Alexander Arthur Van Halen was born on May 8th, 1953, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He was raised in Nijmegen. Through a government-incentive program to reunite families, the Van Halens moved to the U.S. when Alex was about 9 years old. Because the family spoke little English, Alex and Eddie formed a bond during this time that has lasted their entire lives. Together they … [Read more...]
David Lee Roth’s Hand-Written Fair Warning Lyric Sheets Unveiled
We have something very special for the last day of "Fair Warning Week", celebrating the 30th anniversary of Van Halen's fourth album. In front of your naked steaming eyes--David Lee Roth's original hand-written lyric sheets! These contain the original (but not final) lyrics for all four songs contained on "side A" of Van Halen's Fair Warning album. These are from VHND.com's … [Read more...]
Kicks Like You Ain’t Never Seen: Van Halen’s Fair Warning Album and Tour
Marriage delayed work on the band’s fourth album. Torn between his new domestic bliss and a helter-skelter career in Van Halen, Eddie grew disillusioned with the band and wanted to quit. In his book Kiss and Make-up, Gene Simmons reported that a distraught Eddie at least halfheartedly made motions toward defecting Van Halen and joining Kiss as a second guitarist. “We thought … [Read more...]
Fair Warning custom painted guitar, Fair Warning Review
Day 5 of our "Fair Warning Week" celebrating the album's 30th anniversary. We're featuring a custom painted guitar with Fair Warning's album artwork and another review of the album. Jeff Rich is an Atlanta-based commercial artist, guitar player and Van Halen fan. One day he decided to combine his three passions, and in doing so created this one of a kind tribute to Van … [Read more...]
The Story Behind Van Halen’s ‘Fair Warning’ Album Cover Art
When Van Halen fans first listened to a copy of the Fair Warning album in the early eighties, few could miss the fact that the band's sunny subject matter had turned to a more somber and threatened perspective. This tone was set by the album's opening track "Mean Street,"and was continued through a song-cycle filled with dark subject matter and disillusionment. The overall … [Read more...]