I'd like to thank every Van Halen fan who visited the site over the years. I've appreciated the many emails, souvenirs and collectibles that you all sent me. I still wear the t-shirts, read the books, watch the videos and listen to the boots!

I hope everyone enjoyed reading my reports, and trust that my blatant Roth-era bias didn't come through in too many of them. :)

Why am I stopping? The reason should be obvious. The whole concept of the Van Halen "News Desk" was lost when the band stopped making news. Sure, there are the odd bits and pieces here and there every few weeks, but compared to 1996 it's not the same.

A few weeks ago I asked myself the question: "if Van Halen had a press conference tomorrow announcing a brand new album with Dave, followed by the biggest tour in the history of rock music, would I be willing and able to provide the coverage it deserved on the VHND"?

The answer was no.

So, in anticipation of either the status quo (no real news and no music for continuing years) or the biggest reunion in the history of rock music, now is the time for me to pull the plug.

Like all of you, my priorities have changed from the days when I could sit on my bed for 5 hours at a time trying to copy Eddie Van Halen's licks on my guitar. I work full time, have three boys under four and a fantastic wife. I'd much rather spend my spare time with them than write reports about a rock band who haven't put out any new material for nearly six years! Plus, there's still that elusive hole in one to get.

My project that started in 1996 when I wanted to learn how to make web sites became something that got so popular I still can't really comprehend it. I never dreamed that 44,000 people would visit the site in total, let alone in one day!

The Thank You's!

Van Halen: it sounds corny, but without the band, there wouldn't have been a VHND (duh). More than that, if it wasn't for the influence of Eddie Van Halen, I wouldn't have learned how to play the guitar.

Scotty Ross (VH Tour Manager): Thanks for making something that was totally unexpected and unbelievable (but very much appreciated) happen. Hopefully we can have that golf game someday.

Jeff Hausman (The Inside/vanhalenstore.com): Dude, without your help there's no way I would have done this for so long.

Lance Watts & Garth Jones: Thanks for the artwork and the "hijack". Our timing couldn't have been any worse. For those that didn't see it, the "hijacked" version of the VHND (publicity stunt for Lance & Garth's book), appeared just before the September 11 terrorist attacks. A quick update of the graphics to change "hijacked" to "hacked" was needed!

VHML & DLRML members: Thanks for the lively discussions over the past 10 years! I look forward to many more.

Wish List Donations: Thanks heaps to Neil (Kiss DVD), Dave (A Mighty Wind DVD) Chris (Beavis & Butt-Head DVD) and Steven (Toto DVD) for donating these gifts to me from my Amazon Wish List. Thanks also to the purchaser of the Rush DVD - unfortunately it still hadn't arrived on Dec 27.

If you'd also like to show your appreciation for my work over the years, I've set up a wish list at Amazon. There you can purchase items I've chosen and have them automatically sent to me here in Australia. Thanks to those who have already donated an item (see above).

I'd also greatly appreciate anyone who can hook me up with copies of all the great Van Halen DVD boots that are doing the rounds.

See you around!

Grant Fisher

July 2, 2002 - Notice
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