Eddie Van Halen Doing Well Following Hand Surgery

What a heck of a way to spend your honeymoon. Well, that’s probably not really the case, but it seems that Eddie Van Halen’s recent hand surgery must have been soon after he and new wife Janie Liszewski wrapped up their continent-hopping journey of love. They were reported to have plans to honeymoon in New York, Germany and The Netherlands.

Van Halen’s doctor, located in Germany, discovered a number of problems in the guitarist’s left hand after he had been complaining of pain, which was initially believed to be arthritis. It was then discovered that Van Halen was suffering from a bone spur, a twisted tendon and a cyst in the joint of his left thumb. A sort of triple play of bad luck for the guitar legend.

Van Halen reports that he began to experience some pain in his thumb and pinky finger of his left hand during their last tour – just what a guitarist needs! Although he more-or-less dismissed it at the time, the pain progressed to a point where he was unable to play. Eventually his pinky and thumb were “locked up,” as described by Van Halen. At that point, it must have become quite apparent that he needed to seek medical help.

With surgery being the only option to correct the situation – something that caused an understandable amount of anxiety for him – Van Halen underwent the procedure which was determined to be successful.

Van Halen is taking it easy these days while he gives his hand time to recover. A full recovery is expected, but in the meantime, he will occupy himself by doing some writing. The projected time for a full recovery is in the four to six month range, at which time Van Halen says he’s confident he’ll “be able to play at maximum intensity.”

One has to wonder (or maybe it’s just me) how a "locked up” pinky and thumb may have hindered some honeymoon activities, but perhaps that’s something that merits consideration on a blog that normally covers those kinds of things.

More information is available at Rolling Stone.

Tags: Eddie Van Halen, Germany, Hand Surgery, tour

AC/DC Show Too Loud For Some Munich Area Residents

I think every AC/DC fan would agree that the group’s music is the kind of music that is meant to be played loud. It’s hard to imagine playing a song like “Highway to Hell” or “Back In Black” with the volume set anywhere south of 8. Unfortunately for some residents around Munich who are obviously not fans of the Australian rockers, the group held true to their standard of playing loud for their dedicated fans.

AC/DC rocked the Olympiastadium in Munich on May 15th, and apparently rocked a good number of local residents in their own homes at the same time. It has been reported that over 100 noise complaints were called in to local authorities from residents who claimed that the concert was violating local noise ordinances.

Although hard to imagine, some residents who called in complaints were said to be approximately 12 miles from the stadium. Now that’s what I call rocking Munich!

Even with 70,000 fans packed into the stadium for the show, police report that there were no significant problems with the assembled crowd. A total of four people were arrested for attempting to gain entry to the stadium with fake tickets, but no other problems were reported.

AC/DC does have a reputation for being one of the loudest bands in the world, having driven the decibel level up to an impressive 132 on occasion.

Although a fair number of local residents were not happy about AC/DC’s stop in Munich, it’s interesting to note that Germany’s Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg attended the show along with his wife. The 37-year-old says he has been an AC/DC fan since he was a teenager.

Tags: AC/DC, Complaints, Germany, Loud, Munich, Noise, Olympiastadium