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...]
Michael Anthony
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...]
John 5 On ’07 David Lee Roth Recordings: ‘I’d Love To Do Some Songs ‘Fair Warning’ Style
Guitarist John 5 says he'd like to rework some of the songs he recorded with David Lee Roth in 2007, only this time with an old-school Van Halen edge. "I'd love to do some [of those] songs "Fair Warning" style," John 5 said during a recent interview on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk". "Heavy, distorted guitars, and riffs, and solos, and all that cool stuff but...I … [Read more...]
Sammy & Eddie Get Candid In Part 2 Of ’87 Guitar Player Interview
Jas Obrecht dropped part two of his in-depth interview with Sammy Hagar and Eddie Van Halen from 1987! This is the second part of my July 14, 1987, joint interview with Eddie Van Halen and Sammy Hagar. This interview took place on the patio of Sammy’s spacious home in Mill Valley, California. As mentioned in the intro to Part 1, at the time of this interview Sammy had … [Read more...]
Opera Singer Hears Van Halen’s ‘Right Now’ For First Time
Better late than never to hear Van Halen's "Right Now". For opera singer Elizabeth Zharoff, it was worth the wait. Zharoff has a popular YouTube channel The Charismatic Voice, where she gives first-time listens to several songs from the metal, rock, classic rock, and progressive rock genres. She recently featured Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" . This time, … [Read more...]
The Instant Magic Of Van Halen’s ‘5150’
In a new video to mark the release of The Collection II box set, Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony reminisced about the first Sammy-era Van Halen album - 5150. Hagar posted the video (above) along with a few additional comments: "Very rarely do you meet with someone, and something creative and magical happens. This is what happened when Sammy entered 5150 studio and started … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar Shares A Few Rounds Of Birthday Bash Recaps
Sammy Hagar has shared some highlights from his recent Birthday Bash shows in Cabo San Lucas. Sammy performed at the Cabo Wabo Cantina on October 9th, 11th and 13th. Below are recaps of the first two nights. We'll post the third once Sammy shares! Night 1 (10/9/23)Sammy: "…and that shit really happened! Night 2 will be the return of Los Tres Gusanos featuring me, Michael … [Read more...]
Happy Birthday Diamond David Lee Roth!
David Lee Roth's two-page spread inside the Fair Warning tourbook. A real rock 'n' roll superhero! Happy Birthday, Diamond Dave! Born to Nathan and Sybil Roth on born October 10, 1954 in Bloomington, IN. Just a little over twenty years later, David Lee Roth would begin his reign as one of the world's most well-known rock frontmen and one of the best entertainers … [Read more...]
Why Trevor Rabin Of Yes Had To Say ‘No’ To Producing A Van Halen Album
Trevor Rabin says he could have produced a Van Halen album in the 80s but declined the offer due to commitments with his band Yes. In a recent episode of the Paltrocast, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was asked by host Darren Paltrowitz if he has ever worked with a member of Van Halen. "They asked me to produce them years ago when Sammy [Hagar] was in the band," … [Read more...]
David Lee Roth Opens Up In Candid 2019 Interview
The Tapes Archive channel has just made available a 2019 interview featuring a candid look inside the enigmatic mind of David Lee Roth. From The Tapes Archive: Last week, we released an interview with David Lee Roth from 1984. This week, we are releasing another Roth interview, but 35 years later. We go from the height of Roth’s Van Halen career to his twilight … [Read more...]