and Jason Bonham for the announcement of Hagar's upcoming Best Of All Worlds tour, and not all of it has been positive. … [Read more...]
Roth Responds To Hagar’s Tour Invite: ‘Let’s Do This’ [VHND Exclusive]
The Van Halen News Desk has an exclusive quote from David Lee Roth, intended for Sammy Hagar. Roth has responded to Hagar's open invite to his upcoming 'Best Of All Worlds' tour! Hagar announced the 'Best Of All Worlds' tour during a visit on The Howard Stern Show last week (November 14th) along with his tour lineup featuring bassist Michael Anthony, lead guitarist Joe … [Read more...]
Van Halen Among Top Ten Bands Who Outshined The Headliner
Credit: Neil Zlozower It's not often an opening act leaves a bigger impression with fans than the headliner they came to see but that's just what happened back in 1978 when Van Halen opened for Black Sabbath. Their outshining of Sabbath recently put them on the list of greatest show openers. Here's an excerpt from Greg Prato's recent article for Ultimate-Guitar titled … [Read more...]
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Honored To Have Known Eddie Van Halen
Getting chosen to go out on a tour with Van Halen is quite the honor. For Kenny Wayne Shepherd, he can say he was honored twice over. Shepherd, who supported Van Halen on two different tours - one in 1998 (with Gary Cherone) and again in 2015 (with David Lee Roth), talked about those experiences as a guest on the My Weekly Mixtape podcast. "We did the final Van Halen tour … [Read more...]
Satriani: You Can Wear Eddie’s Shoes, But Can’t Fill ‘Em
Joe Satriani says he doesn't expect to fill Eddie Van Halen's shoes since that is simply impossible. "You can't fill them," Satriani recently told Forbes' Steve Baltin. "You can put them on, but you can't fill them." Satriani will be tasked with performing several of Eddie's classic riffs during the upcoming Best Of All Worlds Tour with Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, and … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar Announces ‘Best Of All Worlds’ Tour With Joe Satriani
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer SAMMY HAGAR is embarking on the long-awaited “THE BEST OF ALL WORLDS” 2024 tour. Hagar will be joined by rock heavyweights and longtime bandmates MICHAEL ANTHONY (bass, backing vocals), JASON BONHAM (drums) and revealed on Nov 14 on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show that JOE SATRIANI, one of the best guitar players in the world, will complete the … [Read more...]
Hawkins Recalls Van Halen Set At Wembley With Wolfgang
Justin Hawkins says he and Wolfgang Van Halen had very little time to prepare their mini-Van Halen set before 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in London last year during the Taylor Hawkins tribute. Just one run-through and go. Here's an excerpt from an article posted to Ultimate-Guitar by Greg Prato: Of the many performances at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts at … [Read more...]
McDonald’s Releases Christmas Ad Featuring Van Halen’s ‘Jump’
Nothin' like a Big Mac with an extra large order of Van Halen! McDonald's latest Christmas ad titled 'Fancy A McDonald's' features the Van Halen song that's as familiar as the McDonald's arches - "Jump". It features various scenarios including parents at a nativity play, friends at a work Christmas party, and even Santa Claus himself, with people coming together to head to … [Read more...]
Triumph’s Rik Emmett: US Festival Wasn’t Van Halen’s Best Moment
Credit: Neil Zlozower Triumph singer/guitarist Rik Emmett says Van Halen may have started the party too early on the day of the 1983 US Festival. During a recent interview with Ultimate-Guitar's Greg Prato, Emmett commented on Triumph's appearance at the US Festival's "Heavy Metal Day" on May 29, 1983, which saw performances from Quiet Riot, Mötley Crüe, Ozzy … [Read more...]
Paul Gilbert: ‘Van Halen II’ Was Life-Changing
Mr. Big guitarist Paul Gilbert says Van Halen II is among the ten albums that changed his life. Here's what Gilbert had to say about Van Halen's classic sophomore effort from 1979 during a recent interview with ClassicRockHistory.com's Andrew Daly: All the David Lee Roth-era Van Halen records were monuments of excellence to me. But Van Halen II hit me at just the right … [Read more...]