Van Halen

Drenched in Blog: Fair Warning

Open Letter to Messrs. Van Halen, E., and Roth., D.L.

Get Lit: Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga, by Ian Christe

Drenched In Blog: Van Halen in Houston

Last Night: Van Halen at Toyota Center

Reporter’s Notebook: Random Scrawlings from the Van Halen Show

David Lee's Froth

Diamond Dave rants on fashion, being a digital gigolo, his rival/tourmate Sammy Hagar, a pending lawsuit and a bunch of other stuff

Guilty Pleasures, Part II

More music figures confess their deep, dark secrets

Houston Teacher May Be Miss Black USA

Enough with the Houston-area teachers and principals and all their dope-smoking and having affairs with kids. What about something good about the teachers around here? Okay -- there's Andrea Hill, a sixth-grade teacher at Patrick Henry Middle School. What's she done lately? Gotten herself ch ... More >>

Live Shots

Enough with the Houston-area teachers and principals and all their dope-smoking and having affairs with kids. What about something good about the teachers around here? Okay -- there's Andrea Hill, a sixth-grade teacher at Patrick Henry Middle School. What's she done lately? Gotten herself ch ... More >>

Thriving -- or Simply Surviving?

After all these years, Alex Van Halen insists his band isn't "D.O.A."

Revenge of the Nerds

A Nerf Herder lesson in how to sell yourself as who you are

Rotation

A Nerf Herder lesson in how to sell yourself as who you are

Steady Eddie

Decades of torn-up road behind him, Van Halen's guitar god keeps chugging ahead

Mail Call

Talking Radio

True Blue Confessions

Let's join Madonna for a friendly round of Celebrity Breach of Confidentiality

Feels Like Old Times

With Sammy Hagar back on stage, Van Halen trudges on

Bash-ing the Bigwigs

Come Super Bowl week, you can still party downtown, even if you're not very important

Dark Riders

The good, the bad and the ugly rock-star performance contracts

Death Camp

The good, the bad and the ugly rock-star performance contracts

Going Viral

The infestation of classic-rock threatens the cultural legacy of an entire generation and must be stopped.

Attention Readers: Music Award Nominees Should Be From, You Know, Houston

When Rocks Off got back from lunch today, a colleague had put a completed Houston Press Music Awards nomination ballot in his mailbox with an attached Post-It note that said "Best Ballot Ever." Rocks Off read it over, and it was both hilarious and heartbreaking. The young gentleman from Midtown may ... More >>

Are You Ready for That Great Atomic Power? Songs That Go Nuclear

This past week marks the 64th anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the U.S., on August 6 and 9, respectively, bringing an end to World War II. The subsequent decades have brought us a Cold War, explosive proliferation, and largely fruitless attempts to ... More >>

Boy, Do We Feel Old: "Hot for Teacher" and Other Back-To-School Songs

Today is the first day of school for almost all the public school districts in the area. Children and teens from Alvin to Alief are trudging into polished halls and sterile classrooms for yet another year of romantic intrigue and bitter class struggle, and impromptu dance routines in the cafeteria, ... More >>

Eddie Van Halen Can't Drive 55, But He Is 55

Daniel Kramer​Today marks the 55th anniversary of the world receiving the gift of the illustrious finger-tapping stylings of Eddie Van Halen. Hard rock wouldn't be the same without his goofy face on stage wailing away on his "Frankenstrat" and his strong arm tactics behind the scenes. Rocks Off ha ... More >>

An Experiment In Terror: One Hour On Chatroulette

We're not sure what this was; we're just glad it wasn't yet another penis.​Since its launch in November of last year, popular video chat site Chatroulette has become a beacon of late-night entertainment for lonely people, drunken college kids, and internet pranksters the world over. It's also spot ... More >>

Top 10 Last Words By Famous Musicians

​Musicians tend to be a mouthy lot. It takes a certain kind of soul to want and express your own inner world to the outer world at large. So when the time comes for them to shuffle off this mortal coil, they often have some very interesting exit lines... 10. Ludwig Van Beethoven, "Friends a ... More >>

One Live Humpback Whale: Local Fantasy Tour Riders

​Everyone probably knows that top-selling bands like Van Halen routinely demand everything short of the moon and stars for their tour contract and rider, but specifically No Brown M&Ms. Some bands have a schedule for required nourishment, or in Rush's case, for booze. The "Weekly Booze Schedul ... More >>

Top 10 Self-Titled Debut Albums

​It wasn't until we were discussing its release this week that Rocks Off realized we're basically the same age as Led Zeppelin's debut album. Recorded in October 1968 and released the following January, Led Zeppelin is 42 years old. It suffers from some of the same ailments as all of us who r ... More >>

Match These Bands With Their Awful Original Names

​Provided they didn't take the easy way out and name themselves after a song (Rolling Stones), their hometown (Boston) or each other (Hall & Oates), almost every band that went on to sell millions of records, get tons of radio play and sell out arenas has had some form of the following convers ... More >>

25 Famous Bands' Less Famous Previous Names

​As promised, here are the answers to Rocks Off's "Original Band Name" quiz from Tuesday. John St. Lee, if you'd care to email us, we'll see what we can do about getting you a prize. Do you like Devo? 1. Chicago: At about 25 or 6 to 4, the Windy City jazz-rockers realized The Big Thing sucked ... More >>

Stryper's Michael Sweet: "God Formed This Band"

Photos by GroovehouseStryper at House of Blues, December 2009​Stryper, the world's coolest and heaviest '80s Christian heavy metal band of the '80s, comes to Scout Bar Monday night, touring behind last month's covers LP, The Covering. It's an appropriately shiny and heavy disc of covers from a ... More >>

The 10 Best Rock Samples In Hip-Hop

​Rocks Off just finished reading Ian Christe's 2007 Van Halen biography, Everybody Wants Some, which chronicles the band's history from the Van Halen boys' entry into the U.S., the upbringing of David Lee Roth, and devastating, fatal 1985 crash into Mount Sammy Hagar. Sad stuff if you're a Rot ... More >>

The Aliens Should Have Kept Sammy Hagar

​Judging by the headline, you already know where Rocks Off stands when it comes to Van Hagar versus a David Lee Roth-fronted Van Halen. We love to hate Sammy Hagar, almost to the point where we actually like him a little bit. We can't even explain that feeling. It's like how when you were yo ... More >>

Rock & Roll's Top 10 Brawlin' Brothers

Note: Not real brothers. We just liked the picture.​Brothers share a link that is unique and special. Same DNA, same familial backgrounds, quirks, talents, and sometimes musical taste. They can also argue, get physical, try to overpower one another, and hold grudges over years that are hard to ... More >>

Jack Daniel's If You Please: A Musical Sour Mash Salute

Q: What do musicians call a diminished fifth? A: An empty bottle of Jack Daniel's. ​Someone at Dirt Bar thinks today may be Jack Daniel's birthday. The Jack Daniel, inventor of the sour mash whiskey and favored rock and roll stage prop. Although they admit they can't be sure - "while he made ... More >>

Eat 'Em And Smile: Our Favorite Pictures Of Birthday Man David Lee Roth

Too much party. ​Lemmy, Josh Homme, Keith Richards, Marc Bolan, GG Allin, and Billy Fucking Gibbons - that's just a sampling of the rock stars that Rocks Off wishes he could be. The list goes on and on. Today though is the birthday of a one of the most special rockers to ever high-kick on this ... More >>

Baby's Cryin': Rockabye Baby Sends Us Lullaby Renditions of Van Halen

Yep. ​The folks at Rockabye Baby! remake hard rock from the likes of AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Tool, and the Smashing Pumpkins into baby-friendly jams with "soothing mellotrons, vibraphones and bells," replacing all the things that made those bands perfect for well, making rock and roll babies. Thi ... More >>

Van Halen Announces 2012 Tour On Twitter, Official Site

Soon. But older. And less hair. ​Here it is folks, your first stirrings of Van Halen's 2012 tour, long rumored, but now a sweet reality. OK, we won't believe it until we have a tour tee in our hands outside Toyota Center and a sweaty, torn ticket stub in our wallet. Late Sunday night on Twit ... More >>

The Top 10 Hard Rock and Metal Guitarists of the '80s

Yes, yes, shred until you bleed!​Well, it's the day after Christmas and many of you probably have some holiday blues. Maybe you had a rough Christmas. Maybe your family is making you crazy. Maybe you didn't get that brand new navel ring you wanted or perhaps you filled up on so much food and e ... More >>

10 Lesser Known Pre-Sammy Van Halen Songs to Prepare for the Tour

​When I was a kid, the first record (or cassette in this case) I wore out was the first album from Van Halen. I played the cassette so many times, the tape started squealing. I got another copy and did the same thing. It along with KISS' Alive II re-enforced the hard rock tendencies that simme ... More >>

Eruption: Our Dream Van Halen Concert Setlist

Photo By Daniel KramerDiamond Dave in early 2008 at the Toyota Center ​I gave you all fair warning - pardon the pun - on Monday morning when the Van Halen concert announcement went out that Rocks Off wouldn't be quiet when it came to Van Halen. In the next few weeks we will be getting word of ... More >>

Van Halen, the New Walter's and Radiohead: Things We're Looking Forward to in 2012

Photo by Mark C. AustinRadiohead returns and we're stoked. Do people say "stoked" anymore?​There was a lot to be thankful for in 2011 in the world of music, but, in some ways, it was also a pretty tough year. We lost some great people and almost lost one of our own. It's a crazy, topsy turvy w ... More >>

Van Halen Set To Hit Houston's Toyota Center June 24

blabbermouth.netDavid Lee Roth and Wolfgang Van Halen on Thursday night at NYC's Cafe Wha​Just minutes after pictures from Van Halen's Cafe Wha? club show in New York City hit rock blog Blabbermouth, industry site Pollstar added a June 24 date at the Toyota Center for the band. Kool & The Gang ... More >>

Tickets For Van Halen's Houston Date Go On Sale Next Saturday

​You have all been asking, and now LiveNation is telling. Tickets for Van Halen's June 24th gig at Toyota Center go on sale next Saturday, January 289, and 10 a.m. Tickets will be available online at LiveNation.com or toyotacentertix.com. You know the ticketing drill. A few weeks back LiveNa ... More >>

The Top 10 Laziest Music Videos Ever

​We're obsessed with music videos lately, and have spent almost the whole of the weekend seeking new and brilliant ones in order to feature in our weekly column. We're just so impressed with the capabilities open to modern artists at all strata of stardom, and how brilliant a piece of work can ... More >>

Predicting Your Future Half Time Show Performers

Photo By Marco Torres​All of the Super Bowl talk this week has given me a chance to ponder one of my favorite pop culture questions: how big do you have to be to perform at the Super Bowl half time show? When you consider the acts that have performed since the 2005 move to one act performances ... More >>

Van Halen's A Different Kind Of Truth: A Track-By-Track Breakdown

​First off, Van Halen's first album in 14 years, A Different Kind Of Truth is - in the words of my friend Lisa - "better than it should be." And I agree. The guys could have slacked off on this and coasted on their legend - however possibly tarnished in the eyes of fans - but Truth is no cas ... More >>