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I just stuck with the shit that dealt with David...
BraveWords.com: Years ago Talas opened up for Van Halen. You wrote the song ‘Shy Boy’ with Talas and it ended up being recorded by David Lee Roth and you joined his band. Have you followed Van Halen’s current tour and new album and do you still speak to David?
Sheehan: “I haven’t spoken to him in a while, but we’re certainly on friendly excellent terms. I’m glad for him that he’s in Van Halen. I wish it were the original line-up. I miss not seeing Michael Anthony, but good for Eddie; he’s got his son in there and that’s cool. I’m a fan and it really would have been great to... Everybody is in good health and it would have been great. There’s no excuse... Mr. Big ended on a negative. We pulled it all together and are having a great time. I just wish other people could do the same, but unfortunately it didn’t work out that way. I wish them well just the same, but I haven’t followed. I saw a snippet of ‘Tattoo’. They looked good and seemed happy. So, I’m glad for them. I love all those guys. Their music and that band is a great part of my life in a lot of ways, so I hope they do great.”
BraveWords.com: Eat ‘Em And Smile was one of the best albums of 1986. The song ‘Yankee Rose’ sounds as fresh today (in 2012) as it did in 1986...
Sheehan: “That’s very kind of you to say. If it does sound ‘fresh, it’s because it really was ‘fresh’. When we went in and made that record it was real. We wrote together it a room. We hung out together. We recorded it together live in a room. It was all the real thing. That’s how real records were made back in the day. That’s why I think it lives to this day. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t get an email or comment about Eat ‘Em And Smile. Whether it’s Indonesia, Peru or wherever I travel, people have that record...”
BraveWords.com: Would you like to be given the chance to play those songs live again with that band?
Sheehan: “ABSOLUTELY! I’d love to.”
BraveWords.com: Were you involved in the Spanish version of that album (Sonrisa Salvaje)?
Sheehan: “Yeah - that was me and Dave. We sang the whole thing. It was my idea, but later on it turned into his manager’s idea because they thought it was a good idea.”
BraveWords.com: Well, he gets paid to come up with the ideas...
Sheehan: “No kidding, but I remember coming home on a flight from New York City after we were done doing the recording for Eat ‘Em And Smile. There was this article about what huge percentage eighteen year olds (the perfect age for rock fans) made up in Latin/South America. I knew David spoke a little Spanish and I thought ‘we should do the album in Spanish’. It would be great. So, we did. At the time, MISSING PERSONS were in the studio at night and we went in during the day. I was using Dale Bozzio’s mic and there was always her lipstick and perfume smell on the windscreen. Terry’s crazy electronic drums were set up. David coached me phonetically... When we played ‘Shy Boy’ this year in South America, we threw in a few ‘Tímido, Tímidos’.”
BraveWords.com: I listen to that album every so often and musically it’s fantastic, but as an Anglophone it’s a kicker to hear ‘Loco Del Calor’ instead of ‘Goin’ Crazy’
Sheehan: (Laughs) “I love it. I don’t know how well the album did because it’s hard to track things like that, but I must have signed hundreds of them in South America.”
BraveWords.com: In case you weren’t aware, Sonrisa Salvaje is scheduled to be remastered and re-released in Europe this year.
Sheehan: “I did not know that.”
BraveWords.com: I’d really like a remastered version of the English Eat ‘Em And Smile...
Sheehan: “You know, there’s a couple of bonus tracks they could put on Eat ‘Em And Smile and the original tour was shot professionally. There’s video and I’ve got it!”
BraveWords.com: One more question about Sonrisa Salvaje. Did you simply sing over the existing tapes or did you also re-record the music?
Sheehan: “We just re-did the vocals.”
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