Dateline: May 1976. The greatest band in the history of rock n' roll is discovered - Van Halen. Interestingly enough, Van Halen was discovered by none other than Gene Simmons of KISS at the Starwood in Los Angeles. Gene was originally there to see guitarist George Lynch who later went on to fame with the 80's hair band Dokken.
Over the next few years VH released Van Halen I, Van Halen II, Women and Children First, Fair Warning, Diver Down and the last album of the Roth era, 1984. Every album was certified Platinum and produced such timeless songs as "Runnin' With the Devil," "Ice Cream Man," "Unchained," "Hot for Teacher," "Panama," and "Jump." I just lit my lighter!
I remember this glorious night like it was yesterday. Van Halen taking the stage at the 83 Us Festival in front of 300,000 rabid fans. Roth was in rare form. Fumbling around in glitter pants, no shirt and a white jacket with what appeared to be little black elephants, Roth's stage presence was what made him the greatest front man in history. If you are a fan, you should buy the Us Festival performance on DVD. I have it on a continuous loop at my house.
Dateline: 1985 - David Lee Roth leaves the band. This was truly a sad day in American history.
Van Halen's power spread to Asia, Brazil, Canada and of course, right here in the United States. They say imitation is the truest form of flattery. I guess that explains why there have been so many bands who have tried to immortalize Van Halen by hitting the stage as a Van Halen Tribute Band.
No other tribute band compares to the Atomic Punks. In his 1997 auto-biography "Crazy from the Heat," David Lee Roth referred to the Atomic Punks as "The best tribute to Van Halen ever!" The Atomic Punks were formed in 1994 with Ralph Saenz (Vocals), Joe Lester (Bass), Scott Patterson (Drums) and Bart Walsh (Guitar).
Roth was so enamored by the Punks' talents, he hired the band's original axe man Bart Walsh to play guitar on his "DLR Band" tours from 1999-2001. Bart's replacement, Brian Young, was Eddie reincarnated. Young was so incredible in recreating Eddie's sound that Dave again looked to the Punks, and took the guitarist out on the road in 2002 for his national tour with fellow ex-Van Halen front man, Sammy Hagar. After Brian Young departed, the Punks picked up Russ Parish, who played in "Fight" with the legendary frontman Rob Halford of Judas Priest. The Punks have had a turn-style of guitar players who can play every guitar riff just as Eddie did. Lance Turner is no different. Turner, the Punks current axe man, is a top L.A. session player who has also toured and recorded with various artists.
As a die hard VH fan, I can tell you that a Punks' show is every bit as good as the real thing. The best part about these guys is that they are down to earth and encourage audience participation. In fact, the Faucet's Executive Editor, Jimmy Slagle, 
once played guitar for the Punks at the famed Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood. On another occasion, yours truly, was called on stage to display my vocal prowess. When I got on stage I screamed "Stand Up and Shout" (Song from the movie "Rock Star" which Ralph made a brief cameo), lost my balance, and took out the entire sound system. The show stopped, and you could hear a pin drop. True story! Of course, Ralph likes to tell the audience what happened every time he spots me at a show. As far as I am concerned it was pure metal! Ralph surmised the incident with the following remark: "In my ten years of fronting a tribute band, I've never seen anything like that." Certainly not my proudest moment, given that there were some small children in the audience who were a bit shaken by the event.
The Punks tour all over the country playing classic hits like, "Runnin' With The Devil," "Hot For Teacher," "Somebody Get Me A Doctor," "Light Up The Sky," "You Really Got Me," "Panama," "Bottoms Up!," "Mean Street," and "Unchained."
Voted "Best Tribute Band" by LA's "Rock City News" three years in a row, the Atomic Punks are a must see. Michael Anthony, former bass player of VH and other celebrities have been know to take the stage and belt out the magic we call - Van Halen.
The Atomic Punks Official Web Site is http://www.theatomicpunks.com/ Check the calendar section for a show near you.
I can barely see the road from the heat comin' off it ...
The Real Todd Harrison
