Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga

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Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga
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Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga

$19.99

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What kind of a band turns rock music inside out, sells 75 million albums and sets concert attendance records, then disappears from sight - not even appearing on the night of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Come backstage for a complete close encounter with the multi-talented and misunderstood Van Halen, the ultimate American rock stars.

For the first time, Everybody Wants Some tells the complete uncensored story of Van Halen, whose charming smiles and musical chemistry survived misfit childhoods, sibling rivalry, nasty bouts with tabloid snoops, painful divorces, bitter band break-ups, long-term substance abuse, and harrowing brushes with cancer.

You'll follow Eddie and Alex Van Halen from their quiet but music-filled boyhoods in Holland through their transformative years in Southern California, where seeing the Dave Clark Five on the Ed Sullivan Show turned them away from classical music and into stone rockers overnight. You'll meet David Lee Roth, whose hyperactive childhood was a prelude to his manic adult life as the ultimate rock showman. And you'll discover why an easygoing bassist Michael Anthony, who lent the Van Halen brothers equipment even though he played in a rival local band, responded to his first meeting with Roth by saying, "Get that guy away from me."

You'll sit with Sammy Hagar, whose struggles for acceptance as replacement singer led the band to unexpected places - including four consecutive #1 albums. And don't forget Gary Cherone - Van Halen's much younger, and much abused third singer. After years of struggle as a covers band from Pasadena, -Van Halen exploded out of the Hollywood rock scene in 1978, and the rest is history . . . and myth . . . and legend . . . and rumor . . . and gossip.

Ian Christe separates fact from fiction in his accounts of the band's most stunning exploits, as they elevated fun with groupies, circus-like stage spectacle, MTV videos, and bizarre contract riders to hedonistic art forms. Christe also reveals the truth behind Roth's separation from the band, Van Halen's great success but difficult relationship with Sammy Hagar, and Eddie's marriage to sweetheart TV actress Valerie Bertinelli.

Everybody Wants Some brings the saga of Van Halen - from young lions to troubled monarchs - to vivid life in all of its exuberant, decadent, vulnerable, and awesome dimensions.

In addition to the band's history, the book recounts the discord between Eddie and his frontmen, his drinking, his relationship with Valerie Bertinelli, and the secrets behind his guitars.

How did a pair of little Dutch boys trained in classical music grow up to become the nucleus of the most popular heavy metal band of all time? What's the secret behind Eddie Van Halen's incredible fast and furious guitar solos? What makes David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar so wacky? And, are all those stories about groupies, booze bashes, and contract riders true? The naked truth is laid bare in Everybody Wants Some--the real-life story of a rock 'n' roll fantasy come true.

332 pages, Paperback. 6" x 9" x .88". Published by Wiley in 2009, expanded with a new chapter - a 16-page recap and analysis of the 2007-2008 Van Halen comeback tour.

Sample: Download Chapter One of the book for free

"Do yourself a favor and buy this book before you buy a t-shirt at the reunion concert. Christe has written a book that is stylish, succinct, breathtaking and as dazzling as an Eddie Van Halen guitar solo. If you ever stared in the mirror and attempted to imitate David Lee Roth with leaps and splits from the "Jump" video, then this book is for you." - AntiMusic.com

"Highly recommended for Van Halen completists." - Chuck Klosterman, Esquire

"Respect is due to author Ian Christe. His book is perfectly pitched, capturing both the flamboyant excitement and inherent absurdity of the rampant ego collective known as Van Halen." - Geoff Barton, Classic Rock

"Written in jubilant, elastic prose, Ian Christe's Everybody Wants Some is a sort of Day-Glo fairy tale . . . savvy, sympathetic, expert, funny ha-ha." - The Boston Phoenix

"Christe chronicles the sweeping scope of the Van Halen saga." - Chicago Sun-Times

"A new biography of the band that made metal marketable doesn't disappoint the fans." - The American Prospect

"Van Halen Reunites - Just in Time for Their Excellent Unauthorized Bio" -- The Village Voice

"[Christe's] not fooling around. And his prose is always playful." - Los Angeles Times

"Christe is back with a shockingly clear view of life behind the iron curtain that is Van Halen. Through Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga, Christe gives his readers a chance to relive the glory days ... while exploring the complex relationships between the brothers Alex and Eddie Van Halen." - BringBackGlam.com

"One of 2007's Most Intriguing Books - LA Weekly

"Even if you aren't a Van Halen fan, if you ever liked 'Runnin' with the Devil', 'Unchained,' 'Panama,' or even 'Poundcake' you have to have to read this book. I'm recommending it to all my friends, I enjoyed it as much as Motley Crue's The Dirt!" - GuitarNoize.com

About The Author:
Noted metal journalist and radio host IAN CHRISTE is also the author of Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal, the definitive "bible" of heavy metal music and culture. His hundreds of articles on music have appeared in Spin, Guitar World, Wired, Salon.com, and Blender. He appears onscreen frequently on VH1, VH1-Classic, MTV2, and in documentary films, and he comments often for media outlets like Fox News, MSNBC, and USA Weekend. Since 2004, his "Bloody Roots" show has appeared weekly on Sirius Satellite Radio, and he hosts a daily VH spot on Sirius Buzzsaw.


Item B53

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