"I have always and will always feel a responsibility to give you my best," Van Halen said in a statement posted today (3/8) at his band's official website. "At the moment I do not feel that I can give you my best. That's why I have decided to enter a rehabilitation facility to work on myself, so that in the future I can deliver the 110% that I feel I owe you and want to give you.

"Some of the issues surrounding the 2007 Van Halen tour are within my ability to change and some are not," he continued. "As far as my rehab is concerned, it is within my ability to change and change for the better. I want you to know that is exactly what I'm doing, so that I may continue to give you the very best I am capable of."

The guitarist's announcement presumably ends speculation as to whether or not he'll be on hand for his band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during a ceremony in New York City on Monday (3/12).

In related news, the Los Angeles Times reports that Roth will not attend the ceremony because "event official officials have turned down his repeated overtures to perform."

Blues Traveler [ tickets ] singer/harmonica player John Popper was arrested in Washington State Wednesday (3/7) after police stopped his Mercedes, which was clocked traveling at 111 mph, according to the Associated Press. Popper's friend, Brian Gourgeois--whom police said was driving the car--was arrested for reckless driving, and Popper for drug possession after the police, who reportedly smelled marijuana, found a small amount of the drug and a pipe used for smoking it.

A police K9 unit that searched the car also discovered "numerous hidden compartments" that allegedly concealed four rifles, nine handguns, a switchblade, a Taser and night-vision goggles; the vehicle also was equipped with flashing emergency headlights, a siren and a public-address system.

Popper, a known weapons collector, "indicated to troopers that he had installed these items in his vehicle because [in the event of a natural disaster] he didn't want to be left behind," authorities told the AP.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers [ tickets ] are giving fans a chance to create the official video for "Charlie," a song featured on the band's Grammy-winning latest album, "Stadium Arcadium." The winner whose video is selected will receive a $5,000 and a trip to meet the band during the group's July 6 tour stop in Paris. Details are posted at Warner Bros. Records' website.