Van Halenare known for classic songs like Runnin with the Devil, "Panama, and Jump, but also for the drama surrounding the exits of its former members. While many have attempted to discover the secrets of Van Halen through an analysis of their musical role models, John Scanlan looks at deeper aesthetic and philosophical influences in Van Halen, a groundbreaking account of this extraordinary band.

Following the band s pursuit of the art of artlessness, Scanlan describes how they characterize what historian Kevin Starr terms Zen California a state of mind and way of being that...