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September 1, 2009
A Little Bit of Chickenfoot And A Little Bit of Van Halen
Gibson, maker of some of the most-recognized guitars in the world of rock, recently interviewed Chickenfoot frontman Sammy Hagar. In addition to the guitar talk that would be expected, Hagar was asked some questions about his thoughts in the differences between his experience with Van Halen and his experience with Chickenfoot.
Hagar has gained himself a reputation as someone who does not hold back when it comes to his opinions, and this interview was no different. Regarding his motivation to start up a new band, the most influential factor seems to be that he wanted to “to play with the best players in the business.” He then goes on to refer to each other individual member of Chickenfoot as “the best” at what they do.
Those kinds of comments are somewhat reminiscent of his infamous statement made during the lead up to the group’s public debut when he said they could “rival Zep.” A statement Hagar later blamed on the consumption of a little to much tequila.
Everyone has their preference, but referring to to his band mates as “the best” comes across more like bravado and less like reality. Has Hagar never heard of Neil Peart, Terry Bozzio, Geddy Lee, Jack Bruce or Stevie Ray Vaughan? That’s partly a rhetorical question since he actually mentions Jack Bruce and Stevie Ray Vaughan during the interview.
No Hagar interview would be complete without a few words about Eddie Van Halen, whom Hagar refers to as slow compared to guitarist Joe Satriani when it comes to writing. Although he regards both Satriani and Van Halen as “phenomenal” players, in the end he says he thinks Satriani comes out on top when it comes to “a straight-up player, who can play anything, and plays perfect every time.”
You can read part one of the interview at the Gibson website.
Van Halen is in the news again for reasons that may not please them very much – to say nothing of their fans. According to the Wall Street Journal, the group became involved in Ticketmaster’s efforts during 2007 to increase their profits by teaming up with ticket brokers (also known as “scalpers”) . It was also reported to be an effort by Ticketmaster to thwart concert prompter Live Nation’s plans to enter the ticket business.
Ticketmaster’s CEO, Irving Azoff, also happened to be managing Van Halen, which created an opportunity for Ticketmaster to test their new strategy. During the fall of 2007, as many as 500 of the best seats for 20 Van Halen shows were not offered on the Ticketmaster system and were passed on to the brokers for sale to the public.
The brokers were able to keep 30% of the inflated price of the tickets they were allotted while the remaining 70% was shared between Ticketmaster, Van Halen, and their organization. The band reportedly netted at least an extra $1 million as a result. There was nobody available for comment from the Van Halen camp.
Since then Ticketmaster has decided they didn’t care to share a bed with the brokers and have decided to go to war against them instead, using new software that it hopes will make life difficult for them by blocking automated processes that some brokers use to obtain tickets in the highly competitive online grab for tickets the second they are made available for sale.
August 5, 2009
Eddie Van Halen To Appear on CBS Sitcom ‘Two And A Half Men’
Van Halen fans should be on the lookout for axe man Eddie Van Halen on the CBS Comedy Two And A Half Men when it returns to the air on September 21st. Van Halen has agreed to appear during one of the show’s episodes after being asked by the show’s executive producer who approached Van Halen while he was on his honeymoon with new wife Janie Liszewski.
Reportedly a big fan of the program, Van Halen accepted the invitation and will be playing himself on the show and also playing guitar. What else would we expect from Eddie Van Halen?
Two And A Half Men debuted on CBS in 2003 and stars Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer. The program has been nominated twice for a Golden Globe award and has earned numerous other awards.
Van Halen is expected to be on the set taping the show in Burbank this week.
Recovering nicely from recent hand surgery, Van Halen has been talking in recent weeks about the future of the group, which appears to be moving forward with talk of working on new music and putting together another tour at some point in the future. The group is expected to continue with its current lineup, including off-again-on-again frontman David Lee Roth and Van Halen’s son Wolfgang on bass.
June 3, 2009
Van Halen News Busting Out All Over
Things have been kind of quiet on the Van Halen news front lately. Other than ex-Mrs. Van Halen’s hot bikini pics all over the place, we haven’t heard too much from anyone connected with the group for a while.
There are clearly things in the works, and it’s clear that we can expect some new material from the veteran rockers as well as a tour coming in a year or so. In addition, video game players who have always wanted to play along with a virtual version of guitar legend Eddie Van Halen also have something to look forward to.
From the E3 video game expo, which wraps up tomorrow in Los Angeles, we get word that a new title will be coming to the “Guitar Hero” series called “Guitar Hero: Van Halen.” No real surprise regarding the name, but more interesting is the additional content that’s part of the game, and will allow players to go beyond rocking with VH and play along with the likes of guest players such as Queen, Blink 182 and Weezer.
Moving from the virtual world of rock into the real world, a recent interview with Eddie Van Halen that appeared in Rolling Stone magazine sheds light on issues surrounding the future plans for the group, the departure of former bassist Michael Anthony and Eddie’s recent appearance on Spike TV to accept his “Guy’s Choice Guitar God” award.
It was backstage at the event in Culver City, CA where Rolling Stone caught up with the reclusive Van Halen, who admits he never “goes to anything” and is a bit nervous about going out to accept the award, adding that, “I don’t even know what to say. Especially sober, shit.”
As for the future of Van Halen the band, there are plans to get back to work after his wedding and honeymoon. Van Halen is marrying publicist Janie Liszewski on June 27th and plans to get back onto the studio with the rest of the group upon his return. Van Halen also says they are planning a tour sometime next year.
As we have come to expect from Van Halen the group, there are numerous versions of how the various feuds and departures played out throughout their stormy history. For his part, Van Halen had nothing but praise for his on-again-off-again frontman, David Lee Roth. Declaring that things are different now because they are both sober, Van Halen describes his new experience with the group as “a wonderful feeling.”
As one might expect, comments reserved for ex-VH bassist Michael Anthony are not as complimentary. With respect to Anthony’s departure from the group, Van Halen says, “The funny thing is that everyone who quits the band always claims they got fired by me. Hey, I’m not the bad guy here. When Hagar left the band, Mike went with him. Then when we get back together with Dave, and all of a sudden, he wants back in. It’s like, ‘No, dude, you quit the band.’”
Interestingly, Van Halen denies hearing any of Chickenfoot’s material, and adds that he doesn’t listen to anything. One has to wonder, however, if the denial might just be a reflection on the bad blood between him and his two former band mates. Who wouldn’t be a little curious about what two of your ex-buddies are up to these days, especially since finding out is as easy as a little typing and a few mouse clicks?
Seems a little hard to believe that he hasn’t heard a single note from Hagar and Anthony’s new gig. The bridge that was burned after the end of that relationship is not showing any signs of reconstruction, that’s for sure.
Spike TV’s “Guy’s Choice Awards” is scheduled to air on June 21 at 10:00 PM.
The entire interview can be accessed on the Rolling Stone website.
March 9, 2009
Van Halen Bringing Out Big Guns on Next Tour?
No, we aren’t expecting Eddie Van Halen or David Lee Roth to be “packing heat,” when they hit the road for their next tour, but some are saying that the group will have hard-rocking legends Guns N Roses in tow instead.
Rumors began to surface over the weekend that the two groups are planning to team up for a tour. Last month, Eddie Van Halen said he was up for another tour and would welcome Roth to join them of he is so inclined. He also revealed that he had plans to begin jamming with his brother Alex and son Wolfgang soon.
If the rumors turn out to be true, it sounds as if the hard-rocking double header would be hitting stadium-sized venues on what’s being called a “world tour.” It would be a a great way for Guns N Roses to get out and showcase the material from their long-awaited Chinese Democracy album, which was certified Platinum last month.
Depending on the timing, perhaps some new Van Halen material could be on tap as well. With a collection of new music which Eddie says he has “tons of,” it sounds like the group may have plans to start putting a new album together. They plans to start getting back into their work on a more full-time basis after Eddie’s wedding this summer and son Wolfgang’s high school graduation.
As close as we get to any official comment about the possibility of this tour is a statement from Guns N Roses manager Irving Azoff, who said that “He (Axl Rose) is a good guy and often misunderstood — he is a professional who has worked very hard to build and maintain a high creative standard for Guns N’ Roses, which I support. We have some exciting things in the works this year for G N’R, I’m looking forward to it.”
According to Rolling Stone, those “exciting things” do not include a performance at Kobetasonik festival in Spain this coming June – something that has been rumored from various sources.
February 16, 2009
Van Halen Offspring Credited With Eddie’s Comeback
In an interview with Hustler magazine, famed guitar master Eddie Van Halen reveals that his playing skills were a bit rusty when the group convened to being practice for their last tour. Fortunately for him, his son Wolfgang was on top of things and was able to help his dad recall some long-forgotten licks – some of which he had not played for 25 years.
After that much time, it’s easy to understand how things like that could be forgotten. Add to that a few brain cells that fell victim to Van Halen’s well-publicized problems with the bottle and it makes it even more understandable that the 54-year-old forgot how to play some of his own music.
As Van Halen tells Hustler, Wolfgang was right there to help his dad when needed. “I’d start playing and Wolfgang would say, ‘Dad, you’re playing it wrong,’ he admits.
Although many fans were unhappy about the exclusion of original VH bass player Michael Anthony, perhaps having his son onboard was the kind of moral and technical support that Eddie Van Halen needed to get himself back on track enough to hit the road and make it through a tour.
So far I have not heard the details of Eddie’s alleged medical problems that had sidelined the tour for a while, and suspicions remain that it could have been due to substance abuse problems. The apparent secrecy surrounding the reasons for whatever treatment he needed only serve to add fuel to the fire regarding the speculation about a short relapse that may have lured him back under the influence of the bottle.
All accounts are that son Wolfgang is not the type of kid who is involved with drinking or drug abuse, and may be instrumental in keeping his dad on the straight and narrow. It’s impossible to know for sure, but it seems like young Wolfgang might be just what his dad needed at this point in his life.
