Eddie Van Halen News, Eddie Van Halen Videos, Eddie Van Halen Photos

May 18th, 2012 | 12:00 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

Van Halen Cancels Slew Of Tour Dates, Is Almost Certainly Broken Up Again

Van Halen Hates Each Other

When we saw Van Halen perform in front of an audience of 300 people at the tiny Cafe Wha? back in January, there didn’t seem to be any noticeable tension between Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth. The duo appeared to have put their legendary differences aside in advance of the release of A Different Kind Of Truth, the reunited group’s first studio album since 1984, and the massive North American tour that they had planned. Fast forward five months and change, though, and now it appears that the ~~second~~ third honeymoon between Diamond Dave and Eddie has come to a crashing halt.

Rolling Stone reports that Van Halen has “abruptly postponed” 30 North American tour dates that were recently added to the the original schedule that was announced back in December. The tour’s promoter, Live Nation, did not comment on the matter, but a source told Rolling Stone that Van Halen’s members are “arguing like mad” and “hate each other.” Not surprising news, exactly, but definitely disappointing for fans of huge riffs and karate kicks. Speaking of which…

Van Halen Postpone Summer Tour Dates [Rolling Stone]

[Photo: Getty Images]

January 10th, 2012 | 3:30 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

A Reunited Van Halen Debuts Their New Single, “Tattoo”

After last week’s blistering Van Halen reunion show at Cafe Wha?, the band confirmed a number of details about their 2012 plans that had, up to that point, simply been rumors: The band would release their new album, A Different Kind Of Truth, on February 7; the band would be embarking on a four-month, 45 date North American tour; and, amazingly, Kool & The Gang would be their opening act (!!!). Cellll-ebrate good times, C’MON!

Thanks to last week’s uniformly praised comeback set, anticipation levels for Van Halen‘s first tour with David Lee Roth since 2007 are off the charts. However, as we all know, when a “classic” band decides it’s that time of the concert for them to play their “new” material, a lot of fans decide that’s the time to visit the, um, facilities. Grantland’s Chuck Klosterman wrote about this dilemna last week, stating “I will never understand why classic rock bands feel a moral obligation to write new songs that nobody wants. That’s like working at McDonald’s when you’re 80 instead of cashing in your war bonds. Van Halen has nothing to prove to anyone. Just blow us away.”

It remains to be seen how fans will react to Van Halen’s first studio album with David Lee Roth singing lead vox since 1984, but today the group released their first single off A Different Kind Of Truth, a song called “Tattoo” (which also comes with an accompanying music video). And you know what? It’s a real grower! Not only does it feature a blistering, 35-second guitar solo from Eddie Van Halen, but David Lee Roth scatting and squealing his way through some non-sequitur come-ons (“Best believe that needle hurt you”) to characters like Swap Meet Sally and the Tramp Stamp Cat, as well as a hilarious description of MILF-y groupies who get inked late in life (“Mousewife to Momshell”). And thanks to Dave’s repeated screams of “Sexy dragon magic!”, we have a feeling that this is the kind of song that both Van Halen fans AND the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo will surely approve of.

January 9th, 2012 | 12:30 pm by Kat George (@kat_george)

Welcome To The World Of Famous Musical Offspring, Blue Ivy Carter! (PS: Here’s How Fast Your Peers Got On Stage)

This weekend, the world welcomed baby Blue Ivy Carter, the offspring of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, and possibly the most important baby on earth right now (or ever, who knows?) into its open arms. After months of speculation, second guessing, and red herrings, the baby girl is finally here and now we’ve got a whole new set of questions to deal with. For starters: When are we going to see baby Blue Ivy? Do you think she’s made of gold or magic or sparkles? Does she have super powers? Will she grow up to fulfill Mom and Dad’s musical legacy? And if so, how long do we have to wait to hear the chosen one’s voice on a record?

With all these questions in mind, we tracked down some other famous babies with musician parents, found out how long it took them to get from the womb to the recording studio, and employed the law of averages to try and figure out when we can expect Blue Ivy’s first number one song. According to the following cross section, we’re expecting Blue Ivy to lay down her first album by age 11…

Sean Lennon, son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. In 1981, at the age of 5, Sean recited a story on his mother’s album Season of Glass.
Hailie Jade Mathers, daughter of Marshall Mathers a.k.a Eminem. At age 6, Hailie’s vocal was featured on Eminem’s “My Dad’s Gone Crazy”.
Chloe Lattanzi, daughter of Olivia Newton John. At age 8, Chloe provided backing vocals for “The Way Of Love” from Olivia’s 1994 album Gaia.

January 6th, 2012 | 12:10 am by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

CONCERT REVIEW: Van Halen Dazzles During Intimate Reunion Concert In New York City

“Welcome to Occupy Van Halen!”

Back in November, word leaked out that Van Halen was planning on releasing a new album and embarking on a North American tour to support it. Classic rock fans were cautiously optimistic about the news, seeing as how prior reunions had ultimately fizzled out because of the legendarily testy relationship between guitarist Eddie Van Halen and loquacious frontman David Lee Roth. After a rumored reunion performance at the Grammy Nomination Concert Live!!! concert back in November failed to materialize, Van Halen fans were understandably nervous about the band’s current stability. However, during a 70-minute set at Manhattan’s tiny, 280 person capacity club Cafe Wha? tonight, the group looked happier to be in each other’s presence than they have since the early Eighties and, as a result, turned in a performance that David Lee Roth himself proclaimed as one of the best in the group’s storied history.

Continue reading our review below!

December 28th, 2011 | 3:34 pm by Kat George (@kat_george)

Van Halen Confirms Tour, Says David Lee Roth Is Joining Reunion, And Unleashes Promo Video

Van Halen yesterday confirmed that they will indeed be getting back together and taking their rock show back on the road for another spin. If that wasn’t exciting enough, the band has also announced that their original front man, David Lee Roth, will be fronting the tour. And in the most epic way possible, Van Halen have announced all this with a dance and glitter filled video on their website. The inspiring video is set to the sound of the classic “Jump,” and features Roth’s iconic dance moves, Eddie Van Halen‘s shredding guitar and Alex Van Halen‘s banging drums, as well as current bass player Wolfgang (Eddie’s son), all being showered with glitter and rendered in nostalgic black and white. If all that wasn’t enough to make you jump (sorry, we couldn’t resist), the guys will also be working on their first album with Roth in 27 years. Tickets for the tour go on sale on the 10th of January, and we can hear the anticipation as new year’s resolutions are shifted to include seeing the Van Halen legends on stage one more time.

November 18th, 2011 | 4:00 pm by Mark Graham (@unclegrambo)

Van Halen Signs With Interscope, Plans To Release New Material In 2012

Remember the old Peter Allen song, “Everything Old Is New Again”? Fortunately for classic rock fans, it seems like 2012 is shaping up to be the kind of year that lives up to that exact sentiment. Last week, Black Sabbath announced that they were putting aside 30+ years worth of beef to reunite for a new album and world tour, and today brings word that Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Van Halen have signed a brand new deal with Interscope Records. (After weeks worth of reunion rumors, Shirley Halperin of The Hollywood Reporter scored the exclusive.)

The first question you’re probably asking is “Who’s going to be the lead singer?” Van Hagar fans, you can stop reading now, for we’ve got some bad news: It appears that Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth have buried the proverbial hatchet and are ready to once again make music together. The two famously split twenty-five-plus years ago after ego clashes occurred in the wake of the massive worldwide success of 1984, and a brief reunion in 1996 also ended in acrimony. That said, the band—minus original bassist Michael Anthony—appeared to be all smiles in the reunion photo you see above, and the band is reportedly set to make a “special announcement” on November 30 at the Grammy Awards nominations concert in L.A. We’ll have more details for you as soon as they become available, but in the interim, we hope that Diamond Dave starts limbering up now and practicing his patented karate kicks.

Official: Van Halen Signs With Interscope Records [THR]