Mainly a Rush article, but some VH sprinkled in there also.....
http://www.celebrityaccess.com/membe...le.html?id=686
Industry Profile: Ray Danniels
— By Larry LeBlanc (CelebrityAccess)
This week In the Hot Seat with Larry LeBlanc: Ray Danniels, CEO/president, Standing Room Only Management, and the Anthem Entertainment Group.
As the recipient of the 2015 Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award that recognizes individuals who have made an impact on the Canadian music industry, Danniels will be honored at the 2015 Juno Gala Dinner and Awards on March 14th (2015) in Hamilton, Ontario.
While managing other acts, you have worked with other labels in the United States. Did you learn anything from them that was helpful to you?
Well, you have to keep in mind that the big one was Van Halen. Van Halen was one of the few L.A.-based bands that was actually from there. A lot of people who were at Warner Brothers had grown up with them being the big band. It had been the Doors, who were perceived as an L.A. band through to Van Halen. Everybody felt connected with them. It was one of two of the biggest acts on the label and in comes this guy parachuted from Canada.
Weren’t you asked a decade earlier to manage Van Halen? Also If Alex Van Halen wasn't sure about some deal, he would call you for advice.
I had been asked, yes. I had helped Alex with certain things. Given him bits of advice when asked. I was very respectful of Ed Leffler, who was a very, very good manager.
[Ed Leffler guided the careers of Van Halen, and the Carpenters. He also worked with the Osmonds, the Sweet, Petula Clark, Juice Newton, and Sammy Hagar. He passed away with thyroid cancer in 1993 at the age of 57.]
Why did you finally agree to manage Van Halen?
My kids weren’t young anymore. Al was straight. It just seemed like a much better time.
And it became a difficult time?
It was a difficult situation between everything. They (Van Halen members) are very different guys than the Rush guys. The geography wasn’t easy; the going back-and-forth. It took me a long time to adjust. At Warner Brothers, it took them waiting me out to just believe that I wasn’t just going to go away.
Warner Brothers had a vibey, creative environment, but also an insider’s “We don’t cotton to strangers” attitude.
There was definitely that. The Van Halen relationship with them was somewhat strained. It was not a perfect situation to go into. I wasn’t in their inner circle. I wasn’t from L.A., I was from Canada. If I was from Connecticut, it might have been the same thing. Everything magnified it (the rift). And I followed a pretty combative manager with Ed, who had arguably been the first really professional manager that the band had had. Ed was what he was. Ed was not usually intimated from what I could tell.
And Warners was a label that didn’t care for intimidation by management or artists.
Correct. My connection there was really (chairman/CEO) Russ Thryet and David Altschul (VP business and legal affairs). I liked both of them a lot.
What label was Extreme with?
Extreme was with A&M, and with (CEO) Al Cafaro. Al was great. Loved Al. It’s unfortunate that Al kinda got pushed out of the business for trying to do some of the right things at the time. So Extreme was with A&M, but I got Extreme after “More Than Words.” After they managed to sell more than 5 million records based on one song to 4 million people who didn’t like any of the other songs. I am being generous. It was probably 4 ½ million.
You were at the helm when Van Halen recruited ex-Extreme singer Gary Cherone for its 11th album, “Van Halen III,” and the subsequent tour.
I was credited with that. The great audition to be in Van Halen consisted of two people because Eddie didn’t really want to go to that many people. He anointed Gary, and the rest is history.
Who was the other contender?
It was Mitch Malloy, who was a pretty good looking country kid who had just gone from rock to country, and was trying to find his place. He might have been a good choice as well.
In interviews, Sammy Hagar seemed to sing your praises early on, but in his autobiography with Joel Selvin “Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock,” you take a pounding. You two didn’t get along?
No, and I really can’t go there, Larry. The best thing I can say is that anything that Sammy Hagar said about me when I was no longer involved, it sure didn’t become functional with them. So I wasn’t the problem. I think that there were certain things that were fabrications in his mind.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Va Beach VH Fan
