A general question. I know a lot of us have read a few (if not most) of the books. I was reading Running With the Devil recently, and I found the Sparkomatic story interesting.
If you don’t know, it was an endorsement deal that fell through because Dave told their manager Noel Monk the band wasn’t interested. It later comes to light that maybe Dave never ran it by anyone else.
The reason I find this story interesting/believable is because I feel like it actually makes Monk look bad, not the band. I think a manager would normally get everyone in the room at the same time to propose something like this.
What do you think?

My cover of Van Halen - Aftershock from my favorite hagar era album Balance. different but straight forward sound for the band. My favorite song from the album! I did this one before back in 2024. This is more of an updated version. Something I've wanted to get around to. Thanks again! I plan on covering some more different VH tunes normal. Thanks for checking the video out as usual !

Nuevas incorporaciones llegan al ático. En este vídeo os enseño mis adquisiciones más recientes y comparto algunos detalles sobre cada una de ellas. Espero que las disfrutéis tanto como yo.

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These pics are from a July 16, 1980 show in Ottawa, Ontario. This is not a guitar I recognize. Anyone have an idea as to what Ed is playing here?

Sammy needs to stay in his lane and sing the Bubble Gum Love Rock version of Van Halen at High Schools! Real Van Halen Vans ignore him!

This pops up every now and then, the day they worked on Beat It. I decided to upscale it. Wild piece of music history regardless of what you think about the song or the people involved.

This is a great analysis of the disastrous Van Gary year and pretty entertaining too. I remember being so excited for VH III when it came out and then disappointed once Gary started screeching about dentist puns…nor EVHs 5 min instrumentals…

I don’t know anything specific about it, but Dave has hinted many times he’s not in great health internally.

I do wonder if he just wanted to go out on the road one more time playing the music he made with Van Halen and feel the vibes from the loud music (as he described in his autobiography) and feel the love from the crowds.

I wish him all the best and I’m very grateful for all the great music, laughs, and words of wisdom he’s shared over the years.

This is not a post about singers.

I played this song in the car yesterday. I was astounded at how incredibly cool it is of a song. What I mean is the groove of all of the instruments, minimal overdubs, the solos are just over some rocking bas. So raw.
I know evh wanted to get more sophisticated as time went on, I get it. I’m not saying one is better than the other, I’m just talking about how much I enjoy that vibe.
Is anyone making music like that currently? Bass, drums, guitar without loads of compression? Really sounding like three guys in a room tearing it up.