IN THIS ISSUE:
(32 pages)

RIGHT NOW (2 pages)
Current VH News

MAILBAG (3 pages)
Letters from fans

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE 3rd KIND (1 page)
Stories from fans who have met the band!

VAN HALEN III PREMIERE PARTY (2 pages)
Write-up and collage of 21 live photos from the album premiere party held at the Billboard Live on the Sunset Strip.

DIVING DOWN UNDER (7 pages)
A fan's diary of touring with Van Halen for the entire Australian '98 tour.

MICHAEL ANTHONY EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW (4 pages)

EDDIE VAN HALEN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW (4 pages)

MERCHANDISE (3 pages)

CENTERFOLD
1998 band photo

BACK COVER
1979 Outdoor live band photo

VH DOWN UNDER
An Australian adventure with Van Halen
By Robert "Rex" Jackson

Imagine suddenly finding yourself on tour with Van Halen. What would it feel like to be welcomed into their inner-circle and get treated like part of the family as you travel throughout the land "Down Under" with the band, attending shows, drinking with Mike, Gary and the crew and, basically, having the time of your life? Sounds like a dream come true, eh? Well, for one lucky fan, Rex Jackson, a name known to many on the Internet's Van Halen Mailing List, that dream came true. Here's your chance to live vicariously through his experience.

When we approached Rex about a story detailing his month-long travels through Australia with Van Halen, we knew he would have a rare perspective to bring to the table. The man is a Van Halen fan, just like the rest of us. Circumstances just happened to drop him smack-dab in the middle of the mighty VH touring machine. Traveling in the fine company of Brad Starks, Webmaster of the Official Van Halen Website, our man Rex was afforded the opportunity to witness the inner-workings of rock's baddest band. Along the way, he rubbed elbows with the boys, and even logged some quality hang-time with Val Bertinelli. How was it to live every Van Halen fan's dream? Read on, friends. This is Rex Jackson's story. He tells it well.

"See ya in New Zealand..."

I can't remember the last time such an innocuous sentence inspired such trepidation. It was, after all, a friendly item in my daily e-mail barrage from the Van Halen Mailing List referring to Van Halen's first-ever tour of New Zealand and Australia. The fact that it came from Edward Van Halen's wife should have made it even more endearing. Unless, of course, you were aware of the background behind our exchanges on the Internet. We got off to a bad start in early 1995 and we've frequently argued in the three years since she popped up. I know it's all playful (for the most part), but I still kept reading that seemingly innocent line and imagining myself being bludgeoned by riggers and hung naked and bleeding from the lighting truss to be discovered hours later by New Zealand's first general admission Van Halen audience.

I'd planned this trip for nearly a year. Van Halen's first tour of Australia. Van Halen's first tour with Gary Cherone. How could you pass up an opportunity like that? New Zealand offered up the chance to see Van Halen in venues smaller than any I'd seen the band play in nearly 18 years of riding the rail in front of Edward. And Gary Cherone? Well, that was an X Factor. I saw Extreme play once in a club on their second tour, but it didn't leave me biting my nails and waiting for Sammy Hagar to screw himself out of the world's greatest singing gig.

On Wednesday, April 8, 1998, I started my adventure in Wellington, New Zealand. My plane got in at about 8:30 in the morning and it had already been a really long day. My plan was to hit the hotel and crash until the sun went down.

It didn't work out that way.

As I was getting the key to my hotel room, I looked up and saw Valerie and Wolfgang getting off the elevator! She looked tiny to me. She was in a little pair of overalls with a white T-shirt and sunglasses and she had a backpack on. When she and Wolfie marched right out the front door with a purpose, I knew I was in the right place. Without pause, Kevin Dugan, Michael Anthony's bass tech, got off an adjacent elevator and walked out of the lobby and onto the street. Within half an hour, I was given a laminate that had been sent to me compliments of Scotty Ross (the hardest-working tour manager on the road) and had been invited to a rehearsal at 7:30 p.m.

The rest of the day was a blur as I waited for this, the most intimate of shows. I hooked up with some local Van Halen Mailing List members, hanging out and trying to be calm while we waited for the big event. As we left the hotel to get a bite to eat, we passed Michael and Sue Anthony with their kids. Mike said, "Hey guys!" when he saw that one of us had a Van Halen T-shirt on. When we finally walked up to the venue, I could hear Edward playing part of "Romeo Delight"! As soon as I was in the door, Scotty Ross yelled, "Hey Rex!" and ran over to shake my hand and give me a hug. He said he'd picked up a virus and was feeling under the weather. We talked a little about how beautiful Wellington is and both agreed that it reminded us of the Bay Area. It looks a lot like Sausalito. He told me to have a seat and check out the show. Just as I began walking to my spot, Edward and Gary started rehearsing an acoustic version of "Josephina."

There were probably 25 people in the room as the full band took the stage. I soon discovered that the warm-up before the actual rehearsal begins might be one of the most inspirational things the audience never sees. Hearing Alex work his way around the kit while Mike jams along and loosens up his fingers is a golden moment. The power and vibe coming off the stage is massive. While I was still in a trance, Edward started the band into "Dazed and Confused"! Gary screaming "Twenty-FIVE!" will stay with me as long as I live.

I'd seen Val roaming around all evening and suddenly we were standing face to face. She walked up and introduced herself to everyone. When she asked who I was I said, "Rex" (my middle name and what I post under on the Internet). She said, "Rob, ok?" (my first name!) and turned to walk away. Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief she glanced over her shoulder and said, "You can start kissing my ass now." She'd already giggled and walked away by the time I was able to exhale. You'd have to have been there, but a lot of people who've been kind to the band have been accused of "kissing their asses" over the years.

Watching the band that night at rehearsal was amazing. Seeing them work out parts of tunes was great. After a few seconds of discussing a part in their own brand of musical shorthand, Edward would call out, "From the solo!" or, "From the second verse." Without fail, the band would start cold on a dime. It was impressive to see the masters at work.

Everything about this lineup is right, in my opinion. I sat there throughout the rehearsal talking to Val about the performance (she patiently shed light on about a thousand of my questions) and I couldn't help but think that things in Van Halen were finally just about perfect.

After the rehearsal, several of us headed back to the hotel bar to talk about the evening. We hadn't been there more than 20 minutes when the band walked in. Shortly thereafter, Edward and Val came over to our table. Edward asked everyone's name and when I said, "Rob," Val said, "He's afraid to tell you 'Rex.'" Edward stopped cold and said, "You're Rex?! Tell me one thing: How well do you know Dave?" referring to the many messages from Dave's associates that I've forwarded to the Internet over the years. I said, "I've actually never been introduced to the man in my life." And suddenly we were talking about music and Dave and the new lineup and the performance at the rehearsal. I'd never expected Edward to be as kind and gentle and soft-spoken as he is.

I've come to the conclusion that Edward isn't very "Ed-like" when he does interviews. Something about speaking to reporters and going over things that are most often distantly removed from his chosen profession must put him in a context where he's not comfortable enough to come across. After talking to him for 30 seconds, I had a completely different impression of him than I've ever had when I've watched him being interviewed.

The next evening, I was waiting to leave for rehearsal when Kevin Dugan came over and dropped a handful of Mike's picks on my table. They had a cool new hand sign for "III" on them, but after the picks were manufactured, the band found out it's a gang sign in Los Angeles, so Mike isn't going to use them. Then during the rehearsal, he came over and laid a set of Mike's used strings on me! They're the strings Mike used during my first Van Halen rehearsal. Man, that's cool.

Again, I spent the evening hanging out and talking with the band after the rehearsal, but I made a discovery that night that would prematurely age me over the next month. The band usually calls it a night at a fairly reasonable hour, but the crew have nothing that could be confused with self-restraint. I saw dawn break more than once during the next month while I took in stories about touring with Van Halen that left my head spinning. I also discovered that Scotty Ross can work miracles. There's no such thing as "Last Call" when Van Halen is in town. I even saw Scotty keep bars open on an Australian national holiday.

The next evening, the tour kicked off in Wellington with one of the most memorable Van Halen concerts I have ever seen. Gary's energy level was frightening. Seeing him in rehearsals and seeing him onstage are two completely different things. Looking back, I think this show was way over the top, even for Gary. I've been seeing Van Halen perform live since 1980 and Wellington ranked right up there with the best shows I've ever seen the band perform.

I'd never expected to be welcomed with open arms by Van Halen, but that's just the kind of people who make up the organization. As we ran all over New Zealand and Australia, I always felt like I was part of a big family. Admittedly, not the kind of family most of us were raised by, but you couldn't ask for a better group of people to invade an unsuspecting country with.


Please note: This above portion is only an excerpt from this story, which appears in its entirety in issue11!