I'm pleased to announce that the audiobook for Van Halen: The Eruption and the Aftershock is now available across all listening platforms. While the print and eBook came out last October, I had been concurrently working diligently on the audiobook version, which was quite the experience and one that I look forward to taking on... Continue Reading →
25 Years Ago: Van Halen Release ‘Me Wise Magic’ Amid Reunion Fail
Anticipation was high for the Van Halen reunion with David Lee Roth in the summer of 1996 when it was revealed that Sammy Hagar had departed the ranks of the SoCal party rockers and their OG singer had returned to the fold. Unfortunately, the (re)union was short-lived, and after a disastrous fallout at the MTV... Continue Reading →
Tonight! Tune into ‘Talkin’ Van Halen’ at 8pm
The fine folks over at Johnny Beane TV are going to have me on this evening at 8:00pm on their program Talkin' Van Halen to discuss my upcoming book Van Halen: The Eruption and the Aftershock, which comes out next Wednesday, Oct. 6. Tune into the show live or catch it on the replay. It's... Continue Reading →
Talking ‘Van Halen: The Eruption and the Aftershock’ on ‘Halenville Live!’
Last week, the guys over at Halenville Live! had me on to discuss my upcoming book, Van Halen: The Eruption and the Aftershock. It was a lengthy conversation that any Van Halen fan will find enjoyable as everyone on the show is a huge fan of the band - including myself! You can watch the... Continue Reading →
Roundtable: David Lee Roth’s Debut LP vs. Van Halen’s First with Sammy Hagar
The Sammy Hagar vs. David Lee Roth debate will likely go on forever, but the first time any real comparison could be made was when the latter dropped his debut solo LP, Eat 'Em and Smile, in July 1986, a scant few months after Van Halen released their first effort with Hagar at the mic,... Continue Reading →
Van Halen’s ‘Fair Warning’: A Track-by-Track Guide
According to the most hardcore of Van Halen fans, the fourth album, Fair Warning, is unquestionably their best. It's pretty safe to say I fall into that lot, so it only made sense for me to do a track-by-track of the record for Ultimate Classic Rock. The piece can be found here, but it's worth... Continue Reading →
Aerosmith Meeting Obama to David Lee Roth Crashing a Wedding: Seven Reveals from Interviews with Vanyaland
Yesterday, as part of the 7th anniversary of Vanyaland celebration, I linked to a piece written for the online magazine about seven artists I personally think should be way, way more popular than they are. That was the first of two features I did for the landmark occasion, the second being seven revealing things I've... Continue Reading →
Roundtable: Van Halen’s ‘Balance’ LP 25 Years Later
Today marks the 25th anniversary of Van Halen's final studio album with Sammy Hagar at the helm, the uneven Balance, which was released January 24, 1995. Though it wasn't clear at the time, the band was falling apart from the inside out, which had quite a bit to do with the mess laid down on... Continue Reading →
The Music Feuds of Howard Stern
Howard Stern Comes Again, the first book by the legendary shock jock in nearly 25 years, lands on shelves today. Music has always played a major part of his radio show, whether it's by having many of his favorite musicians perform or be interviewed on the show. He's also got into a number of feuds... Continue Reading →
The MC News Repository [Sept. ’17]
September allegedly kicks off the fall around these parts, so I decided to deliver my first "MC News Repository." This is where I'll provide links to articles of note for each particular month. It'll be a good place to catch up on what I've been working on for a variety of publications. This was a... Continue Reading →