The phrase "artificial intelligence" has been around for a long time, covering everything from computers with "brains"—think Data from Star Trek or Hal 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey—to the autocomplete function that too often has you sending emails to the wrong person. It's a term that sweeps a wide array of uses into it—some well-established, others still being developed. Recent news shows us a rapidly expanding catalog of potential harms that may result from companies pushing AI into every new feature and aspect of public life—like the automation of bias that follows from relying on a backward-looking technology to make consequential decisions about people's housing, employment, education, and so on. Complicating matters, the computation needed for some AI services requires vast amounts of water and electricity, leading to sometimes difficult questions about whether the increased fossil fuel use or consumption of water is justified. We are also inundated with advertisements and exhortations to use the latest AI-powered apps, and with hype insisting AI can solve any problem. Obscured by this hype, there are some real examples of AI proving to be a helpful tool. For example, machine learning is especially useful for scientists looking at everything from the inner workings of our biology to cosmic bodies in outer space. AI tools can also improve accessibility for people with disabilities, facilitate police accountability initiatives, and more. There are reasons why these problems are amenable to machine learning and why excitement over these uses shouldn’t translate into a perception that just any language model or AI technology possesses expert knowledge or can solve whatever problem it’s marketed as solving. EFF has long fought for sensible, balanced tech policies because we’ve seen how regulators can focus entirely on use cases they don’t like (such as the use of encryption to hide criminal behavior) and cause enormous collateral harm to other uses (such as using encryption to hide dissident resistance). Similarly, calls to completely preempt state regulation of AI would thwart important efforts to protect people from the real harms of AI technologies. Context matters. Large language models (LLMs) and the tools that rely on them are not magic wands—they are general-purpose technologies. And if we want to regulate those technologies in a way that doesn’t shut down beneficial innovations, we have to focus on the impact(s) of a given use or tool, by a given entity, in a specific context. Then, and only then, can we even hope to figure out what to do about it. So let’s look at the real-world landscape. AI’s Real and Potential Harms Thinking ahead about potential negative uses of AI helps us spot risks. Too often, the corporations developing AI tools—as well as governments that use them—lose sight of the real risks, or don’t care. For example, companies and governments use AI to do all sorts of things that hurt people, from price collusion to mass surveillance. AI should never be part of a decision about whether a person will be arrested, deported, placed into foster care, or denied access to important government benefits like disability payments or medical care. There is too much at stake, and governments have a duty to make responsible, fair, and explainable decisions, which AI can’t reliably do yet. Why? Because AI tools are designed to identify and reproduce patterns in data that they are “trained” on.  If you train AI on records of biased government decisions, such as records of past arrests, it will “learn” to replicate those discriminatory decisions. And simply having a human in the decision chain will not fix this foundational problem. Studies have shown that having a human “in the loop” doesn’t adequately correct for AI bias, both because the human tends to defer to the AI and because the AI can provide cover for a biased human to ratify decisions that agree with their biases and override the AI at other times. These biases don’t just arise in obvious contexts, like when a government agency is making decisions about people. It can also arise in equally life-affecting contexts like medical care. Whenever AI is used for analysis in a context with systemic disparities and whenever the costs of an incorrect decision fall on someone other than those deciding whether to use the tool.  For example, dermatology has historically underserved people of color because of a focus on white skin, with the resulting bias affecting AI tools trained on the existing and biased image data. These kinds of errors are difficult to detect and correct because it’s hard or even impossible to understand how an AI tool arrives at individual decisions. These tools can sometimes find and apply patterns that a human being wouldn't even consider, such as basing diagnostic decisions on which hospital a scan was done at. Or determining that malignant tumors are the ones where there is a ruler next to them—something that a human would automatically exclude from their evaluation of an image. Unlike a human, AI does not know that the ruler is not part of the cancer. Auditing and correcting for these kinds of mistakes is vital, but in some cases, might negate any sort of speed or efficiency arguments made in favor of the tool. We all understand that the more important a decision is, the more guardrails against disaster need to be in place. For many AI tools, those don't exist yet. Sometimes, the stakes will be too high to justify the use of AI. In general, the higher the stakes, the less this technology should be used. We also need to acknowledge the risk of over-reliance on AI, at least as it is currently being released. We've seen shades of a similar problem before online (see: "Dr. Google"), but the speed and scale of AI use—and the increasing market incentive to shoe-horn “AI” into every business model—have compounded the issue. Moreover, AI may reinforce a user’s pre-existing beliefs—even if they’re wrong or unhealthy. Many users may not understand how AI works, what it is programmed to do, and how to fact check it. Companies have chosen to release these tools widely without adequate information about how to use them properly and what their limitations are. Instead they market them as easy and reliable. Worse, some companies also resist transparency in the name of trade secrets and reducing liability, making it harder for anyone to evaluate AI-generated answers.  Other considerations may weigh against AI uses are its environmental impact and potential labor market effects. Delving into these is beyond the scope of this post, but it is an important factor in determining if AI is doing good somewhere and whether any benefits from AI are equitably distributed. Research into the extent of AI harms and means of avoiding them is ongoing, but it should be part of the analysis. AI’s Real and Potential Benefits However harmful AI technologies can sometimes be, in the right hands and circumstances, they can do things that humans simply can’t. Machine learning technology has powered search tools for over a decade. It’s undoubtedly useful for machines to help human experts pore through vast bodies of literature and data to find starting points for research—things that no number of research assistants could do in a single year. If an actual expert is involved and has a strong incentive to reach valid conclusions, the weaknesses of AI are less significant at the early stage of generating research leads. Many of the following examples fall into this category. Machine learning differs from traditional statistics in that the analysis doesn’t make assumptions about what factors are significant to the outcome. Rather, the machine learning process computes which patterns in the data have the most predictive power and then relies upon them, often using complex formulae that are unintelligible to humans. These aren’t discoveries of laws of nature—AI is bad at generalizing that way and coming up with explanations. Rather, they’re descriptions of what the AI has already seen in its data set. To be clear, we don't endorse any products and recognize initial results are not proof of ultimate success. But these cases show us the difference between something AI can actually do versus what hype claims it can do. Researchers are using AI to discover better alternatives to today’s lithium-ion batteries, which require large amounts of toxic, expensive, and highly combustible materials. Now, AI is rapidly advancing battery development: by allowing researchers to analyze millions of candidate materials and generate new ones. New battery technologies discovered with the help of AI have a long way to go before they can power our cars and computers, but this field has come further in the past few years than it had in a long time. AI Advancements in Scientific and Medical Research AI tools can also help facilitate weather prediction. AI forecasting models are less computationally intensive and often more reliable than traditional tools based on simulating the physical thermodynamics of the atmosphere. Questions remain, though about how they will handle especially extreme events or systemic climate changes over time. For example: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has developed new machine learning models to improve weather prediction, including a first-of-its-kind hybrid system that  uses an AI model in concert with a traditional physics-based model to deliver more accurate forecasts than either model does on its own. to augment its traditional forecasts, with improvements in accuracy when the AI model is used in concert with the physics-based model. Several models were used to forecast a recent hurricane. Google DeepMind’s AI system performed the best, even beating official forecasts from the U.S. National Hurricane Center (which now uses DeepMind’s AI model).  Researchers are using AI to help develop new medical treatments: Deep learning tools, like the Nobel Prize-winning model AlphaFold, are helping researchers understand protein folding. Over 3 million researchers have used AlphaFold to analyze biological processes and design drugs that target disease-causing malfunctions in those processes. Researchers used machine learning simulate and computationally test a large range of new antibiotic candidates hoping they will help treat drug-resistant bacteria, a growing threat that kills millions of people each year. Researchers used AI to identify a new treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive lung disease with few treatment options. The new treatment has successfully completed a Phase IIa clinical trial. Such drugs still need to be proven safe and effective in larger clinical trials and gain FDA approval before they can help patients, but this new treatment for pulmonary fibrosis could be the first to reach that milestone. Machine learning has been used for years to aid in vaccine development—including the development of the first COVID-19 vaccines––accelerating the process by rapidly identifying potential vaccine targets for researchers to focus on. AI Uses for Accessibility and Accountability  AI technologies can improve accessibility for people with disabilities. But, as with many uses of this technology, safeguards are essential. Many tools lack adequate privacy protections, aren’t designed for disabled users, and can even harbor bias against people with disabilities. Inclusive design, privacy, and anti-bias safeguards are crucial. But here are two very interesting examples: AI voice generators are giving people their voices back, after losing their ability to speak. For example, while serving in Congress, Rep. Jennifer Wexton developed a debilitating neurological condition that left her unable to speak. She used her cloned voice to deliver a speech from the floor of the House of Representatives advocating for disability rights. Those who are blind or low-vision, as well as those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, have benefited from accessibility tools while also discussing their limitations and drawbacks. At present, AI tools often provide information in a more easily accessible format than traditional web search tools and many websites that are difficult to navigate for users that rely on a screen reader. Other tools can help blind and low vision users navigate and understand the world around them by providing descriptions of their surroundings. While these visual descriptions may not always be as good as the ones a human may provide, they can still be useful in situations when users can’t or don’t want to ask another human to describe something. For more on this, check out our recent podcast episode on “Building the Tactile Internet.” When there is a lot of data to comb through, as with police accountability, AI is very useful for researchers and policymakers:  The Human Rights Data Analysis Group used LLMs to analyze millions of pages of records regarding police misconduct. This is essentially the reverse of harmful use cases relating to surveillance; when the power to rapidly analyze large amounts of data is used by the public to scrutinize the state there is a potential to reveal abuses of power and, given the power imbalance, very little risk that undeserved consequences will befall those being studied. An EFF client, Project Recon, used an AI system to review massive volumes of transcripts of prison parole hearings to identify biased parole decisions. This innovative use of technology to identify systemic biases, including racial disparities, is the type of AI use we should support and encourage. It is not a coincidence that the best examples of positive uses of AI come in places where experts, with access to infrastructure to help them use the technology and the requisite experience to evaluate the results, are involved. Moreover, academic researchers are already accustomed to explaining what they have done and being transparent about it—and it has been hard won knowledge that ethics are a vital step in work like this. Nor is it a coincidence that other beneficial uses involve specific, discrete solutions to problems faced by those whose needs are often unmet by traditional channels or vendors. The ultimate outcome is beneficial, but it is moderated by human expertise and/or tailored to specific needs. Context Matters It can be very tempting—and easy—to make a blanket determination about something, especially when the stakes seem so high. But we urge everyone—users, policymakers, the companies themselves—to cut through the hype. In the meantime, EFF will continue to work against the harms caused by AI while also making sure that beneficial uses can advance.

Should a linked web page go offline, the new feature will then redirect readers to the archived versions, so that there is no drop in service. The tool also archives a user's own posts, helping to ensure their longevity.

Google revealed a significant milestone for it's Gemini app, announcing over 750 million monthly active users as it competes with ChatGPT and Meta AI.

If you’re a Chris Stapleton fan, you’re probably already aware that he got his start as a singer as a founding member of bluegrass group The SteelDrivers – but did you know that he also served as the frontman for a gritty southern rock band? The Kentucky native moved to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt University, but quickly discovered songwriting and signed a publishing deal instead. After years of writing songs, Stapleton formed a bluegrass band to perform those songs he had written. The SteelDrivers released their self-titled debut album in 2008, and followed it up with Reckless in 2010, with Stapleton having co-written every song on both albums. Unfortunately, Stapleton’s time with The SteelDrivers was cut short, as he discussed during a recent appearance on the podcast, Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard. As Stapleton described, one of the original members of the band, whom he wouldn’t name, developed a fear of flying at some point during his tenure, which seemingly led to disagreements over the direction of the band. “One of the guys in the band developed a fear of flying, and I had an opinion about what we needed to do. And everybody else in the band had a different opinion, so they got somebody else.” Shepard would then ask Stapleton if he was fired and/or kicked out of the band, and the “White Horse” singer didn’t deny it: “Technically, yes. I probably shouldn’t be saying that on here, but that’s technically the truth.” When asked if he was hurt by the firing, Stapleton would ultimately say yes. However, he seems to allude to the fact that he believed that they weren’t setting themselves up for the success he believed they could have had. “Well, sure, but I also didn’t believe that we were [setting the right course]. I was like, ‘Okay, well, I’ll do something else.'” That something else turned out to be another band, one that many Chris Stapleton fans may not remember – or even know about. At the same time as he was a member of The SteelDrivers, Stapleton had also formed another band The Jompson Brothers. Instead of bluegrass, this band had more of a gritty, southern rock edge, though while he was performing with The SteelDrivers it seemed to be more of a side project for Stapleton. After his departure from the bluegrass group though, Stapleton and The Jompson Brothers released their self-titled debut album in 2010, and that same year were even selected to open for Zac Brown Band on their Sailing Southern Ground Cruise. The band, made up of Stapleton as the frontman along with Greg McKee, JT Cure, and Bard McNamee, was, according to their website, “formed in a garage in Nashville, Tennessee as a result of late-night jam sessions.” And as for their name, it came after the members created a family of alter egos: “We all created alter egos, sort of as a joke, with the last name “Jompson.” After a while, we started calling ourselves the Jompson Brothers. It was used as a working name for the band while we were in the early stages of forming the group. We talked about changing it several times, but ended up using it for so long we couldn’t find anything else that seemed right, so we stuck with it.” While the voice is undeniably Stapleton, the group’s sound is also one that will likely sound familiar to fans of his solo music. It can be heard in his rock-leaning singles like “White Horse” or album cuts like “Hillbilly Blood” and “Watch You Burn.” On a spectrum from The SteelDrivers to The Jompson Brothers, Stapleton’s solo music sits firmly in the middle and manages to straddle both sides of the lines drawn early in his career. The Jompson Brothers got some minor attention as a band, especially with their lead single “On The Run,” but the project ended up being a short-lived side quest for Stapleton en route to superstardom: In 2013, he left the group to pursue a solo career, and the rest, as they say, is history. It’s an underrated chapter in Stapleton’s career, because the music that he put out with The Jompson Brothers was exactly what you’d expect from a Chris Stapleton-fronted rock band: Gritty vocals, killer lyrics, and music that absolutely rips. If you’ve never listened to them, check them out: The post Before He Went Solo, Chris Stapleton Fronted A Gritty Rock Band You May Not Have Heard Of first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Psychology suggests instant attraction is less magic and more mental wiring.

The Sweet continues on the road in 2026 promoting their final album "Full Circle" (2024) and of course, playing all their hits. The British band which had sold an estimated amount of more than 55 million records worldwide is formed by Andy Scott (Guitar, keyboards – only member from the classic line-up), Adam Booth (Drums), Paul Manzi (Vocals, bass, keyboards, guitar), Lee Small (Bass) and Tom Cory (Keyboards, guitar). Currently, there are two versions of Sweet that are active, this one we wrote about, which features the original member Andy Scott and another one which was formed by Steve Priest. But Priest passed away in 2020 and the band continues to tour using the name and with no original members, especially in the United States and Canada. While Scott’s version usually tours across Europe. The Sweet 2026 tour dates April 10 – Konzerthalle Olsberg, Olsberg, Germany 11 – Jovel Music Hall, Münster, Germany 12 – Die Kantine, Köln, Germany 23 – Bad Saarow Strand, Bad Saarow, Germany 24 – Bürgerpark Pankow, Berlin, Germany 25 – Eventcenter Prenzlau, Prenzlau, Germany 26 – Kulturhaus Stadtgarten, Neuruppin, Germany May 22 – Ringsted Kongrescenter, Ringsted, Denmark 23 – MCH Herning Congress Centre, Herning, Denmark June 20 – Classic Rock Night, Wiesmoor, Germany July 2 – Burgarena Finkenstein, Latschach, Austria 4 – Limespark Erlensee, Erlensee, Germany 27 – Stadtwerke Erding Arena, Erding, Germany August 7 – Leinefelde – Open Air, Leinefelde-worbis, Germany 14 – Hybernia, a.s., Hlavní Město Praha, Czechia 15 – Mikulov – Amfitheater, Mikulov, Czechia September 2 – Zelt- & Kulturfestival, Schwandorf In Bayern, Germany October 9 – Fritz-Wunderlich-Halle Kusel, Kusel, Germany 10 – Stadthalle Limburg, Limburg, Germany 11 – Kultur- und Kongresshalle, Ingelheim Am Rhein, Germany 16 – Löwensaal, Nuremberg, Germany 17 – Liederhalle, Stuttgart, Germany 18 – Capitol Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany https://youtu.be/e0PF6iCf6jI Active from 1968 to 1982, reuniting in 1985 and being active since then, the Glam Rock group released 15 studio albums and 11 live records. Some of their biggest hits are “Fox On The Run”, “Ballroom Blitz”, “Love is Like Oxygen” and “Action”.The post The Sweet 2026 tour dates appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.

The legendary Sex Pistols vocalist John Lydon is back on the road in 2026 with his band Public Image Ltd. They have scheduled shows in April and May in South America and Europe. PIL will perform in Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Croatia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, France, Spain and Luxembourg. Besides Lydon, the current lineup includes Lu Edmonds (guitar, keyboards, sax, banjo), Scott Firth (bass, keyboards, synthesizers), and Mark Roberts (drums). Their most recent album is End of World, released in 2023. John Lydon's Public Image Ltd. 2026 tour dates April 7 – Sala Del Museo, Montevideo, Uruguay 8 – Cine Joia, São Paulo, Brazil 10 – Sala de las Artes, Rosario, Argentina 11 – C Art Media, Buenos Aires, Argentina 12 – Brewhouse, Mar del Plata, Argentina 15 – Blondie, Santiago, Chile 17 – Pepper Club, San Jose, Costa Rica 19 – Auditorio BB, Mexico City, Mexico 21 – CCB Barranco, Lima, Peru May 1 – Colosseum, Watford, UK 2 – The 1865, Southampton, UK 3 – Le Botanique, Brussels, Belgium 5 – Trix, Antwerp, Belgium 6 – Doornroosje, Nijmegen, Netherlands 7 – Melkweg, Amsterdam, Netherlands 9 – Mojo, Hamburg, Germany 11 – Columbia Theatre, Berlin, Germany 12 – B90 Club, Gdansk, Poland 13 – TAMA, Poznan, Poland 15 – Progresja, Warsaw, Poland 16 – Klub Studio, Krakow, Poland 19 – Culture Factory, Zagreb, Croatia 20 – Dürer Kert, Budapest, Hungary 22 – SaSaZu, Prague, Czech Republic 23 – SIMM City, Vienna, Austria 26 – Alcatraz, Milan, Italy 27 – Rockstore, Montpellier, France 29 – Razzmatazz 2, Barcelona, Spain 30 – Sala But, Madrid, Spain June 3 – L’Étage, Rennes, France 4 – Le Trianon, Paris, France 5 – Le Transbordeur, Lyon, France 7 – Schungfabrik, Kayl, Luxembourg (SOLD OUT) 8 – Die Kantine, Cologne, Germany https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmcwiz_8zxo&list=RDXmcwiz_8zxo&start_radio=1 Formed by John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) in 1978, following the breakup of the Sex Pistols, PIL took a different musical path, developing a Post-Punk and New Wave sound that surprised fans of the legendary Punk band. Some of their most famous songs include “Rise,” “Public Image,” “The Order of Death,” and “This Is Not a Love Song.”The post John Lydon’s Public Image Ltd. 2026 tour dates appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.

The legendary 84 year-old singer and songwriter Paul Simon already had scheduled European tour dates in 2026 but now he announced his first concert dates for the United States and Canada. The shows will happen next June and July in California, Colorado, Missouri, Ohio, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Illinois and Ontario. His touring band is formed by Mark Stewart (guitar), Bakithi Kumalo (bass), Steve Gadd (drums), Andy Snitzer (saxophone), Jamey Haddad (percussion), Mick Rossi (piano/keys), Gyan Riley (guitar), Nancy Stagnitta (flute), Caleb Burhans (viola), and Eugene Friesen (cello). Paul's most recent studio album is "Seven Psalms", released in 2023. Paul Simon 2026 North American tour dates June 4 - Frost Amphitheater, Palo Alto, CA 7 - Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA 9 - Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, San Diego, CA 12 - Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison CO 13 - Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison CO 16 - Starlight Theatre, Kansas City, MO 18 - PNC Pavilion, Cincinnati, OH 20 - Meadow Brook Amphitheater, Rochester Mills, MI 23 - Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 25 - RBC Amphitheater, Toronto, CA 27 - Tanglewood, Lenox, Mass 30 - BankNH Pavilion, Gilford, NH July 3 - Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel Woods, NY 5 - The Mann Center, Philadelphia, PA 8 - Forest Hills Stadium, Forest Hills, NY 11 - Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek, Raleigh, NC 13 - Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park, Atlanta GA 15 - FirstBank Amphitheatre, Franklin, TN 17 - Ravinia, Highland Park, IL 18 - Ravinia, Highland Park, IL European tour April 9-10 – Prague, Czech Republic – Prague Congress Centre 12 – Prague, Czech Republic – Prague Congress Centre 15-16 – Berlin, Germany – Uber Eats Music Hall 18-19 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Falkoner Centre 22-25 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – AFAS Live 27-30 – Brussels, Belgium – Bozar May 3-4 – Paris, France – Grand Rex 7 – Liverpool, England – M&S Bank Arena 9-10 – Glasgow, Scotland – SEC Armadillo 13-14 – London, England – Royal Albert Hall 20 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR1CMAU2CWI&pp=ygUPcGF1bCBzaW1vbiAyMDI1 Simon is one of the best-selling artists of all time, Simon sold millions of records from his solo career and also from his work with Art Garfunkel as Simon & Garfunkel. The duo was active for the last time in 2010 and since then hasn’t reunited again. He is one of the few musicians who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame both as a part of a band and as a solo act. The post Paul Simon announces North American 2026 tour dates appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.

The late legendary Eddie Van Halen was considered the most influential Rock guitarist since Jimi Hendrix, for having profoundly changed the landscape of guitar playing and reveal new possibilities for the instrument. Highly focused on his own style and on developing his songwriting over the decades, he eventually stopped listening to new music and the last album he bought was Peter Gabriel's "So" in the 1980s. However, his son Wolfgang Van Halen, introduced him to a few bands over the years, one of them being Tool, which Eddie later shared his opinion on. What was Eddie Van Halen's opinion on Tool Eddie Van Halen was introduced to Tool’s music by his son Wolfgang and he actually liked it. He took his father to see the Progressive Metal band in 2019 and it sadly ended up being the final concert he ever attended with his dad. What impressed the legendary guitarist the most when he and his son went to see the band live was bassist Justin Chancellor, prompting Eddie to say, “F*ck, that bass player, man, that was the shit!” Later on he also praised the guitarist Adam Jones backstage. "It was so funny, man. While I was at a Tool show with my dad and my uncle Patrick (Bertinelli), my mom's brother. An amazing concert, first of all. It was very fun to bring dad to that so he could really see the music I really, really like. It resonated with him, in a way, because the first thing he said was like, 'F*ck, that bass player, man. That was the shit!' I was like, 'Yeah! Justin Chancellor is one of my favorite bass players of all time.' It was so great for dad to be like, 'F*ck yeah!' about that." Eddie Van Halen fell asleep for a few songs but not because he thought they were bad However, Wolfgang also said that Eddie fell asleep during the show, not because their music wasn't good but because he was tired. "There was even a moment because he was very tired - he goes to bed really early. So it was like during one or two songs, I think he fell asleep at the Tool concert. Not that their music was boring, but he passed out. Because it was like 10 o'clock at that point and he goes to bed at 7:30." Curiously, Eddie went largely unnoticed by the crowd that night, as they were watching the show from regular seats among other fans. Only a few people approached him to say hello and take photos. But a particularly funny moment stood out: a kid came up to Eddie, without knowing who he was and asked him to take a picture for him. It was Wolfgang Van Halen who later recalled the experience of watching Tool with his dad and described his reaction. "Yeah, normally (people wouldn't recognize him a lot), I was able to go out a lot with him. I remember for my birthday one time, we went to Six Flags and nobody recognized us there. It was just a fun day at the rollercoaster. But we were waiting after the show, just kind of standing there because their tour manager was the same as ours, we were gonna go back. We ended up meeting the guys. While we were waiting, some kid walked up to dad. I was like, 'Oh...' He's been recognized a couple of times that night. I thought it was just some guy who'd take pictures with him." Wolfgang continued: "But instead, he handed him his phone - 'Here, I'm gonna go over here. Can you get the picture?' I think a lot of people misunderstood (me posting the photo and telling what happened) my tweet to a certain extent. Because it wasn't like, 'How dare you not recognize Eddie Van Halen?!' Dad just looked like a dad, you know? People's imagination of Eddie Van Halen is, like, long, flowing hair. So of course, you wouldn't recognize him. He (the fan) was a young dude." "But it was just so funny to be like, 'Wow! If he knew who he just asked to take a picture of just him and the stage, he would've probably regretted not saying, 'Hey, can you get in that picture too?'. So the second that happened, my uncle Patrick and I were like, 'Oh my god!' That picture I took was the one I posted, and it blew up. So funny," Wolfgang Van Halen said in an interview with Eddie Trunk in 2021. Eddie Van Halen praised Tool's guitarist Adam Jones after the show After the show they went to the band’s dressing room and Eddie had the chance to chat with Adam Jones. A few months after the musician passed away in 2020 at the age of 65, the Tool guitarist remembered that incredible experience of meeting one of his heroes. "Eddie’s son Wolf is a big Tool fan and a really cool guy. He brought his dad to our show at the Staples Center (in Los Angeles). (...) Afterward, Wolf brought his dad to my dressing room and we had a good talk. Eddie was so humble and I was really happy to have that moment with him. To have one of your ultimate heroes shake your hand and say, 'Hey, what you’re doing, it’s really cool,' it’s like a trophy." "(...) That’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. I feel lucky to have had that music in my life and to have that influence. And even though people can’t pinpoint it to what I do, it is absolutely there. Especially my riff writing – it’s influenced by Eddie Van Halen. Absolutely. I worship that music." "I connect with the way he experimented. Just the idea of taking what you do as far as you can take it. 100 years from now, when people talk about music and the history of music, they will talk about Van Halen. Eddie’s name will always be there. That guy will live forever," Adam Jones told Guitar World in 2021. Wolfgang said his Mount Rushmore band would consist of all the members of Tool Wolfgang Van Halen obviously holds his father in very high regard, not only as a dad but also as a guitar player, like most of his fans. But curiously, when he is asked who would be on his “Mount Rushmore for each instrument,” Wolfie said that it would basically be all the members of Tool. "Somebody asked me a question, like, 'Who is on your Mount Rushmore for each instrument?' I was like, 'I think every member of Tool is, on every single instrument.' Maynard was one of those people. He's one of my favorite singers of all time. He was one of those guys where I was like, 'I love you so much. I will never, ever bother you. Just keep being yourself.'" He continued: "Sometimes, I'm too big a fan to introduce myself, or to just bother them with my presence. And he was one of those guys. I remember we were at Download. Puscifer was playing the same day we were. John, my guitar player, was like, 'Dude! Maynard's over there!' I was like, 'Cool, I'm not going over there,'" he told Rick Beato. But they eventually became good friends, especially after Ozzy was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2025. Wolfgang was asked to play guitar on “Crazy Train,” with Tool’s singer handling the vocals. When Tool was formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1990, Van Halen had already been in the music business for 17 years. Wolfgang would not be born until 1991. Their first album, "Undertow", was released in 1993. It was followed by "Ænima" (1996), "Lateralus" (2001), "10,000 Days" (2006), and "Fear Inoculum" (2019). Their lineup has remained the same since 1995: Maynard James Keenan (vocals), Adam Jones (guitar), Danny Carey (drums) and Justin Chancellor (bass).The post Eddie Van Halen’s opinion on Tool appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.