Eddie Van Halen Debuts New Music...

[stevef]

And Van Halen Did Rock. . .
Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen reportedly unveiled some new songs during an event Wednesday at a Los Angeles flower boutique called House of Petals. According to a member of the invite-only audience, the axe-man performed an "impromptu jam of rock fusion" while accompanied by songwriter-producer Patrick Leonard on keyboards. In other news, rumors of a possible Van Halen reunion tour featuring David Lee Roth and/or Sammy Hagar are once again circulating.


from Undercover--

July 21 2006

Eddie Van Halen Debuts New Music

by Paul Cashmere

Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen debuted some new music at the House of Petals in Los Angeles this week.

Van Halen played Wednesday night (July 19th) jamming with Patrick Leonard (on keyboards). Leonard is best known for his songwriting and production work with Madonna.
Undercover is told that Eddie and Patrick performed what is best described as an “impromptu jam of rock fusion”.

Eddie, a personal friend of own Joey House, agreed to make the rare appearance because he agrees the company philosophy of unity and beauty through flowers.
The invite-only audience included many celebrities, musicians, movie and TV stars.
House of Petals is a 920 La Cienega Blvd, West Hollywood.


Eddie Van Halen (photo by Kevin Mazur)

[krabapple]

Eddie, a personal friend of own Joey House, agreed to make the rare appearance because he agrees the company philosophy of unity and beauty through flowers.

LOL. Whatever works for you, Eddie.

[Patrick M]

29 seconds of lame video

pictures here

EVH disgusts me. The guy reportedly had part of his tongue removed, and he's smoking.

[stevef]

So This Is Sin
Eddie Van Halen plays on two instrumental tunes that will be featured in an upcoming X-rated movie called Sacred Sin. The guitarist collaborated on the tracks -- "Rise" and "Catherine" -- with his friend Michael Ninn, who is the film's director. "Ninn is like a Spielberg to me," says Van Halen. "The imagery, the way he makes things look, just . . . sensual." A non-pornographic version of the flick titled Rise also is expected to be released.


from Blabbermouth.net--

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbe ... emID=55667

EDDIE VAN HALEN Collaborates With Adult-Film Director: Audio, Video Available - July 27, 2006

Jared Rutter of AVN.com reports that rock superstar Eddie Van Halen has joined forces with adult director Michael Ninn to write and perform two songs for the upcoming Ninn Worx feature "Sacred Sin".

Although several big-name rappers have contributed material to XXX movies, Van Halen is probably the first major rock star to lend his name to an adult project.

Van Halen told AVN.com he's not bothered by possible criticism. "I'm working with a friend — very simple. I like his work," he said. "Michael Ninn is like a Spielberg to me: the imagery, the way he makes things look, just… sensual.

"We hooked up, I ended up doing the music, and it's some whompin-ass shit. I think it's the best work he's ever done, and me too. And more to come."

"Eddie is from Amsterdam, born and raised, and his interpretation of sex and music are all in one, so it wasn't a big step for him," Ninn told AVN.com in an exclusive interview.

He and Van Halen, he said, have been friends for "a couple of lifetimes, it seems like. It started out as him ringing me up to work on some music together. One thing just led to another, and it ended up, I had this movie in mind. We would sit at the piano — he has two grand pianos in the house — and play and talk all night long."

The project came to life as a result of "the things we talked about: life in general, imagery and the power of imagery. Sometimes as he'd play I'd walk around the estate and the story kind of came to me while I was there."

The Van Halen songs in "Sacred Sin" are "Rise" (mp3) and "Catherine" (mp3), a remix of the theme from Ninn's 2005 movie of the same name.

"One of the things that Eddie really, really liked," Ninn said, "was the theme from 'Catherine'. He did a remix, it still carries the melody, but it's got a 'Kashmir' / LED ZEPPELIN kind of feel to it now. A very, very powerful piece of music.”

He said Van Halen was "absolutely elated with the track," and the rocker himself confirmed, "If 'Catherine' doesn't move you, you're brain-dead."

The second song, "Rise", was a tune he had been working on already. "I heard it and just fell in love with it," Ninn said. Van Halen also contributed some "transitional piano pieces that are sprinkled throughout the movie." The rest of the music is the work of frequent Ninn collaborator Loren Alexander.

Ninn Worx will release "Sacred Sin" on September 13, distributed by Red Light District. The two-disc set will contain music videos for both Van Halen songs. "They're pretty powerful," Ninn said, calling his friend "an incredible performer who really comes to life when the cameras are on. He's a showman."

Read more at AVN.com.

[stevef]

Sammy Hagar is having a great time, but doesn't have much positive to say about Eddie these days. Any chance for a reunion anytime soon seems very unlikely...


Lovin' It Up
Sammy Hagar says he's thoroughly enjoying his current tour with backing band the Wabos. "I think we're so great and this show [is] the best show I've ever put together," gushes the Red Rocker. In contrast, he says "there were times when I was embarrassed" during Van Halen's 2004 reunion trek, thanks to an apparently less-than-sober Eddie Van Halen.


from NCTimes.com--

Hagar hopes to pass along the Cabo way of life

By: Alan Sculley - For The Californian

Sammy Hagar says he looked forward to his tour this summer more than any tour since the Van Halen reunion tour of 2004.

He's just hoping that this summer's in-progress trek turns out better than the one with the platinum-selling former band that he fronted from 1985 to 1996.

"It wasn't a great experience," Hagar said of the much-hyped Van Halen reunion tour. "Onstage, the fans made it a wonderful experience by being so receptive and so overwhelming. They made us all just look at each other and go 'Oh my God, this is the greatest thing in the world.' So it took the edge off. But the second we went and left the stage or certainly building up to going onstage, I couldn't even go (near guitarist Eddie Van Halen).

"I don't know when you're going to see the whole band again," Hagar said, placing the blame of the failure of the reunion squarely on Eddie Van Halen. "That baby is put away until somebody gets himself together. There's a person who's really not user-friendly right now."

Hagar obviously isn't sitting around mourning the absence of Van Halen. After gearing down his performing schedule in 2005, Hagar ---- never one to be at a loss for words ---- is clearly geeked about this summer's tour with his solo band, the Wabos (shortened from the former name Waboritas).

He is taking out one of the year's most elaborate productions. His stage set, as on other recent tours, is modeled after his Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, only it's bigger and better than past models.

But the Hagar concert experience goes far beyond that. The man known as the "Red Rocker" is bringing an entire village to venues that will open in the afternoon on concert days and feature Mexican food, drinks (margaritas being a favorite beverage), volleyball and more.

"It's kind of like a dream come true," Hagar said of the event, which he described, before having second thoughts, as a tequila festival. "Really the word tequila isn't even the important thing. That's just the fuel. It's really a Cabo Wabo festival. It's about what happens in Cabo. It's about the lifestyle, the food, the music, the ambience of that."

And once the music starts, fans can expect a typically extensive show from Hagar, beginning with an 80-minute opening set from Hagar and the Wabos.

Then Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony will join the festivities, and under the band name the Other Half, launch into a set of Van Halen songs.

"We bust into like about a dozen Van Halen songs, which I've never done outside of Van Halen," Hagar said. "With Mike and I together, I feel comfortable with it, and we're playing some obscure songs. ... We're really trying to make it for the hard-cores."

After a short break, Hagar and the Wabos will return to wrap up the show on full throttle.

As part of the show, audiences will get a sampling of new music. A new solo CD, "Livin' It Up," the 15th album of Hagar's career, was released July 25 on Rhino Records.

The new CD, even more than past albums, he said, centers on the fun-in-the-sun Cabo lifestyle set to Hagar's patented good-time hard rock sound. The CD has been preceded by a humorous self-referential single, "Sam I Am," which has spent the past two months atop the classic rock chart.

"It's purely a lifestyle record," Hagar said. "It is really the closest to exactly where Sammy Hagar is today in his life. It's still a Sammy Hagar record, it's just totally aimed at my fans. There's no anger on it because I'm in a whole different space in my head and in my life today. The only thing that's missing is, if you took a hardcore old Montrose fan or something, they're going to go 'I don't hear the anger. He's not dissing about anything.' "

Clearly, Hagar wasn't in such a cheerful mood two years ago as Van Halen worked its way through its 80-date reunion tour.

Hagar has not closed the door on reuniting with Anthony and the Van Halen brothers ---- Eddie and drummer Alex. But he emphatically said no reunion will happen unless he sees some fundamental changes in Eddie Van Halen's behavior and disposition.

"I couldn't even go (near Eddie)," Hagar said. "They had to keep us so separated. We were going to fist fight. I've got my beliefs, and not to ego trip about how it should be done, but I believe you care about what you're doing enough to go out there and play the damn songs right. And I mean, night after night that never happened. There were times where Alex, his brother, would be looking at me and I'd say what song is he playing? I don't know. It just wasn't fair, number one, to the players and everyone else, to come out in the condition that he was in 99 percent of the shows. Some shows were brilliant. There were times when even under the conditions, he still pulled it off, but not enough for me. And when you're charging that kind of money, I'm sorry, there were times when I was embarrassed."

Hagar said he, Anthony and their families traveled in a separate jet from the Van Halens just to avoid contact with the guitarist.

No one, it seems, was more surprised about the Eddie Van Halen of the 2004 tour than Hagar.

"I've never seen such a personality change in any person I've ever known in my life," Hagar said. "The guy used to be the sweetest, humblest guy and the most considerate musician. This guy, when he put on a guitar, even if he had been drinking in the past, he still was always in condition to really know the song and know what he was doing. He just wasn't like that (on the last tour). I don't know what happened."

So Hagar is moving forward with his musical pursuits and his burgeoning tequila business (second in sales in the United States among premium tequilas).

"Van Halen is now, I look at it, and I hope (people) don't take this as a rude statement, but it's my side band," Hagar said. "I care about my band so much right now and I think we're so great and this show. ... It's the best show I've ever put together, song for song, plus dollar for dollar, it is just the s---. I wouldn't give this up for nothing, especially for some half-ass version of Van Halen. If we can do the whole-ass version, man I will be there, and I will be there with flying colors."

[taylorrichards]

Well, for Van Halen fans, it could have been worse. He could have actually starred in one.