Now you can grab a piece of Eddie’s magic with the new MXR EVH 90—a collaboration between Eddie Van Halen and Dunlop Manufacturing that represents a totally redesigned, updated version of the legendary Phase 90. The EVH 90 will give you the same great spacey swirls and hypnotic warbles that made the Phase 90 famous. But the EVH 90 also features the all-new Script switch that lets you instantly toggle between a vintage, “Script Logo” phase tone and a more modern, in-your-face “Block Logo” phaser. Plus, the EVH 90 sports the greatest graphics in the history of rock: the red, white, and black stripes from Eddie’s legendary Frankenstein guitar. Oh yeah—it’s also got a bitchin’ new blue LED. Now, how cool is that?

U.S. Suggested List Price: $189.95
Courtesy of http://www.jimdunlop.com

EVH is a registered trademark of E.L.V.H., Inc., used under license.
Frankenstein Artwork © 2004 Edward Van Halen, used under license.

Van Halen Live in San Juan, PR - BOLETOS A LA VENTA YA!
¡Van Halen por primera vez en Puerto Rico! El Lun, 13 de Sept en el Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot. Ven y únete al guitarrista mas virtuoso del rock, Eddie Van Halen, su hermano Alex Van Halen, el bajista Michael Anthony y Sammy Hagar en una noche electrificante. "Jump", "Right Now", "Panama", "Why Can't This Be Love", "Dreams", "You Really Got Me", "When It's Love", "Love Walks In", "Finish What You Started" y mucho mas. ¡Una noche que no debes perderte! Producido por José Dueño & Jack Utsick.

Los hermanos Alex y Edward Van Halen se mudaron a los Estados Unidos desde los Paises Bajos en el 1967. Ambos hermanos estudiaron piano clásico, pero fueron contagiados con el rock en América. Al principio Alex tocaba la guitarra y Eddie la batería, pero mas tarde intercambiaron los instrumentos. Formaron una banda llamada Mammoth a la cual se les unio el cantante David Lee Roth y el bajista Michael Anthony. Cambiaron el nombre del grupo a Van Halen porque según Roth, "sonaba mas pesado, como un tanque de guerra alemán". Para 1976 la banda era muy popular en los bares del sur de California. El guitarrista del grupo Kiss, Gene Simmons, apoyo la cinta demo del grupo, y con la ayuda de su recomendación, fueron firmados por la casa disquera Warners. El debut de la banda salio airoso de inmediato gracias al enorme sonido del grupo, a la personalidad extravagante y al estilo vocal de Roth, y la virtuosidad musical de los hermanos. No es exagerado decir que Eddie es el guitarrista mas imitado de su generación.

El disco numero seis de Van Halen, titulado 1984, alcanzo la posición numero 2 en las listas de Billboard con cuatro sencillos exitosos, y fue también el ultimo disco con Roth, quien comenzó su carrera como solista. La banda siguió exitosamente con el vocalista Sammy Hagar, lanzando cinco discos consecutivos que fueron multi platino. En 1996, Hagar fue expulsado de la banda y la enemistad entre la banda y el vocalista salio a la luz publica. Roth se reunió nuevamente con la banda para una entrega de premios MTV, pero la banda pronto lo echo alegando diferencias irreconciliables. Ahora en el 2004, Van Halen esta de regreso con Sammy Hagar, quien condujo al grupo a grandes éxitos con discos tales como “5150” y “OU812”. Durante su gira 2004, Van Halen tocara material de su nuevo disco titulado "The Best of Both Worlds", el primer disco después de 6 años.

Courtesy of http://www.ticketpop.com

VAN HALEN COMING BACK TO LAS VEGAS
October 1, 2004
Tickets: $175, $125 and $75

Due to overwhelming demand, Van Halen - Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony, and Sammy Hagar - will be coming back to Las Vegas for one night only at the Orleans Arena on Friday, October 1. Tickets are on sale now.

Since Van Halen’s seminal debut album in 1978, the band has set the template for hard rock and heavy metal, continually attracting legions of fervent fans. Van Halen in concert will be performing hits from its 25-year career including the number one singles and rock tracks “Top of the World,” “When It’s Love,” "Why Can’t This Be Love," “Right Now,” “Dreams,” “Jump,” “Best of Both Worlds,” “Panama,” and “Love Walks In.”

Sammy Hagar was the Van Halen front man from 1985–1996. During that period, all Van Halen studio albums, 5150, OU812, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, and Balance, as well as Best of Van Halen Volume I, went straight to #1 on the Billboard charts. Live: Right Here, Right Now peaked at #5. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge won a GRAMMY Award for “Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal” in 1991.

The GRAMMY Award-winning band has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide. Twelve Van Halen albums have been certified multi-Platinum. Additionally, the band’s eponymous debut album and 1984 have both reached Diamond status, recognizing sales in excess of 10 million units each. The band holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the most Number One rock tracks (11) at album radio.

Van Halen has teamed up with iloveallaccess.com to offer the ultimate fan experience featuring a variety of premium ticket packages. Packages for the October 1 Orleans Arena concert at will be available Tuesday, August 10th at 10:00 AM. For more details go to the band’s Web site at www.van-halen.com.

Tickets are $75, $125 and $175, tax included. Service fees may apply. Tickets may be purchased by phone at 702-284-7777, online at www.orleansarena.com or at the Suncoast, Gold Coast, Barbary Coast, Orleans, Boulevard Mall, Galleria at Sunset or Meadows Mall. The Orleans Arena, a 9,000 seat multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena, is owned and operated by Coast Casinos. For additional information, call 702-365-7469 or visit www.orleansarena.com.

(Will Lester/Staff Photographer)
Van Halen lead quitarist Eddie Van Halen plays before a sellout crowd Thursday evening August 19, 2004 at Staples Center.

One of the many highlights of the Van Halen show Thursday night came during the song "Right Now." The giant video behind the band flashed pictures and phrases that were happening at that moment. For those who were watching the screen and not the band, it might have made them think about the world outside the Staples Center. Some of the slogans that flashed on the screen might not have been happening right then and there for every member of the audience, but one thing's for sure: Right now Van Halen is rockin'.
The band appeared to be having more fun than anyone can recall. Sammy Hagar even laughed through a few of the songs. Eddie Van Halen reached out for high fives from the stage, something Hagar is more known for. Throughout the show, audience members threw shirts and hats onto the stage; Hagar, originally from Fontana, signed nearly every one and threw it back.

Van Halen's summer tour is one of the most highly anticipated rock road shows, and the band didn't disappoint. Playing together for the first time in years, the band showed in its two-hour performance that it has come back from the numerous challenges that have plagued it during more than 30 years of performing -- including the possibly misguided choice of frontman Gary Cherone, Eddie Van Halen's health problems and some public mudslinging with original lead vocalist David Lee Roth.

Now safely back in the capable hands of the experienced and amiable Hagar, Van Halen is back on the road sharing its world-renowned skills with a new generation.

Thursday night the Staples Center was filled with people from 10 to 60 years old. Many parents had brought their children along to expose them to what made their elders rock when they were young.

All the members -- Hagar, Van Halen on death-defying guitar, brother Alex Van Halen on drums (the Van Halens are originally from Pasadena) and Michael Anthony on bass -- are accomplished musicians in their own right, and each performed his requisite solos.

During Eddie's eye-popping solo he brought out his son Wolfgang to play with him. They hugged and kissed when he came on and before he departed the stage. Wolfgang, wearing a Van Halen shirt and wristband, is obviously his father's pride and joy.

Typically only Hagar works the crowd and flies around the stage while the rest of the band grinds through the set. But with Eddie 100 percent, he was no longer stationary but constantly in motion onstage, giving the fans the "Flying Eddies" seen so often in the early years during "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," "Jump," "Why Can't This Be Love," "Top of the World" and the new single "Up for Breakfast." (The "Best of Both Worlds" double CD is just out on Warner Bros. Records).

Anthony was wearing a classic Van Halen shirt as he belted out the vocals the fans have been denied since the last tour. He took a turn at lead vocals on "Somebody Get Me A Doctor," much to the delight of the fans. He proudly featured the new Jack Daniels bass in his solo spot. The bass can house a little bottle of the whiskey, but that did not seem to be enough, so an obliging roadie came out with a bigger bottle to the delight of the audience.

The new stage was an unexpected star of the show with pit space on either side of the rings of the band logo. The centerpiece of the stage is the giant screen housed in an enormous mock-up of a nautical mine. Several tunes featured top-notch production video behind the band, and others live shots of the musicians.
Courtesy of U-Dailynews.com

Older, wiser, and a little less drunk, Sammy Hagar and Van Halen trudge on
Michael Anthony used to drink Jack Daniel's straight from the bottle. The fleshy Van Halen bassist, whose body once looked as if it were held together by Bisquick and bourbon, would gulp the stuff down right onstage, draining liter bottles of Tennessee's finest, to no end but his own. The guy was the life of the party and the death of short-term memory.
Anthony still sweats whiskey these days, still flashes a 100-proof smile capable of reducing Breathalyzers to ash. But now he drinks a little slower, walks a little faster. His arms, perpetually jutting out of a sleeveless something or other, are more defined; his liver no longer requires its own ZIP code.

During a recent Van Halen gig at Buffalo's HSBC Arena, Anthony ran circles around the stage and pounded his bass with his fists like it owed him money. Four songs into the band's two-hour set, he let loose with a rumbling solo that sounded something like heavy-metal whale calls. He finished by ramming his head into his amp.

And then, for the capper, he pulled out the Jack Daniel's to loud approval. It was the moment of revelry and release everyone had been waiting for. But instead of the economy-sized bottle of Jack that Anthony used to chug, he downed one of those little sissy, single-shot jobs -- the kind they charge five bucks for on airplanes, the ones Grandma sneaks into the bingo hall.

"Ya better call up a doctor, feelin' high," Anthony sang as VH launched into "Somebody Get Me a Doctor." "I'm overloaded baby, I say, 'Bye-bye!'"

Apparently, Anthony has bid adieu to the shitfaced shenanigans that once defined his band. Van Halen still parties, but now it does so more responsibly, like parents who only get loaded when their kids are away at camp. In its prime, Van Halen was as sticky, sweaty, and accident-prone as the best keggers. Now its members are hard-rock parental units approaching their 50s, and so are many of their fans.

In Buffalo, twentysomethings were a rarity, though the crowd was still more Budweiser than Ben-Gay. "Let's pee in the sink!" a dude bellowed in the bathroom when confronted with long lines at the urinal. He was standing by a guy who had fashioned a cowboy hat out of a Labatt Blue box.

This is hard rock's first generation all grown up, and it feels a little weird for anyone under 30, like when you start seeing your parents in yourself. Van Halen has done its best to mature right along with its fans. The three original members -- Anthony and brothers Alex and Eddie Van Halen -- have buried old grievances and reunited with blond belter Sammy Hagar for the first time in nine years.

"I made the call to Al, but it was not in any business sense. It wasn't like, 'Hey, let's get back together,'" Hagar said in a recent conference call, recounting the process by which he made amends. "I happened to be in Southern California with my family, vacationing at a resort at the beach, and I was talking to somebody else, and they said, 'Hey, you ever talk to those guys?' and this and that, and I'm going, 'You know, no. I'm going to give Alex a call one of these days.'

"And then I finally did. I just called up Michael Anthony, who I had been in connection with a lot, and said, 'Hey, get me Alex's phone number. I think I'm going to call him,' and when I did, we talked for so long. It was just, 'Wow; I really miss this friendship.' And then, of course, once you start playing music, it was all over."

Van Halen's attempt to start anew was evident in Buffalo. The band began the set with "Jump," something of a surprise, considering Hagar's past reluctance to play many David Lee Roth-era tunes.

"I used to be a little sensitive to the old material -- everyone knows that -- and you know, we only did two or three [songs]. I'm not now. It's like we have a whole different outlook on everything."

In a way, yes, and in a way, no. During the '80s hit "Panama," Hagar refused to sing all Roth's lyrics. "Not me," he mouthed, denying responsibility for authorship of the song, as he let the audience supply the vocals. And though the band played more Roth material than it had in the past (five out of 20 numbers), the set still seemed lacking, given how much more popular the pre-Hagar material is on classic rock radio.

But, as in Diamond Dave's days, Van Halen is still never short on showmanship. On the current tour, the rockers bound about a circular silver stage, which opens into two pits where around 100 fans high-five and toast them throughout the show. At the back of the stage, a towering video screen is embedded in a large, rust-colored metal sphere that looks like a giant depth charge.

In Buffalo, the band was constantly in motion, with Hagar jogging in place, doing the limbo, and pouring Corona down Anthony's throat. Alex Van Halen's drumming was so manic, it sounded as if he were banging away at four kits simultaneously. Eddie Van Halen, who didn't drink with the rest of the band, played with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, his long black locks pulled into a knot atop his head. "That hairdo makes him look like Zippy the Pinhead," the lady next to us observed.

Four songs into the set, lighters were in the air. Husbands and wives kissed passionately during Hagar's acoustic rendition of "When Eagles Fly." Later, a guy proposed to his gal at the side of the stage by holding up a large banner that read "Hey beautiful, will you marry me?" This happened right before the band tore into "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love."

If Van Halen has always been about romancing the ladies, these days it's also about romancing the past.

"They sound great," a middle-aged fella exclaimed, as he bought a beer toward show's end. "It's like 1985, man."
Courtesy of sfweekly.com

Van Halen deals uneven numbers at Mandalay Bay
Van Halen didn't play the 1988 single "Finish What Ya Started" Friday night, but they ought to take the song's message to heart, in reverse.

The hard rock band really needs to start what it finishes better.

Friday's show at the Mandalay Bay Events Center -- the first of back-to-back sold-out nights at the arena -- ended with a flourish.

Guitarist Eddie Van Halen sent the crowd into the throes of delirium with a patented guitar showcase, and then he and his mates reeled off the big hits: "Dreams," "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," "Right Now," "You Really Got Me," "Panama" and "When It's Love."

Problem was, it took nearly 90 minutes to arrive to that point.

For the first two-thirds of the show, Van Halen sleepwalked through a set list apparently devised by someone with no clue how to pace a performance.

Revved up and ready to rock when the four men arrived to opening number "Jump," the audience then suffered through B-list singles, Sammy Hagar solo numbers and new material, leaving many with bored looks on their faces.

In lieu of David Lee Roth-era classics such as "Runnin' When the Devil," "And the Cradle Will Rock ...," and "Dance The Night Away," Van Halen opted for early '90s also-rans such as "Runaround" and "Poundcake."

Obligatory solo pieces by bassist Michael Anthony (playing a Jack Daniels bottle-shaped guitar) and drummer Alex Van Halen drew cheers, but offered very little in terms of musical creativity.

Even Hagar's stab at the normally impassioned "Unchained" came up far short of the rendition conjured up by Roth at his solo gig at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel earlier this year.

Song-selection issues told just part of the story of Van Halen's rough takeoff.

Because of either equipment malfunctions or vocal limitations, harmonies by Anthony and Eddie Van Halen sounded truly awful, coming over more often than not as off-key shrieks.

And Hagar -- unceremoniously tossed out when the band replaced him with third singer Gary Cherone eight years ago -- seemed more interested in connecting with fans up front than getting lyrics right.

Time and again, the shaggy-blonde-haired frontman scanned the audience for a sheet, a towel or anything else that could double as an extra article of clothing.

It was fun and participatory. But often Hagar was too busy tying one such item or another around his waist to bother bringing his microphone to his mouth during a key section of a song.

Several times, the vocalist even got down on hands and knees to sign autographs, even as he tried to balance his mike and continue on with his words.

Thankfully, Eddie's extended solo signaled the start of more serious business.

Bare-chested with his curly hair well below his shoulders, the 49-year-old guitarist appeared in good health, roughly two years after announcing he was completely free of tongue cancer.

Fingers flying, the much-worshipped ax man worked through several varied movements, from a trippy opening passage to a breakneck middle section to a sinister-sounding duet with son Wolfgang to close.

That set up the band's big finale, as the quartet finally came through with the heavy hitters most of the crowd invariably came to hear.

"Dreams" and "When It's Love" got fans singing, but it was '80s throwback "Panama" that truly sent the arena into a frenzy, as Eddie's guitar squealed and Hagar effectively handled Roth's original vocals.

Although the piano intro to "Right Now" descended magically from parts unknown -- the band should really consider bringing a keyboardist/backing vocalist on board for future tours -- the song featured some of the night's most memorable moments.

The familiar "Right Now" video rolled on a giant screen above the stage, with a few new messages thrown in to keep the message current.

A few of the new ones:

"Right now, no one is forgetting," under a shot of a "911" license plate.

"Right now, a 13-year-old kid is illegally downloading this song."

And "Right now, Eddie feels great," which drew the night's loudest cheers.

Might we suggest one more: "Right now, Van Halen needs to figure out how to start their show as strongly as they finish."
Courtesy of http://www.lasvegassun.com

Van Halen tour rolls on, best-of set rides the charts
With its best-of set now in stores and two new singles on the air, Van Halen continues to add shows to its reunion run with singer Sammy Hagar.

The itinerary now stretches into early October, and includes newly added stops in Champaign, IL; Little Rock, AR; Las Vegas; and Albuquerque. Tickets for all four dates will hit the box office this month. More dates are yet to come, according to the band's website.

In June, Van Halen launched its first tour with singer Sammy Hagar at the mic since 1995. Hagar and the group split on bad terms in 1996, but patched things up late last year.

Before hitting the road, the group recorded three new songs, all of which are included on "The Best of Both Worlds," a two-disc compilation that also houses previously released cuts from the band's studio albums with Hagar and original singer David Lee Roth.

Released in late July, "The Best of Both Worlds" sold about 138,000 copies during its first week out and debuted at No. 3 on The Billboard 200 album chart. Now in its second week on the chart, the set rests at No. 13.

"It's About Time," one of the three new cuts with Hagar, clocks in at No. 13 on trade publication Radio & Records' most-recent Rock National Airplay chart, and follow-up cut "Up for Breakfast"--also new--has been added to radio-station playlists throughout the country.
Courtesy of Livedaily.com

Reunited Van Halen to rock Arena Oct. 30
They may not get the best of both worlds, but local Van Halen fans could very well be standing on top of the world on Oct. 30. According to the local rumour mill, that's the night the legendary rock quartet are slated to return to the Winnipeg Arena on the latest leg of their much-heralded reunion tour with Sammy Hagar.

No one official would confirm the buzz yesterday, but word is tickets for the show will go on sale in mid-September.

Formed in the '70s by virtuoso guitarist Eddie (now Edward) Van Halen, his drumming brother Alex and bassist Michael Anthony, the original lineup featured flamboyant frontman David Lee Roth.

After several albums culminating in the hit 1984 -- which yielded three chart-topping singles in Jump, Panama and Hot for Teacher -- Roth and the band parted company acrimoniously.

Replacing him with former Montrose singer Hagar, Van Halen continued on in a more commercial direction for another half-dozen discs loaded with radio-friendly fare like Why Can't This Be Love?, Right Now and Top of the World.

Despite their success, Hagar left in a huff in the mid-'90s after the band approached Roth to record new material for a best-of set. Recently, the group made peace with Hagar and returned to the studio to record three tracks for The Best of Both Worlds, a two-disc set featuring the best tracks of both the Roth and Hagar eras.

Their subsequent tour has been one of the most popular classic-rock reunion tours of the year.
Courtesy of http://www.canoe.ca

Van Halen Are Hot For Australia
Van Halen's current American tour ends on October 2 and the big question is what are their plans for the rest of the world.

"It's funny that you mention that because we were talking about what are we going to do next and the powers that help us be will all figure that out in the next couple of months" Sammy Hagar tells Undercover News. "We'd love to come down if we have a chance to do it."

"When you leave this country with a band the calibre of this, it is not like we can go "hey lets just go to Australia to play'. The promoter has to invite" Alex Van Halen says. "The promoters in Australia want to start telling the fans to rally up and hopefully they will invite us over there to play".

The Van Halen reunion coincides with the release of their Best of Both Worlds compilation album. On of the key songs from the record that didn't make their last Best Of album is the David Lee Roth sung 'Hot For Teacher. "Ed and I were big fans of UK music and Alan Holdswoth, King Crimson, Bill Bruford and that whole lot" Alex says. "One morning, Ed and I went in with a couple of six packs and that's what happened. We weren't really thinking. We just played a particular piece of music Ed had it in two or three takes, that was it. We kept it. I wish there was more depth to it but the reality is when you don't think, that is when your true self comes out. That is a good glimpse of what goes on in my head".

Sammy adds "Hot For Teacher, my comment about that…before I was in Van Halen I always looked at them as competition. I didn't like Dave. I never thought about being in the band. By 1984, when I heard Hot For Teacher, when I heard Alex kick that drum thing up, it pissed me off it was so good. It was kicking ass. I was jealous. That drum intro is unbelievable. The whole song is kicking ass, it is ripping. That drum intro is killing".

Van Halen hope to be in Australia early 2005 … if someone gets around to inviting them.
By Paul Cashmere

Courtesy of http://www.undercover.com.au

CD review: The Best Of Both Worlds - Van Halen
20 August 2004
By SIMON SWEETMAN

****½ There are too many classic songs to mention on Van Halen's new best-of, finds Simon Sweetman.

This collection starts with Eruption, Eddie's sharp exercise in self-taught guitar licks which thrilled the world in 1978; the next logical leap forward in guitar histrionics since Hendrix's Foxy Lady.

There are three new tracks, of which, current single It's About Time sounds distinctly like vintage Van Halen.

And so over these two discs you get to hear a band that was full of virtuoso ability (Hot For Teacher) and happy just to rock out on classic covers (You Really Got Me; Pretty Woman).

You get to hear the awesome retooling of Led Zep/Queen/Quiet Riot/Kiss: Runnin' With The Devil, Panama, Ain't Talkin' Bout Love, And The Cradle Will Rock.

This is the first comprehensive Van Halen collection to include work from the early incarnation where David Lee Roth was a ball of exagerated rock'n'roll energy, licking the microphone; a spandex-dressed leaping lizard of silly-boy drunken lewdness; and the later version of the group where Sammy Hagar toned down the over-the-top vocalist antics, adding softer ballads to the mix.

Yes, Van Halen - formed around the bombastic drum sound and shredding guitar heroism of brothers Alex and Eddie - have lasted.

Every song I've mentioned is great - and of course there's Can't Stop Lovin' You, Poundcake, Why Can't This Be Love and Dance The Night Away. Too many classics to mention.

If you never liked Van Halen, then you won't understand my ravings.

But if you - whether through muso-fantasy or secret quilty pleasure - even ever once thought that this band was cool. Well, then this is for you. The ultimate. Go ahead. You might as well go on ... and jump.
The Best Of Both Worlds is out now through Warners.

Courtesy of http://www.stuff.co.nz

Hard rockin' Van Halen still misses David Lee Roth
By Corey Levitan MUSIC CRITIC
What was wrong with the Van Halen reunion concert on Thursday night at the Staples Center had little to do with the band's performance.

During its first hometown show with singer Sammy Hagar since 1995 (the band toured with former Extreme singer Gary Cherone in 1998), Van Halen performed as if there had been no break.

Only some of the smoke emanating from Eddie Van Halen's guitar was from the cigarette jutting out of the headstock. (By the way, I'm no doctor, but that doesn't seem like the wisest of habits for a mouth-cancer survivor to continue.)

All smiles and no shirt at age 49, Eddie was at his undeniable peak. His 10-minute spotlight -- featuring deconstructions of his "Eruption" and "Cathedral" solos and a hand from his 13-year-old son, Wolfgang -- showcased not only his incredible fretting speed but his lightning-fast picking, the secret weapon no imitator ever equaled.

And what nuclear power plant did Hagar grow up alongside? His voice and energy level were astonishing for someone about to turn 57 -- although he did require more help from his band mates on the high notes than in the past.

There were some minor annoyances. Two things no one misses about rock concerts from the '70s are bass and drum solos, which provide bathroom breaks not only for the rest of the band but for their fans. And Hagar may be OK on guitar, but does anyone attend a Van Halen concert to see someone besides Eddie do that?

But again, the only major problem had nothing to do with what was on stage. It had to do with what wasn't: David Lee Roth.

If, to benefit his music, Eddie Van Halen is in the business of getting back together with singers he hates, the one to have chosen was Diamond Dave. Hagar may sing better and look younger than Roth (although he's eight years older) but he can't match Roth's onstage chemistry with Eddie, or a concert crowd. Roth is the Big Showman persona that made this band world famous, and the best songs of Thursday's set were his.

"Ain't Talking 'Bout Love," "Unchained" and "Panama" are vastly superior to Hagar-era songs such as "Dreams," "Why Can't This Be Love" and "When It's Love" (Thursday's weak set-closer) because they were constructed around Eddie's inhuman guitar abilities, not his overwhelmingly average keyboard-pop tendencies, which flowered like stinkhorn fungi after Roth left.

And Van Hagar -- as Roth fans derisively named it -- can't ever help evoking Roth's ghost when Hagar sings the required old songs like a college-bar cover band.

Although this Van Halen reunion was enjoyable, it was Black Sabbath with Dio instead of Ozzy, Rodgers with Hammerstein instead of Hart, the Three Stooges with Shemp instead of Curly.

What L.A. got to witness was merely the return of a great rock band after a now inexcusably long hiatus. What it could have witnessed was so much more.

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- New concert reviews added to the archive

IMPORTANT: Don't bombard the DJs -- just one or two calls a day will do the trick. And DON'T say you're with the VH team. If they ask, just tell them you're a hardcore fan who loves the new song!

Right Now, It's Van Halen time!!
At o­ne point during Van Halen's end-of-set rendition of "Right Now," the giant video behind the band flashed things that were happening right now during that exact moment in time. Maybe every slogan flashed o­n the screen wasn't quite happening right then and there, but o­ne truism stuck out: Right now Van Halen is kicking ass.

Considering that Van Halen's summer tour is o­ne of the most highly anticipated rock road shows in a summer that is generally bereft of them, the band didn't disappoint. Gigging for the first time in years, the band's two-hour-plus performance showed that they've come back strong from several missteps that has plagued them over the years, including a misbegotten choice of a frontman (Gary Cherone), Eddie Van Halen (news)'s health problems and some public mudslinging with original lead vocalist David Lee Roth (news).

Now safely ensconced back in the arms of the seasoned and genial Sammy Hagar (news), still a perfect fit for the band, Van Halen is back o­n track to flaunt their considerable skills as o­ne of America's most potent hard rock outfits. While they absolutely wowed a sold-out Orange County crowd of young and older with a volatile mix of mostly Hagar-era songs that shows off the band's more polished, hard pop side, the satisfying set also revealed a few flaws that are typical of hard rock arena shows.

While all the members -- Hagar, Van Halen o­n death-defying guitar, brother Alex Van Halen (news) o­n drums and Michael Anthony (news) o­n bass -- certainly are accomplished musicians, o­ne could have done without the requisite drum and bass solos that slowed the set's momentum. Even Eddie's eye-popping solo went o­n a bit too long. While it definitely showed off his prodigious chops, it would have served the band better to just smash through the set with a bevy of songs and forgo the solo bits. But the band can't be faulted for giving their legion of fans exactly what they want; the excitement was palpable from the minute they hit the stage and didn't let up all night.

While Van Halen is a tight unit instrumentally, it really is Hagar who holds it all together. At 56, the amiable singer still rocks hard and is the life of the party. While Eddie and his mates ground through such huge hits as "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," "Jump," "Why Can't This Be Love," "Top of the World" and the new single "Up for Breakfast," (the "Best of Both Worlds" double CD is just out o­n Warner Bros. Records), Hagar was flying around the stage, yukking it up with the lucky fans who had seats in the pit area, slapping palms and drinking with them. He also found time to sing his ass off. His highflying vocal range remains intact, as does his passion for the job. While Eddie may be the technical genius of modern-day guitar players, it's Hagar who keeps the proceedings lively and fresh, much to the delight of his bandmates as well as the crowd.

Van Halen performs Thursday and Friday at Staples Center.

LIVE WITHOUT A NET COMING TO DVD!

Filmed in New Haven, CT during the band's sold out 5150 tour, the DVD features 90 minutes of pure Van Halen!

Live Without A Net hits the streets on September 14th.

Grab The New Van Halen Buddy Icon
This week, we also have a brand new Van Halen - The Best of Both Worlds buddy icon for use with your AOL instant messenger software! Start using it RIGHT NOW by simply clicking on the icon to the right and then send it on to your friends via the link below. (Users of Trillian or other multi-IM software may have to add it manually. )


EDDIE VAN HALEN Was In Worse Shape Than Anyone Knew
According to Launch Radionetworks, VAN HALEN drummer told the Dutch newspaper Telegraaf that things were much more serious than anyone let on when Eddie Van Halen was being treated for cancer back in 2001. "We were used to planning things ahead with the band...but now, we had to live by the hour. At a certain time, things were so bad, we didn't even know if Eddie would be with us in three months." Alex also said, "Eddie always knew he would get better. I didn't. I was more pessimistic...All we had in those difficult times was our music. It was therapy. We played for months and months working on new songs. That's why it is so great to see us now, we are stronger then ever."

During a recent teleconference, Alex also said that he really appreciates the way VAN HALEN fans sent their thoughts and prayers to Eddie during that time: "I personally want to thank all the fans and everyone who sent the cards, and the e-mails, and all the rest, wishing him well."

Eddie beat his tongue cancer through aggressive treatment, including chemotherapy. He's also had hip replacement surgery.

During the interview, Van Halen said that the band would play in Holland next summer, so a
European tour appears to be in the works.
Courtesy of Launch Radionetworks

Van Halen Touring Company sues for 2 million
CRYING FOUL: Van Halen's touring company suing the Baltimore Orioles for $2 million for reneging on a deal to allow the band to play a concert at Oriole Park early next month.
Courtesy of Eonline

Mike is interviewed in the new issued of Guitar World's Bass Guitar magazine. Oct/Nov 2004 with Ian Hill and Geezer Butler on the cover. pretty short interview, covers the old basics.

Courtesy of Nik Browning

WB's finally promoting VH

LET VAN HALEN ROCK YOUR WORLD
Van Halen's back with The Best Of Both Worlds, the definitive two-CD collection, packed with 33 classic tracks and featuring three brand new recordings: “It’s About Time,” “Learning To See,” and “Up For Breakfast.” Includes the hits “Runnin’ With The Devil,” “Jump,” “Why Can’t This Be Love,” “Right Now,” and many more. Pick up The Best Of Both Worlds now, and catch Van Halen on tour this Summer!

http://www.warnerbrosrecords.com/

Courtesy of James

Nor Cal VH After Parties....Come see HOT FOR TEACHER!
For those attending the Van Halen shows at San Jose, Oakland and Fresno CA, HOT FOR TEACHER will be performing a series of "After Show Parties with HOT FOR TEACHER" to celebrate the return of America's greatest rock and roll band to the Bay Area...The Mighty Van Halen!

Rock to the music of Van Halen well into the night with HOT FOR TEACHER at a club near the concert venue. The band will start playing at the end of each of the Van Halen performances.

This is going to ROCK!

Hope to see you there!

Terry
HOT FOR TEACHER
http://www.hftrocks.com

Event flyer:
http://www.hftrocks.com/Shows/VHASP_2004/HFT_VHASP_2004-Flyer.jpg

8-10 The Blank Club - San Jose CA (HP Pavillion)

8-13 Max's Opera House Downtown Oakland 4:30-6:30pm "Bone Hometown"

8-13 Rooster's Roadhouse-Alameda CA 11pm-1:30am(Oakland Arena)

8-14 Porky's Rib Shack - Fresno CA (Save Mart Arena)

No Fat In Van Halen (from Undercover Music News)
No Fat In Van Halen

There's no fat in the Van Halen coffers according to the band's Alex Van Halen and Sammy Hagar. Almost every song they have ever finished recording since their first album in 1978 has been released.

"There are no real tracks that are unreleased. There may be two or three songs that were partially completed" Alex tells Undercover News. "If those songs were really worthwhile we would have released them back when they were written".

"One of the biggest mistakes artists can make is to go back on the stuff they passed on in the first place and throw it out as new, which it isn't" he adds. "Ed is very particular in which direction he wants to go in musically and that is forward. I don't know if there is such a thing as going forward in music. It is either up, down, sideways or backwards. It goes in a circle. The intent that goes in to behind making a piece of music is as important as the perception of that piece of music. The intent is to go forward. If you go backwards, then forget it. It doesn't work. We don't go back and go through old tapes".

Even since Sammy Hagar joined the band, almost every thing they recorded was released. "I can only think that for the 11 years I was in the band there is probably only three unfinished songs that we worked on, just like there is four from this one and we only released three".

According to Hagar, "you wouldn't want to hear it. It is not done. The lyrics aren't done, the melody is not done and the structure is not there. It was left half cooked. The idea is probably still good but I doubt if we would ever go back and use it because when we get back together and go in the studio it is about where you are at at that moment, not about something you did back there and trying to rekindling that. It is much better to go fresh every time. It is more inspiring. It is like going back to your old girlfriend".

The three news songs that made the Best of Both Worlds are 'It's About Time', 'Up For Breakfast' and 'Learning To See'. All three songs were created on the fly after Hagar rejoined the band. "For one thing we don't keep an accurate log of when the idea came to mind or when the music came to fruition" Alex says. "It is kind of nailed jello to the wall. It just comes and it goes. It just happened that when the four of us got together we played as much music as Sammy could digest and the one's that really stuck in his head were the ones that we worked on. It was nothing more or nothing less than that. It was that simple".

"It was kind of when I first walked in, Ed and Al had been in the studio for a couple of years and they had a lot of ideas floating around with no lyrics and no song structure" Sammy said. "It was hard for me to digest at first but because of the time limit, as soon as we got together we said lets go out on tour which is what we like to do more than anything, play live, I picked on the ones that instantly sang to me, ones I thought I could come up with some good lyrics for. In a way it sounds like I took the easy road with the ones that just presented themselves. Otherwise we would still be in there sorting through music".

"There is enough music for 100 years in that studio to write songs for laying around on the floor" he adds. "We had four songs and the forth one never got completed. These three got done in time to go out on tour and I mean barely. We were still in the studio mixing and rehearsing at night and mastering and being on tour. It was pretty intense. These three were the ones that came naturally to us".

Van Halen has just released their compilation 'The Best of Both Worlds'.

There upcoming tour dates are:

Aug 13 Oakland, CA Oakland Arena
Aug 14 Fresno, CA Save Mart Arena
Aug 16 Anaheim, CA Arrowhead Pond
Aug 17 San Diego, CA Coors Amphitheater
Aug 19 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
Aug 20 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
Sep 03 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata
Sep 05 Biloxi, MS Mississippi Coast Coliseum
Sep 08 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Office Depot Center
Sep 09 Tampa, FL St. Pete Times Forum
Sep 11 Jacksonville, FL Veterans Memorial Arena
Sep 12 Columbia, SC Colonial Center
Sep 14 Charlotte, NC Charlotte Coliseum
Sep 15 Greenville, SC Bi Lo Center
Sep 17 Atlanta, GA Phillips Arena
Sep 18 Cincinnati, OH US Bank Arena
Sep 20 Moline, IL Mark of the Quad Cities
Sep 21 Champaign, IL Assembly Hall
Sep 23 Houston, TX Toyota Center
Sep 24 Little Rock,AR Alltel Arena
Sep 25 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
Sep 28 San Antonio , TX SBC Arena
Sep 29 Lubbock, TX United Spirit Arena
Oct 1 Las Vegas Orleans Casino
Oct 2 Albuquerque Journal Pavilion (Shed)

Courtesy of Undercover.com

The band had been given up for dead after acrimoniously parting ways with Hagar in 1996 and releasing the stinkeroo CD, “Van Halen III,” two years later with former Extreme vocalist Gary Cherone on the microphone. The group had an important choice to make to repair their tarnished reputation and re-establish themselves as an arena headliner: reunite with original vocalist David Lee Roth or second frontman Hagar? Those who caught the co-headlining “we used to be in Van Halen” tour the two did together in 2002 know VH made the right decision as Diamond Dave has become a cartoonic shadow of his former self and Sammy mopped the floor with him.

“Roth just doesn't have it anymore,” said Rick Ross, 44, of Phoenix, who caught the pair at Cricket Pavilion. “At this point, Sammy's the right choice.”

That said, there's really no comparing the two eras of the group. With a young, charismatic Roth at the helm from ’78-’85, Van Halen was a great, swaggering rock ’n’ roll monster. With Hagar (’86-’96), they hit greater commercial heights but became hopelessly bland. The difference was laid plain during the live show when the band played Roth's menacing, gritty rocker “Unchained” and Hagar's sappy “Why Can't This Be Love?” back-to-back.

At least Sammy now has the good sense to sing some of Dave's songs live — something he once refused to do — including show opener “Jump.” While he lacks Roth's once-formidable stage presence, he's enthusiastically energetic and has a better voice.

Regardless of who's singing, Van Halen revolves around the fretwork of the masterful Eddie Van Halen. Shirtless and fighting fit at 49, the grinning guitarist leapt wildly about the stage, obviously glad to be doing so after having survived a recent rough patch that included divorce, hip replacement surgery and a bout with tongue cancer.

Though tilted in Hagar's favor, the concert bounced between songs from each era of Van Halen, much the same way the new, two-disc greatest hits compilation “The Best of Both Worlds” does. Highlights included “Poundcake” and “Ain't Talkin’ ’Bout Love.” The two (of three) new songs on the collection that the band performed — the moronic “Up for Breakfast” and nearly as bad “It's About Time” — were tuneless, turgid disasters. Still, they weren't nearly as awful as that outdated, execrable rock star conceit, the solo section, which found each of the four band members performing alone at different points in the show. In a nice gesture, Hagar dedicated his “Eagles Fly” to local promoter and cancer survivor Danny Zelisko, but each solo turn was a momentum killer.

“They were great for bathroom breaks and that's what I used them for,” said Dawn Valles, 33, of Chandler.

Van Halen closed strong with “Right Now,” following which the band members basked in full house lights, grasped hands and took a group bow. Tellingly, the first encore consisted of Roth-era nuggets, a cover of The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” and “Panama,” fueled by one of Eddie's most memorable riffs.

Naturally, the closer was a Sammy song, the power ballad “When It's Love,” and, just as naturally, it was anti-climactic.

Set List:
Jump
Runaround
Humans Being
Up For Breakfast
Mike Anthony's bass solo
Somebody Get Me A Doctor
Poundcake
Its About Time
Alex Van Halen's drum solo
Top Of The World
Unchained
Why Can't This Be Love
Eagles Fly - Sammy Hagar solo
The Seventh Seal
Best Of Both Worlds
Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo
Dreams
Ain't Talkin’ ’Bout Love
Right Now

First Encore:
You Really Got Me (Kinks cover)
Panama

Second Encore:
When It's Love

Courtesy of Thomas Bond, AZTribune

New shows recently added to the tour!

New reviews added to the archive

Van Halen and Rod Stewart bring their greatest hits to town this weekend
Once upon a time, Rod Stewart and the members of Van Halen were young men conquering the world. This weekend, they slide into Las Vegas to perform oldies sets.

Van Halen's tour is "still big, dumb fun," if you believe Chicago Sun-Times critic Jim DeRogatis. DeRogatis went to a Van Halen show in July and found it to be worse than previous VH rock-outs, but still worthy.

He deemed a bass solo to be a "self-indulgent and worthless holdover from the hair-metal '80s." And he ridiculed bassist Michael Anthony, who used to chug Jack Daniel's bottles, for turning up the kind of mini-bottle that flight attendants serve.

DeRogatis, like many critics, preferred Van Halen when it was fronted by singer David Lee Roth, over the period when singer Sammy Hagar, 56, gave the group its face.

"I have always sided with those who believe that Van Halen shrank in stature when it traded the ridiculous but self-deprecating David Lee Roth for the ridiculous but annoying red rocker Sammy Hagar," DeRogatis wrote. "But during the first of its two-night stand in Chicago, the group seemed even smaller -- meeker, older and a lot less gonzo -- than Van Hagar Mach I."

DeRogatis still declared Van Halen -- which returns to Vegas on Oct. 1 to play at the Orleans Arena (tickets go on sale Aug. 14 for that show) -- to be "a band of the people, with its millionaire members maintaining a true connection to their blue-collar fans" that was "really pretty darn good."

The critic went on: "Even Hagar's ritual of donning the hats offered by the fans -- a construction helmet, a fire helmet, a Cubs cap, a Sox cap -- and wrapping himself in the giant banners that they tossed onstage was endearing in its way."

So, as for Stewart, his oldies tour isn't comprised only of his old hits. In addition to doing "Maggie May" and "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy," he's been performing the more official type of oldie, the standard, in the spirit of pop music from the first half of the 20th century.

He's been covering these oldies while pitching his latest albums, which have been covers of such odes as "I'm in the Mood for Love" and "Till There Was You."

Stewart reviews have been fine. Jeff Maisey, writing for the Virginian-Pilot in Virginia Beach, Va., in July, noted that the "raspy-voiced" "infinite showman" split his show into two parts, a greatest-hits set, and a big-band set that finds the '70s rock star wearing a tuxedo.

The 59-year-old singer has also let his daughter and his band move into the spotlight.

"Stewart took several breaks throughout his first set to dry his sweat-drenched hair and to change shirts. While he did so, his band kept things moving with recognizable cover songs," Maisey wrote.

"On one such occasion, Stewart's 17-year-old daughter, Ruby, entered the stage and performed Pat Benatar's `Heartbreaker.' She obviously inherited her mother, Kelly Emberg's, good looks but not her father's musical talent. She received polite applause from the audience."
Courtesy of http://www.reviewjournal.com

Enter for a chance to win SHINEDOWN cds and posters!
Shinedown Contest!! (Ends 11:59 a.m. EST on 9/1/04) Contest Rules - Privacy Policy

Enter for a chance to win one of three SHINEDOWN prize packs, including an autographed poster and SHINEDOWN's debut CD Leave A Whisper. Five runner up winners will also receive a copy of SHINEDOWN's debut CD.

You will only find this contest on websites run by VHReunion.com's Webmaster: (VHVault.com, VHRadio.com, and Rock-n-radio.com)

Thanks to SHINEDOWN's Label: http://www.atlantic-records.com/



A Fan's Prespective on EVH and Peavey (Break-up?)
I think Eddie and peavey are breaking up! The Icon for the custom shop on the peavey website is gone!! I also talked to the owner of a big music store in the detroit area. He said he was at summer NAMM and Hartley Peavey was incensed at the Charvel booth. Apparently there is going to be a lawsuit because peavey owns the EVH logo that Charvel has been using. My source also told me that Hartley Peavey took all of the EVH stuff off the floor of the convention!! I also heard that Ed's contract with peavey is up in November, and, ironically, the charvel website says that their line of EVH guitars will hit stores in...NOVEMBER!!! coincidence, I think not!!

Thanks to Adam for that.

You can still get the amps but not the guitars.

Notes From Glen Ballard On "Finish What Ya Started"
Glen Ballard discusses "Finish What Ya Started" as it appears on the band's new 2-CD set, The Best of Both Worlds:

There’s a great irony associated with our choice to present “Finish What Ya Started” in a way that belies the title. We retrieved the analog master from the WB vault only to learn that it needed to be treated or “cooked” to restore its ability to be reproduced on the analog machine. The original two-track mix ends exactly as presented on the new “Best of Both Worlds.” In the first mastering of the record nearly twenty years ago it was faded manually and that is the way it appears on the original OU812. We literally decided to let it “Finish” in its truly original form, almost like a “director’s cut.” To the legions of Van Halen fans who remember it the other way, we can only hope that the added one second of music and its slightly truncated ending represents a unique version of a song that we all know and love and becomes in its own right a collectors item.

We have spent hundreds of hours in conjunction with Ed and Alex pondering the tone, texture and tenor of these amazing recordings, and we appreciate the responses from the many listeners who cherish this music. It has represented a sacred mission for all of us and we present it to you with love, respect and passion, and if you hear something you might have missed before, please realize it is included to present what we deem to be the more complete archive of this amazing band.

Sincerely,
Glen Ballard

Courtesy of Van-halen.com

"That's all we've been doing," said Hagar, of the riotous cackling between the two. During the course of the interview the two shared inside jokes, finished each other's sentences and expressed genuine warmth for the other -- all things you would expect from the best of friends. "It's almost embarrassing. We've been like chilling all over ..."

"We're trying to be serious ..." interjected Alex.

"Yeah, keep it cool, Al. Keep it cool," interrupted Hagar with a laugh.

Get the point?

Following a nasty split in 1996, Hagar had not spoken with the brothers Van Halen -- Alex and guitar virtuoso Eddie Van Halen -- unless one counts trading barbs in the media as proper communication.

After parting ways with Hagar, Van Halen, which forever altered the hard rock landscape in the late 1970s and early '80s with original frontman David Lee Roth, moved forward -- or backward depending on your view -- with a third incarnation featuring one-time Extreme vocalist Gary Cherone. That odd union spawned one album (1998's Van Halen III), one tour and mixed reviews from fans before quietly going away.

Since then, the band embarked on a six-year mostly silent sabbatical while Eddie battled enough personal problems (tongue cancer, hip-replacement surgery, alcoholism, the breakup of his longtime marriage to actress Valerie Bertinelli) to last a lifetime.

Hagar, meanwhile, went on to release five new albums (four studio and one live) with his solo band, The Waboritas, and maintained a steady following through constant touring. He went on the road last summer with Roth, of all people, in a co-headlining tour that drew Van Halen fans of both eras into arenas and amphitheaters across the country.

While Hagar had previously rekindled his friendship with Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, there had still been no contact with the band's main power brokers -- Eddie and Alex. That all changed about seven months ago when Hagar got a wild hair and called Alex out of the blue.

"I've been saying this for 100 years: 'I'm going to give Alex a call one of these days,' and then I finally did," said Hagar, who was vacationing at a Southern California beach resort with his family at the time. That first call went so well, Hagar immediately invited his former bandmate and his family to drive down to the beach and hang out.

"There was no business, it was not that at all," Hagar said. "It was about, 'Gee, I wonder what it would be like running into Ed or Al?' Like if I ran into them in the street, there's two things that are going to happen ... you're either going to hug and kiss and say, 'It's so great to see you again,' or you're going to get in a big fight, you know? So you don't know until you go head on, and we went head on. It was like a complete love fest. It was just, 'Wow, I really miss this friendship.' "

'Finish What Ya Started'
With the initial ice broken, Hagar then patched things up with Eddie and the next thing anybody knew, there was an old, albeit re-energized, band happening inside 5150 -- Eddie's home studio, where every Van Halen studio album since "1984" has been recorded.

"You know, we picked up right where we left off," said Alex, "and the moment we hit the studio and started making music, which for us is where it always began, then that kind of solidified that that was it. Making music is the center of this band. That and the friendship, so it was a no-brainer."

While getting together for a lucrative tour is one thing, keeping the four egos in check for the long term is quite another. With so much backwater under the bridge, Van Halen followers are left to wonder if this reunion -- to quote the band's 1986 hit "Why Can't This Be Love" -- will "stand the test of time" or simply flame out after cashing in at the box office.

Band members claim to be too caught up in the moment to give it much thought at this point, but their renewed friendship and the success of their just-released, two-disc greatest hits compilation, "The Best of Both Worlds" -- which features three new songs and debuted this week on the Billboard charts at No. 3 -- bode well for the future.

"If it doesn't last, we're all going to kick each other's ass," Alex laughed. "We deal with one thing at a time."

Hagar concurred.

"I think it can last, I really think it can. It's certainly great enough. With four personalities, anything can happen. I might come in with the wrong color shirt on one day and the whole thing could blow out," Hagar said as he and Alex laughed uproariously at the inside joke.

'Best of Both Worlds'

While Van Halen sparkles in the studio, the band has achieved its legendary status in large part due to its over-the-top live performances. Whether showcasing Roth's flamboyant outrageousness or Hagar's knack for throwing a party onstage, it is the extraordinary musicianship of the four members that truly drives the live experience.

"Being in Van Halen, I'll tell everybody right now, is a really, really strenuous show," Hagar said. "... We don't go out there on some little, tiny stage and stand there and look at our shoes in fright. Not only do we perform physically, but the music itself is extremely difficult to play. The musicianship in this band is on the highest level, and I think any musicians out there will tell you that, and it's challenging the way we push each other and inspire each other."

The band is filming shows and documenting behind-the-scenes activities for a DVD release following the tour. Still, the full experience can only truly be appreciated in person -- where Van Halen is about as subtle as a sledgehammer.

"(With) Van Halen, the only way you're going to get fulfilled is to sit right there in the front row at that concert and just get your face bashed in with music," Hagar said. "I think that's probably the ultimate experience for a fan."

Jeb Wright, who runs the well-known Classic Rock Revisited Web site (www.classicrockrevisited.com), said Van Halen is one of the most revered rock bands of all time because the individual members encompass the musical yin and yang.

"Eddie changed the way lead guitar was played and Dave was the best front man in hard rock," Wright said. "They have the pop-sense danceability the girls like and they rock hard for the guys. They have both virtuoso ability on their instruments and craft songs with a great hook.

"They are different with Sam, they are more mature and more showbiz. With Dave it was total blood and guts. Dave-era VH was the most magical. I think they are great live for the same reason they will be remembered as a great band -- it boils down to the songs and the talent level of the musicians."

Darby, the evening personality and metal director at Salt Lake radio station KBER 101, also lauded the individual talents of each band member.

"Any band is only as good as its players," said Darby, noting that Van Halen is the most played band on KBER. "No one in any other band in the world is better at what they do than the guys in VH are."

'Why Can't This Be Love'

In addition to its great musicianship, however, Van Halen will also be remembered for its infamous frequent frontmen feuds.

Hagar replaced Roth in 1985, after the original vocalist quit the band in search of a solo career and potential movie deal. There was some debate on who initiated Hagar's ouster in 1996 -- he said he was fired, the band said he quit -- but the brothers Van Halen immediately turned to Roth once again, collaborating with Diamond Dave on twonew tunes for Van Halen's initial greatest hits collection ("Best Of, Volume 1").

Old problems quickly resurfaced, though, and the Roth reunion fizzled as the band turned to Cherone.

During the past six years in limbo, the band tried yet again to work with Roth. Nothing came to fruition from those sessions, however, and apparently nothing ever will.

"There was an attempt to put something together (with Roth), but it was ill-fated," Alex said. "It never materialized, and it just went away. I don't mean to trivialize it, but there's a little expression ... it's like an idiot is somebody who does the same thing over and over and expects a different outcome."

Translation: Right now, it's Hagar's tomorrow.

Darby has some advice for Van Halen fans still holding out for a Roth sequel.

"Get a life ... and a girlfriend," he said.

Besides, he said, the band is better off these days with Hagar.

"Dave was a great frontman," Darby said. "Every singer in a hair band in the '80s wanted to be him. I love the stuff they did with Dave."

But?

"Dave is now a joke," he said. "He's a parody of himself. How many boze-de-boze-de-bops do we need to hear? Sammy is still a great frontman, and on top of that is an excellent musician. He can play more than a mic stand. He can pull it off live, too. Even in his prime, Dave was questionable live. I prefer Sammy ... did that come across?"

Loud and clear -- which is exactly how fans prefer their Van Halen. Even the band members themselves can see some humor in the situation.

Hagar, phoning in from a different location than Alex, excused himself a tad early before the end of the teleconference, explaining that he had a longer commute to make it to rehearsal than did his partner in time.

"I don't want to be late," deadpanned Hagar. "I could get fired."

Doug Fox can be
reached at 344-2546 or dfox@heraldextra.com.

Van Halen in concert

When: Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Delta Center

Why: What is understood need not be discussed.

Support act: Shinedown

Tickets: $40-$75, at the Delta Center box office or Ticketmaster outlets (801-325-SEAT, www.ticketmaster.com)

Jukebox: "Dreams," "Jump," "Right Now," "Panama," "Runaround," "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," "When It's Love," "Unchained," "Top of the World," "You Really Got Me," "Poundcake"

"Hear About It ..." now

Sammy on touring with David Lee Roth:

"It wasn't an enjoyable thing because he wasn't an enjoyable guy. But that's it. I'm not sorry I did it, but I certainly wouldn't do it again. Dang, that's a hard one. You know, I ain't here to bash him or nothing, but he's just not a friendly guy and we didn't get along too good, it was pretty obvious. Two different people, two different planets."

Alex on his brother, Eddie, being ranked behind Joni Mitchell on Rolling Stone's list of all-time top guitarists:

"I said, yes, do the right thing, man. Send her a bottle of champagne."

Sammy on the timing of his reunion with Van Halen:

"If we had tried it maybe two years ago, it could have blown up or anything or maybe two years from now it might be too late, who knows, it just feels right. Sometimes by accident you do things at the right time and it works out for you and I think we've all been pretty lucky in our whole careers in that respect."

Alex on if there is a possibility of opening the vaults on David Lee Roth material that has never yet been released:

"No there isn't. I think your initial answer is probably the stuff isn't the best, and that if there was stuff that was worth listening to, it would have been released at the time, you know?"

Sammy on playing the David Lee Roth-era songs in concert:

"The show we're doing, the live show, this set we're playing right now, is better than any set we ever played before because I used to be a little sensitive to the old material, everyone knows that, and we only did two or three (songs). And I'm not now, it's like we have a whole different outlook on everything. It's like, 'Let's make this the greatest songs the Van Halen fans have ever heard.' ... It's so right. The setlist will kill you."

Alex on what he and Eddie did during their six-year hiatus:

"Well first of all there never really was any hiatus. We're very fortunate of having the luxury of Ed having his own studio, so we're in there every day making some kind of music. Some of it's useable, some of it's not. The idea with creativity is it doesn't stop. I think it really was a test for Ed and I to see when we were out of the loop, so to speak, because of Ed's health situation, whether or not we really were the creative types or whether it was all of the bells and whistles or explosions that drew us to what we do. But being in the studio and having no other purpose than creativity itself was actually kind of a profound experience. It was great."

Sammy on his first phone call to Eddie:

"Well, it had been a long time, about seven years, six-and-a-half years, something like that. I mean not even one conversation, and the first one was, it was, you know, I was a little nervous. And I'm sure, you know, he was kind of surprised, too, when he picks up the phone and it's me. But it was good. It was kind of like a little -- a little uncomfortable, like, 'Well, how are you, man?' 'Well, I'm pretty good. Man, I had a little bout with cancer, you know?' I mean it actually got heavy fast, and it got deep fast to the point where it was like, 'Oh, wow.'

Alex on Van Halen fans:

"The Van Halen audience is very special. You know, for one thing, thank God they stuck with us all this time, and we're just going to take them and drag them all into the new millennium."

Sammy on playing live again with Van Halen:

"I mean you're lucky if you get this once in your life, but to be able to get that every night is not only motivating, it's addicting, and hey, it's a miracle that we can still have that every night, and I'm honored and humbled by it, and that's what motivates me is that feeling and the idea you can actually still do this, and it's a great, great thing. I would never, ever take it for granted."

Alex on the Van Halen III album made with Gary Cherone on vocals:

"You know, I think creativity's about taking chances, and it's allowing yourself to make mistakes and without passing judgment on any of it. ... Sometimes you make a mistake, and it's nobody's fault. It just is. It just wasn't right. You can't undo it. You know, we're human. We make mistakes. That's all I can say."

Alex, after realizing that he had more to say on the subject after all:

"If I just may add one last thing in respect to that last question of the record that we made in 1998 ... I didn't want to prejudge it, because you've got to remember Ed's got to read this, too, and he'll hammer me over the head if I don't say something of how he saw the picture. And that is when you make music, you know, you try to be true to what comes from your heart. And once it leaves, once it's been recorded and it leaves your hands, it's anybody's guess what happens to it, and I think that's probably the best way to answer that question."

Sammy on why his voice has held up over the years:

"I'll tell you what, I am probably the luckiest singer on the planet. You know, I know a lot of singers in other bands and stuff and their voice hasn't held up. My only secret I can say is I've never really smoked cigarettes, and I'm not trying to make a cigarette commercial out of this, but most of the singers I know that do smoke cigarettes they can't sing anymore, or as good. Maybe that's it. I've always drank and I've always smoked a few other things once in a while ... I've done about everything, you know I've had about as much fun as anybody can have and I'm still having plenty of it and for some reason I can still sing. But I think my heart is still really into being what I am. It would crush me if I woke up one morning and somebody said, hey you can't do this anymore. So I think I just have that blind faith."

Alex on Van Halen not being selected last year to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the band's first year of eligibility:

"It certainly would be an honor to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ... I think getting together first and making music was ultimately the most important thing. I think the band has made its mark historically, if you will, and having people come to listen to what we're doing now is the proof in the pudding, so to speak. It's a very complicated question in terms of how the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame fits into the larger picture ... because for a band to help also have the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame gain notoriety and acceptance, and actually be something of value that's going to last for the years, it certainly would be great to be part of that. And who knows what next year will bring? You never know."

Alex on the choice to release a new greatest hits album when they also released one in 1996:

"Not to point the finger in a different direction, but the reality was this time it was our choice; the last time it was not our choice, it was done by outside forces."

Sammy on his thoughts about the band's new greatest hits album, "The Best of Both Worlds":

"I think it's kind of cool that if you're going to do a 'Greatest Hits II' package that we're in a unique situation where there were a couple singers in this band and one of them did a couple of new songs for the last one and one of them is doing three new songs for this one. I think that's pretty cool. That's almost like karmically very good, because if you just did the same thing again it's not as exciting. Like I said, I'm not down on doing a greatest hits record at all this time. Last time I was, that's why I wasn't on it, you know, I didn't donew songs. I didn't want to do it at that time in my life, for whatever reasons. And this time in my life, it's the only way we could have gotten the tour out this year and I think the fans need it. And we need it. We want it and it just has to happen."

Alex on his thoughts about Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony playing select dates with Sammy Hagar's band over the past couple years:

"You know, I think at the time when Sam and Mike went out on tours, it's, you know, musicians go out and play, and that's what they do, and my brother and I were doing something different. So you know, as adults, you make your own choices, and it was neither here nor there, as far as we're concerned. I mean that sounds like a simple answer to something that from the outside may look like a complicated question, but it really isn't, you know? Sammy likes -- he likes music. He likes to go out and play, and (Mike) wanted to join him."

Alex on how he stays in touring shape:

"Nails. I eat nails."

Courtesy of Doug Fox DAILY HERALD

Van Halen rocks Oklahoma with quality performance
There's no question that Van Halen can still rock.

The Sammy Hagar version is currently on tour, and the foursome brought a top-notch show to the Ford Center in Oklahoma City Sunday night.

Everybody's a bit older, but there's no slowing down on stage. Van Halen of 2004 is solid and their enthusiasm shows. They performed a good blend of songs, from the late 1970s "Somebody Get Me a Doctor" to the more recent "Humans Being." But it's all the others in between that are so good to hear: "Jump," "Unchained," "Poundcake," "When It's Love," and many more. A great new song thrown into the mix is "Up for Breakfast."

Sammy is in top form, the Red Rocker with yellow garb and red shoes. The reunion seems genuine, and he amply shares the spotlight with Eddie and Alex Van Halen and bassist Michael Anthony. Each has a lengthy solo time, Eddie especially basking in his moment with his signature strumming techniques. And Alex is still the master on drums.

The set for this Van Halen tour is impressive -- ramps curling up to a higher level with two pits on each side for a lucky few fans. A massive video screen with unique framing is in the center and shows some great close-ups: Michael on his Jack Daniels bass, Eddie lying down for guitar solos, and especially the slightly hidden Alex. During "Right Now" there's a presentation on screen about all that is happening right now in the world. It's the best of today's technology with the best of many days' rock 'n' roll.

A treat was Sammy's song "Eagles Fly," in which he accompanied himself on guitar. He proves he can sing the ballads as well.

A surprise of the evening was a brief appearance by Toby Keith, who was joined by Sammy for a few verses of "I Love This Bar." The temponever slowed down that much again for the rest of the show.

The near-capacity crowd demanded two encores, when the long-awaited "Panama" and "You Really Got Me" arrived. Sammy promised the crowd that Van Halen wouldn't wait so long to come back to Oklahoma next time around.

The guys still have their chemistry -- perhaps even stronger -- and Sammy confirms his mettle as a front man, singing both eras of Van Halen songs. This tour is one to catch. They've got a lot of good things going on.

By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News

After nine years of estrangement - a shattering of a supergroup that at the time stunned fans - the rift between Van Halen and former lead singer Sammy Hagar was finally resolved in a very Van Halen-type way.

Breakup? What breakup?

"Rather than go to therapy like some of these other bands and dig around in the dirt, we said: 'No, no. Here's what we're going to do: We're going to pretend like it never happened. We're going to, like, rise above it.' And it's really what we did," Hagar explains. "It hasn't even come up. That's done."

Drummer Alex Van Halen agrees.

"There comes a point in time where you've just got to drop it, you know? Forget it, because things change, people change, and ultimately the things that brought us together in the first place were the things that pulled us together this time, and that is the music," Van Halen says.

In the Van Halen world, it's just that simple: Don't look back.

After Eddie and Alex Van Halen dumped original lead singer David Lee Roth at their 1984 peak, the band soldiered ahead, achieving even bigger commercial success with Hagar.

After that imploded, the brothers went on with singer Gary Cherone and Van Halen III.

That didn't work, and now Hagar is back, with three new songs and a tour hitting the Pepsi Center on Sunday night.

Alex Van Halen and Hagar are together on the phone with reporters, chortling happily and trying to give some answers as to why this happened right here, right now.

"Sammy and I got together, and it was like we hadn't missed a beat," Van Halen says. "You know, we picked up right where we left off the moment we hit the studio and started making music."

"I made the call to Al, but it was not in any business sense," Hagar says. "It wasn't like, 'Hey, let's get back together.' I happened to be in Southern California with my family, vacationing at a resort at the beach, and I was talking to somebody. They said, 'Hey, you ever talk to those guys?' and I'm going: 'You know, no. You know, I'm going to give Alex a call.' I've been saying this for 100 years, . . . and then I finally did."

That long conversation between Thanksgiving and Christmas last year turned into a get-together, and eventually Hagar called Eddie Van Halen.

"I was a little nervous, and I'm sure, you know, he was kind of surprised, too, when he picks up the phone and it's me," Hagar says. The two hadn't communicated during the split, not even when Eddie was battling cancer.

"The whole point of being older is, you know, time going by, water going under the bridge. Whatever it is, you kind of forget even what happened or why you were mad to begin with and what all you said," Hagar says.

And there's plenty of blame to go around.

"I stopped appreciating this band toward the end because after 10, 11 years I was - I was just wore out, you know?" Hagar says. "It's pretty humbling this time around. Last time, you know, I thought I was a big rock star."

Paradoxically enough, they're back with a greatest-hits album - and the breakup in '95 was centered on a greatest-hits album. The band wanted to do one; Hagar didn't, seeing it as a bad career move. Hagar was booted and Roth rejoined the band for three songs, but that planned reunion disintegrated within weeks.

This time around, Hagar had no objection. "I think the fans need it, and we need it. We want it."

So do fans. Best of Both Worlds, a double-disc set with three new songs, made its debut this week at No. 3 on the Billboard album charts, with 138,000 in sales.

"The first single, It's About Time - I mean, I couldn't help but write those kind of lyrics for it, because it was just such a feeling that was just unanimous. If we had tried it maybe two years ago, it could've blown up or anything. Or maybe two years from now it might be too late. Who knows?" Hagar says.

While Hagar was off touring for the last decade, the Van Halen brothers were hard at work in the studio.

"We're very fortunate that we have the luxury of having - or Ed having - his own studio. So we're in there every day making some kind of music. Some of it is usable, some of it's not," Van Halen says.

"But I think the idea with creativity is that it doesn't stop. It really was a test for Ed and I to see if when we were out of the loop, so to speak, because of Ed's health situation, whether or not we really were the creative types."

Even during Eddie Van Halen's cancer treatments (he says the disease is completely gone now), the writing and recording never ceased.

"I don't think Ed and I will ever stop making music. We started this a long time ago, when we were about 8 years old, and it's just one of those natural things, you know, that we make music," Van Halen says.

Earlier this year, the Van Halens turned some of the most promising tracks they had over to Hagar.

"I took about two hours of stuff home with me, and I just used to work out to it every day, and as I was working out, some songs . . . instantly I'd start singing to them or come up with the lyric idea," Hagar says. "We'd have loved to have done a whole record, you know, but the idea of 'Do you want to go out on tour this year or next year?' was like 'Let's gonow. Let's gonow.' "

And now it's here, with a set list filled with hits from all eras.

"Well, as usual, it's over the top, you know? We have an old expression that with Van Halen, the line between where the band is and where the audience starts just gets kind of vague," Van Halen says. "It becomes one big party."

Evolution of VH

BY THE NUMBERS

8 Where the group ranks among all-time best-selling bands, based on U.S. album sales. In good company, Van Halen trails, in order, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Aerosmith and the Rolling Stones. But the band's 50.5 million sales put it ahead of both Metallica and Fleetwood Mac.

34 million. The number of Van Halen albums sold featuring David Lee Roth. Roth was at the helm of the band's two biggest discs: Van Halen and 1984, both of which have eclipsed the 10 million mark.

16 million. The number of Van Halen albums sold featuring Sammy Hagar.

500,000 The number of Van Halen albums sold featuring Gary Cherone.

THEY SAID IT

"Eddie has said he would take up the tuba if this thing doesn't work out. God help the tuba players of the world if this doesn't work out."

Michael Anthony in a 1998 interview with the Rocky Mountain News about the band's third - and ill-fated - lineup, with singer Gary Cherone.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

• Crystal Pepsi Fans cried "sellout" when the band let Pepsi use Right Now to sell its new soft drink. Crystal Pepsi lasted less than three years before Pepsi pulled the plug in 1993. Bottles and cans of the clear cola can be bought on eBay.

• Gary Cherone His new band, Tribe of Judah, released its first album in 2003 but hasn't been heard from since.

OLD-TIME ROCK 'N' ROLL

206 The combined age of the Van Halen members

PICK YOUR POISON

Who would you rather see at the microphone: Diamond Dave, the Red Rocker or - c'mon, there must be someone who liked Cherone - the ex-Extreme frontman? Cast your vote at RockyMountainNews.com/ Entertainment.

Courtesy of Rockymountainnews.com

Glen Ballard discusses "Finish What Ya Started" as it appears on the band's new 2-CD set, The Best of Both Worlds:

There’s a great irony associated with our choice to present “Finish What Ya Started” in a way that belies the title. We retrieved the analog master from the WB vault only to learn that it needed to be treated or “cooked” to restore its ability to be reproduced on the analog machine. The original two-track mix ends exactly as presented on the new “Best of Both Worlds.” In the first mastering of the record nearly twenty years ago it was faded manually and that is the way it appears on the original OU812. We literally decided to let it “Finish” in its truly original form, almost like a “director’s cut.” To the legions of Van Halen fans who remember it the other way, we can only hope that the added one second of music and its slightly truncated ending represents a unique version of a song that we all know and love and becomes in its own right a collectors item.

We have spent hundreds of hours in conjunction with Ed and Alex pondering the tone, texture and tenor of these amazing recordings, and we appreciate the responses from the many listeners who cherish this music. It has represented a sacred mission for all of us and we present it to you with love, respect and passion, and if you hear something you might have missed before, please realize it is included to present what we deem to be the more complete archive of this amazing band.

Sincerely,

Glen Ballard