By Steve Newton I haven’t interviewed that many drummers over the years, mainly because when I cover a band I shoot for the guitarist, since that’s the instrument I’m most drawn to. But after interviewing Alex Van Halen on August 6, 1995, in advance of a Van Hagar show on the Balance tour, I should … Continue reading Alex Van Halen: the five best quotes I ever got from Van Halen’s drum legend
By Steve Newton Back in August of 1995 I interviewed Alex Van Halen, legendary skin-basher for Van Halen, while the band was touring behind its Bruce Fairbairn-produced Balance album. That tour had been dubbed “The Ambulance Tour” by Eddie, due to his hip problems and Alex rupturing three vertebrae in his neck. So as the … Continue reading That time I asked Alex Van Halen how much longer he expected Van Halen to keep on rocking
By Steve Newton When I interviewed Alex Van Halen on August 9, 1995, Van Halen was in the midst of a North American tour in support of its tenth album, the Bruce Fairbairn-produced Balance. As on all Van Halen albums, the songwriting credits on Balance were shared between all four members. At one point in … Continue reading That time Alex Van Halen told me how ideas for Van Halen songs sprang from Eddie just noodling around
By Steve Newton When I interviewed Alex Van Halen back in 1995 his band was touring behind Balance, its fourth and final studio album with Sammy Hagar at the mike. At one point in the conversation I asked Alex how he would say the band had evolved musically since Sammy joined for 5150. Have a … Continue reading That time I asked Alex Van Halen how he thought Van Halen had evolved musically since Sammy Hagar joined
By Steve Newton I haven’t interviewed that many drummers over the years, mainly because when I cover a band I shoot for the guitarist, since that’s the instrument I’m most drawn to. But after interviewing Alex Van Halen in advance of a Van Hagar show on the 1995 Balance Tour, I should probably chat with … Continue reading Ten minutes on the phone with Alex Van Halen
By Steve Newton After more than 40 years as a professional music writer, lord knows I’ve seen a lot of concerts. But one of the bands I really regret not seeing live was Van Halen with David Lee Roth. Oh sure, I saw them with Sammy Hagar a few times–at Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium in … Continue reading Looks like my old buddy Ferg got to see Van Halen with David Lee Roth
By Steve Newton I’ve long held the opinion that AC/DC’s Powerage is their best album. Keith Richards agrees, and he knows a thing or two about rockin’. And more importantly, Malcolm Young himself has named Powerage as Number One. When I met Young backstage after an AC/DC show in Vancouver back in 2001 I mentioned that … Continue reading Eddie Van Halen’s favourite AC/DC album was Powerage
By Steve Newton On January 24, 1995, Van Halen released Balance, its 10th studio album and the last of the four that featured Sammy Hagar on lead vocals. The LP–which hit #1 on the Billboard chart and sold over three-million copies in the U.S. alone–was produced by Vancouver’s Bruce Fairbairn, who had previously helmed multiplatinum … Continue reading That time Alex Van Halen told me why his band chose “incredible guy” Bruce Fairbairn to produce Balance
By Steve Newton Here’s a special treat for all you Van Halen freaks out there–even the ones who liked the Sammy years. For the first time ever the entire audio of my 1995 interview with Alex Van Halen is being offered to the public for free, thanks to a partnership between Ear of Newt and … Continue reading Ear of Newt and the Tapes Archive present the Alex Van Halen 1995 interview
By Steve Newton When I interviewed Alex Van Halen on the phone from Boston back in August of 1995, Van Halen was touring behind its latest album, Balance, which hit #1 on the Billboard chart and sold more than three million copies in the U.S. alone. Balance had been produced by big-shot Vancouver knob-twiddler Bruce … Continue reading That time Alex Van Halen told me that his band switched producers in ’94 because they didn’t want to make For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Part 2
By Steve Newton Vancouver-based guitarist Dave Martone knows wicked guitar players. As well as having collaborated and toured with his good friend Joe Satriani over the years, Martone has managed to work with such acclaimed six-string slingers as Yngwie Malmsteen, Jennifer Batten, Tosin Abasi, Greg Howe, Paul Gilbert, and Marty Friedman. But when I interviewed Martone in November … Continue reading That time Canadian rock-guitar wizard Dave Martone got choked up talking about Eddie Van Halen
By Steve Newton I did my fourth interview with Canadian rock-guitar great Kim Mitchell back in July of 1992, when he was touring behind his Aural Fixations album. He’d hired a new batch of musicians to accompany him–because Tom Cochrane had lured some of his regular band members away–and while he was describing how the … Continue reading That time Kim Mitchell described guitar wanking by comparing Joe Satriani to Eddie Van Halen
Jas n’ Eddie By Steve Newton If you were a dedicated guitar freak in the late-’70s and through to the ’90s, there’s a good chance you picked up a copy of Guitar Player magazine with a cover story written by Jas Obrecht. I still remember picking up a copy that featured an awe-inspiring new guitarist … Continue reading Famed guitar writer Jas Obrecht releases never-before-heard interview with Eddie Van Halen
