Hi

[Lyndsey]

Hello, I'm a student at Cal State Fullerton in CA. I am working towards a Bachelors degree in Arts and Music and I'm seeking some information on Van Halen for a paper I'm writing for Music History. While searching the name "Van Halen" this site came up. I searched around and came up with a idea. Would any of you be willng to answer some questions about Van Halen for me. Questions like "What made them so popular?", "What makes you still love them?" Things like that. I haven't really put the list together since I just got this idea. I could post the questions here or email them to you if you'd like to help.

[Northern Girl]

Post your questions here. I'm sure you'll get some answers.

[binnie]

Yep, post them here, people will answer....



I wish I had been able to write papers on topics like that in college!

[fryingdutchman]

Unfortunately it looks like your questions are rather subjective, so you'll probably get more "opinions" than you will "information."

But what the fuck...give it a shot.

[Loons The Great]

You Gotta Move

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Originally posted by Lyndsey
Would any of you be willng to answer some questions about Van Halen for me. Questions like "What made them so popular?", "What makes you still love them?" Things like that.

Yes indeed, Lyndsey, post your questions here, you'll sure get what you're looking for.
In no time. Nodoubt.
You knocked the right door.

[Nickdfresh]

Here's a link to some articles you may find helpful:

http://rotharmy.com/armyarticles.shtml

[binnie]

When you've written your paper, post that here too!

[Vinnie Velvet]

Wow cool.

By all means, ask away.

We here at the Army are some of the most knowleageable VH/DLR fans on the planet!

No need for Wikipedia!

[Lyndsey]

Oh great! Thanks.

I'm leaving for the weekend to go jet skiing with my friends. I'll work on the list of questions there and put it up when I get back.

Here's one to get it started maybe.

What is it about this band that allows them to hold on to their fan base long after the band has put out a new record.

This was my brothers answer.

"It's like having the best sex of your life but it happens to be with your ex-girlfriend. Sure you'll have sex again but it will never be as good and it will always be compared to the best, making it less exciting and satisfying. You can't help but go back to it."

[frets5150]

Post some pics of your trip when you get back.

[bueno bob]

"What is it about this band that allows them to hold on to their fan base long after the band has put out a new record?"

During the Roth years, I'd say it was the continuity combined with the progression. The band not only grew from album to album, but also delivered the goods that Van Halen I (the debut album, 1978) set the groundwork for.

It was a growth of ideas and experimentation musically, yes, but it also stayed true to the thematic elements of the music that Van Halen I laid down - in this way, the fans always saw the recognizable features of Van Halen (Michael Anthony's bass lines and backing vocals, Alex Van Halen's distinctive percussion, Edward Van Halen's guitar virtuosity and David Lee Roth's lyrical wit and allegory)...but they also saw a growth from those parameters into new fields, taking the sound and the attitude with it.

Van Halen was...in it's sound and imagery...the ongoing summer party on the beach that started in the afternoon and went on until next week...or whenever...and what's not to love about that?

It's important to state that all four of them had a major hand in it, but the faces of the band were David and Edward...in their own right, they were the "star power" and the magazine covers to sell to the kids...action, drama, suspense...what kind of unimaginable guitar trickery would Eddie pull off next? What on Earth could David say to top that?

They kept the audience rapt and did it with talent, chemistry and showmanship.

That declined for me, personally, in later years - essentially, the Van Hagar era..."5150" seemed a lazy affair, opting to become more radio-friendly (i.e. "safer") instead of pursuing the same oneupmanship of themselves as they had done 1978-1985. Subsequent releases with Sammy Hagar, in my opinion, showed more laziness than progression...

[ULTRAMAN VH]

Well said Lord Vader!!!!!!!!

[bueno bob]

Originally posted by ULTRAMAN VH
Well said Lord Vader!!!!!!!!

I know!



And people think all I talk about is Sheep Pen!

Ha, I say! Ha!

[binnie]

Originally posted by Lyndsey


What is it about this band that allows them to hold on to their fan base long after the band has put out a new record?

Good question.

A lot of people would probably say i's about how great the songs were, or about how influencial and unique Eddie's playing was. Whilst both those facotrs probably have something to do with it, I think there is another more crucial aspect: feeling.

Great music is timeless. The reason for that is the communication of a feeling, an emotion, that a wide vairety of people can identify with. With the Roth-era VH you had this unbelievable energy that just does not age, everytime you play one of those records you feeli it and it makes me grin from ear to ear.

The Roth records also had a spontanaeity to them, a crackle and pop - most of the music was recorded live in the studio with the band playing together, and that means there is a really human element to it, you can feel four guys playing music, the oneness of a band.

On top of that you have songs about sex, frugs and rock n roll: the fun factor was always on 11 with those guys, every night is Saturday night.

In short, the longevity of the fanbase is due to the timeless energy of the music.

[sethfle]

What is it about this band that allows them to hold on to their fan base long after the band has put out a new record?

I mostly just lurk here, but I really wanted to answer this question, hopefully without sounding like a pompus music critic.

VH had no equals in the glory years; they knew it, their "peers" knew it, and the public knew it. That kind of cocky confidence showed up on the albums. There was a fericousness to their music that made you take notice. Those first six albums hit you right in the face. Also, the quality of all aspects of the entire package, the songs, musicianship, recordings, album artwork, live concerts, and later the videos were always top notch. I think that's why it still stands up today.

I always loved the fact that they sounded like nobody else. You always KNEW it was Van Halen (well, at least until 1984, anyway). Even when they were doing covers, you could tell it was them.

[sethfle]

Originally posted by Lyndsey
What is it about this band that allows them to hold on to their fan base long after the band has put out a new record.

I mostly just lurk here, but I really wanted to answer this question, hopefully without sounding like a pompus music critic.

VH had no equals in the glory years; they knew it, their "peers" knew it, and the public knew it. That kind of cocky confidence showed up on the albums. There was a fericousness to their music that made you take notice. Those first six albums hit you right in the face. Also, the quality of all aspects of the entire package, the songs, musicianship, recordings, album artwork, live concerts, and later the videos were always top notch. I think that's why it still stands up today.

I always loved the fact that they sounded like nobody else. You always KNEW it was Van Halen (well, at least until 1984, anyway). Even when they were doing covers, you could tell it was them.

[sethfle]

Sorry for the dupe posting......

[Hardrock69]

There is a lot of discussion here about "progression" and "their sound" and their "personalities" and "star power", but one major thing is missing:

It was their LIVE PERFORMANCE that blew everyone's mind.

Sure Edward had a new sound and style, and Dave was a raconteur supreme, but to see a Van Halen show in the late 70s-early 80s was like watching an atomic bomb go off on a stage.

in 1979, when VHII was out....they played in Wichita, Kansas at the Century II convention hall (capacity 6,000).

It sold out so fast it was ridiculous.

Not only that, on show day, there was a huge crowd outside the venue who had no tickets.

Inside (the building was circular) there were several guys who were walking around the outside hall, and periodically they would suddenly leap towards a door and shove it open.

Before you could blink an eye there were 5-10 people who ran through the door, and in one case I saw some middle-aged lady (who was theoretically supposed to sit there in her folding chair and guard the door) having a tug of war with whoever was outside.

It was sheer madness! Total chaos! And this was even BEFORE the show had begun!

I had intended on taping the show. I made it inside with my cassette reocrder and mic and tapes, but discovered to my horror I had left my batteries in the car. And the security people were not allowing ANYONE to leave the building once we were in.

*sigh*

It woulda been nice.

It is just that their live performances had a radioactive intensity that I have not seen before or since.

They were on the very verge of being out of control, but stopped just short of falling off of that 4-mile-high cliff.

If you were in the venue, they had you by the balls.

PERIOD.

I have never in my life seen a band who could affect an entire arena full of people they way they did. I mean, 15,000 people who after the very first song were screaming themselves hoarse, stomping on the floor, beating on the chairs, doing ANYTHING whatsoever to make as much noise as humanly possible.


It was never just a concert, it was an EVENT of MYTHIC proportions.

The few bootleg DVD's we have available to us of some of their shows cannot convey the electricity that was in the air.

They absolutely RULED whichever town they were in that night.

Basically they were a band who brought the audience to the brink of a riot, but a riot of "fun" not frustration or anger (like Axle Grease and his Runs 'n' Goses band incarnations).

If they had released the same albums, and done the same interviews, but were another shoe-gazing band, it would not have been the same.

It was the fireball insensity of their live performances, capable of burning a hole in the sun, that were their calling card.

As noted in posts above, Spammy Gaygar brought a deluted and deluded sensibility to the band.

They became a lame cover band, capable of only writing or performing songs of the "ooh-baby-gimme-all-yer-luv" variety.

"Only time will tell if we stand the test of time".

Christ....van hagar is, always was, and always will be LAME!.

My 2 cents worth.

[POJO_Risin]

Originally posted by Lyndsey

What is it about this band that allows them to hold on to their fan base long after the band has put out a new record.

You can get as technical as you want about it, but it's simple really. Classic Van Halen transends the music of their day, and the music of today...period.

When they recorded albums, their whole belief was to put out an album as an excuse to tour. There wasn't months and months of overdubbing tracks, they just laid it out like they were performing live.

They didn't have any innuendos in their music, other than "We're rock and roll stars, and we want to get laid."

You had a guitar virtuoso, who at the time, played like noone else had ever played before.

and you had a lead singer that not only could lay out a sound unlike anyone else, but who understood more than anyone else that it was a performance as well as for the music.

It was a sound unlike anyone elses, and it wasn't comprimised by anyone else performing. All the members of the band had their heroes, but they were eclectic heroes from the past, and a combination of talents that formed the foundation for the music that they started putting out in the mid-70's.

By the time they put their first album out, their sound was unlike anything that was heard before, and since. They didn't give a shit about who else was out their shaping the sound. They shaped it themselves.

And they did it so well, that nobody else could really forumulate a duplicate of it.

Yes, Van Halen of the Roth era was the foundation of the hair metal rock that came out of the 80's, but those bands couldn't max out their own sound, because they were to busy trying to rip the riffs of Classic Van Halen, that were impossible to do.

Ed played by feel. Sure, he was a musician growing up, but he never sat down with music and put something together. He played by feel.

Roth understood that, and filled the vocals with that blues-rock vocal that again, sounded like nothing before it.

Ed played of Dave, and Dave played off Ed.

So why does it transcend today? Because it was so good. It made older folk remember their younger days of trying to get some ass, and it gave the young souls like myself a motto of how to live...and do it heavy.

Yeah, they improved, don't get me wrong...but the Van Halen of 1978 was every bit as good as the Van Halen of 1985. They played for the moment...they played live...and they were rock stars, and did everything that came along with it.

In short, they were legends in their day, and to a great extent, that version of the band remains legends today.

Maybe because the original version ended in 1985, but more likely because the music was so far and away better than anything else out there then and now.

It's unquestioned that during their 10 years of Classic VH, they were THE greatest American Rock Band not only of their day, but of all time.

And when you are that good, just by playing YOUR sound...you transcend everything else that's out there.

and those bands, the transendental bands, are the ones that last a lifetime.

[POJO_Risin]

As far as Van Halen after Roth...

Ed took control of the band from Roth to an extent, and they brought Hagar in.

Hagar was a self-effacing crowd pleaser. His music was built of what others did, and he tried to make others happy by putting out pop-rock that could make the top 40 lists.

Ed saw that as progression.

Most people saw it as copping out.

What it did do was grow the fan base. No, the Classic fans didn't really stick around...but a new, pop-Halen fan base came out of the woodwork. Now this fan base wasn't one for the ages. It came and went with each album...as pop bands do.

5150 came out...and fans heard songs like Why Can't this Be Love (Roth fans scratched their heads wondering what the fuck, but POP fans...teens...a young directionless base) and Dreams and liked the band. Of course...when the song left the charts, so did the fan base.

So...you went to a fan base in the Classic era that was steadfast, to a roving fan base with Hagar.

It left the Rock Solid fan base from the classic era entrenched in the old sound...that transcended rock...and each album more firmly entrenched us into the good old days of the rock that would be good in any era...and pushed us away from the "cop-out pop sound" that they moved too.

The greatest albums ended for Van Halen in 1984....and those albums still outsell the albums that came after it.

The music that's played on Rock Channels, classic, and current...are the Van Halen from the former era.

Why?

It transcends.

Van Hagar doesn't...didn't...and will be forgotten...

but...it did keep fans coming...

and going...

While we are still here...talking about Rock and Roll Music that makes you want to jump in your car...put the top down...hit about 110...radio blasting...only to stop for some chick wearing a bikini top and cut-off Jean Shorts...

The rest...well...is transcendental now...isn't it...

[Coyote]

As far as the differences between Van Halen-eras go, they're (in some way) similar to the differences between a '59 Caddy and a mega-riced Toyota (á la "Fast & The Furious" ).

One of 'em is trendy, requiring constant updating to remain "fresh and appealing to the people", and one of them is perfect just the way it is, IMO...

(If this was out of context/didn't make sense... read Pojo's & Bueno's posts instead.)

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Originally posted by Lyndsey

What is it about this band that allows them to hold on to their fan base long after the band has put out a new record.

My answer would be simpler. There is no-one like CVH. They had EVERYTHING. And, I mean EVERYTHING. Great musicianship, great songwriting, great lyrics, great solos, great live performances...you can dance to it, sing to it, bang your head to it, drive with it, relax with it...It fits any fookin' mood you want it to fit. Except one-sadness. CVH is GRATE, uplifting music. Shove it on whenever you feel down, and you'll feel GRATE by the time your halfway through the first track.

[Lyndsey]

Wow, these are some great answers. Would it be ok if I quote you? I'm actually going to add to my paper a section on the dedicated fans.

Here is another question before I run off to work.

What was the secret to the magical chemistry in the band during the ROTH years and why has neither David Lee Roth nor The Van Halens been able to resurrect it with other musicians?

and

Is the same chemisrty that made them so special the same chemistry that keeps them apart?

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Sometimes there is a spark between musicians. There is no explanation for it-they just have the magic. They don't even have to like each other.

However, if I was forced to come up with a reason, I would probably say

Eddie's skill + Dave's charisma= Magic

[fwacf]

Well here is my two cents. Growing up as a kid(I'm 41) music was on fire. I mean in the 70's was Zepplin,The Who,The Stones and Black Sabbath oh and kiss and Alice copper too.
When I was in 6th grade I heard VH 1 and man that album kick me in the ass. It was something that I never really heard before and if I did I was too stoned to reconize it. From the first bass line off Running With The Devil to On Fire. The album just kicked ass. I found VH II was just if not better. Of course my favorite was Fair Warning! I was spending the summer with my aunt who was really a flower child and she took me to Lake Land Florida to see Van Halen it was 1981. Even got the stub,a little warn but I got it.
When I saw that band live man,I wanted to be Roth! Some of my family said that summer changed me for life...and it did. I got a guitar and started listening to everything that Eddie played. Then I got the vocals down...God what time I had. By the time 1984 rolled around i was in my glory. Lookin at college,awsome car and VH was ruleing the music scene.
Bands like Ratt,Cinderella,judas Priest and Iron Maiden where all following in Van Halen's path.
Then it happened,Sammy entered and the music was over. I even went to see the 5150 tour and walked out as soon as they did the zz-top walk. My lord it was hell.
While in Rhode Island I was working in Providecne and scored 2 seats to Dave's Eat em and Smile...It wasnt VH but with Vai and Sheenan tradeing of licks and the solo combo they did,I almost felt better.
In the end I would say VH defined an era of most of us here. The CVH will always be the one true band that we all will want to relive.
Try not to flame my ass to much,I'm not a writer but I can remember some of the highlights....Oh and Dave makeing passes at Martha Quinn during NYE show was awsome..