Will we get a new album from Van Halen?

[cadaverdog]

I remember that interview.. It was immediately filed under 'yeah, riiiight'

The other interview where Ed said Dave wasn't his friend came later didn't it? If so it pretty much cancelled that one out.

[jhale667]

Hung out with my friend (the D-Tuna guy) the other night and he came bearing gifts from the compound. Actual, worn, used by Ed & Wolf. Cool gift, I thought.

[ZahZoo]

So... those picks were used in the making of the new album, right..?

[jhale667]

So... those picks were used in the making of the new album, right..?

Wolfie's, yeah.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

The gray EVH one on the bottom left and the red EVH one on top are the same ones from the 2012 tour that Shelly gave me, in addition to a blue 'Wolf' one with the stripes....

From what she told me, the gray one on the bottom (it's thicker with grooves) was the one EVH used onstage.....

[chefcraig]

So... those picks were used in the making of the new album, right..?

[Terry]

I dunno.

ADKOT did, what...1/2 million worldwide? And that album had a pretty decent promotional push, too. Have no idea what the Tokyo Dome release ended up selling, but it had a decent amount of ad space devoted to a promo push for that as well.

Would it even be worth the bother for the band to do another album? They seemed to be able to sell concert tickets well enough this year without one.

I suppose I'd be interested in hearing what the band could come up with, but I think there's more than a little truth to what Ed said, in that people coming to VH shows now couldn't really care less if new material is played: they want to hear the classics. I suppose the band could do another album and perhaps attempt to delude themselves into thinking they are a viable creative unit, but they know which part of the VH catalog butters their bread.

[PETE'S BROTHER]

but they know which part of the VH catalog butters their bread.

or pop tarts...

[Terry]

or pop tarts...

or bagels...

[PETE'S BROTHER]

or bagels...

or latkes...

[Terry]

or corn-on-the-cob...

[Jetstream]

Or the meat and potatoes

[chuckjitsu]

I dunno.

ADKOT did, what...1/2 million worldwide? And that album had a pretty decent promotional push, too. Have no idea what the Tokyo Dome release ended up selling, but it had a decent amount of ad space devoted to a promo push for that as well.

Would it even be worth the bother for the band to do another album? They seemed to be able to sell concert tickets well enough this year without one.

I suppose I'd be interested in hearing what the band could come up with, but I think there's more than a little truth to what Ed said, in that people coming to VH shows now couldn't really care less if new material is played: they want to hear the classics. I suppose the band could do another album and perhaps attempt to delude themselves into thinking they are a viable creative unit, but they know which part of the VH catalog butters their bread.

I read an interview with with none other than the Samburglar and he talked about the motivation (or lack thereof) to put out a new Chickenfoot album. Granted, Chicken Coup isn't even selling at a VH level, but the thought process still applies imo. Basically, he said it wasn't worth the effort to write, record and generally put in all the effort required to put out a new cd and have it sell like 35,000 copies (his number).

So, I can see why VH wouldn't want to put out a new album. That said, if they aren't willing to put out a new cd, they should at least be willing to open the god damn vaults and start putting that stuff out. This is VH though, so the most likely scenario is nothing. Bask and revel in the nothingness, fuckers!!

[Terry]

I read an interview with with none other than the Samburglar and he talked about the motivation (or lack thereof) to put out a new Chickenfoot album. Granted, Chicken Coup isn't even selling at a VH level, but the thought process still applies imo. Basically, he said it wasn't worth the effort to write, record and generally put in all the effort required to put out a new cd and have it sell like 35,000 copies (his number).

So, I can see why VH wouldn't want to put out a new album. That said, if they aren't willing to put out a new cd, they should at least be willing to open the god damn vaults and start putting that stuff out. This is VH though, so the most likely scenario is nothing. Bask and revel in the nothingness, fuckers!!

I mean, I can understand a lack of willingness to put out new material if the mindset is it will only sell so many copies. It seems like the band still has an analog mentality to how records are sold vs. the digital reality of the business these days. However, the band haven't had any multi-million selling releases in closing on 20 years now. The three albums they have put out since BOV1 have sold close to a million each worldwide. Granted, the 2 albums of original material on those 3 releases were far from the best the band had to offer historically speaking (ADKOT overall was an average effort at best - in some ways better than I thought the band would be capable of and it did have a few tracks that still resonate for me, but if I saw the band live now and they didn't play anything from the album I wouldn't feel cheated in the least), and the other one was (yet another) greatest hits package.

It's still a mystery to me as to why the band hasn't taken advantage of all the officially unreleased CVH live video and even the old CVH promos from the pre-1984 era (including clips from various foreign tv shows when they went up and lip-synched). The 6-pack keeps getting periodically re-issued with nothing but the original studio content. The band since 2007 has toured with Roth leaning on setlists that are virtually nothing other than CVH material. They are a nostalgia act now.

Is it that the band doesn't want to have official releases of the old CVH live shows because it will be another reminder of Anthony no longer being in the group? Somehow this will spare Wolfgang feeling uncomfortable? I dunno. Seems a silly line of reasoning if that is the case. Is it that the band doesn't want to remind people of what the band once was as opposed to what they are today? Is it that there are legal complications of ownership regarding the old live performances...maybe many of the old production companies that shot the footage are now defunct and the footage is in limbo re: ownership and how that is applied to present-day distribution? Does WB own the rights to manufacture and distribute the footage? Are the Van Halens still pissed off at WB for dropping them 15 years ago, and don't want a nickel of that stuff going in WBs pockets?

Who the fuck knows? All I can say is that many bootleggers and bootlegging outlets with minimal scruples have made plenty of money selling these shows for years, and it's seemingly bad business practice for the band to forgo whatever profits their contract residuals with WB would entitle them to by not getting these shows restored and made available for public consumption. Assuming the band actually still has a degree of legal and creative control over the release of said material.

[chuckjitsu]

I mean, I can understand a lack of willingness to put out new material if the mindset is it will only sell so many copies. It seems like the band still has an analog mentality to how records are sold vs. the digital reality of the business these days. However, the band haven't had any multi-million selling releases in closing on 20 years now. The three albums they have put out since BOV1 have sold close to a million each worldwide. Granted, the 2 albums of original material on those 3 releases were far from the best the band had to offer historically speaking (ADKOT overall was an average effort at best - in some ways better than I thought the band would be capable of and it did have a few tracks that still resonate for me, but if I saw the band live now and they didn't play anything from the album I wouldn't feel cheated in the least), and the other one was (yet another) greatest hits package.

It's still a mystery to me as to why the band hasn't taken advantage of all the officially unreleased CVH live video and even the old CVH promos from the pre-1984 era (including clips from various foreign tv shows when they went up and lip-synched). The 6-pack keeps getting periodically re-issued with nothing but the original studio content. The band since 2007 has toured with Roth leaning on setlists that are virtually nothing other than CVH material. They are a nostalgia act now.

Is it that the band doesn't want to have official releases of the old CVH live shows because it will be another reminder of Anthony no longer being in the group? Somehow this will spare Wolfgang feeling uncomfortable? I dunno. Seems a silly line of reasoning if that is the case. Is it that the band doesn't want to remind people of what the band once was as opposed to what they are today? Is it that there are legal complications of ownership regarding the old live performances...maybe many of the old production companies that shot the footage are now defunct and the footage is in limbo re: ownership and how that is applied to present-day distribution? Does WB own the rights to manufacture and distribute the footage? Are the Van Halens still pissed off at WB for dropping them 15 years ago, and don't want a nickel of that stuff going in WBs pockets?

Who the fuck knows? All I can say is that many bootleggers and bootlegging outlets with minimal scruples have made plenty of money selling these shows for years, and it's seemingly bad business practice for the band to forgo whatever profits their contract residuals with WB would entitle them to by not getting these shows restored and made available for public consumption. Assuming the band actually still has a degree of legal and creative control over the release of said material.

I understand that there could be legal issues around the ownership of some of the vault stuff, but I can't believe some sort of deal couldn't be cut to get that stuff out there if they wanted to. And that could be the key phrase- "if they wanted to". But what about current stuff? Dave mentioned that they were recording the shows with Pro Tools, so why not make those shows available for download on their website? Any number of bands have done that kind of stuff over the years and it would require very little effort from the band. Maybe this is part of the analog mentality you spoke of- "hey, we just put out a live album, so why do we need to make the 2015 shows available?" But if they've recorded all that stuff anyway, where's the harm in making it available (for only $9.99!!!)?