New Van Halen debate

[philouze]

you know what...I don't give a shit anymore...

Dirk, speaking the truth from Germany.. \m/

[atomicpnk47]

[rwc]

we won't get any new music...and this will be the last tour...then the horse is dead...

I agree. This is likely the last we will see from the Mighty Van Halen.
But... let's be honest... Think back to 2005. If ten years ago someone told you:
Van Halen will tour with Dave in 2007-2008
Van Halen will release a new studio album in 2012 (and it will be a worthy addition to the canon)
Van Halen will tour with Dave in 2012
Van Halen will play two US shows in 2013 and a few in Japan
Van Halen will release a live album with Dave in 2015
Van Halen will do a final tour with Dave in 2015.

Let's face it... back in 2005 we'd all have been pretty damn happy with that.

Even if all the cash is grabbed, I say "Happy Trails to the Mighty Van Halen."

[ZahZoo]

Hmmm we haven't seen a "New" Van Halen debate in the 21st century... Same shit different day...

[BumBahDeeDah]

They probably have a whole new album done that they ain't releasing because it won't sell, whether it's great or not.

[Seshmeister]

I don't think so.

[twonabomber]

Dave, from 2002: “Eddie Van Halen is guilty of only one crime in life: Wasted time.”

[Terry]

Trunk did make a decent, if obvious, point at the top of the interview where he said he thought EVH has basically come to the realization that Van Halen's only real viable commercial future in terms of live work is one where Roth fronts the band. Unlike Trunk, I don't think EVH making those absurd comments about Michael Anthony had anything to do with EVH saying them because he wants to placate Roth or Wolfgang. I think EVH made those comments about Michael Anthony because that's exactly the way he feels about his former bass player.

I have no idea what the current VH tour is panning out to be in terms of tickets already sold in comparison to the last two tours. It wouldn't be a surprise to find that a smaller amount of people are interested in seeing the band this time around. They've already done what were essentially two greatest hits tours with Dave. You'd have to imagine by now that most of the diehard bands have already caught one or both of those tours. The band are playing a different venue in my area this time around than they did 3 years ago, but both venues have a 20k seating capacity.

I think Mike Anthony would rejoin the band for a CVH farewell tour if asked despite the pretty shabby treatment he has received from the Van Halens since the early 1990s. If Anthony did so and said he was doing it in large part "for the fans", I'd actually tend to believe him. I doubt it would ever happen, though. Then again, I thought EVH would never come around to the realization that the majority of people wanted to see Roth front the band again, so maybe it's not hopeless that Eddie would come to another realization that a perhaps not insignificant amount of people would like to see the CVH lineup reunited onstage as well. It'd be pretty cool if Wolfgang would actually talk to his old man and facilitate that to happen, because I tend to think Wolfgang was the primary motivating force in convincing his dad to get Roth back in the group.

However, as the years go by, even my interest in seeing CVH reunited live has dwindled to something just this side of "meh, whatever, who cares anymore?" As a somewhat rational person, I'd have to imagine that if the last two tours haven't convinced me that Van Halen is basically a spent and only marginally entertaining band (which, sadly, IS the case) these days, then nothing short of EVH going onstage and playing a kazoo solo in between massive guzzles of Smoking Loon would make the point clear that the band aren't really capable of doing anything better than they have been for the last 8 years, and Van Halen is obviously past the point of rescue re: diminishing returns.

It's just age...getting older.

[Seshmeister]

It's not just age.

Compare them to AC/DC who are the same age in fact Brian Johnson is 7 years older.

Like Roth Johnson doesn't hang with the rest of the band in between tours and recording but they look like a team. Eddie coming out with that he doesn't love me shit about Roth is fucking idiotic. It breaks the suspension of disbelief wide open, a rock gig like that is a party and if you know the people don't like each other its not good. What the fuck good result could come from that? Same x10 for the Anthony comments, what possible good could come from that? He's only doing the interview to try and sell tickets so why give lots of comments which do the exact opposite?

Also worth pointing out that Angus Young and co seem to put a lot more into their shows physically, put more into the productions, give more interviews, fan feedback, promotion and on and on in other words it's not about age it's just more failin' of Van Halen, a band who still even in their 60s constantly make schoolboy errors and these days give it about 60% effort.

[FORD]

Ironically, Ac/Dc has suffered more casualties than Van Halen, and still kept going. Even despite having a scab guitarist and a scab drummer on the current tour.

I don't know how Angus is still functional, considering he probably abused his body more on stage than Ed ever did (not talking about booze and drugs here, just the physical shit) and as far as I know, Angus hasn't had any bionic hips or knees or tongues, or whatever.

[Jetstream]

It's not just age.

Compare them to AC/DC who are the same age in fact Brian Johnson is 7 years older.

Like Roth Johnson doesn't hang with the rest of the band in between tours and recording but they look like a team. Eddie coming out with that he doesn't love me shit about Roth is fucking idiotic. It breaks the suspension of disbelief wide open, a rock gig like that is a party and if you know the people don't like each other its not good. What the fuck good result could come from that? Same x10 for the Antony comments, what possible good could come from that? He's only doing the interview to try and sell tickets so why give lots of comments which do the exact opposite?

Also worth pointing out that Angus Young and co seem to put a lot more into their shows physically, put more into the productions, give more interviews, fan feedback, promotion and on and on in other words it's not about age it's just more failin' of Van Halen, a band who still even in their 60s constantly make schoolboy errors and these days give it about 60% effort.

I would not say that on stage AC/DC gives more effort, and Johnson is one of the most stationary non mobile lead singers in rock history (sort of like a old guy yelling at cars going too fast down the street in a limited area haha). But you make some valid points about the members not slamming one another directly or rather indirectly as Van Halen usually does. The two main points which save AC/DC which has nothing to do with effort or the quality hits, but rather the facts that Johnson replaced a guy who died and though less blues oriented, it is the same style of rock now for a large span of time with no opposing fans in the Hagar sense to be a locker room cancer from afar and the main reason is that they keep releasing new material... and one effort Van Halen lacks, touring internationally nurturing more fans across the globe

[Seshmeister]

I would not say that on stage AC/DC gives more effort, and Johnson is one of the most stationary non mobile lead singers in rock history (sort of like a old guy yelling at cars going too fast down the street in a limited area haha).

I was thinking more Angus v. Eddie

[Seshmeister]

Ironically, Ac/Dc has suffered more casualties than Van Halen, and still kept going. Even despite having a scab guitarist and a scab drummer on the current tour.

I don't know how Angus is still functional, considering he probably abused his body more on stage than Ed ever did (not talking about booze and drugs here, just the physical shit) and as far as I know, Angus hasn't had any bionic hips or knees or tongues, or whatever.

Low centre of gravity, AC/DC are tiny people?

[ZahZoo]

It's not just age.

Compare them to AC/DC who are the same age in fact Brian Johnson is 7 years older.

Like Roth Johnson doesn't hang with the rest of the band in between tours and recording but they look like a team. Eddie coming out with that he doesn't love me shit about Roth is fucking idiotic. It breaks the suspension of disbelief wide open, a rock gig like that is a party and if you know the people don't like each other its not good. What the fuck good result could come from that? Same x10 for the Anthony comments, what possible good could come from that? He's only doing the interview to try and sell tickets so why give lots of comments which do the exact opposite?

Also worth pointing out that Angus Young and co seem to put a lot more into their shows physically, put more into the productions, give more interviews, fan feedback, promotion and on and on in other words it's not about age it's just more failin' of Van Halen, a band who still even in their 60s constantly make schoolboy errors and these days give it about 60% effort.

The school boy errors are most likely due to the lack of any effective management driving the band to take care of the necessary business aspects... productions, interviews, promotion, etc.

At the core though, I think a key element of the dysfunction is with Edward...

As great of a musician that he is... he's never been one to embrace and love performing like most musicians do. There's a deep seeded insecurity that he's had since even the club days. Turning his back to the audience when soloing... creating the stripped paint job so no one would steal his guitar modifications... another big one... Allowing other band members to work outside "his" band... even though it's OK for him to venture out.

While Edward does seem to recognize his musical contributions more so as he's finding his way out of his substance abuse fog... He's still dragging enough bullshit baggage with him to fertilize the Grand Canyon. But he still has a significant issue in sharing his trade openly and happily with the world.

Dave's not much different in a sense... while he used to be much more publicly accessible, that's fallen off significantly. He also can only collaborate musically in top secret private sessions and requires all around him to live for eternity under a cone of silence. He loves entertaining more like most musicians, but sharing a stage outside his "band" literally scares the shit out of him... His comfort zone has wider and deeper motes around him than any other public performer in the business.

It's all such a shame... these guys can put more smiles, get more feet tapping and hips swaying than most bands on the planet. But their mind games almost make the venture too damn hard to get off the ground...

[chefcraig]

The school boy errors are most likely due to the lack of any effective management driving the band to take care of the necessary business aspects... productions, interviews, promotion, etc.

At the core though, I think a key element of the dysfunction is with Edward...
It's all such a shame... these guys can put more smiles, get more feet tapping and hips swaying than most bands on the planet. But their mind games almost make the venture too damn hard to get off the ground...

The thing is, this shell game has been going on for decades, when you think about it. In the late seventies on up to the 1984 barrage of media hype, we had little "Eddie Van Halen, the overwhelmed wunderkind".

All of that more or less evaporated when Dave Roth left. A defensive, bloated character showed up, to the point that he was so over weight he had to be filmed from odd angles to hide it in the vids for the ghastly Balance album.

Then Hagar is out, and Ed shits all over him. Throw in so-called "reunion era- Roth,"Best Of Album Vol 1" (teamed defense with a pontificating brother Al on MTV), Ted Templeman, Joe Perry, Alan Holdsworth, and now Mike Anthony.

I believe the words "childish petulance" come to mind.

So sorry to alarm you Ed, but the planet is not out to get you. YOU appear to be out to get you, ya fuckin' load of dickferbrains.