Alex Van Halen, “Brothers.” Alex Van Halen certainly understands how to keep an audience wanting more. Rendering: Adam Pardee/STAFF. Brothers Alex Van Halen Harper Get it on Amazon. His new book, “Brothers” lasts 226 pages. Sammy Hagar, the guy who came along and likely saved the band when David…

There are a couple ways to listen to the debut of Wolfgang Van Halen’s Mammoth WVH. Mammoth WVH Wolfgang Van Halen Explorer1 Music Group, June 11 7/10 The first comes through expectations of the 30-year-old son of a man who changed rock guitar, and whose band was America’s answer to Led Zeppelin. The son is the third generation of a great musical family and the benefactor of…

Row 1: Neil Peart, Riley Gale, Martin Birch, Peter Green, Lee Kerslake. Row 2: Ken Hensley, Pete Way, McCoy Tyner, Billy Joe Shaver and Bill Withers. Row 3: Little Richard, Eddie Van Halen, Ennio Morricone, Andy Gill and John Prine. Row 4: Florian Schneider, Fredderick ‘Toots’ Hibbert, Adam Schlesinger, Bones Hillman and…

Insert Foot longing for childhood. I just had an emotional Feel Like a Kid Again Week. Never heard of it? Me neither. I just made it up. I figure someone else is out there making up fake holidays (Daughter’s Day, Son’s Day … Hamster Month), so why shouldn’t I?…

Eddie Van Halen performs with Van Halen at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Calif., on July 16, 2015. Derek Simmons/STAFF. I was done crying and trying to get my head around Eddie Van Halen’s death, when my mom called me and offered condolences for “the most loved person…

A fan once asked Eric Clapton how it felt to be the greatest guitar player in the world, who answered, “Ask Prince.” It was a surprising response. Since Eddie Van Halen, the world has mostly imagined guitar heroes as long haired white dudes who smell vaguely of weed. In the…