The readers of the best selling guitar magazine in the world, Guitar World, recently voted Eddie Van Halen the "Best Rock Guitarist of 2008" in the 15th Annual Guitar World Readers Poll. Eddie won by a landslide, receiving nearly seven times as many votes as the runner up, Angus Young. We mention this poll because it's not just another meaningless list written by some random … [Read more...]
“Mean Street,” Then and Now
At the press conference announcing the 2007 tour, a giddy David Lee Roth asked an excited but at times skeptical crowd of journalists and fans to "judge the band harshly" in his confidence the group could still deliver the goods on stage. The man got his wish, as a countless reviews poured in once the tour commenced, in Sept, 2007. And despite the fact that die-hard fans … [Read more...]
Eddie reflects on the 2007-2008 tour in new interview
There is a new interview with Eddie Van Halen in the April 2009 issue of Hustler magazine. Here are some of the highlights where Eddie talks about Van Halen's 2007-2008 tour: (Photo by Matthew Bruck) What was it like the first time you guys played after all those years ? It was amazing. At first, obviously, Dave doubted that a 15-16 year old could do it. He said, … [Read more...]
Van Halen: Like Father, Like Son
From Guitar World: Van Halen: Like Father, Like Son By Chris Gill This feature is from the April 2008 issue of Guitar World magazine. Eddie Van Halen put the fire in the group that bears his name. It took his son, Wolfgang, to rekindle the passion and get the group on the road for one of the most anticipated reunion tours in rock history. In this world exclusive … [Read more...]
Eddie Van Halen Is Engaged
From People: By Vicki Sheff-Cahan Originally posted Monday October 06, 2008 02:20 AM EDT Eddie Van Halen is engaged to his girlfriend/publicist Janie Liszewski, PEOPLE has learned. Van Halen, 53, proposed to Liszewski, 38, on Aug. 4 while they were vacationing in Hawaii. The rock guitarist dropped to one knee and popped the question in a private room at Tiffany's, a … [Read more...]
Van Halen-Obsessed Psychologist Barred Over Lesbian Tryst
(YES, this is a real story) From ABC News. A Hunter Valley psychologist who was obsessed with the rock group Van Halen has been struck off for having a lesbian relationship with a patient and acting unprofessionally. The Healthcare Complaints Commission alleged psychologist Roslyn Moore had a brief sexual relationship with the patient in May 2006, while treating the woman … [Read more...]
Eddie Van Halen 2008 Guitar Solo with SOUNDBOARD Audio
This is audience-filmed footage of Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo from May 2nd, 2008, in Charlottesville, Virginia. What makes this clip special is that it is the only 2007-2008 Van Halen concert footage on Youtube that has audio from the soundboard. The audio is rumored to be from the ALD (an Assisted Listening Device for the hearing impaired that some arenas have). Watch it … [Read more...]
GOP’s Use of “Right Now” Leads to Sammy Hagar-Eddie Van Halen Phone Tag
This just in from RollingStone.com: Days before Heart served the GOP campaign with a cease-and-desist letter for playing their 1977 hit “Barracuda” to introduce VP pick Sarah Palin (high school alias: “Sarah Barracuda”) at the August 31st Republican convention, Van Halen sounded off against McCain and Co. for blasting their tune “Right Now” at a rally in Dayton, Ohio. … [Read more...]
Rare David Lee Roth Track Sung in Portuguese!
Note: This song was recorded before Roth joined Van Halen for their 2007-2008 tour. From My Poproks: This has been floating around lately and I thought it was pretty interesting. It appears that David Lee Roth recorded a track in Portuguese without Van Halen. The song is called “Take Sarava” and was recently put up on this site, the home of NYC based guitarist Jeff … [Read more...]
Sarah Palin Loves Van Halen?
John McCain's pick for VP is Sarah Palin. Not only does Palin rhyme with "Halen", as in "Van Halen," she named her newborn son in homage to Van Halen! This article from Wired.com states, "Trig Paxson Van Palin (an homage to the rock band Van Halen) was born in April." This article from WND.com quotes her saying, "We've always liked the middle name Van because, you know, … [Read more...]
McCain Uses “Right Now” Without Permission
Van Halen to McCain: No You Can't Posted Aug 29th 2008 3:00PM by TMZ.com John McCain used a Van Halen song during his big speech earlier today and the band wants to make to make one thing clear -- they're not running with McCain. Van Halen management tells us the band had no idea McCain was planning on using "Right Now" during his big entrance in Ohio telling us, … [Read more...]
Wolfgang carries on Van Halen’s “No brown M&M’s” tradition
As most Van Halen fans are aware, Van Halen's standard performance contract during their glory days in the late 70's and early '80s contained a provision calling for them to be provided with a bowl of M&Ms, but with all the brown candies removed. The presence of even a single brown M&M in that bowl was sufficient legal cause for Van Halen to peremptorily cancel a … [Read more...]