Got Tweeted this morning....
@Roth_Army Working on a book on #VH's early days. 200+ intvs; many lumniaries. Blog here: http://t.co/wbuEAqLuHC— Greg Renoff (@GregRenoff) July 10, 2013
Got Tweeted this morning....
@Roth_Army Working on a book on #VH's early days. 200+ intvs; many lumniaries. Blog here: http://t.co/wbuEAqLuHC— Greg Renoff (@GregRenoff) July 10, 2013
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ashstralia (07-11-2013),IceCreamBlondie (05-15-2014),Matt White (07-10-2013),TFM_Dale (03-28-2015),Zen Halen (11-04-2014),Zing! (07-10-2013)
F-ing-A!
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David and (unfortunatley) Sammy already wrote autobiographies, something tells me that it's time for the Van Halen brothers to write their side of the Van Halen story.
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Groovy.
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That guy has some great pics on his page.
I love other people's tales of being there. The outsider looking in point of view puts you in the fray better than hearing it from the horses mouth sometimes. Dave's tales in his book are amazing, but there's always his slant. This looks to be a promising read indeed!
ffoner (07-10-2013)
Hey guys,
I'm the guy working on the book. Huge fan; saw em first in 84. Been around VH boards for years.
I'm a professional historian and a previously published author (pop my name into Amazon and you can see my first book) so this isn't some half-cocked project. I've been slogging away on it for five years. I'm still some ways away from publication but I'm getting closer.
My goal is to document how VH broke out of Pasadena and made it to the worldwide stage in 78. I've interviewed scores of musicians (many of whom made it big in the 80s) who gigged alongside Van Halen around LA before they broke. Tons of folks who saw them in the backyards, knew em in HS, and even the hosts of the backyard parties Roth talks about in Crazy from the Heat. Many unseen pix and other items; I've been to archives from Pasadena to NYC.
And for the record, Mike is as nice as everyone says he is. Had the pleasure of spending an hour on the phone with him.
I wanted to do the book because I feared that if I didn't write it all these great stories would be lost forever and I was tired of reading the same old accounts of ("they switched instruments..Roth joins..backyard parties.....rainy night at the Starwood....), which were largely based on supposition rather than actual research.
Be patient. Van Halen Rising is coming.
Thanks ----
Last edited by ffoner; 07-10-2013 at 12:39 PM.
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can't wait. whatever ya do, don't mention this site in the book or credits
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ffoner (07-10-2013)
Outstanding...
Just let us know how the Army can help...plenty of folks around that know plenty...
the pics are awesome...good stuff...looking forward to it...
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ffoner (07-10-2013)
Good luck with it
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ffoner (07-10-2013)
DavidLeeNatra (07-10-2013),PETE'S BROTHER (07-10-2013)
In all serious...if you wheedle through all the "history" here, there is plenty of knowledge top to bottom...
Just let us all know how we can help...
The best part of the reunion for me was having the guys sit down and tell stories from the start of the band...
ffoner (07-10-2013),PETE'S BROTHER (07-10-2013)
Thanks. It's going to be based on multiple perspectives of many people obviously. Official bios are great, but let's face it, how much do people remember on their own about events that happened nearly 40 years (!!) ago? (See Ozzy and Iommi's books for examples) Autobiographies can only tell part of the story. It's been like putting together a patchwork quilt to put the pieces together, but taken in total it's going to be the most complete story of how they made it.
Last edited by ffoner; 07-10-2013 at 12:47 PM.
DLR Bridge (07-10-2013)
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ffoner (07-10-2013),Matt White (07-10-2013)
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ffoner (07-10-2013)
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Jeezes H Von! Where's your god damn photo coffee table book already?!
Zing! (07-10-2013)
VON, that is KILLER! Would you mind if I blogged that one? I'll link to your twitter feed if that works.
ffoner (07-10-2013)
Funny you bring KR's book up. I think one advantage he and his ghostwriter had is that there's TONS of books written by people who were around the stones, so the ghostwriter could probably put together a timeline and then begin asking KR about all these different stories.
Great book though. One of the best. A must read.
DavidLeeNatra (07-10-2013)
Von where and when was that pic taken? THANKS, BTW.
ffoner (07-10-2013)
Sounds great I got a few bucks laying around for just such a purchase.
I went to a book store when CFTH book was about a month away from release and the manager didn't know about it, so I got him to oder 15 books hard bound for his store he sold out.
If your book is as good as it sounds I'll do the same.
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Very cool stuff. Brings back seeing them in Milwaukee in 79' wow that show rocked. Cool pics. Can't wait for this book.
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Going to get my stubs...
and Vonn...you haven't told everyone about your coffee table book? Are you just showing it to the webbies?
ffoner (07-10-2013)
Still have all ticket stubs,just not tech savvy to post.
ffoner (07-10-2013)
DLR Bridge (07-10-2013)
We had a thread asking for ticket stubs for what, three months?
Geez....
ashstralia (07-11-2013),PETE'S BROTHER (07-10-2013),Von Halen (07-10-2013)
Von and I were at several of the same VH shows though we did not know each other. I did not make it to the Salina show the next year, though I saw every other show in Wichita except when they came through on the 1984 tour (I was on the road the entire year with a couple of bands).
Thanks, Von, for posting that ticket stub to the Century II show. I lived in a party house in the winter of 1981-82, and someone stole my ticket stubs from 1976 to that point.
Century II is the round building with the turquoise roof:
Anyway, at Century II.....the lines were long. It had sold out really fast, and there were many people hanging outside who had no ticket.
I brought my tape recorder with me. Got inside, only to realize I had left my new batteries out in the car. And if I went out, I would not get let back in, even with my ticket stub.
So I had to suffer, lol.
On the outskirts of Century II's mezzanine, there were all these old ladies sitting in chairs, guarding the doors to keep people from sneaking in.
The fans were so crazed, that some of them were jogging around the mezzanine, so they could suddenly run over and shove a door open.
A dozen people would cram through the door, fighting the little old ladies before they could shut the door. I saw this happen numerous times. People wanted in so bad they would just about do anything.
I bet at least a hundred people blasted through the doors like that without tickets.
Opening band was from Illinois....The Scream. They were VERY lame.
Needless to say, VH came out and totally destroyed the city. This was back when Ed was doing his solo and would take flying leaps at his amp stacks.
As Von can tell ya, it was a fantastic show. Hey Von, if you could post all the other pics from any other Wichita VH show you have, I would very much appreciate it. If nothing else, to save time, just dump them in a zip file or something.
I have no photos from the shows I saw in Wichita, except the one you just posted.
Cheers.
Last edited by Hardrock69; 07-10-2013 at 02:36 PM.
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