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This Day in CVH/DLR History
1978
Van Halen plays the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, AZ. Borealis is the opening act.

1979
Van Halen plays the Miami Jai-Alai Fronton in Miami, FL.

1981
Fair Warning certified Gold by the RIAA.

Van Halen plays St. Paul Civic Center in St. Paul, MN.

1984
Van Halen plays the Roberts Stadium in Evansville, IN. The Velcros are the opening act.

1986
David Lee Roth releases Eat 'Em and Smile. This was David Lee Roth's first full-length solo album. Produced by longtime Van Halen producer Ted Templeman and released on 7/04/86, the album spent thirty-six weeks on the charts beginning on 7/26/86. It topped out at U.S. #4 and U.K. #28. This album featured Steve Vai on guitar, Billy Sheehan on bass, and Greg Bissonette on drums. Originally, this was going to be the soundtrack for Roth's movie Crazy from the Heat. Billy Sheehan was the first person Dave contacted to form a band and put together the soundtrack; he and Roth were to be the core of the band, responsible for the songwriting, getting other band members, etc. - an idea that slowly became less and less a reality as time went on. Interestingly, Sheehan didn't know Roth had left Van Halen and phoned Edward Van Halen the day prior to his meeting with Roth to discuss the project with him. It was then that he learned the vocalist had struck out on his own. Sheehan, who was in his band Talas at the time, remembers it as being a really active week in his own life. Besides Sheehan's getting the call from Roth, Talas had just done a personal showcase for Clive Davis of Arista Records, and Danny Goldberg of Goldmount Records (who later went on to manage Nirvana) offered them a major-label record deal. Two days after that, Talas was offered the opening slot on Yngwie Malmsteen's tour by the William Morris Agency. Steve Stevens was the first guitarist considered for the band, but the idea fell through for unknown reasons. Ex-Whitesnake guitarist John Sykes (who had already jammed with Dave a couple of times) was also considered. Sheehan suggested former Frank Zappa and Alcatrazz guitarist Steve Vai, with whom, coincidentally, he had wanted to do a solo project while in Talas. Once Vai was in the band, the Roth/Sheehan core expanded to include Vai, and eventually dwindled down to just Roth calling all the shots. No one is really sure why this occurred, but Sheehan feels that had the nucleus remained as planned with him, Roth, and Vai at the helm, the band could very well have continued successfully, quite possibly to this day. Sheehan and Vai were then instructed by Roth to go forth and find a drummer. Ads were placed in various newspapers and trade magazines and were answered by Dave's secretary. Approximately 200 drummers including Roxy Petrucci, who later went on to join Vixen, auditioned at S.I.R. for the spot all trying out on the same drum kit. Greg Bissonette, a positive, upbeat individual and one of Sheehan's favorite human beings, was chosen. He was a player both Vai and Sheehan knew right away was the best man for the job. Amazingly, at band rehearsals the very next day, Bissonette already knew all of the songs. The cannibal like tribesman cover art was inspired by one of Dave's Jungle Studs trips to Borneo. Sheehan was very pleased with the working environment for this album. He, Vai, and Bissonette would work on the music, and Roth would interject here and there with comments like "That sounds cool; do more of that," or "That's a good chorus; that isn't. Let's keep the good part of that." "Shy Boy," originally a Talas composition that appeared on their 1983 release Sink Your Teeth into That (Important Records 149-03), wasn't changed too drastically from its original form. The rhythm track under the solo was changed from D major to B minor (Dave's idea). Sheehan wrote the song right after Talas' stint opening for Van Halen on the 1980 Invasion tour, and the track was obviously very Van Halen influenced (in the same vein as "I'm the One"). "Ladies Night in Buffalo?" came about when Sheehan, Vai, Bissonette, Roth, Larry Hostler, and several others were hanging out at Roth's Pasadena, CA, house one evening drinking some "skunk beer" left over from the 1983 US Festival. Sheehan had just returned from spending Thanksgiving in his hometown of Buffalo, NY. The group was talking back and forth, and Sheehan remarked that while in Buffalo, he had gone out for Ladies Night. The concept of such an event taking place in Buffalo, NY, was very humorous to the group, and a song was eventually built around the phrase. The lyrics for "Yankee Rose" were written in a New York City hotel room. Roth called Sheehan and asked the bassist to come to his room and work on some lyrics with him. "Firecrackin' on the Fourth of July" was one line contributed by Billy. Two tracks that were considered for inclusion on the album but didn't make the cut were a cover of "Kids in Action," written by Kim Mitchell (from Toronto, Canada's Max Webster), and another cover originally written by the late Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher. Tracks: • Yankee Rose • Shyboy • I'm Easy • Ladies' Night in Buffalo? • Goin' Crazy! • Tobacco Road • Elephant Gun • Big Trouble • Bump and Grind • That's Life. The video for "Yankee Rose" was directed by The Fabulous Picasso Brothers. The convenience store sequence at the beginning of the video took approximately 20 hours to shoot and was filmed at a small "Mom and Pop" establishment in West Hollywood, CA. David Lee Roth's "I'll take a glazed doughnut and a bottle of anything" line was originally scripted as, ""I'll take a glazed doughnut and a bottle of Jack,"" but was changed because of concern about how it would be handled by MTV and that it might get censored (thanks in part to Tipper Gore and the PMRC's music lyric censorship campaign). In addition, the grocer's "Son of a biscuit" line (said just after swallowing a breath mint) was overdubbed. If you watch closely, you'll see that he mouths something slightly different. The grocer is played by the brother of Harry Perzigian, a former writer for The Jeffersons television sitcom who was convicted of supplying cocaine to actor Carol O'Connor's late son, Hugh, in the late 1990s. The stage sequences were filmed in San Bernardino, CA, to a packed house of screaming fans. This was Billy Sheehan's first on-camera performance, and he and the band naturally gave it their all from the very first take (not realizing there were going to be many more takes afterward). He was so sore the day following filming that he couldn't even walk downstairs. He had to sit and scoot his way down any stairways he encountered. Sheehan used a custom-built Yamaha BB3OOOS bass for this video as well as all the other videos from Eat 'Em and Smile. It was outfitted with a Gibson EBO-style pickup in the neck position and a DiMarzio Model P-style pickup in the middle. Each pickup was wired separately, requiring two separate jacks on the body. The bass was also used as his backup while on the album's supporting tour. The video for ""Goin' Crazy!,"" directed by The Fabulous Picasso Brothers, was the first video from the album. The sequence at the end of the video, in which the band is overtaken by all sorts of people, was planned but was kept secret from Diamond Dave and the band. The surprised looks on their faces were real, and amazingly they were able to keep their composure enough to pull it off on the first take. The custom-made flame guitar used by Vai in this video was sculpted from a Stratocaster body by Performance Guitars. It was fitted with a maple fingerboard and one humbucking pickup. Also seen in this video was Vai's custom-made "Steve Eye" guitar, which was stolen just prior to the start of the Eat 'Em and Smile tour. The video for "That's Life" was also directed by The Fabulous Picasso Brothers. This video includes clips from past videos and performances, including some with Van Halen.

2015
Van Halen plays the Northwest Ampitheater in Ridgefield, WA. Kenny Wayne Shepherd is the opening act.

07-07-2023

This Day in CVH/DLR History