Eddie Van Halen Reveals Why His Band Canceled 30 Tour Dates

After Van Halen abruptly decided to postpone more than 30 dates on its North American tour, fans speculated that the infighting that had historically plagued the band was back. The band insisted it was simply a case of being overbooked. Now Eddie Van Halen has offered his take.

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"We bit off more than we could chew," the guitarist told USA Today. "This record took a lot out of us. And we went on tour earlier than we wanted to so we could play Madison Square Garden [in March, before a renovation], and that threw the schedule out of whack."

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Van Halen, whose 21-year-old son Wolfgang is playing bass for his second tour with the band, said many of the canceled shows were in cities they had already played.

“So in November, we'll hit Japan, and in the new year, we'll possibly do something special, but I can't talk about it."

In the interview, the iconoclastic guitarist also revealed that playing live still makes him so nervous that he vomits.

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"Really. I did it just before the show last night," Van Halen said. "Then I don't eat, so by the time I get offstage, I'm cooked."

The band’s latest album, A Different Kind of Truth, is its first with singer David Lee Roth since the 1984. Released in February, it debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 187,000 units sold. The band has sold 57 million albums in the U.S. during its career.