Episode #232 | 5.6.25

Van Halen Pt. 2: Pulling a Gun on Fred Durst, Racing Ferraris and Lambos, and Rock ‘n’ Roll’s Most Faithful Servant

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In 1985, David Lee Roth was out and Sammy Hagar was in. One of the biggest lead singer shakeups in music history led to some of the biggest sales of Van Halen's career. It also led to more drama, to Lamborghinis and Ferraris racing through the streets of Los Angeles, to military assault vehicles storming Beverly Hills, to crazed fans and loaded guns – and at the middle of it all, a modern-day warrior, a man with a code, trying to orchestrate his own survival.

Sources

Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen, by Brad Tolinski & Chris Gill

Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock, by Sammy Hagar with Joel Selvin

X: A Highly Specific, Defiantly Incomplete History of the Early 21st Century, by Chuck Klosterman

Van Halen Unleashed: 5150 Tour in 1986 (MTV)

Van Halen opening night 1991 tour (MTV)

Rocker Van Halen charged with weapons violation (UPI)

Van Halen `Gun Thing' Behind Him (SF Gate)

Eddie Van Halen once drove a tank through Beverly Hills to Fred Durst's house and pulled a gun on him (Louder)

Best of Both Worlds (Guitar World)

Van Halen/David Lee Roth reunion at 1996 MTV Video Awards (MTV)

Eddie & Alex Talk of Sammy Leaving & Backstage Fight with David After 1996 MTV Video Awards (MTV)

Eddie Van Halen on Howard Stern Show, 2006

Eddie Van Halen: Balancing Act (Rolling Stone)

Eddie Van Halen: The Hagar Years (Guitar Meets Science)

Ed Leffler (MayoNoise)