van halen tribute tour 2022

Completely Unchained , The #1 Van Halen tribute band in the country, is considered The most authentic Tribute to The Mighty VH!

The look, the sounds and most of all The FUN Van Halen created as one of the biggest rock bands in the world!

Completely Unchained delivers songs like Running With The Devil, Ain’t Talking ‘Bout Love, Dance The Night Away, Panama, Jump, Hot For Teacher, The Cradle Will Rock, Eruption & many more with the same attitude and creativity the way Van Halen did from 1978 – 1984!

Come out and see why Nobody does Van Halen like Completely Unchained!

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Joe Satriani Details Prospective Van Halen Tribute Tour

Joe Satriani revealed he has been in talks with Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth about a potential Van Halen tribute tour.

"I've been talking with Alex and Dave for about a year about doing something — a tour, something like that — that was going to be a true tribute to Eddie and the Van Halen legacy," the guitarist told the Rock of Nations With Dave Kinchen podcast.

Satriani admitted the tour sounded daunting, but he was up to the task. "For me, it was a terrifying prospect of doing something like that, but I realized that it was something that would be a real labor of love for me," he said. "I was just so honored to take on the challenge."

The guitarist's comments support claims that Jason Newsted made last week about a Van Halen-related tour. The former Metallica bassist turned heads when he told The Palm Beach Post that he had received an invitation from Alex Van Halen to jam with him and Satriani. "There's nobody that can top it, so how do you show it honor?" Newsted said. "I didn't want it to be viewed as a money grab. And then it kind of just all fizzled." Satriani said he was surprised to hear Newsted reveal the pending tour plans.

"These things are always happening in the music industry, and you're supposed to keep very quiet about it because sometimes they don't work out," he said. "There's usually about 10 crazy ideas that float around, and musicians are always like, 'OK, I won't say anything about this, because it may not work out. I don't want to hurt this person's feelings or disrupt any other business plans. So yeah, we were all pretty shocked that Jason wanted to go public with it because we were all sworn to silence."

When asked whether Sammy Hagar was being considered for the tour, Satriani suggested it would account for all of Van Halen's catalog. "The thought of representing all the eras of Van Halen, that's pretty daunting," he said. "Just from a guitar player's point of view, Eddie progressed remarkably as a player and as an inventor, and those two things, they kind of went together from Van Halen 1 all the way to the last album . And when you sit down to actually learn it and pull it off, you go, 'Wow, not only do I need talent, but I need certain gear,' because certain things won't work unless you've got this amp and it's doing that. So that's also another thing to deal with."

Despite Newsted's comments, it sounds like the tour has not been ruled out entirely. "It's very complicated, and all I can really say about it is that if it does happen, I know we'll make it the greatest thing ever for the fans, and we'll all celebrate together," Satriani said. "Not only the great Eddie Van Halen but the legacy that that band created, the amazing amount of music and the goodwill and good vibes they created as a band."

Van Halen Lineup Changes

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Fri, January 14, 2022 Hartford, CT Doors: 7 PM Show: 8 PM

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Completely Unchained - The Ultimate Van Halen Tribute

As of 10.12.2021- Infinity Hall (both Hartford and Norfolk music venues) requires all patrons to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, or a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event. Acceptable proof of full vaccination includes a CDC vaccination card (physical card, clear photograph, or photocopy). In addition to this policy, masks are recommended when not actively eating or drinking. Any updates to the COVID-19 protocols will be posted here and communicated appropriately. Please Note: In Norfolk, this policy change affects admittance into the venue only, the restaurant will continue to follow state and local protocols. Click Here For More Information .

Who doesn’t love the way Van Halen rocked the world from 1978 to 1984? They had it all, including the best guitarist on the planet. A lead singer with the biggest personality in our Solar System. A bass player who laid down the law on bass while singing pristine harmonies over the top. And a drummer who kicked everyone’s butt. They created some of the best tunes ever heard on the radio and they all smiled those big smiles while doing it. Every show was a huge party and it just felt good.

Completely Unchained takes the concept of a tribute band and raises it to a whole new level. Not only do we recreate the music with unsurpassed skill, but the stage energy and the production at a Completely Unchained show is unmatched. No one else brings the entire package together like Completely Unchained. Come to a show and judge for yourself.

Completely Unchained - World's #1 Tribute to Van Halen

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Completely Unchained are four talented and creative musicians that re-create the ultimate Van Halen production – the attitude, sounds, excitement, energy and most of all the fun that Van Halen produced as one of the best rock bands in the world. Starting off by reproducing the very best of the original line up, then merging the “Van Hagar” era with some David Lee Roth solo hits, completes a whole catalog of the greatest hard rock songs ever recorded.

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Sammy Hagar on the Highly Rumored Van Halen Tribute Tour

Sammy Hagar has chimed in on the highly rumored Van Halen tribute tour honoring the late Eddie Van Halen.

As previously reported , former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post published on April 14 that he was contacted by Alex Van Halen for a “possible Van Halen tour.” Newsted also said Joe Satriani was selected by Alex to play guitar.

Hagar told Michigan newspaper The News Herald , “What’s that about, Jason Newsted playing bass for Van Halen? Great guy. Great musician. But in Van Halen? No, not when [Michael Anthony’s] still here and alive to do it.”

The Red Rocker added, “I’m so happy with everything I’m doing now, I don’t think I’d go back there. Maybe if Alex was interested, it might be something to talk about, with him and Mikey and a superstar guitar player. But it’s really not Van Halen without Eddie, so…I just don’t know.”

Anthony chimed in about the tribute tour back in May saying , “The only thing that was kind of a surprise to me was the Jason Newsted thing when he came out and said that Alex [Van Halen] had talked to him last year or something like that, which is kind of interesting, because I actually had been talking on a conference call with [Van Halen manager] Irving Azoff, Alex and Dave [Lee Roth] last year, so I don’t know what the Jason thing was all about.”

Anthony would add, “I spoke to Joe about it, and it was more, you know, just something kicking around…I hope something happens in the future here. I think Joe was mentioning in some of the interviews that it’s more a celebration of the band and of the music than calling it ‘Van Halen.’ Obviously, Eddie being probably the most integral part of the whole band, you can’t really call it Van Halen after that.”|

In July, Wolfgang Van Halen told Rolling Stone about the tribute tour , “What I can say is that there was an attempt at doing something. But, you know, I don’t like to speak negatively about people, but there are some people that make it very difficult to do anything when it comes to Van Halen. After being in Van Halen for a long time, I really have strived to have an environment where there is no walking on eggshells and there is no personality that you have to deal with. It’s just guys having fun making music and just having a good time. But, you know, from my time in Van Halen, there was always some stuff that gets in the way from just making music and having a good time. And, I think, that’s what happened.”

Wolfgang, acknowledging his elusive answer, would add, “I would love to just sit here and say everything and say the truth. There are plenty of interviews my dad did, where he straight up just said everything. And people hated him for it and thought he was lying. So I could just say s—, but people have already decided how they feel about things, facts or not. So I can say the facts. But that may not align with how certain people feel. I know how Van Halen fans get. They are very motivated by which specific people they like in the band. And it’s just not worth it. Just, we made an attempt, and some people can be hard to work with, and made it not happen.”

Wolfgang would go on to clarify that the tribute to his father was actually just supposed to be a one-off performance, not a tour as has been previously reported. However, even trying to organize a one-off performance led to various issues, and apparently, none of this tribute business was supposed to come out.

“People love to pin every decision Van Halen has ever made on Dad. But [Alex Van Halen’s] the brain,” said Wolfgang. “Al has been the guy forever. He’s the dude. When it comes to Van Halen, Dad just wanted to play guitar. But, you know, Al’s mentality, and it’s the mentality that Van Halen took for the entirety of its band, is that there’s nothing worth talking about unless it’s happening…And just because one person [former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted] decided to talk about it when they weren’t supposed to, it f—ed everything up.”

When pushed on whether the biggest issue with getting a tribute show together was David Lee Roth, Wolfgang responded with, “I would say, ‘Do your research on the history of Van Halen, and come to your conclusions.'”

Van Halen: Their 30 Best Songs, Ranked

30. “dirty movies” – ‘fair warning’ (1981).

One thing that doesn’t get discussed enough about Van Halen is how funky they could be. This song, about a prom-queen-turned-porn-star, features one of Van Halen’s deepest grooves, courtesy of Michael Anthony and Alex Van Halen, but it’s Eddie’s evocative leads and riffing (along with Dave being Dave) that really makes the song work.

29. “Happy Trails” – ‘Diver Down’ (1982)

A song by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans that Van Halen covered as a one minute long acapella jam for their most uneven album, this might not have ranked as one of their best songs before October 6, 2020. But if you were putting together your own Van Halen mix today, this would be a great final track, and it definitely sounds different now that Eddie is gone. It also showed that not only were the band members great instrumentalists, they were great vocalists as well.

28. “Ice Cream Man” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

Like all other hard rock bands from the ’60s and ‘70s, Van Halen was influenced by all forms of blues. But Van Halen had more fun with it than most, as evidenced here. Dave would play the acoustic guitar at the beginning of the song, starting it out solo, but the band kicked in and Eddie came in hot with one of his greatest solos. The end where Dave and Eddie are dueling with their instruments, is just a blast.

27. “Right Now” – ‘For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge’ (1991)

It’s difficult for a hard rock band to grow up and Van Halen were one of the few who were able to pull it off gracefully. Let’s be honest -- they wouldn’t have been able to do it without Sammy Hagar. But the band evolved as songwriters and players. This socially conscious song was built on an amazing Eddie Van Halen piano riff, but it also included one of his many incredible solos.

26. “Intruder/(Oh) Pretty Woman” – ‘Diver Down’ (1982)

Van Halen were, of course, a great songwriting team, as this list attests to. But they were also amazing song interpreters. They kicked off their career with a supercharged version of the Kinks’ “You Really Got Me,” but their unexpected take on Roy Orbison’s “(Oh) Pretty Woman” is nearly as iconic.

25. “Finish What Ya Started” – OU812 (1988)

When the Eddie Van Halen/Sammy Hagar team worked, it *really* worked. The two of them worked this song out on two guitars in the wee hours of the morning and it sounds like it. This song sounds unlike anything else VH ever did; Eddie’s playing, even without distortion, is fantastic.

24. “Little Dreamer” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

David Lee Roth reminds us that he can sing on this song, and his lyrics are a bit more empathetic than usual: “And then they went and they voted you/Least likely to succeed/I had to tell them baby you were armed with/All you'd need.” As flashy as Eddie could be, he knew how to let the song breathe; his playing during the verses dances around Roth’s narration. Of course, he also gets his time to shine on his wailing solo.

23. “Best Of Both Worlds” – ‘5150’ (1986)

‘5150,’ Van Halen’s first album with Sammy Hagar, made a strong case that the band’s second iteration would be as strong as the first, and this song was a big reason why. Eddie played a monster riff during the chorus, and his playing glided through the verses. And it’s one of Sammy’s best VH performances.

22. “Feel Your Love Tonight” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

An ode to teenage horniness; as always, Eddie, Alex and Michael’s playing was great but the real star is the interplay of their backing vocals with Dave’s leads. As with “Happy Trails,” it makes a good case that Van Halen could have been a great doo-wop group in a different era.

21. “Summer Nights” – ‘5150’ (1986)

With the addition of Sammy Hagar, it was clear that Van Halen could do a lot more, stylistically, and they weren’t going to stick with just party jams. But they weren’t going to ditch them, either, as they pointed out with “Summer Nights.” And obviously, Eddie still had riffs for days.

20. “Atomic Punk” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

“I am the ruler of these nether worlds/The underground/On every wall and place my fearsome name is hear/Just look around, whoa yeee-ah!” It sounds like something Black Sabbath might have cooked up. The opening interplay between Eddie’s guitar scratching (reminiscent of “Voodoo Chile” by his idol Jimi Hendrix) and Alex’s cymbals is hair raising. Which Eddie Van Halen solo is the best one? Tough to say, but this one kind of defines “face-melting.”

19. “Dreams” – ‘5150’ (1986)

Another example of a Hagar-era classic that just wouldn’t have been possible with Van Halen’s original lineup. Here, it’s Sammy’s vocals that take center stage, but Eddie’s keyboards drive the song. Of course, Eddie steps away from the keys for a bit to blow our minds with a solo.

18. “So This Is Love?” – ‘Fair Warning’ (1981)

Give the bass player some! This is one of Michael Anthony’s funkiest performances; it almost sounds like something a jazz or blues band could have done in a prohibition-era speakeasy, and you could certainly imagine Roth performing in those snarky vocals in a dark, seedy joint. It’s Eddie’s guitar and Alex’s drums that bring it to the ‘80s; of course, it still sounds amazing today, and it always will.

17. “Jamie’s Cryin’” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

Roth showed empathy for the lead character in “Little Dreamer,” and he also did it on “Jamie’s Cryin’.” “Now Jamie's been in love before/And she knows what love is for/It should mean, a little, a little more/Than one-night stands.” Of course, many of his songs actually were about one-night stands, but here he shows some feeling for the person on the other end of a tryst.

16. “Dance The Night Away” – ‘Van Halen II’ (1979)

One thing that set Van Halen apart from their rivals was their ability to write a perfect pop song, and a danceable one at that. Here’s another great example of Eddie Van Halen getting out of the way of the song.

15. “Panama” – ‘1984’ (1984)

After hearing the lead single from ‘1984,’ “Jump,” fans might have worried that Van Halen was ditching hard rock. No such luck: this ode to fast cars was a guitar-driven masterpiece.

14. “I’m The One” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

More than forty years later, this song is still mindblowing; at parts, it’s nearly as fast as speed metal, at other parts it sounds like cabaret. And they slip into doo-wop/acapella mode for good measure, just to show you that they can do it. One of the most underrated songs in the VH catalog.

13. “Somebody Get Me A Doctor” – ‘Van Halen II’ (1979)

The “woo-woo!” at 1:24, going into Eddie’s solo is perfect, as is Eddie guitar fill at 2:09. You can hear how much fun they’re having here and it’s infectious.

12. “Hot For Teacher” – ‘1984’ (1984)

Alex Van Halen is the star here; his drumming on this song is as iconic and instantly recognizable as any of Eddie’s guitar work. Of course, Eddie’s guitar here is stellar. Even though it was their last album with David Lee Roth (for a few decades), they were firing on all cylinders And not only on the song but on the video, which was their last with Roth and certainly their best.

11. “Everybody Wants Some!!” – ‘Women And Children First’ (1980)

Now, sure...we just gushed about Alex Van Halen’s drumming in the previous entry, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t do the same on “Everybody Wants Some!!” While not as frenetic as “Hot For Teacher,” the lengthy drum intro on “Everybody Wants Some!!” is just as infectious, as is its chorus.

10. “Little Guitars (Intro)/Little Guitars” – ‘Diver Down’ (1982)

‘Diver Down’ is generally thought of as the most uneven of the first six Van Halen albums, but most other bands would kill for an album that good. “Little Guitars” is the best original on the album; Eddie’s acoustic intro is even more intense than “Spanish Fly” (from ‘Van Halen II’) and “Little Guitars” itself is one of the band’s most joyful songs. Eddie’s riff almost seems to be bouncing around during the song.

9. “1984/Jump” – ‘1984’ (1984)

Van Halen’s lone number one hit is, of course, the synth-heavy “Jump,” because irony is just funny like that sometimes.

8. “On Fire” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

Closing out Van Halen’s self-titled debut, “On Fire” sends listeners out on a hard rock high note (literally) with DLR and Michael Anthony’s wails of “I’m on fire!” It’s the type of closer that immediately just makes you want to start an album from track one again and go for another ride.

7. “Unchained” – ‘Fair Warning’ (1981)

Take a look at this! Some songs are just tailor-made to be performed in massive arenas, and “Unchained” is one of them. From the chugging opening riff to the group vocal on the chorus, “what a rocker” this song is!

6. “You Really Got Me” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

Van Halen had a way with covers and really had a knack for putting their own spin on classics, especially a rock standard like “You Really Got Me.” It’s undoubtedly VH’s best cover and can easily stand up to the original by the Kinks. Of course, it didn’t hurt to have a lead in like “Eruption” either.

5. “Mean Street” – ‘Fair Warning’ (1981)

Serving as the opening track on Van Halen’s fourth studio album, “Mean Street” is a unique standout not just on the LP but in the band’s entire catalog. Dave, Eddie, Michael and Alex all shine on this track, and it’s a shared spotlight that’s hard to ignore.

4. “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

The final single from Van Halen’s stellar debut album, “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” remains a mainstay of rock radio over four decades after its initial release. It’s easy to understand why with its brash chorus and ridiculously memorable lines like “You know you're semi-good lookin'/And on the streets again.” Oh, and that opening riff is just killer.

3. “And The Cradle Will Rock…” – ‘Women And Children First’ (1980)

“Have you seen Junior's grades?” More than just a little tongue in cheek lyrically, “And the Cradle Will Rock…” famously gave fans the first taste of Eddie Van Halen dabbling with keyboards, without taking away from his guitar. That sure had some decent returns down the line!

2. “Eruption” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

In 1:42 and only the second track into Van Halen’s debut album, Eddie Van Halen cemented his status as a guitar god, and there was no turning back. “Eruption” is so ingrained in rock culture now it’s almost difficult to think of a time without it. It’s the solo that inspired countless people to pick up a guitar; it also caused thousands of six-stringers to sit dumbfounded, trying to figure out how EVH played the damn thing in the first place. Perhaps, it’s both.

1. “Runnin’ With The Devil” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

Out the gate, Van Halen just weren’t messing around. They were young, hungry and with a mission statement like “Runnin’ With The Devil,” they told you who they were right away. When you’re “livin' at a pace that kills,” there isn’t time for pleasantries. In a debate on the best opening track from a debut album ever, “Runnin’ With The Devil” is always part of the conversation, and it may well be the greatest. In the case of this list, we think it’s Van Halen’s best song ever. Simply put, this song is perfect, even when you isolate DLR’s vocals.

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Van Halen News Desk

The Latest News & Info about The Mighty Van Halen

Exclusive: David Lee Roth Chimes in on Rumored Van Halen Celebration Tour

April 18, 2022 —by VHND Leave a Comment

The Van Halen News Desk reached out to David Lee Roth about the new rumors that there are (or where?) some behind-the-scenes discussions contemplating the possibility of some sort of tour celebrating Van Halen’s legacy. We’ve got an exclusive quote from him, below…

But first, let’s look at the rumors from the last few days…

Joe Satriani says he’s been in talks with Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth about a possible Van Halen/Eddie Van Halen tribute tour.

“I’ve been talking with Alex and Dave for about a year about doing something — a tour, something like that — that was going to be a true tribute to Eddie and the Van Halen legacy,” said Satriani during his recent appearance on the Rock of Nations with Dave Kinchen podcast. “For me, it was a terrifying prospect of doing something like that, but I realized that it was something that would be a real labor of love for me. I was just so honored to take on the challenge.”

Satriani’s comments come just days after former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted revealed to The Palm Beach Pos t that he had been contacted by Alex six months ago regarding a possible VH tour. Newsted said he initially agreed to go to California to meet up with “the guys” and jam but ultimately declined the offer, adding that it would be impossible to do justice to the legacy of Van Halen.

“How could you?” said Newsted. “There’s nobody that can top it, so how do you show it honor? I didn’t want it to be viewed as a money grab. And then it kind of just all fizzled.”

Satriani likely wouldn’t have commented about a possible tribute tour with Alex and Roth at all if Newsted’s quotes had not gone viral among the Van Halen and classic rock community.

“These things are always happening in the music industry, and you’re supposed to keep very quiet about it because sometimes they don’t work out,” Satriani said. “There’s usually about 10 crazy ideas that float around, and musicians are always like, ‘OK, I won’t say anything about this, because it may not work out. I don’t want to hurt this person’s feelings or disrupt any other business plans.’ So yeah, we were all pretty shocked that Jason wanted to go public with it because we were all sworn to silence.”

Now that Satriani confirmed Newsted’s claims, the big question remains – will this Van Halen tribute tour end up happening?

“It’s very complicated,” said Satriani. “All I can really say about it is that if it does happen, I know we’ll make it the greatest thing ever for the fans, and we’ll all celebrate together. Not only the great Eddie Van Halen but the legacy that that band created, the amazing amount of music and the goodwill and good vibes they created as a band.”

Although he made no mention of Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony or Gary Cherone, Satriani said the plan is to represent the entire Van Halen catalog.

“The thought of representing all the eras of Van Halen, that’s pretty daunting,” he said. “Just from a guitar player’s point of view, Eddie progressed remarkably as a player and as an inventor, and those two things, they kind of went together from Van Halen 1 all the way to the last album. And when you sit down to actually learn it and pull it off, you go, ‘Wow, not only do I need talent, but I need certain gear,’ because certain things won’t work unless you’ve got this amp and it’s doing that. So that’s also another thing to deal with.”

The Van Halen News Desk reached out David Lee Roth about the new rumors. We’ve got an exclusive quote from him here:

“IN MY MIND “VAN HALEN 4K”, IN THE AGE OF COVID IS GOING TO REQUIRE TWO OF US FOR EVERY POSITION. SATRIANI AND LUKATHER, ANTHONY AND NEWSTED, AL OR TOMMY LEE. PROBABLY THE ONLY ONE WHO COULD DO MY JOB TODAY WOULD BE PINK..”

Listen to Joe Satriani’s comments on the possible Van Halen tribute tour below:

SIGNED EXCLUSIVE: Van Halen Store is the only place that has autographed copies. Signed by both authors – Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill . Very limited supply! Buy it here .

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Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth and Joe Satriani have discussed a Van Halen tribute tour

The news of the possible tribute to Eddie Van Halen emerged after former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted spilled the beans

Joe Satriani, David Lee Roth and Alex Van Halen

Joe Satriani has confirmed that talks with Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth about a Van Halen tribute tour have taken place.

The news comes after former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted revealed that he'd been involved in the discussions, but had elected not to take part. Speaking to the Palm Beach Post , Newsted revealed that he'd flown to Los Angeles to jam with the other musicians, but that the project's momentum had faltered.

“How could you?” Newsted asked. “There’s nobody that can top it, so how do you show it honour? I didn’t want it to be viewed as a money grab. And then it kind of just all fizzled.”

Satriani has reacted to Newsted's revelations by confirming that talks did take place, and that the tour could still happen, during an interview with the Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen podcast to promote new solo album The Elephants Of Mars .

"I've been talking with Alex and Dave for about a year about doing something," he said. "A tour, something like that, that was gonna be a true tribute to Eddie and the Van Halen legacy.

"For me, it was a terrifying prospect of doing something like that, but I realised that it was something that would be a real labor of love for me. I was just so honoured to take on the challenge.

"And all I can really say about it is that if it does happen, I know we'll make it the greatest thing ever for the fans and we'll all celebrate together not only the great Eddie Van Halen but the legacy that that band created, the amazing amount of music and the goodwill and good vibes they created as a band.

Classic Rock Newsletter

"If it ever does happen, it will be a great honour and a terrifying challenge. Eddie, you can't reproduce what he did. You can't. You can learn the notes and you can be taught all the fingerings and get the gear and everything, but there was only one Eddie and he was the epitome of an original genius. But if it does happen, I know that Alex will make sure that it's the right way to do it."

Satriani also expressed surprise that Newsted had broken the news, saying, "These things are always happening in the music industry, and you're supposed to keep very quiet about it because sometimes they don't work out

"There's usually about 10 crazy ideas that float around and musicians are always, like, 'Okay, I won't say anything about this 'cause it may not work out. I don't wanna hurt this person's feelings or disrupt any other business plans.' So, yeah, we were all pretty shocked that Jason wanted to go public with it 'cause we were all sworn to silence."

Joe Satriani's new album The Elephants Of Mars is out now.

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 38 years in music industry, online for 25. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.

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Eddie Van Halen was making plans for a farewell tour with the original Van Halen lineup

Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt revealed that Van Halen had been planning to reunite with Michael Anthony for the farewell shows

According to Nuno Bettencourt, Eddie Van Halen was planning on reuniting the original Van Halen lineup for a final farewell tour before he passed away.

Speaking to Total Guitar , the Extreme guitarist – whose name has been closely linked with Van Halen’s in recent months, following the release of Rise – spoke casually about the plans, specifically mentioning that Michael Anthony would also have been involved.

Recalling the time Eddie Van Halen visited him in the studio , Bettencourt revealed, “[Eddie Van Halen] was telling us, ‘Hey guys, keep it between us but I’m excited. The band’s gonna come together again, the original cast with Michael Anthony.

“‘We’re gonna do a tour and gonna go out the way we came in.’ This is really heartbreaking when I tell the story,” he went on, “but it’s amazing to know that’s what it was going to be.”

During his visit to the Extreme studio, Van Halen also showed the band some material from the then-unreleased debut album of his son, Wolfgang Van Halen – and said it was Wolfgang who had been the main party in approaching Anthony for the tour.

In a recent interview with SiriusXM , Bettencourt once again discussed Van Halen’s plans for a potential farewell tour: “I'm like, ‘Amazing. Overdue, way overdue,’” he recalled. “[Van Halen] was even saying, like, ‘You know Wolf, he's the one who's like, he's reaching out to Michael.’ It was like a really cool thing, right?”

It’s not the first time Anthony’s name has cropped up in the news recently, with the band’s former bassist revealing the existence of a huge archive of unreleased Van Halen material .

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As it happened, when Van Halen visited Bettencourt in the studio the virtuoso was recording Rise – a fiery display of electric guitar mastery that showcased Bettencourt’s new sense of self-responsibility “to keep guitar playing alive” following Van Halen’s passing.

He didn’t, however, let Van Halen hear his work in progress. “He’s like, ‘You guys working on an album?’ I'm like, ‘Yeah, I’m up in the studio, but I don’t want you to come up and hear it yet. When it’s done will you come back and hear me?’ Stupid now in retrospect, not letting him come up and listen, but it wasn’t meant to be.”

Though a reunion tour sadly never materialized, extensive discussions for a Van Halen tribute tour have taken place over the past year. News of such plans first broke back in April 2022, when Jason Newsted revealed he’d been approached to join Alex Van Halen and Joe Satriani for the event .

Numerous developments have since arrived, the most recent of which seemed to confirm a tribute tour would never take place, with Sammy Hagar claiming Alex Van Halen won’t return his calls regarding the shows .

Total Guitar ’s full interview with Nuno Bettencourt will be available in issue 372, on sale June 2.

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Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World , Guitarist and Total Guitar . He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.

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Sammy Hagar on Van Halen’s Last Days, Trying to Make Peace With Alex, and a (Possible) Vegas Tribute to Eddie

By Andy Greene

Andy Greene

A little over a week ago, we spoke with Sammy Hagar about his new album Crazy Times , which he cut with Nashville producer Dave Cobb and his longtime band the Circle. “It’s a concept record,” Hagar said. “It’s about how I feel about everything that has gone on since the pandemic started.”

Near the end of the interview, the conversation inevitably turned toward Van Halen and the possibility of a tribute concert to Eddie Van Halen featuring all the surviving members of the band. A few days later, we heard from Hagar’s camp that he wanted to get back on the phone: He had a lot more to say about his former band. “I really think that it’s OK just to speak how I really feel now,” he said when we reconnected, “because there is no animosity left in my heart, in my soul, anywhere.”

Here’s a slightly edited transcript of the conversation.

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I talked to the director [Jan de Bont], and he sent me the script for the movie and said, “Study this. There’s some really great terminology that they use in relation to the tornado chasers.” And so I drifted through it and I got a bunch of cool lines out of it. I don’t remember them all now, but I just remember that the chorus was “dropped down.” It was like “Right Now” in that it was a very percussive lyric, and a great phrasing to start the chorus.

But Eddie and Al went nuts and said, “Oh, my God. This is corny. You can’t talk directly about the movie.” It’s not like they had an idea, but at that time they just didn’t want to use too much verbiage about actual twisters. I thought, “Well, I think they’re wrong, but OK, whatever.”

I come back into the studio to do it with producer Bruce Fairbairn. He gets Eddie out of the room and says, “Look, how about just a bunch of imagery?” And then Eddie had said “Humans Being” for some reason. That was the first time he ever really titled a song that I was involved in writing. And I thought, “Humans Being. Yes. That’s fine. I like it.”

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I called the manager that was poisoning all this stuff and I said, “Guess what just happened?” And he went, “Oh, fuck. He did it? He made the call?” I said, “Yes, he made the call.” And he goes, “Let me get back to you. I suppose you want a golden parachute.” I said, “I want to know what the fuck is going on. I don’t need anything. I just want to know what the fuck is going on.”

That’s what happened. It wasn’t like he said, “You’re fired.” He just said, “You’re quitting the band. You’re leaving the band. We’re moving on without you.” Whatever. It was not my call, whatsoever.

Let’s move onto the Sam and Dave tour of 2002. Did that go as well as you hoped it would? Yes and no. That tour was successful. I did very well on that tour as far as the comparisons went [between us as vocalists]. And the idea was to get Van Halen’s attention and get us both back in the band and do what was inevitable. A reunion tour with both of us would have been the biggest thing Van Halen ever did.

But it didn’t work out that way because Dave doesn’t play well with others. He just made a mess out of it. It could have ended with us both standing there with our arms in the air going, “Hey, good job, buddy. Let’s go talk to the brothers.” That was my intention, and it didn’t happen. Instead, I got a reunion out of it. It wasn’t my favorite reunion, but that’s what happened.

I read stories in the press that things were so bad on that tour between you and Dave that they physically built a wall backstage to separate you. Yes. I think that’s production managers and tour managers getting in the middle of our bullshit. They made the wall since we nearly got into fisticuffs one night. They promoters were like “Oh, we gotta keep these guys apart. This tour’s doing too good. We don’t want to see it break up because there’s some lawsuit.” And so they put up a barricade between our dressing rooms.

It’s like you guys are the Israelis and the Palestinians. Yes. It was the wall that Trump wanted to build. It was so thin though. It was just a bunch of plywood on little stands. If you really wanted to get to somebody, you could just kick it down. I used to knock on the plywood to yell at David when I was getting ready to go on stage because we flip-flopped: He would open one night, I’d open the next. And when he had already played, I’d be beating on the thing and I would say, “Dave, I’m going on. Come on up in about an hour and we’ll play a couple tunes together.” He wouldn’t even respond.

Rolling Stone has that whole article about that guy that befriended him. Just read that through the lines, and you’ll see it’s the same guy that I was dealing with. I just wish I knew he was sick at that time. He had had his tongue cut off, but he was adamant that he was cancer-free and he was healthy and fine. He wouldn’t listen to anyone. If someone would say, “Ed, you need to not drink so much, and you need to get some food into you,” he was like, “Fuck you.” Nobody, not even his brother, could get through to him.

But in writing about it, I broke a rule. I broke the locker-room rule amongst athletes and amongst friends and clubs. It was a boys’ club. “None of this gets out of here. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” I was just so angry. I really wanted to get my side of the story out because a lot of people thought, “Well, maybe it was my fault.”

That tour does sound like it was absolute hell for you. There are things that I can tell you now that I didn’t waste my time on in the book…He was so out of tune and playing the songs so wrong that there were times I couldn’t sing well. I had a hard time staying on key. I’d go over and I would sing with the bass because Mike would always be in tune. I’d sing to the bass, but the problem is they had Ed’s guitar so loud because he would go out there every day during soundcheck and make sure his guitar was screaming. He would insist that his guitar was extremely loud in the mix. Hey, it’s Eddie Van Halen. I wanted to hear it loud too. But if you’re just hearing my voice and his guitar, you’re going, “Man, Sammy’s not singing too good.” Or if you’re really a good musician, you’d go, “Well, wait a minute. Eddie’s not playing so good. So what’s going on?”

I am not about the money. I am about fame and fortune, yes. That’s what I wanted my whole life. Once I got it, the question becomes what you do with it. You use your celebrity to enlighten people and to bring awareness. That’s what I’m all about, and I’ve always been about that.

I’m a business guy. I love business. I love creating things, and seeing them make it. That bothered Ed and Al to death because they didn’t think like that. They just would say, “What are you doing?” “I’m making a bicycle.” “Why are you making a bicycle?” I’m going, “Because I ride bikes. I want to make a good one, and make one better than everything else.” And that’s always my premise. But my ambition and my creativity just drove them nuts because they didn’t understand it.

Here’s what Ed said about Michael Anthony: “When Hagar quit, Mike went with him instead of staying with Alex and me. That was as much of a betrayal as Roth blindsiding us when he quit. We didn’t see either one coming!! All we had was ourselves.” That is so not true. Mikey didn’t leave Van Halen. Mikey was replaced in Van Halen by [Eddie’s son] Wolfie, and he found out about it in the press.

Ed’s perspective was that Michael essentially quit Van Halen when he started doing gigs with you. Yes. That’s because he wasn’t in a very good frame of mind. Mikey sat around for five friggin’ years. And then he started coming out with my band as a special guest. It was really cool because it made me feel comfortable, especially on the Sam and Dave tour, to have Mikey there. It warranted me playing more Van Halen material.

Before that I was only playing two or three Van Halen songs. With the Wabos, I was not about trying to be a Van Halen cover band. And Dave had come out with this Van Halen cover band playing all Van Halen. He didn’t even play “Just a Gigolo.” He didn’t even play “California Girls”! These are his biggest hits. And I thought, “What an idiot. I don’t think that’s cool.”

And when Dave came back to the band, they pretended like I’d never been in it. There weren’t those Number One albums, those Number One hits. Those 40 million albums never existed. That’s stupid. It’s not what I do right now with Mike.

But with Mike, they just interpreted it that way. The second Mikey would’ve got the call to be in the studio, he would’ve been the first guy there, like he always is. Mikey would join Van Halen today and quit the Circle, if there was such a thing. Mikey never betrayed anybody. He would just say, “I’m going out and having fun with Sam.”

Tell me about getting back in touch with Ed in the final months of his life. It was the craziest thing. I heard he was sick, and I heard it from pretty good inside information, so I knew it was true. Every now and then, people would send me photos of him on the internet. He did not look good at all. I’d be like, “Fuck.”

So I called up [Steve] Lukather. Him and Ed are dear friends. I said, “How’s Ed doing?” He goes, “Aww, Sam, not so good.” I said, “Would you please give him my phone number and tell him if he wants to, to please call me. I would love to talk to him. I don’t want anything. I’m not trying to get a reunion. Trust me.”

He told me later, “I gave it to him.” And I said, “What did he say?” He said, “He loves you, man.” So then [the comedian] George Lopez calls me and said, “Sammy, you got to call Ed. He’s in real bad shape, and you need to call him.” And I said, “Well, fuck. Here’s the number I have.” And he goes, “No, that’s not his number anymore.” So I said, “Give me his number.”

I had told a couple other people the same thing. I told Irving Azoff to have Ed call me. I left Alex Van Halen voice messages and emails, which he never returned. I said, “I would love to talk to Ed if he’s willing to talk to me.” And I told everybody the same thing. I didn’t want to call Ed in his condition and have him say, “Fuck you, you asshole. You quit the band.”

So I hung up and called Ed. I said, “Ed, man. How are you, man?” He said, “I’m hanging in here, dude. I’ve been fighting this for fuckin’ 15 years.” I said, “I know, it’s terrible.” And we went right into that. We didn’t try to bury any hatchets or apologize for anything. We just went right into how he was doing and he told me.”

I said, “I’ve been wanting to reach out to you. I just didn’t know what kind of headspace you’re in. I called your brother. I called Lukather. I called Azoff…” And he goes, “Why didn’t you call me?” And I go, “Well, that’s a good question, and I’m calling you now.” We had a big laugh about it. He said, “You want to talk to me? Talk to me.”

I felt like he was in a really good headspace. It really touched me hard when he said it like that. “If you want to talk to me, call me.” He was never that kind of guy before. Ed was always a humble, quiet, sweet little guy. Then he went crazy…with a different kind of attitude, too.

But this time he was purely solid in his head. He had really come to terms, I felt, with his illness. I told my wife, “Ed really sounded like the most together Eddie Van Halen I’ve ever known, of all times.”

He said to me, “I’m going to beat this shit… I think I’m going to need to finish up [my treatments] this year, and maybe next year we can get together and make some noise.” I said, “Ed, that’s not what I’m calling about, but if that’s going to happen, then you can always count me in to play music with you, my friend.”

So then a couple other times, about a week later, I started texting him and sending him pictures of funny shit that I had stored up, things that happened when we weren’t talking. He started sending me stuff and we texted a lot back and forth, maybe a couple of times a week.

When he lived next door, I used to cook for him all the time. So I said, “I’m going to come over and cook for you and really catch up and hey, maybe we can even write a song. Blah, blah, blah.” And he said, “Yeah, I’ll let you know.” And then I started getting less and less communication. I think the last one he wrote said, “Sorry. I’m not responding. I’m in the hospital.”

We had been doing FaceTime and shit before that. I’m looking now and the last video I sent was October 1, 2020. He died that week.

That must have been just an unimaginable gut punch. Yes. [ Choking up a bit ] I don’t think I’ve cried that hard since my mother or father’s death. Even when you know it’s coming, you always have hope. You always hope for that miracle. You hear about people that had stage four cancer, and had friggin’ everything removed but their brain, and all of a sudden, a miracle, they come back. So yes, you’re always hoping. Ed had the money, he had the fame to where any doctor in the world would’ve dropped anything to try to save his life. So obviously, he had the best you could get, and it didn’t work.

In those e-mails Rolling Stone recently published, he said he wanted to do the big tour with you, Dave, and Michael. Wolfgang confirmed this in many interviews. It’s going to go down in rock history as one of the best tours that never happened. What a shame, huh? I mean, honestly, the shame is that Eddie Van Halen’s no longer with us. That’s the shame. But if we would’ve done that…All the damage that I did with my book, the damage Ed did with his actions and his stuff he did in public, and the Cherone shenanigans, and the Roth reunions, my reunion… That would’ve righted everything, if we would have did that tour. That would have righted everything , and I wanted that so bad. Just to all of us to go, “We’re clean again. We’re angels. We’re spotless.” I’m sure this’ll become clickbait if you run it, but there was a time there where I was embarrassed to say I was in Van Halen.

Let’s move into the present now. Joe Satriani jammed with Alex and Jason Newsted last year. Did Joe call you up before doing that to say it was happening? No, because the Van Halen camp is 100% secrecy. I bet when he walked through the door, they made him sign something, and I’m dead serious. Alex is a very, very secretive guy. I don’t know how he can keep his lips so sealed. I could probably say something horrible about him right now and he wouldn’t even respond. Don’t take that the wrong way. I have nothing bad to say about him. I’m just talking about how stubborn he is. He does not budge.

But Joe told me about it later, after it happened. I knew there was talk of it because Irving Azoff had called me. He said, “I want to do a residency in Vegas with you and Mike and Al and a superstar guitar player.” And I said “Like who?” And he said, “Like Joe Satriani.”

I said, “It just sounds like Chickenfoot with Alex Van Halen instead of Chad Smith.” I wasn’t much for that, as much as I love Joe. He could do that job best, without a doubt, because he’s so friggin’ anal about the way he plays, and every single note. I said to Irving, “I’m going to call Joe.”

When I did, he told me what happened. And I said, “Jason Newsted? What the fuck is going on here, man? Whose idea is this? This must be a Dave idea.” And Irving said it was a Dave idea.

Why would he want anyone but Mike? It’s probably because he knows that Mike and I are so close. I would imagine if they would’ve called Mike, Mike would’ve said, “Yes, I’ll do it with Sam.” Because without Ed, there is no Van Halen to start with. So now, you’re going to go out and just play the early songs, and not play the second era?

That would be the biggest failure Van Halen ever had if they call themselves “Van Halen” if they didn’t have Mikey. If it’s just Alex with other guys, that’s like what Jason Bonham does with Led Zeppelin. There’s a million bands out there doing that. It would be totally nuts. Also, I’d prefer that nobody attempts to replace Eddie Van Halen. I think that’s blasphemy and should be illegal.

If they wanted to do a Vegas residency, or any kind of tour, with you and Alex and Mike, is that something that you may be interested in pursuing? Not a tour, no. I wouldn’t leave what I’m doing for that. I would make myself available to have a rehearsal, and see which guitar player would work the best. I’m telling you, Joe would be the best. But like I said, then it’s just kind of Chickenfoot with Alex, which there’s a problem there. And I think that’s probably what they were thinking when they tried to get a different bass player, but that’s stupid, too.

I would definitely love to play with Alex and Mike with a great guitar player that doesn’t try to just mimic Eddie perfectly. There’s so many great guitar players. There’s Steve Vai. There’s frigging John 5, who is a great guitar player.

Do you like the idea then of a short Vegas residency or are you thinking of merely a one-off tribute show? I’m thinking of one-off weekend or something where we give the money away to some cause. It can’t just be, “Hey, we’re going to grab some money.” I got plenty of money. There’s nothing that I would do for money that I just wasn’t in love with the idea of doing. And I’m not in love with the idea of being Van Halen without Eddie Van Halen.

Matter of fact, I’m dead against it. But I would love to play music with Alex and Mike again. I would love to play those song agains. And if we did a residency or a tribute, I would sing 50/50. I would sing half the Dave songs too for the Van Halen fans. And those songs are great. I don’t mind singing some of them. The lyrics don’t fit in my life today, but neither does “Rock Candy” or “Bad Motor Scooter.”

Why don’t you just call up Alex and talk this stuff over? Well, I’ve left him many messages, but not for this one. But I always think about Alex. I just dreamt about him two nights ago. I dream about people constantly. I believe it’s real cosmic shit that happened on another dimension. I dream about Eddie all time. But Al, I dreamt about him and it was so wonderful. It was friendly. I said, “Come on, Al. Let’s do something and let’s do it right.”

The only way to do it is to put both eras together and do it for a cause, for a purpose, not for a money grab, not like the whole tour, where we’re going to make 10 million bucks apiece. None of that shit. It could be a residency, it could be two or three nights. I wouldn’t do more than that unless the rehearsals blew my mind and I’m going, “This is the most fun I had since the original Van Halen.” That would cause me to be more open. I mean, if we do it and it’s wonderful and successful and the fans love it, I’d go, “OK, let’s go and do 10 cities.” But I couldn’t just go out as Van Halen. There’s no friggin’ way.

When’s the last time you spoke with Alex? Was it 2004 on the last tour? Yes. At the end of the tour. We finished in Albuquerque, and Ed went completely off the rails. Irving Azoff grabbed me at the end of the show and said, “Get in the car and get the fuck out here.” We were supposed to go on the same plane together. We had a plane and we were going to fly home, and he saw what was going on earlier and he chartered me another plane by myself with my wife and my tour manager.

I was walking off the stage, somebody goes and grabs me and said, “Keep on going. Get the fuck out of here, right now. Go.” Well, he just knew a fight would have broken out because Ed was so belligerent on that last show that I wanted to beat his ass.

So Alex came up to me right there at the same time and gave me a big hug and said, “I love you, man. Thank you. Be careful. Safe flight.” And that was the last time. And I think we talked on the phone a little bit, but I don’t know what happened with Al. He kind of drank the Kool-Aid or something.

Alex is not active. He’s not out there pushing it and talking to people like you. He’s not making plans. I think he’s still licking his wounds from his brother’s death, and God bless him, man. I don’t know how he could deal with it. I’m having a hard enough time myself.

I think when Alex comes out of his shell, he’ll probably do it. And like I said, I’m thinking about reaching out to Alex. You’re pushing me in that direction, and I’m feeling it because it’s time. It’s been a couple of years now that I gave up on him.

Do you think the albums need to be remixed or just remastered? Remastered. Remastering can bring out more of what’s on that tape that you don’t hear in the old mastering. It doesn’t hurt anything. I don’t like changing things too much from the vintage. I’m a purist. That’s why people love vinyl. They like to put them on and have them sound like the old records…I’m thinking of the early stuff like OU812 . That didn’t have enough bottom on it, and it had no bass. It was one of those…I hate to tell you why, but everyone was so fucked up. They had the bass so loud in the studio since everything was really loud. It was so loud on the playbacks. But if you turned it down, the bass was not there. It needs to be remastered more than any of them.

Album box sets are also a chance to release demos, studio outtakes, and live stuff from the era. Fans would love to hear that. I don’t know how much of that stuff is around. It’s all in 5150 studios somewhere. I shouldn’t be saying where it is, but I know it exists. And I do believe Wolfie is in charge of it. I heard things were turned over more to Wolfie than to Al.

He’s really got his pop’s talent. It’s kind of like Jason and John Bonham. I mean, Jason’s just like his dad, man. He plays fuckin’ that good. And I think Wolfie, maybe not as innovative because nobody is, but yes, he’s definitely doing it right. I praise him for not trying to be Eddie.

But now, I’ll make a statement. If there was ever a situation where there was a Van Halen tribute in some kind of way with Alex, Mike, myself, Dave, if he would cooperate, and Wolfie playing Eddie’s parts, now that would be worthy of calling “Van Halen,” for a moment. Wolfie would be crazy to drop his life and his creativity and his career to be his dad’s mimic. But for a moment, it could be great.

Just to clarify a few things, when did Irving Azoff call you with the idea of the Las Vegas residency? I’m trying to remember. It was six months ago or something. It was probably a month before [the rehearsals] hit the press.

There’s been nothing since then? Irving said, “Alex isn’t yet ready to do anything. He’s still in mourning.”

In your mind, it’s still a possibility though? I guess so. But it’s not on the top of my agenda. Waiting on someone from Van Halen, I don’t care which guy it is, it’s how the band broke up to begin with.

Roth was asked recently about a tribute show. He said, “I was the one who named the band. Are you talking about a tribute to me? [ Huge laugh ] There you go! [ Even bigger laugh ] I should start following Roth. He would keep me laughing, I’m sure. Oh my god, this guy! What the fuck? Just imagine if I said that. I was in the band. I wrote all the songs with Eddie, just like he did. He wrote the lyrics and the melodies. Warner Brothers mentioned wanting to name the band Van Hagar when I joined. Eddie and I said, “No, no, no. This is Van Halen.” I was joining Van Halen. And so imagine if I went around talking like that? I’d get thrown out of the business. How can Dave get away with that shit? Oh, what a fuckin’ screwball.

He mentioned Pink as one of the possible singers. I love her. I bet she could crush his era of songs. She’s got that husky voice. She’s got the range and the power. She would erase him if she jumped up there and started singing that shit. I wold love it. I would throw my hat in the ring with Pink any day.

The reality is that Dave is basically retired. Wolfgang is wisely doing his own music. Alex is off the grid. You and Michael are the only ones keeping the music alive. One hundred percent. Alex, he’s not going to try to put a Van Halen tribute together. He would never. Alex has got more dignity, and it’s not his style. When Dave goes out, he just does his stuff. But Mike and I together, we’re the other half. There’s two of us from the band. We’re two out of four. And it’s that vocal sound between Mikey and I, with his background vocals, and my lead vocals, that really has all the identity for the Van Hagar era.

Jason Bonham’s father was Alex’s hero. All he ever wanted was the John Bonham drum sound on “Poundcake” and these other songs. Those songs are pure Led Zeppelin as far as the drumming, and Jason plays this stuff as good as anyone on the planet. Vic Johnson is a genius. He’s the most underrated guitar player in the world, in history. I think we play it as good as anybody except Van Halen…

And look, everyone thinks I changed [Van Halen]. This is really important. I’m glad you put this into my head. Those ballads, Eddie presented them to me. “When It’s Love,” “Love Walks In.” Eddie was so horny to show off his keyboard playing because Roth hated it. And Eddie was a good keyboard player, almost as good as he was on guitar. And when I heard what he was doing, I’m going, “Holy shit.” I got inspired. And we wrote those songs. When he played me “When It’s Love,” the words just started pouring out of me.

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Alex is a really sweet guy. He’s just tough. He’s really hard, man. He’s Dutch, man. You know what I mean, he’s like some old 1700s kind of guy. He’s really a tough, old-school kind of person. He’s closed up, but he has a big, big heart. That’s probably why he’s so closed up.

The fans really want this tribute show. It’ll be really cathartic, and it’ll be closure. I agree. I think it’s necessary.

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Sammy Hagar to Celebrate Van Halen on Tour With Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony, and Jason Bonham

Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony are teaming up with guitarist Joe Satriani and drummer Jason Bonham for a summer tour that will focus largely on the music of Van Halen. They're calling it The Best of All Worlds. Loverboy is opening up.

"It's crazy to think that it'll be 20 years since Mikey and I played these songs with Van Halen on the 04' Best of Both Worlds Tour," Hagar said in a statement. "With Joe on board, we can take a deeper dive into those years. We're going to touch on some hits from my entire career, but seeing fans old and new really embrace the new collection set off something in Mikey and I. We were at my Birthday Bash in Cabo for my 76th and looked at each other and high-fived, like, ‘Let's do it.' We pulled out a couple of them, and it was an instant lovefest with the fans from our first riffs. The music we created is going to outlive us all. They deserve to be heard, so it's time we go out and serve the fans that music, while we still can."

Hagar and Anthony previously worked with Satriani in the supergroup Chickenfoot. They cut two albums between 2009 and 2011 and toured across America but never performed a single Van Halen song. Once Chickenfoot ended, Halen and Anthony started playing the Van Halen catalog again with guitarist Vic Johnson and Jason Bonham in Sammy Hagar and the Circle. This new lineup is essentially a mashup of Chickenfoot and the Circle, and it's the closest thing realistically possible to a Van Halen tour at this point.

In 2022, Satriani revealed that he was approached about participating in a Van Halen tribute show with David Lee Roth and Alex Van Halen. "I met with Alex at one point when I went down to L.A.," Satriani told Q104.3 in New York City. "But I think there's some internal stuff that needs to get worked out with the family… And many times, I've told Alex, ‘Are you sure? Me?' ‘Cause I don't perform like Eddie. I'm just a superfan. And I can certainly play the stuff. But Eddie was such an original - just the way he ran around on stage and sang and played. It's amazing."

That project never got off the ground, but now Satriani has another chance to tackle Van Halen classics along with select songs from Hagar's solo career. A press release notes that they're going to play "Finish What Ya Started," "5150," "Your Love is Driving Me Crazy," "Best of Both Worlds," "Poundcake," "Sexy Little Thing," "One Way To Rock," "Right Now," "Good Enough," and "Eagles Fly."

Here are dates for The Best of All Worlds tour.

July 13 – West Palm Beach @ FL iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre

July 14 – Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre

July 16 – Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre

July 19 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion

July 20 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live

July 22 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center

July 24 – Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater

July 26 – Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center

July 27 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center

July 29 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center

July 31 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage

August 2 – Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre

August 3 – Tinley Park, IL @ Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre

August 9 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena

August 11 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre

August 13 – Spokane, WA @ Airway Heights, WA BECU Live at Northern Quest

August 14 – Ridgefield, WA @ RV Inn Style Resort Amphitheater

August 16 – Wheatland, CA @ Toyota Amphitheatre

August 17 – Concord, CA @ Toyota Pavilion at Concord

August 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum

August 20 – Phoenix, AZ @ Talking Stick Resorts Amphitheatre

August 22 – Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion

August 23 – Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

August 25 – Rogers, AR @ Walmart AMP

August 27 – Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center

August 28 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena

August 30 – Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center

August 31 – St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

Wolfgang Van Halen Discusses the Heavily Rumored Eddie Van Halen Tribute Tour

Wolfgang Van Halen spoke at length about the rumored tribute tour in honor of his late father, Eddie Van Halen , in a new interview with Rolling Stone .

“What I can say is that there was an attempt at doing something,” said Wolfgang. “But, you know, I don’t like to speak negatively about people, but there are some people that make it very difficult to do anything when it comes to Van Halen. After being in Van Halen for a long time, I really have strived to have an environment where there is no walking on eggshells and there is no personality that you have to deal with. It’s just guys having fun making music and just having a good time. But, you know, from my time in Van Halen, there was always some stuff that gets in the way from just making music and having a good time. And, I think, that’s what happened.”

Van Halen: Their 30 Best Songs, Ranked

30. “dirty movies” – ‘fair warning’ (1981).

29. “Happy Trails” – ‘Diver Down’ (1982)

28. “Ice Cream Man” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

27. “Right Now” – ‘For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge’ (1991)

26. “Intruder/(Oh) Pretty Woman” – ‘Diver Down’ (1982)

25. “Finish What Ya Started” – OU812 (1988)

24. “Little Dreamer” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

23. “Best Of Both Worlds” – ‘5150’ (1986)

22. “Feel Your Love Tonight” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

21. “Summer Nights” – ‘5150’ (1986)

20. “Atomic Punk” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

19. “Dreams” – ‘5150’ (1986)

18. “So This Is Love?” – ‘Fair Warning’ (1981)

17. “Jamie’s Cryin’” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

16. “Dance The Night Away” – ‘Van Halen II’ (1979)

15. “Panama” – ‘1984’ (1984)

After hearing the lead single from ‘1984,’ “Jump,” fans might have worried that Van Halen was ditching hard rock. No such luck: this ode to fast cars was a guitar-driven masterpiece.

14. “I’m The One” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

13. “Somebody Get Me A Doctor” – ‘Van Halen II’ (1979)

The “woo-woo!” at 1:24, going into Eddie’s solo is perfect, as is Eddie guitar fill at 2:09. You can hear how much fun they’re having here and it’s infectious.

12. “Hot For Teacher” – ‘1984’ (1984)

11. “Everybody Wants Some!!” – ‘Women And Children First’ (1980)

10. “Little Guitars (Intro)/Little Guitars” – ‘Diver Down’ (1982)

9. “1984/Jump” – ‘1984’ (1984)

Van Halen’s lone number one hit is, of course, the synth-heavy “Jump,” because irony is just funny like that sometimes.

8. “On Fire” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

7. “Unchained” – ‘Fair Warning’ (1981)

6. “You Really Got Me” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

5. “Mean Street” – ‘Fair Warning’ (1981)

4. “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

3. “And The Cradle Will Rock…” – ‘Women And Children First’ (1980)

2. “Eruption” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

1. “Runnin’ With The Devil” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

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Wolfgang Van Halen Reveals What It Was Like to Play at Taylor Hawkins’ Tribute Concerts

Last September, Foo Fighters spearheaded two massive all-star tribute concerts for late drummer Taylor Hawkins (who died on March 25, 2022, at the age of 50 ). Among its most impressive performers was Mammoth WVH mastermind Wolfgang Van Halen , and in a new interview with 93X Radio (published on March 22), he reflected on the experience .

Specifically, host Pablo asked Van Halen what it felt like to play songs such as " On Fire ," “ Panama ” and " Hot For Teacher " alongside Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl , drummer Josh Freese and The Darkness ’ Justin Hawkins (who almost didn’t do it ).

Van Halen explained: “It was – I’ll never forget it. At the same time, it went by so fast [that] I can’t even remember it. It was just all energy [ laughs ]. It was really, really crazy. It was one of the most special things I’ve ever had the opportunity to do.”

READ MORE : Wolfgang Van Halen Names His Two 'Dream' Bands to Tour With

Regarding whether or not it was “hard” and/or “emotional” to recreate those tracks (as Pablo put it), as well as how he got the gig in the first place, Van Halen confessed:

[It was] more difficult, just emotionally. I don’t think people realize how much I don’t listen to Van Halen anymore, especially. It’s not something – you know, I don’t know. It’s a tough thing. It’s a tough subject, but it felt like the right thing to do in the moment. Taylor would’ve been like, “Damn!” He would’ve been really, really stoked. From the one time I met him – he came to a Van Halen show in 2012 – he was just the coolest, most friendly guy. He left such a huge impression on me. . . . Dave texted me and I thought it was – I didn’t believe that it was him. I had to hit up Chris Shiflett ‘cause I’d just done his podcast . I was like, “Hey, is somebody punking me or this Dave?” He said, “Yeah, that’s Dave. You should hit him back [ laughs ].

He also confirmed that he has no plans to do something like that again.

Pablo spoke with Van Halen about touring with Metallica , too, plus his upcoming LP, Mammoth II (which arrives in August and was inspired by bands such as Meshuggah and Animals as Leaders ).

Elsewhere, Van Halen talked about his stance on cover songs , and he’s also been busy destroying haters on Twitter (to the delight of, well, everyone). He’s also said that the Sammy Hager era of Van Halen “ doesn’t get any respect ,” as well as that his views on Eddie Van Halen ’s “Frankenstein” guitar differed from those of his father.

You can watch his full interview with 93X Radio below.

Wolfgang Van Halen Talks about Playing the 2022 Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts (March 22, 2022)

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Sammy Hagar sounded ageless as he celebrated Van Halen and more in Phoenix

Sammy Hagar had just led his bandmates in “Top of the World,” the ninth Van Halen song they’d squeezed into the top half of their set on Tuesday, Aug. 20, at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix, when he took a moment to address the crowd.

“You all know why we’re here,” he said as guitar hero Joe Satriani leaned into the opening riff to “Best of Both Worlds.”

“To celebrate the music of our lives.”

It was, indeed, a full-on celebration. Drummer Jason Bonham even seamlessly slipped in a chorus of Kool & the Gang’s “Celebration” on “Best of Both Worlds.”

And for much of Tuesday’s concert, Hagar kept the focus of that celebration squarely on the music of our lives that coincided with his run as the guy who took over on vocals for David Lee Roth at the helm of Van Halen, topping Billboard's album chart for four consecutive releases.

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What they played: Sammy Hagar's and Loverboy's Phoenix setlists

How Sammy Hagar found himself revisiting Van Halen after 20 years

It’s been 20 years since Hagar ended his association with Van Halen after being whisked off to the Tucson airport in his sweaty stage clothes from the final concert of their ill-fated reunion tour .

It was the last time he and bassist Michael Anthony, introduced as his “partner in crime,” would share a stage with Eddie and Alex Van Halen.

A few days prior to taking the stage in Phoenix, Hagar spoke to The Arizona Republic about how he and Anthony have come to spend their summer celebrating the music they made when Van Halen was truly on top of the world.

“We just said, "It's time to do it. We're not gonna wait any longer. It's 20 years. We ain't getting no younger. Let's go do it while we still can," he said.

“My main motive was, man, I don't know how much longer I can sing these songs. These songs are difficult to sing. I painted myself into a corner years ago singing these songs.”

'Worst show of our lives': Sammy Hagar reveals 'horrible' end to his Van Halen years in Tucson, Arizona

Sammy Hagar's vocals sounded ageless on those full-throated wails

Whatever corner Hagar may have painted himself into with the high notes on the songs he sang in Phoenix, there was nothing to suggest his voice was on the verge of giving out.

He’s still got it at 76, leaning into the full-throated wails of those high notes with conviction to burn on such crowd-pleasing highlights as “Summer Nights,” “Top of the World,” “Right Now” and “Heavy Metal,” one of five songs from his solo years that made the setlist.

He also did one song by Chickenfoot, a Hagar-fronted supergroup that also featured Anthony and Satriani, and reached back to his first recording as the voice of Montrose for “Space Station #5.”

And Satriani took a solo turn on the awe-inspiring instrumental “Satch Boogie.”

But the bulk of Tuesday’s setlist was devoted to Van Halen, including three Roth-era classics, “Panama,” “Jump” (which was part of a three-song medley with those songs by Chickenfoot and Montrose) and “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love.”

Hagar's 'partner in crime' Michael Anthony brought his A-game on vocals

That last one featured Anthony on vocals, kicking things off with a Roth-worthy wail.

The bassist also traded lead vocals with Hagar on Van Halen’s “Judgement Day” and “Why Can’t This Be Love” in addition to dusting off the harmonies that did so much to underscore the pop hooks of their greatest hits, with keyboardist Rai Thistlethwayte adding to the vocal blend.

Anthony has been a fixture of Hagar’s solo work dating back to their days in the harmony group Los Tres Gusanos, formed in 1993 when they were both still members of Van Halen, through Sammy Hagar & the Waboritas, Planet Us, Chickenfoot and Sammy Hagar and the Circle.

This is the most Van Halen songs they’ve ever done together, though, outside the context of Van Halen. And they were clearly enjoying the opportunity to take those songs out for another spin, especially the ones they hadn’t played in more than 20 years.

When it came time for Anthony to take the spotlight on “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” Hagar shouted “Mikey,” then added, “At this time in the show, for those that haven’t seen the show yet, I want to introduce my partner in crime, my beach nuts buddy, my drinkin’ pal, my Wabo rat-ass buddy, bad-ass rock ‘n’ roll bass player singin’ Michael Anthony.”

It was kinda sweet.

Joe Satriani did a great job of channeling Eddie Van Halen (and more)

Joe Satriani also has a storied history with Hagar (Planet Us, Chickenfoot) and proved to be the perfect lead guitarist for the task at hand.

He did a great job of channeling Eddie Van Halen, from his finger-tapping pyrotechnics to his whammy-bar technique, honoring the essence of the licks and solos fans have come to know and love while also stretching out in moments that were more distinctly Satriani-esque.

He even busted out a power drill for the intro to “Poundcake” in tribute to Eddie.

The phrase guitar hero is obviously overused, but Satriani more than lives up to the title. He’s a total badass on guitar, as he reminded us repeatedly without necessarily making it all about him.

Hagar also played guitar.

When it came time for “There’s Only One Way to Rock,” the only Hagar solo song they played in their first hour on stage, he told the crowd, “Now, I’m gonna go ahead and make a full of myself and play guitar with Joe Satriani in the band,” adding “I do this to make Joe look really good.”

It was a funny, self-effacing moment, of which there were several. But Hagar’s guitar work on “There’s Only One Way to Rock” was actually fantastic. He just comes from a different school of lead guitar than the one Satriani attended. Hagar tore it up, though, inadvertently suggesting that he may need to revisit the theory that there’s only one way to rock because, in terms of rocking that guitar, there’s clearly Satriani’s way and Hagar's way.

Jason Bonham definitely rose to the occasion on drums. Much like his father, Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, he's a heavy hitter who can also groove.

And having Thistlethwayte on hand was nice, especially when it came time for the keyboard-driven majesty of “Jump.”

It wouldn't be a Sammy Hagar, of course, without his sense of showmanship. He knows exactly how to make a concert feel more like a party, and Tuesday night was no exception. He commanded the stage with his usual flair and even handed out red Solo cups full of tequila to the fans down front.

Loverboy rocked the hits, from 'Turn Me Loose' to 'Hot Girls in Love'

Loverboy opened the show with a crowd-pleasing journey through their biggest hits, from “Lovin’ Every Minute of It” and “The Kid is Hot Tonite” to the triple-shot of singalongs that brought their portion of the concert to a rousing finish – “Hot Girls in Love,” “Turn Me Loose” and “Workin’ For the Weekend.”

Mike Reno has the weirdest mic technique you’ve ever seen. The microphone is just as likely to be pointed at the signature bandana on his forehead as it is in the direction of his mouth, which led to several overheard discussions when their set was over as to whether he was lip-syncing.

The thing is, there are videos online of Loverboy performing in the ‘80s where he does the same thing. It’s just the way he works with a microphone.

He sounded great, as did his bandmates, especially lead guitarist Paul Dean, who had his tone dialed in just right to those solos really sing, and bassist Kenneth "Spider" Sinnaeve, who took a cool solo on “Hot Girls in Love.”

Ed has covered pop music for The Republic since 2007, reviewing festivals and concerts, interviewing legends, covering the local scene and more. He did the same in Pittsburgh for more than a decade. Follow him on X and Instagram @edmasley and on Facebook as Ed Masley. Email him at [email protected].

The Stunning Transformation Of Valerie Bertinelli's Son Wolfgang Van Halen

Valerie Bertinelli with baby Wolfgang Van Halen

Wolfgang Van Halen was born in 1991, the only child of Van Halen guitar whiz Eddie Van Halen and "One Day at a Time" star Valerie Bertinelli . Growing up in the shadow of one of rock's greatest guitarists, he came to become a successful musician in his own right, carving out his own niche within the modern rock landscape as frontman and leader of the band Mammoth.

He's always credited his father, who tragically died in 2020 , with placing him on a musical path. "He's the reason why I do what I do," he said in an interview with Audacy Check In . "I wouldn't exist if it wasn't for him. I think just doing what I do is enough of a reference and tribute."

As this talented young musician continues to follow his unique musical muse, his creativity and talent are as evident as his future is bright. To find out more about how he got to where he is, relive his journey by reading on to experience the stunning transformation of Valerie Bertinelli's son Wolfgang Van Halen.

His musical talent emerged at a young age

Given that his father was one of rock's all-time-greatest guitar virtuosos, and he grew up in an environment full of constant music and access to an array of musical instruments, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Wolfgang Van Halen began demonstrating musical aptitude at a young age. "Sneaking in a quick jam sesh on Uncle Al's kit with my drumming Uggs and drumsticks that are almost the same size as me," he wrote in the caption accompanying an adorable photo he posted on Instagram , of himself as a toddler sitting at Alex Van Halen's drum kit.

As he grew older, he eventually gravitated toward drums; his dad, Eddie Van Halen, was happy to teach him the basics, and then let him figure out the rest by himself. He was just 8 or so, he told The Washington Post , when his dad placed a stack of magazines on a table and instructed him to bang on them as it they were a snare drum. "If you can do this in time," he recalled his father telling him, "this is what playing drums is."

Soon, he grew serious and graduated from stacked periodicals to a legit drum set. "I started playing drums when I was nine-ish. It was the only thing my dad actually sat down to teach me," Van Halen explained in an interview with Music Radar . "So once he saw that I could do it, he was like, 'Yes!'"

Wolfgang Van Halen didn't know his dad was famous until he saw his face on a CD cover

Young Wolfgang Van Halen with father Eddie Van Halen

It's a testament to the parenting of Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli that Wolfgang Van Halen's early years were insular enough that he was unaware of their respective fame. "My mom did a really good job at grounding me in my childhood," he told People of his younger years. "It felt completely normal. It wasn't lavish or insane."

Interviewed by Guitar World , Van Halen was asked if he was aware as a kid that his dad was a rock god. "Not really," he responded. "I didn't notice until I started picking up CDs and saw his picture on them." In fact, the first time he could recall noticing that people acted differently around his parents was when the family flew back from a trip and were besieged by photographers when they landed at LAX. "I just remember a bunch of flashing lights because paparazzi were following us," he said. "That's the only memory I have that was unusual."

Speaking with Ultimate Classic Rock , Van Halen recalled learning the truth at age 6 or 7, when Van Halen was remastering the band's early albums. "I found a box of all of them, and I saw my name on it and a picture of my dad," he said. "I said, 'Dad, what's this?' and he said, 'Oh, yeah, uh ... this is what I do.' And he kind of introduced me to everything."

The inspiring reason he taught himself to play guitar

Wolfgang Van Halen had been focused on playing the drums from a young age. By the time he hit puberty, he began developing an interest in guitar. Given his father's stature in the pantheon of rock guitarists, he had a rare opportunity to learn the instrument from one of the all-time greats. However, that's not actually how it happened. "My dad wasn't the best teacher," he told Louder Sound . "I would ask him to play something, but he would just proceed to be Eddie Van Halen. He would look at me and say: 'Do that.' To which I would laugh and reply sarcastically: 'Sure thing, no problem.'"

As a result, he mostly taught himself how to play, declaring that because his father was self-taught, he wanted to develop his own guitar technique in a similar fashion. "It was important that I develop my own skills and my own sound," he told Spin . "That's helped me or else you'd be listening to some s***ty Van Halen cover band."

There was one notable exception, however, when he set his sights on learning how to play "316" — the Van Halen instrumental that his father wrote for him — for a very special occasion, and his dad helped him to learn it. "I played it at a talent show in 6th grade, and so he taught me that fully ..." he told Louder Sound.

He joined Van Halen as a teenager — but had to prove himself to fans

By 2006, Wolfgang Van Halen's musical skills had progressed significantly — to the point that his father brought him into Van Halen as the band's new bass player, replacing original bassist Michael Anthony.

While naming his son as a full-fledged member of Van Halen at age 15 may have seemed like an act of nepotism, Eddie Van Halen insisted that wasn't how it went down. Interviewed by Guitar World , the elder Van Halen recalled he and his son jamming when drummer Alex Van Halen listened with headphones. Having no idea it was his nephew supplying those killer bass lines, he was blown away when he found out. When his dad ultimately asked him to join, Wolfgang accepted — but under one condition. "I said, 'Sure. I just don't want to do a bass solo.'" While the decision initially generated skepticism, Wolfgang proved the doubters wrong during the band's 2007-'08 reunion tour with original Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth .

However, some old-school Van Halen fans felt he was a nepo baby interloper. The more vociferous called for the band to bring Anthony back into the fold and had nothing but negativity to hurl at the band's new addition. "It was tough," Wolfgang told Louder Sound of the hateful reaction he encountered from that faction of the Van Halen fanbase. "It was something I didn't know how to handle. That did a lot of damage to me."

Wolfgang Van Halen joined another band, Tremonti

By 2013, Wolfgang Van Halen had become a Van Halen veteran, having performed numerous shows with the band his dad founded before he was born. That year, he announced that he was joining another band, hard rockers Tremonti. Speaking with Billboard , Van Halen insisted that he was taking his role with Tremonti as seriously as he was his other gig. "Van Halen is definitely the priority, but whenever Van Halen isn't doing anything, I treat this as another band I'm legitimately in," he said.

Interviewed by Rock Street Journal , Van Halen explained that his involvement with Tremonti came about organically, as he'd been a friend of Creed frontman Mark Tremonti for several years. As he recalled, he happened to be in New Jersey, where Tremonti was based, at the same time they were in dire need of a bass player on the eve of going on the road. "So I went over one night at midnight and learned the entire set, and the next day we were on tour!" he recalled.

He grieved the loss of his famous father

Eddie Van Halen and son Wolfgang Van Halen

In 2001, Eddie Van Halen confirmed that he was undergoing treatment for cancer on his tongue. He subsequently revealed that he'd beaten the disease, and had been declared cancer-free in 2002. Sadly, his cancer returned, and in 2020 he succumbed to the disease. He was just 65.

Wolfgang Van Halen had been close to his father, and the elder Van Halen's death hit him particularly hard. "It's really tough. Some days are better than others," he admitted during an interview with Carson Daly for "Today." As he explained, grieving his father's death had become something of a work in progress for him. "It doesn't seem like the pain is ever really gonna go away," he explained. "You just kinda figure out how to carry it a bit better." While the world lost a rock icon, Wolfgang Van Halen lost so much more. "He was still my dad — and he was incredibly loving — and he was my best friend in many ways," he said.

As Van Halen told People , his father continued to influence him from beyond the grave, compelling him to push past his grief and fully engage in living. "What really helps me keep going is my dad, because if I just gave up and stopped and crawled in a hole, which I feel like doing every day, I know he'd be really pissed off at me," he said. "He's the only thing that keeps me going."

Wolfgang Van Halen's debut album was years in the making

Wolfgang Van Halen in music video for his first single

When he wasn't on the road with Van Halen or Tremonti, Wolfgang Van Halen was spending time in the recording studio, working on the tracks that would come together for his 2021 debut album, "Mammoth WVH." As NPR pointed out, the album represented years of work, with Van Halen playing every instrument and painstakingly recording his parts. "It's 100% all me, playing everything, writing everything. So it's a lot more pressure, but it's also much more creatively freeing," he told the outlet, while also joking that the downside of that is that if it didn't work out, there'd be no one to blame but himself.

When he first began work on the album, he hadn't even realized that was what it would ultimately become. Modeling his efforts on the first Foo Fighters album — in which frontman Dave Grohl similarly played all the instruments — he was far from confident that he'd be able to pull it off. "And I wasn't sure if I could do it," he admitted.

A year after the album's release, Van Halen took to X (formerly Twitter) to reveal how monumental that album had been for him. "It was the culmination of years of work, trial and error, loss, self-doubt, and anxiety," he wrote. "It began a new chapter in my life that I'm not sure I was even ready for, but I jumped in anyway."

He became frontman in his own rock band

Wolfgang Van Halen performing with Mammoth WVH

With the release of his first album, Wolfgang Van Halen knew the next step was to go on the road and play his music to live audiences. This led him to assemble a band, which he named Mammoth. The name, Van Halen told NPR, was taken from the moniker of a three-piece group that his dad led prior to forming Van Halen. "So I always loved that name whenever he would tell me that story," he said. "So I always told myself that when I grew up, I'd name my own album and my own band."

Recording an album is one thing — playing bass with Van Halen on tour is another entirely. While it was a given that he'd be front and center, being the lead singer of his own rock band was uncharted territory for Van Halen, something that he addressed during an appearance on the "Walking The Floor With Chris Shiflett" podcast.

"I'm very much myself, to a certain degree," he said when asked to describe his style as a frontman. According to Van Halen, he wasn't trying to go over the top, a la David Lee Roth, but was simply being who he was. "I don't know," he used. "Maybe it's boring, but I'm just being unabashedly myself, and I think being honest is a nice thing to be doing."

He received a Grammy nomination

Wolfgang Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli at the Grammy Awards

Wolfgang Van Halen's debut album garnered him his first-ever Grammy nomination , earning a nod in the best rock song category for the single "Distance." And while he didn't take home a Grammy, he was nominated alongside a group of artists that include Weezer, Kings of Leon, Paul McCartney, and Foo Fighters, the latter winning for their single "Waiting on a War."

Van Halen commemorated the moment on Instagram , sharing a photo of himself with his mother, Valerie Bertinelli, and girlfriend, Andraia Allsop. "We came, we saw, but we did NOT conquer and that's ok!" he wrote in the caption. "Such an honor to be nominated for the first song I ever released on my own, in a category with artists I've looked up to my entire life. I don't know if that'll ever fully set in," he added pointing out that his dad, Eddie Van Halen, hadn't won a Grammy the first time he was nominated, leading him to feel he was following in his old man's footsteps.

He opened up about his feelings even more in an interview with Noise11.com, transcribed by Blabbermouth . "I just think, taking away from that, to be treated as an equal in a category about songwriting, I think that was enough of a win for me, to take that home and to be Grammy-nominated alongside people I've looked up to my whole life — from Weezer to Foo Fighters to The Beatles," he observed. "An absolutely ridiculous honor."

Wolfgang Van Halen married his longtime girlfriend in 2023

When Wolfgang Van Halen stepped out at the 2022 Grammy Awards alongside girlfriend, Andraia Allsop, they'd been an item for some time. As The Sun reported, Van Halen and Allsop, a photographer, began communicating online and went on their first date on October 15, 2015.

Eight years to the day, the couple tied the knot in a ceremony held at their Los Angeles home. As People reported, they were joined by about 90 guests. "Our goal was just to bring all of our closest family and friends together ... we wanted to create this wedding as a celebration not only just for us to get married, but a celebration for the people we love," she said. Van Halen honored his late father by having "316" — the instrumental Van Halen number that the guitarist wrote for his son — playing while they walked down the aisle. "It'll be a nice way to include my dad," Van Halen observed.

Bertinelli was simply thrilled that her son had found "the one" with which he could share his life. "They really 'get' one another," she said. "Their humor is very similar, they like similar things, they know how to give each other space and they're just so comfortable together."

He performed at the Oscars with Ryan Gosling and Slash

Wolfgang Van Halen performing with Slash and Ryan Gosling at the Oscars

With his own album, a successful concert tour (opening for Guns 'N Roses, no less), and a Grammy nomination under his belt, Wolfgang Van Halen's profile was on the rise when he was tapped to play on the soundtrack of 2023's biggest movie: "Barbie." In fact, he contributed guitar to Ryan Gosling's signature musical number in the film, "I'm Just Ken," performing alongside Guns 'N Roses axeman Slash.

Van Halen and Slash reunited to back up Gosling when he performed the song at the 2024 Oscars, placing Van Halen in front of what was easily his biggest audience yet. "It was very crazy but an exciting thing to be a part of. That is not my normal place to hang around in or operate from, so I felt a little like a fish out of water," he admitted during an interview with The Morning Call .

Looking back on the experience, he had a sense that "Barbie" was going to resonate with audiences, but had no idea it was going to become one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. "To have a small part in something like that was a really cool thing," he reflected. "I loved playing on it and being a part of the movie."

He's come to terms with the understanding that he'll always be compared to his dad

Shortly after the release of "Barbie," in August 2023 Wolfgang Van Halen released his second album, "Mammoth II." Like his debut, he was a one-man band on the project, playing all the instruments on each song. During the course of recording those albums, he made a conscious decision to simultaneously distance himself from his famous father while also honoring him — a formidable balancing act, to be sure.

However, he's also been adamant about following his dad's advice to forge his own path and not try to imitate anyone else. "I'm gonna be myself whether or not anybody has a problem with it," he explained in an interview with Guitar.com .

And while he realized that comparisons to Eddie Van Halen were inevitable, he was also heartened to see they were lessening as appreciation for his abilities as an artist in his own right continued to grow. "Luckily, and thankfully, it's starting to happen," he said. "I see people being a fan of the music first and then only then realizing, 'Oh s***, I had no idea you [were Eddie Van Halen's son]. That's a really huge compliment because I feel like that can only take you so far, and being a fan of my father doesn't necessarily mean you're a fan of the music that I make. It's really flattering to see people view me as my own person."

Watch: CHRIS JERICHO Joins STEEL PANTHER On Stage In Saint Petersburg To Perform VAN HALEN's 'Hot For Teacher'

Chris Jericho , wrestling superstar and FOZZY frontman, joined STEEL PANTHER on stage last night (Saturday, March 11) at Jannus Live in Saint Petersburg, Florida to perform a cover of the VAN HALEN classic "Hot For Teacher" . Fan-filmed video of the performance, which also included an appearance by a 12-year-old drummer from the audience, can be seen below.

Back in July 2020, STEEL PANTHER drummer Stix Zadinia came to Jericho 's defense after Sebastian Bach accused FOZZY 's lead singer of using pre-recorded vocal tracks during live performances. Zadinia — whose real name is Darren Leader — took to his Twitter to write: " Jericho is a Fucking rock star and one of the coolest motherfuckers in this business."

STEEL PANTHER 's sixth studio album, "On The Prowl" , was released on February 24.

The band's "On The Prowl" world tour 2023 kicked off in February and will run throughout North America through April. CROBOT and TRAGEDY are joining the band on the trek. STEEL PANTHER will take a short break before bringing the party to the United Kingdom and Ireland in May.

In September, STEEL PANTHER announced the addition of Spyder as the band's new bassist.

The group's music has been described as " VAN HALEN meets MÖTLEY CRÜE meets RATT meets 'Wayne's World' , complete with operatic shrieks, misogyny, shredding guitar solos and libidinal overdrive."

Fifteen years ago, STEEL PANTHER changed its name from METAL SKOOL to its current moniker and shifted the focus of its act from '80s metal covers to originals.

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Sammy Hagar Shares a Regret He Has About Eddie Van Halen

The overall drama within Van Halen has been a dramatic saga for seemingly its entire history. This is perhaps what led Sammy Hagar to have a particular regret about Eddie Van Halen. The Red Rocker recently talked with Arizona Republic about a variety of career topics. One of them was his final tour with Van Halen, which saw EVH struggle throughout due to issues with alcohol and drugs. Hagar said he wishes he would’ve known more about what Eddie was going through, and then maybe he would’ve approached his issues with addiction with more compassion. One regret he doesn’t have is being able to make peace with Eddie before he died in 2020. Hagar told Arizona Republic , ” … We had some really emotional moments on the phone, being very happy to be friends again. For me, I can only speak for myself, it was so important that we had closure before he passed, because otherwise, I don’t know how I’d feel about it.” Hagar has tried to do the same with Alex Van Halen, but he hasn’t had much luck. In a September 2022 interview with Rolling Stone , Hagar said he left AVH a number of messages since Eddie’s death, but he’s received no response. “I think he’s still licking his wounds from his brother’s death, and God bless him, man,” said Hagar. “I don’t know how he could deal with it. I’m having a hard enough time myself.”

Hagar has often talked about EVH in the years since his death in 2020. One thing that still frustrates the singer — and likely countless Van Halen fans — was how the Van Halen camp just couldn’t get it together to put on a big tribute to the iconic late guitarist. In October 2023, Hagar said on Rock of Nations with Dave Kinchen and Shane McEachern , “As far as the tribute goes, I’m so disappointed how they’ve handled everything, including when I left the band, what they did, and that … It’s ugly, but it’s not my job.” Hagar’s frustration is also shared by Wolfgang Van Halen. He told Classic Rock in a November 2022 interview, “When it comes to Van Halen and entities surrounding the band it’s unfortunate … I don’t know what it is with some bands but certain personalities just can’t get over themselves to work collectively for one purpose – that’s been the curse of Van Halen for its entire career.”

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orchestra & sonja spence – postponed, gbo florida west coast classic – canceled, kyle eastwood’s “cinematic”, greg koch featuring the koch marshall trio, trace zacur: no genre, no rules, wmnf’s 43rd birthday bash featuring the bright light social hour, the simon lasky group, ballet magnificat deliver us, the octet presents majors & minors, a song for you: a tribute to donny hathaway and roberta flack, girls night out, daniela soledade: “pretty world” album release w/ roberto menescal & antonio adolfo, eric darius unleashed album release party w/ special vip pre-show, jeremy carter’s rubber band: night at the movies, boho sideshow and dean johanesen & the 24-hour men, damon fowler & friends, sunflower soul: charitable concert in support of ukraine, a night of classic burlesque – sold out, alastair greene, nate najar & friends swing into summer, the mountain goats, tiglff: an afternoon with suzanne westenhoefer, ona kirei album release, wahh world fusion band, michael kelly: the pleasing recollection, professor pennygoode’s mighty flea circus, wmnf presents: a juneteeth celebration, one night only: jeremy carter and james suggs, sandra bernhard: an exclusive st. pete pride performance, st. pete pride: queer-e-okee with carson kressley, bryan j. hughes: cole swings cool – sold out, st. petersburg opera: donizetti’s la fille du régiment, gulf coast dancenter: nature’s beauty, gulf coast dancenter: nature’s beauty – livestream, halie loren in concert, fred astaire dance, judy carmichael with nate najar – sold out, ballet academy of st petersburg presents coppélia, tampa bay symphony: brahms’ magnificent first, st. petersburg ballet company: spring dance concert, palladium chamber players: edward arron and jeewon park in recital, pavlo in concert, frank t. williams iii all county jazz concert, beacon 2022, la fiesta: a tribute to chick corea, the florida orchestra: soundwaves – vienna 1921, 4th annual akademy great debate, united states coast guard band, an evening with david amram, jack kerouac house, david amram meet and greet at the kerouac house, tampa bay blues fest kickoff: ronnie earl, palladium chamber players: the chamber players w/ natalie hoe & jessica guideri, the florida orchestra: soundwaves – tfo winds and brass, spc community concert band & wind symphony: campus connections concert, listening room festival – ten year anniversary, your songs: a tribute to sir elton john, women of jazz xvi, gulf coast dance theater: alice in wonderland 2022, gulf coast dance theater: alice in wonderland 2022 – livestream, the bald eagle – book launch and signing, palladium chamber players: the original palladium chamber players, cher, elton, streisand, bocelli – vegas’ edwards twins, spjf: chris dingman trio, spjf: emma hedrick w/ helios jazz orchestra, spjf: radiojazzhead, spjf: best of blue note with james suggs & austin vickrey sextet, spjf: o som do jazz w/ rafael pereira, jose valentino ruiz & andrea moraes manson, tampa bay symphony: love and more, chris macdonald’s memories of elvis, the mersey beatles: all the hits, nicki parrott, rossano sportiello, and ed metz, take me home: the music of john denver, diego figueiredo trio, the florida orchestra: soundwaves – bach and beyond, damon fowler and friends, st. petersburg opera: g. f. handel’s semele, palladium chamber players: mile-end trio with guest violist derek mosloff, fred moyer jazz trio, al downing jazz 50th anniversary celebration with danny bacher, dave meder: songs and stories trio, the florida orchestra: holiday brass, a blues christmas with tc carr and friends, nate najar’s jazz holiday, 1781 tribute: a revolutionary concert, palladium chamber players: mile-end trio plays schubert and arensky, st. petersburg ballet: the nutcracker, synia carroll & helios jazz orchestra, mira creative career summit & emerging artist exposition, gulf coast dance theater: 2021 winter gala and act 1 of cinderella, gulf coast dance theater: 2021 winter gala and act 1 of cinderella – livestream, o give thanks – a community in gratitude, a truefire evening with livingston taylor – sold out, kat edmonson in concert, social venture partners: fast pitch, gin blossoms, tampa bay symphony: international festival, shaun martin & john c. o’leary iii: an intimate evening at the piano, intern john’s what’s next, bee gees now, a little hocus pocus: an interactive tribute show, the mersey beatles, acme jazz garage: sharkskin, dean johanesen trio: speakeasy swing night, an intimate evening with latimore, st. petersburg opera: mozart’s così fan tutte, mayor’s art forum, james suggs band: a tribute to louis armstrong, the mushroom brotherhood, spc jazz band & concert band, valerie gillespie salutes cole and cole, girls night out – comedy, the florida orchestra: inside the music: vivaldi’s four seasons, helios jazz orchestra & scotty wright, sages: denying gravity – a fall prevention play, dylan leblanc, nate najar’s jazz samba celebration, ward smith and friends: standup comedy, victor wainwright and the train, the duane eubanks quintet: things of that particular nature, kick the bucket list: the world according to aarp, bryan j. hughes: a duke ellington celebration, la lucha’s 80s jazz party, jose ramirez band, richard gilewitz and tim may, feelin’ good: celebrating nina, moonflower: the spirit of santana, latin jazz fest: tabajara belo & o som do jazz, latin jazz fest: gumbi ortiz & new groove city, latin jazz fest: mjr latin project & friends, damon fowler group: alafia moon – sold out, selwyn birchwood band, st. pete opera: pagliacci – sold out, st. pete opera: pagliacci – limited availability, st. pete opera: pagliacci, ballet academy of st. petersburg: the four seasons, bob dylan’s 80th birthday bash, gulf coast dancenter: 10th annual spring recital, fred astaire tampa bay: dance fantasy, this bird has flown – a jazz tribute to the beatles, st. pete opera: the return of grand opera, daniela soledade and nate najar, beacon: an evening of dance, tampa bay symphony: more chamber delights, la lucha, w/ james suggs and ken peplowski, the damon fowler group, jeremy carter’s soul of jazz, about the palladium.

Whether in the main concert hall, Hough Hall with its unsurpassed new sound system, or kicking back in the intimate Side Door Cabaret, the historic Palladium Theater is consistently ranked as one of Tampa Bay’s best, most affordable venues for classical, jazz, blues, theatre, opera, Celtic, comedy, dance, educational, literary, community events, and more. The Palladium, located in downtown St. Petersburg’s cultural center, is part of what makes Tampa Bay great.

Artists In Residence

ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN

Friday, may 17 at 8pm.

One Night of Queen

Friday, May 17 at 8pm

Tickets go on sale Fri, Jan 26 at 10am

Member Presale begins Wed, 1/24 at 10am

Tickets available on Ticketmaster

Or call (727) 300-2000

Tickets for this performance go on sale to the public on Friday, January 26 at 10am.

Members of Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts have access to Member Presale starting Wednesday, January 24 at 10am! Call (727) 300-2000 to reserve your seats today and to learn more about the perks of membership including preshow lounge access, reduced fees, special events & more!

Gary Mullen & the Works re-create a complete Queen concert with all the pomp, power and classic rock staples we know and love. Since May of 2002, ‘Gary Mullen & The Works’ have performed around the globe to sold-out audiences and have been received with rave reviews. Gary Mullen struts around the stage and excites his audience just as the unforgettable showman Freddie Mercury had. He perfectly mimics Mercury’s behaviors, style and dynamic vocal range to bring the passion of Queen to a new generation. They will certainly rock you with their performances of “Killer Queen,” “We are the Champions,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and many more!

For tickets and membership information, call Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts at (727) 300-2000.

Preston & Steve®

YOUTUBE STREAM

Sammy Hagar on the Highly Rumored Van Halen Tribute Tour

Sammy Hagar has chimed in on the highly rumored Van Halen tribute tour honoring the late Eddie Van Halen.

Van Halen: Their 30 Best Songs, Ranked

30. “dirty movies” – ‘fair warning’ (1981).

29. “Happy Trails” – ‘Diver Down’ (1982)

28. “Ice Cream Man” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

27. “Right Now” – ‘For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge’ (1991)

26. “Intruder/(Oh) Pretty Woman” – ‘Diver Down’ (1982)

25. “Finish What Ya Started” – OU812 (1988)

24. “Little Dreamer” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

23. “Best Of Both Worlds” – ‘5150’ (1986)

22. “Feel Your Love Tonight” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

21. “Summer Nights” – ‘5150’ (1986)

20. “Atomic Punk” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

19. “Dreams” – ‘5150’ (1986)

18. “So This Is Love?” – ‘Fair Warning’ (1981)

17. “Jamie’s Cryin’” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

16. “Dance The Night Away” – ‘Van Halen II’ (1979)

15. “Panama” – ‘1984’ (1984)

After hearing the lead single from ‘1984,’ “Jump,” fans might have worried that Van Halen was ditching hard rock. No such luck: this ode to fast cars was a guitar-driven masterpiece.

14. “I’m The One” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

13. “Somebody Get Me A Doctor” – ‘Van Halen II’ (1979)

The “woo-woo!” at 1:24, going into Eddie’s solo is perfect, as is Eddie guitar fill at 2:09. You can hear how much fun they’re having here and it’s infectious.

12. “Hot For Teacher” – ‘1984’ (1984)

11. “Everybody Wants Some!!” – ‘Women And Children First’ (1980)

10. “Little Guitars (Intro)/Little Guitars” – ‘Diver Down’ (1982)

9. “1984/Jump” – ‘1984’ (1984)

Van Halen’s lone number one hit is, of course, the synth-heavy “Jump,” because irony is just funny like that sometimes.

8. “On Fire” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

7. “Unchained” – ‘Fair Warning’ (1981)

6. “You Really Got Me” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

5. “Mean Street” – ‘Fair Warning’ (1981)

4. “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

3. “And The Cradle Will Rock…” – ‘Women And Children First’ (1980)

2. “Eruption” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

1. “Runnin’ With The Devil” – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

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Sammy Hagar reveals 'horrible' end with Van Halen in Arizona: 'Worst show of our lives'

Tensions were already flaring long before Van Halen made their way to Tucson, Arizona, for the final concerts on their ill-fated reunion tour with Sammy Hagar in 2004.

By that point, the bandmates were traveling on two separate jets, one for Eddie and Alex Van Halen, another for longtime bassist Michael Anthony and Hagar.

The tour, Van Halen's first since 1998, had launched on June 11 with a concert in Greensboro, North Carolina, and was ending with two nights in Tucson at AVA Amphitheatre, Nov. 18 and 19.

The second night in Tucson ended with Eddie Van Halen smashing his guitar on stage — not as some Townshend-esque gesture so much as an outward expression of rage, inadvertently showering fans down front with pieces of his shattered instrument.

'The worst show we'd ever done in our lives'

Hagar wrote about the last night he would ever share a stage with the guitarist in “Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock,” an autobiography published in 2011.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

"It was the worst show we'd ever done in our lives," he wrote. "Eddie played so bad. He smashed his favorite guitar to pieces. Sprayed shrapnel into the crowd. He got on the microphone, crying. 'You don't understand,' he said. 'You people pay my rent. I love you people.'"

Twenty years after the fact, Hagar told The Arizona Republic he knew he was done with Van Halen before the tour hit Tucson.

"I mean, he was in bad shape the whole tour," Hagar said.

"Not trying to bring up a sore subject, but he was not healthy and was very abusive to himself. The second night was such a disaster, the way he broke down. I just remember walking off the stage and (Van Halen manager) Irving Azoff grabbing me, saying, 'Get in the car.' He threw me in a car with my wife, we went straight to the airport in wet clothes, jumped on our plane and went home."

Hagar told The Republic, "I just sat there, shaking my head, going, 'God, that was a terrible experience. It could've been so wonderful and so beautiful, but it wasn't.’ I wasn't interested in going back and doing more shows. I was like, 'If anybody wants to continue this tour, don't talk to me about it,' you know? And of course, they went out and did something different."

School's in: What was Alice Cooper like in high school? Friends, bandmates share stories

Eddie Van Halen was struggling before the tour started

It wasn’t long after the tour’s conclusion that both Anthony and Hagar started speaking openly to interviewers about the guitar player's struggle with alcoholism on the road and the effect that had on everyone involved.

In "Red," Hagar shared the details of an intervention Azoff staged at the guitarist's home recording studio, 5150, before the tour launch.

"He brought a big, beefy security guard and met Al and me at 5150," Hagar wrote. "Eddie walked in, carrying his wine bottle. Irving did all the talking. He told Eddie the tour was going to be difficult, that he needed to go away for a week or two, that we could postpone some dates if we needed. We all agreed Eddie needed to clean up."

The guitarist responded by smashing his wine bottle and threatening the group in a profanity-laced tirade.

His condition continued to deteriorate as the tour progressed.

"I didn't think he could make it," Hagar wrote. "I kept thinking each week would be the last. He was going to land in the hospital.

Hagar wrote in "Red" that the Eddie Van Halen of 2004 was not the same man he knew and loved in his initial tenure with Van Halen, or Van Hagar as people took to calling that edition of the band.

Anthony told Launch , "There were nights where it was kind of like a rollercoaster, up or down, and myself, I would have liked to have seen him totally clean up if we were gonna take this further ... 'cause, gosh, we could've gone all around the world with it."

Eddie Van Halen felt Hagar 'embellished' details

In 2014, Eddie Van Halen told Billboard he felt Hagar had "embellished" certain details while acknowledging that he did have a drinking problem.

“I was an alcoholic, and I needed alcohol to function,” the guitarist said.

"I started drinking and smoking when I was 12. I got drunk before I’d show up to high school. My ninth-grade science teacher, he could smell the alcohol, and he told me, ‘Don’t drink anything you can’t see through.’ And I was like, ‘So, vodka?’ And he said yeah. Which was great, because that was my drink."

Van Halen told Billboard his father had struggled with alcoholism as well.

"I’m not blaming my father at all, but he was an alcoholic, too," he said.

"So in our household, it was normal. But it never affected his work, although I guess it didn’t affect my work, either. Around 2004, I suppose I became a very angry drunk. But (the stuff in Hagar’s book) was definitely embellished. That’s him painting a picture of something that never happened.”

How Sammy Hagar's initial run in Van Halen ended

Hagar joined Van Halen's band in 1985, taking over on vocals from David Lee Roth, who’d gone solo.

The Hagar years produced four multi-platinum chart-topping albums: “5150,” “OU812,” “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” and “Balance.”

By the time he left in 1996, he’d lent his voice to nine chart-topping entries on the Billboard mainstream rock charts, from “Why Can’t This Be Love” to “Human Beings.”

According to a news release the singer issued when they parted ways in 1996, Hagar “regretfully” severed all ties with Van Halen due to creative differences.

Those differences included Van Halen’s decision to record two new tracks for a greatest hits collection after agreeing to take time off at the end of their 1995 world tour.

'I didn't fire him. He just quit'

In a 1997 interview with the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, Hagar, who had a 3-month-old baby at home when they came off the road, said, "I wanted to spend two months with my new baby, then make another record. But Eddie said, ‘I’m frustrated because you never do what I ask you to do.'"

There were also disagreements over lyrics while recording two songs for the “Twister” soundtrack.

In an interview published by Guitar World in December 1996 , Eddie Van Halen recalled the conversation that had ended things with Hagar.

"I said, 'Sam, if you want to make another record or do another tour, you've got to be a team player," Eddie recalled.

"He'd admitted that he wanted to do solo stuff. And I said, 'Well, you can't be in a band and do that, too, so see ya.' I didn't fire him. He just quit."

Adding insult to injury, Van Halen brought in Roth to cut those tracks for “Best of – Volume 1.”

As Hagar told the Los Angeles Times in 1996 , “We bumped heads, and the next thing I know, Eddie calls and David Lee Roth is back.”

How a phone call to Alex Van Halen brought Van Hagar back together

After Hagar toured with Roth in 2002, he was feeling nostalgic enough to reach out to Alex Van Halen.

They got on famously, paving the way for the reunion tour and the recording of three new songs with Hagar on lead vocals for another greatest hits collection, “The Best of Both Worlds.”

In his autobiography, Hagar recalled being shocked by Van Halen's appearance when they met face-to-face for the first time since the breakup.

“He looked like he hadn’t bathed in a week,” Hagar wrote.

"He was missing a number of teeth and the ones he had left were black. His boots were so worn out he had gaffer’s tape wrapped around them, and his big toe stuck out. He walked up to me, hunched over like a little old man, a cigarette in his mouth.”

Eddie Van Halen didn't want Michael Anthony on the tour

Anthony later revealed in interviews that Eddie hadn't wanted him to be a part of the 2004 reunion tour but Hagar forced the issue. Apparently, the brothers took exception to the bassist staying friends with Hagar.

The new songs on "The Best of Both Worlds" featured Eddie playing bass with Anthony providing only backing vocals.

The songwriting credits read Hagar/Van Halen/Van Halen.

In "Red," Hagar wrote that he developed serious concerns about the guitarist while working on those new songs.

“This was Eddie Van Halen, one of the sweetest guys I ever met," he wrote. "He had turned into the weirdest (expletive) I’d ever seen, crude, rude and unkempt. I should have walked, but Eddie’s got a very charming, cunning side to him, where you feel like he’s got a good heart. He’s going to come through. He’s going to clean up and we’re going to get this thing done.”

In early 2006, Anthony spoke to the Japanese rock mag Burrn! about the tour.

"When this whole reunion thing started, Ed really didn't want me to be part of it," Anthony told Burnn!, as reported by Blabbermouth based on translated highlights provided by melodicrock.com . "I don't know how he was going to call it a reunion (laughs), but I basically had to work out a deal with Irving Azoff's management company in order to be part of this thing."

'I did it for the fans'

That meant a pay cut and signing away his rights to the use of the band name and logo for the bassist, who'd been with Van Halen since 1974.

"I kind of sucked it up a bit and I made less money," Anthony told Burnn! "But the way I looked at it was, if this possibly was the last tour that Van Halen would ever do, then I'd be kicking myself because I wasn't a part of it and I want to be a part of it ... so I sucked it all up and came on and did it. I did it for the fans."

After seeing everything go down in flames in Tucson, Hagar returned to his solo band the Waboritas, with Anthony occasionally joining him on stage.

On Sept. 8, 2006, Eddie Van Halen announced that his son Wolfgang was replacing Anthony on bass. On Feb. 2, 2007, Van Halen announced a reunion tour with Roth on vocals and Wolfgang on bass.

Van Hagar reunion was a smash with mixed reviews

Despite the tension going on behind the scenes, Van Halen made Pollstar's Top 10 list of the most successful tours of 2004, grossing $54.3 million (although Billboard Boxscore places the total at "nearly $40 million"). But reviewers complained that Van Halen's guitar work was sloppy and unfocused.

Looking back on the tour in 2013, Andy Greene wrote in Rolling Stone , "It was clear to most people in the crowd that Eddie wasn’t in the best shape, but few knew the depths of his drinking problem."

Phoenix was an early stop on the reunion tour, drawing roughly 15,000 fans to America West Arena, renamed Footprint Center in 2021 .

"From outward appearances, everything seemed fine, but we had a few bumps because old things came back up again from time to time on the road between Sammy and Eddie so it was a little bit shaky," Anthony told Burnn!, adding, "Actually, the tour didn't end with as much fanfare as I would have liked it to or hoped it would but we got through it."

Van Halen flew on two jets 'to keep the peace'

Another source of tension on that tour was that Eddie Van Halen didn't want Hagar promoting his tequila, Cabo Wabo, using the Van Halen name.

"And a lot of these arenas we were playing in sold Cabo Wabo," Anthony told Burnn! "So I think Ed would get a little put off when he'd see a lot of Cabo Wabo banners up around the arenas and sometimes that would even create some tension onstage and offstage."

It wasn't long before the bandmates started flying in two separate jets.

"This was only to keep the peace and that sucks," Anthony told Burnn! "It got to the point to where I couldn't even see this thing going on much longer without either somebody blowing up on somebody or whatever."

Anthony said it was Hagar who decided they should stick a fork in it.

"Sammy finally said, 'I'm not doing any more dates because this is just not working.' When we first started out, I was fully ready to do it because I thought we were going to go to Japan, Europe, South America, you know, do the thing that we should have done, like, big band reunites," the bassist told Burnn! "But unfortunately that wasn't going to be."

'Eddie unwound completely'

In his autobiography, Hagar recalled the guitarist confronting him before they went on stage that second night in Tucson.

"The second night, Eddie unwound completely," Hagar wrote.

"He knew it was the end of the tour. He knew he was done. He came up to me before the show, when I was talking to Irving, and rolled my sleeve down over my Cabo Wabo tattoo. I didn't even acknowledge him. I just rolled it back up. He rolled it back down. I rolled it back up. 'Don't be (expletive-ing) with my shirt, dude,' I said. 'That thing ain't gonna last,' he said, showing me his Van Halen tattoo. 'See that? That's better. That's going to last longer.'"

Hagar walked off stage that night and went directly to his plane.

'A horrible, horrible ending to a beautiful, beautiful story'

When Hagar spoke to Sally Steele of Vegas Rocks! Magazine in 2012 about what had transpired between him and Eddie Van Halen, he said the guitarist owed him an apology.

“He turned on me, man,” Hagar said. “It was a horrible, horrible ending to a beautiful, beautiful story.”

Hagar told Steele, “What happened on that reunion tour in ’04 was some of the most miserable, backstabbing, dark crap I’ve ever been involved with in my whole life and I would never go through that again with anybody for any amount of money or any amount of fame and fortune.”

20 years later, Hagar reflects on that final concert

In 2016, Hagar told Dan Rather that reunion tour was the worst experience of his life.

His feelings have mellowed in the intervening years.

Reminded of that quote during a 2024 interview with The Arizona Republic, Hagar said with a laugh, "Well ... I wouldn't call it the worst experience of my life," explaining that the pain was fresher when he talked to Rather.

That's not to say he looks back fondly on the tour.

"I'll admit, from the bottom of my heart, I was so disappointed and, honestly, personally hurt from the way that thing went down in 2004," Hagar said. "I was hoping that was gonna be the greatest thing ever, the beginning of a whole new chapter of getting together, writing great songs and making great records again and being in the biggest, greatest band in the world. It didn't turn out that way. And it was very disappointing."

'It's so important we had closure'

Hagar and Eddie Van Halen had a chance to make their peace before the guitarist's death of throat cancer in 2020.

"When I heard he was really sick, I got on it," Hagar said. "I was kind of waiting for him to call me up. I thought, 'He owes me the phone call.' But when I heard he was really in bad shape, I reached out immediately. That's the way you've got to do it."

They shared some emotional moments on the phone and even talked about working together again.

"It was so important that we had closure before he passed because otherwise, I don't know how I'd feel about it," Hagar said.

"I'd be waking up in the middle of the night once in a while going 'Man, I wish we could've fixed that.' Now, I don't have to do that. Now, I just go, 'Hey, I miss Ed.' I miss the music. It's a wonderful thing to not take anything to your grave. That's always been my philosophy."

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