Sibling Rivalry Still Driving Van Halen

Rock legends to kick off comeback tour; former frontman back after 22 years

(NEWSER) - The iconic 80's Rock group Van Halen will set off on a comeback tour this fall—this time with original frontman David Lee Roth. Roth hasn't performed live with his former bandmates since leaving in a huff in 1985, but stresses it's a new era for the group. "This is not a reunion—this is a new band," Roth said Monday at a press conference. More»

(NEWSER) - Les Paul's death today at age 94 has the accolades pouring in:

• Lou Carlozo, True/Slant: "The solid-body Les Paul guitar that Lester developed with Gibson in the early 1950s is rock and roll. Like the Fender Stratocaster, its shape is so synonymous with the genre that any musician can recognize it by its single-cutaway silhouette alone."
• John Cook, Gawker: Without Paul's multitrack recording, "there would have been no White Album, no Radiohead, no nothing." Cook also is in awe of how Paul retaught himself to play in his 80s, when he couldn't bend his arthritic fingers.

(NEWSER) - After grossing $93 million on tour with former frontman David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen tells Rolling Stone he wants the band back together permanently: “Dave was a blast. And next time we go out, we’re going to have some new stuff, too.” He plans a summer get-together with Roth, whose last Van Halen recording was 25 years ago. More»

Queen guitarist, 60, submits astronomy thesis after 36 years

(NEWSER) - Queen guitarist Brian May dropped his academic pursuits to tour the globe as a young rock star, but after 36 years he has finally handed in his PhD thesis, which he began researching in 1972. The 60-year-old aspiring astrophysicist delivered a 48,000-word study on "zodiacal dust clouds" to Imperial College in London today, the BBC reports. More»

Band ready to rock again after Eddie's stint in rehab

(NEWSER) - Van Halen is back: The iconic rock band announced a tour yesterday featuring original members Eddie and Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth. (Eddie’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen, replaced original bassist Michael Anthony in 2007.) The band has had its problems—the Los Angeles Times cites “that whole Gary Cherone nightmare of 1998,” as well as the “best left unmentioned” Sammy Hagar era. A 2007 tour featuring the same mostly-original line-up was well-received, but ended early so Eddie could go to rehab. More»