“If you put a Van Halen album in your record collection, it will melt all the rest of your records,” was famously David Lee Roth’s sales pitch for the legendary California hard rock quartet he originally fronted from 1973 to 1985, and again from 2007 to 2020. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen and his brother Alex […]
Wolfgang Van Halen did his late father Eddie proud tonight (Sept. 3) during the Taylor Hawkins tribute at London’s Wembley Stadium, shredding on lead guitar during renditions of Van Halen’s “On Fire” and “Hot for Teacher.” The younger Van Halen was backed by Dave Grohl on bass and Josh Freese on drums, while The Darkness’ […]
The Ohio State University Athletic Band performed a striking and impressive halftime show in honor of Van Halen last weekend at the school’s spring football game. The game, which is a glorified scrimmage, gives a sense of what’s to come on the field this fall and that includes the band as well. [embedded content][embedded content] […]
On the fourth night of Hanukkah and in the latest edition of the Hanukkah Sessions, Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin took on Van Halen’s “Jump.” [embedded content][embedded content] The song is a tribute to Van Halen’s Jewish frontman, David Lee Roth, who was previously immortalized in Adam Sander’s “Hanukkah Song.” The duo has performed covers […]
Music videos are the perfect bastard child of art and commerce, even more than pop music itself. A promotional visual accompaniment to a popular song doesn’t need a coherent narrative (although on rare occasions, they do). It just needs to suit the song, sell the record, and possibly make the artist look cool. But since […]
Up a difficult-to-see road, branching off one of the busiest roadways that cuts through Beverly Hills to the San Fernando Valley, is one of the most famous numbers in all of hard rock: 5150. The studio—accessible by navigating several corners of a curvy, gravelly road—sits behind a gate that’s carefully monitored. For the average person, […]
One of the biggest surprises of the Grammys’ new “In Memoriam” segment was that Eddie Van Halen seemed to be ignored as compared to other legends who died in 2020. Though not completely slighted — a guitar sat alone while 20 seconds of “Eruption” played with archival footage of Van Halen was shown in the […]
When Eddie Van Halen passed away in Oct., it hit the rock community hard — including his former bandmates. During a recent visit to the Talkin’ Rock With Meltdown podcast, former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony divulged that he and EVH had unresolved issues when he died. “We actually hadn’t spoken [for many years], and unfortunately, we […]
Before MTV would be rendered extraneous, record labels would fork over millions for bands and artists to produce memorable music videos that helped build anticipation for an album’s release and propel its sales. The music video became an invaluable promotional tool, and over time, as directors continued to push the limits of what was possible […]
Eddie Van Halen’s “Frankenstrat” is easily one of the most recognizable instruments in rock history, and Kramer Guitars’ early take on the design (as seen in the “Hot for Teacher” music video) now belongs to a wealthy new owner. The instrument sold for $422,050 at the Icons & Idols Trilogy: Rock ‘n’ Roll Auction held […]