hennemusic

In the past few months, the Van Halen rumour mill has been heating up, with Dweezil Zappa and John 5 each publicly reporting that they’ve heard new music courtesy of Eddie Van Halen. (Original post here.)

Two weeks ago, Melodicrock issued word that one of their long time VH sources independently confirmed that the band is working on a new album, set for release in the first half of 2011. The source also suggested that a single may be scheduled for release before the end of this year.

The Melodicrock story led to VH spokesperson Janie Van Halen issuing a “no update to report” statement to Rolling Stone.

The breaking VH buzz today comes via a Rik Emmett interview with Gibson.com. When asked about Triumph’s plans, Rik said,

"We’re scheduled to go for a dinner tonight with a couple of guys from Live Nation that have flown into town and want to take us to dinner. I’m sure there’s going to be some sort of a pitch. The rumors that have been sort of blowing in the wind are that Van Halen want to go back out yet again next year, but they’re going to need some sort of support to make the packaging a little more interesting. Because Triumph hasn’t really ever toured in any kind of a nostalgia way, I think Live Nation kind of goes, “Oh, yeah, you guys would be perfect for that.” So, we’ll see sort of the size and the shape and the glitter of the golden carrots that they have."

Like the other rumours, let’s put this into perspective: there’s NO word on whether Triumph will actually be on the road in 2011 themselves – read the full Gibson session above for more of Rik’s comments on this.

As for a VH tour in 2011, there’s no word on that happening, either. Would the band even go on the road without a new disc? While they did so in ‘07-08, that purpose was different: to bring David Lee Roth back into the picture while introducing Wolfgang VH as the new bassist.

While the rumours continue, let’s consider the timing issues: although officially unconfirmed by the VH camp and confirmed by Zappa and John 5, VH are working on new music now…which could mean a 2011 release and tour are in the cards. As for the Live Nation comment by Emmett, it’s not out of the question for the promoter to be considering tour packages at any time, and planning for 2011 would certainly be underway now for all kinds of artists and potential packages.

Say tuned….

Romeo