Eddie Van Halen says the current lineup of the band is here to stay – and the only arguments they have today are connected with making their music as good as it can be.
He believes they’re in it for the long haul now, after having got rid of people he believes should not have been part of the band.
Van Halen released A Different Kind of Truth earlier this year after reuniting with singer David Lee Roth and replacing bassist Michael Anthony with Eddie’s son Wolfgang.
Ultimate Classic Rock reports that the axeman has told Guitar World: “It feels more like a band and a family than it ever has – and not just because three quarters of it is family.
“Working with Dave has been very productive. We’re all very opinionated about things, but it’s all for the benefit of the music.”
The band have been through the wars in their 40-year career. Roth is in his third stint as frontman while Sammy Hagar has taken the mic twice while Gary Cherone was singer for three years in the 1990s.
In 2009 they ousted original member Anthony, and even tried to airbrush him off their album covers, replacing him with then-teenager Wolfgang, who hadn’t been born when some of the records were made.
Looking back at their chequered past, Eddie reflects: “It wasn’t really us – it was people around us. When you’re doing drugs, drinking and partying you start believing the shit people tell you.
“Those days are gone. We’ve gotten rid of people who don’t belong here.”
Van Halen completed the first leg of their current tour this week after postponing 30 dates, admitting: “As usual we bit off more than we could chew.”
But when the full cycle is complete, Eddie believes they’ll get to work on another album. “That’s what I hope to do,” he says. “I’m pretty sure that’s what our intention is.”
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