A DAY AT 5150 - Just Read This And Thought Some Of You Might Like To As Well

[Rocket]

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.

[Red-Diamond]

That is the most awsome thing I've read in a long time. Van Halen needs to get back to that kinda thing.

[Raldo]

That was a pretty cool contest. I'm sure if they did that now, Eddie would have to clean all the cobwebs and dustballs out of the studio.

[joe318]

Originally posted by Red-Diamond:
That is the most awsome thing I've read in a long time. Van Halen needs to get back to that kinda thing.

that was cool i agree that they need to go back to that kinda of stuff again.

[Canyon Carver]

Thanks!

[Diver Down NJ]

My, how times have changed....

[dirtymovies]

Originally posted by Diver Down NJ:
My, how times have changed....

Amen

[FanHalen]

Originally posted by dirtymovies:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Diver Down NJ:
My, how times have changed....

Amen</font>[/QUOTE][img]graemlins/wtf.gif[/img]