SHOCKING: 2 - What They Never Told You

“I said, ‘The winner is…’ and pulled a piece of paper out of my pocket – and said, ‘Edward… uh… Van Halen!’” Unseen footage of Eddie Van Halen and Leslie West's onstage jams and backstage hangs has been unearthed

In 2002, Eddie Van Halen joined Mountain on and offstage – and cameras were there to capture the moment

Guitar World · Jun 5, 2024

"I started laughing, because he is the best": Watch unseen footage of late guitar icons Eddie Van Halen and Leslie West backstage and jamming

The extraordinary footage comes from a Los Angeles club show in 2002

Louder · Jun 5, 2024

"A lot of people don't like Ritchie Blackmore. But he feels he has nothing to say apart from what he says with his guitar": the mutual respect between Deep Purple's Ritchie Blackmore and Mountain's Leslie West was sweet and pure

Hearing Mountain for the first time in 1970 rendered Ritchie Blackmore speechless, and Leslie West was equally impressed by Deep Purple's guitar hero

Louder · Feb 20, 2024

Pete Townshend talks Clapton and more: "I remember Leslie West saying to me, ‘I prefer your licks to Eric’s. He seems to be playing things that he’s learned, that he’s picked up from other blues players’"

Who legend goes on record in extensive magazine interview

MusicRadar · Jan 5, 2024

“When Van Halen’s first record came out, I was so proud of them – it was awesome. But did Eddie Van Halen affect my playing style? No”: Dave Meniketti on turning down Frampton, and how Y&T might’ve been bigger if they’d opened for themselves

Everyone who opened for Y&T made it big. Y&T sort of did too, but if superstardom eluded Meniketti, he's totally cool with that. Here, he talks about the evolution of the band and getting his dues as a guitarist

Guitar World · Dec 8, 2023

“My friend came to my taco stand, telling me Leslie West wanted to jam. I was like, ‘What kind of drugs are you on? I’ve never even played a club before’”: At 17, Peter Baron went from street food vendor to playing with a rock guitar icon overnight

Peter Baron spent decades touring with Leslie West. He reveals what the Mountain guitar legend taught him (and vice-versa), and the one-of-a-kind guitar quirk West got from watching Porky Pig…

Guitar World · Nov 29, 2023

Vito Bratta recorded White Lion’s All You Need is Rock 'n' Roll with Jimi Hendrix’s black Stratocaster – and Leslie West’s Marshall amp

West's 100-watt Mountain Marshall is still owned by Bratta, who got his hands on the fabled Strat through Al Kooper – who was gifted the guitar by Hendrix himself

Guitar World · Jul 11, 2023

Vito Bratta names 11 guitarists who shaped his sound

The virtuoso behind White Lion’s platinum rock sound pays dues to the players who showed him what to do on guitar (and what not to do), and recalls an emotional encounter with Eddie Van Halen

Guitar World · May 18, 2023

How Kareem 'Big K.O.' Denis and Darryl 'DMC' McDaniels are bringing hard rock guitar back to hip-hop

The Firebird-loving guitarist/producer and Run-DMC legend on their mission to prove hip-hop can be just as heavy as metal, getting gear tips from Billy Gibbons, and why Gibson humbuckers are the foundation of funk and soul guitar

Guitar World · May 9, 2023

We once asked Leslie West who his favourite guitarist was: his answer was not what we expected

Mountain's Leslie West on the guitarist who sounded like a "45-year-old blues guy when he was barely in his twenties"

Louder · Apr 26, 2023