| IN THIS ISSUE:
(28 pages)
INTRO TO THE INSIDE (2 pages)
Band photos, letter from the editor RIGHT NOW (1.5 pages)
Current VH news TAKE ME BACK (1.5 pages)
Recent VH news MICHAEL ANTHONY INTERVIEW (4 pages) GROWING UP WITH THE VAN HALENS (2 pages)
An exclusive interview with the boy next door. Dennis Travis was a member of The Trojan Rubber Company- Ed and Alex's first band! He shares stories and even a photo of his unforgettable experience! LOS TRES GUSANOS ROCK THE CABO WABO CANTINA (2 pages)
Sammy Hager, Michael Anthony, and their friend David Lauser party it up in Cabo! A DAY AT 5150 (2 pages)
Remember MTV's "Name Sammy Hagar's New CD" contest in 1987? Kim Muscgrove won the contest with the title, "I Never Said Goodbye". She tells The Inside what it was like to get to go to the 5150 studio during the recording of OU812. Complete with photos, of course! AN INSIDE LOOK AT EVH MUSIC MAN (2 pages)
We interview Guy Wallace and Sterling Ball from Ernie Ball to get the inside scoop on Eddie's signature model guitar. TIMELINE PART 1 (2.5 pages)
Van Halen's influence on modern rock is immeasurable. Their legacy spans some 50 years dating back to the earliest days in Holland with Alex and Eddie's musician-father Jan. The editors of The Inside have dug to the deepest, darkest caverns of our Van Halen files to chronicle their fruitful ascent to the top of the world. This first installment to our long-running Timeline feature starts with Jan Van Halen touring through Europe in the 1940s, and ends up with the band's second release in 1979. UNBOXED (2 pages)
Our Sammy Hagar solo album chronology and review of Unboxed, his Greatest Hits CD. SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN JURASSIC PARK (1 page)
We dug up these rare, never before published photos of Van Halen and some giant dinosaurs on location for a video shoot for the Fair Warning album. We are not sure which song this video concept was for, but we do know that these dinosaurs never made it off the cutting room floor. NEXT ISSUE PREVEIW (1 page) CENTERFOLD
Van Halen Live at the Cabo Wabo Cantina, Second Anniversary, May, 1992 BACK COVER
1995 group shot | A DAY AT 5150
By Dana J. Shonka
Photos by Kim Musgrove
After winning Sammy Hagar's "Name My Album" contest in 1987, Kim Musgrove was taken on an unforgettable tour inside the 5150 studio, spending an entire day with Van Halen. She shares her story with The Inside.  It's rare that fans ever get to meet the members of their favorite band, let alone visit their home recording studio, but that's exactly what happened to Kim Musgrove.
In 1987, Kim won MTV's "Name the Sammy Hagar Album Contest" when Hagar personally chose her title "I Never Said Goodbye," over thousands of other entries. In March of 1988, Kim and a friend were taken via limousine to Van Halen's famed 5150 compound, high atop the Hollywood hills behind Sunset Strip. When they arrived, Eddie, Alex, and Michael emerged to greet them, while Sammy pulled up behind the wheel of his black Ferrari (seen in his "I Can't Drive 55" video). While 5150 was nondescript from the outside, the driveway resembled an exotic car show. Valerie's Volkswagon was sandwiched between Michael Anthony's champagne-colored Porsche and Sammy's Ferrari. Eddie's pickup truck, Lamborghini and two Harley-Davidsons were parked further up the driveway. After introductions, Kim and her friend were led into the 5150 studio itself. Despite what they had read, Kim said the place was surprisingly clean. With Eddie and Sammy acting as guides, the two contest winners were led into 5150's "living room" which was jammed with electronic gear and video games (Asteroids, Tempest and a battered Captain Fantastic pinball machine). It resembled a boy's club with all the modern equipment needed to record. Nearby, a file cabinet stood buried beneath an assortment of motorcycle gear, leather jackets, coffee mugs and empty frozen food boxes. 
On the walls were a platinum album from 1984, the now-infamous blackboard that eventually wound up in For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge's inner sleeve and several calendars. A black and yellow dartboard hung in a secluded corner and several guitars leaned against a nearby wall.
The recording studio itself was very small. However, Van Halen has since added a separate drum room. 5150 is equipped with a complete kitchen and upper level where Eddie keeps his gun and guitar collection. Not surprisingly, it was off-limits. Ed politely made sure his guests had no recorders since Van Halen had not yet released OU812. The band then proceeded to play several partially completed tracks from their upcoming album, including "Black and Blue" which Eddie didn't want them to hear because "they were girls." The band was also busy planning that summer's "Monsters of Rock" tour, trying to work out dates and other logistics.
According to Kim, the band was "very modest and down-to-earth," not playing the "rock star" in the least. The band signed autographs, including the girls yearbooks, and clowned around on-camera while Kim videotaped them on her portable camcorder. Sammy stepped in front of the camcorder waving his hands pretending to be an excited fan, "Hi Sammy!" he shouted turning to the others, he joked, "I'm trying to look just like him. I got my hair growin' out now. I bought a shirt just like his too!" "You're a lot better lookin' than Sammy is too!" Eddie quipped, and the room broke out into laughter. After videotaping Eddie's self-constructed studio, Kim and Irene found themselves back in the driveway, listening to Sammy lovingly describe his Ferrari. "It's got a 12-cylinder, 4-cam engine," he explained. "Zero to 60 in five seconds, with a top speed of 180 miles per hour." Michael jumped in, "Oh, did you forget the most important thing? I've got one just like it in red!"
At the end of the day, Kim and Irene said their goodbyes and were driven back to Los Angeles in style, complete with guitar picks, autographs and memories of a day they won't soon forget. |
