Sammy Still Begging . . . .

[ZahZoo]

Yes, there would be actual fights and I have mentioned this too before in a post where you allow both fractions of a band with a fractioned identity present a show where one fan based is forced to endure another version which they despise

SMH... actual fights? Are you serious..?

Call it... the Riots in the Rest Home Tour!!

[Terry]

If Dave does not do a tour with Van Halen and share the stage with Hagar, then Hagar will never get justification to be included in what people call 'Van Halen'. Hagar knows this and Dave has complete control of Hagar's Van Halen legacy. Now Hagar has become what he really was, 'a replacement singer'... Hagar touring with Van Halen without Dave does nothing for him and that is why Hagar is willing to do it for free with the whole "give my money to charity for the gig" as a holier than thou excuse to cloak his desperate position

It isn't beyond the realm of possibility that somewhere deep down Hagar is still nagged by a sense of being looked upon by a sizable segment of Van Halen's fan base as 'the replacement singer'...although from his general demeanor in recent interviews I don't get the sense that Hagar is a particularly unhappy person lacking in self-confidence, especially at this stage of the game.

I think enough people consider Hagar a legitimate singer in Van Halen. I mean, that Sam Halen lineup still sold a respectable amount of records and filled arenas throughout Hagar's decade-long tenure, and it wasn't like that version of the group were overloading their set lists with CVH tunes, either. You don't sell that many records and put that many asses in seats year-after-year if the majority of that audience doesn't like what the lead singer, Hagar, has brought to the group. Granted, their best selling record was their first, so clearly some of that initial Hagar success was inherited, but even there...like, Jump brought a whole lot of people over to Van Halen in Roth's last year who didn't like what the band had done prior to that. Some of that Jump-centric success undoubtedly spilled over into the 5150 release.

Also, it is difficult to say with precision what the percentages of Van Halen's fan base these days are, in terms of a) how many only like the CVH lineup, b) how many only like the Hagar version of the band, c) how many are diehard Eddie fans who would turn up to shows even if Boy George were singing for them, d) how many like both versions of the band, or e) how many are just casual fans who only know the tunes from both eras that got the largest amount of airplay on radio and MTV. Neither Roth nor Hagar will ever be able to satisfy all those factions.

I think Hagar has a general sense of befuddlement, because he honestly thinks he is plain, flat-out better than Roth. While Hagar certainly owns up to the easy, self-evident truth that CVH were a massively successful band, Hagar overall thought Roth even in [Roth's] heyday was a clownish showoff buffoon with more chutzpah than talent. Despite Hagar's consistent on-the-record prevarications over the years regarding CVH's sales stats vs. Van Hagar's, I have no doubt Hagar knows the truth about the numbers. And I think it still mystifies Hagar as to why someone like Roth - who Hagar has more contempt than respect for - is looked upon by what one could safely say to be a majority of fans as THE definitive singer for Van Halen, while Hagar is looked upon mostly as the replacement singer/2nd singer/merely 'a' singer for Van Halen.

[twonabomber]

Now Hagar says a VH reunion is "not on his bucket list"

http://www.vhnd.com/2017/09/16/sammy-hagar-dead-horse/

Ed must have told him no, we will not play any of your solo songs on the reunion tour.

[ZahZoo]

It's the original Van Halen's 40th Anniversarry approaching... which has not a damn thing to do with Hagar. Why muddy the murky water with that crap..?

Come 2025 then Sam can have his shot... if he and the VH bros are still around.

[Nickdfresh]

c) how many are diehard Eddie fans who would turn up to shows even if Boy George were singing for them,...

Ooooh! Finally a singer that can match the true range of Edward's guitar!

[Nickdfresh]

....

I think Hagar has a general sense of befuddlement, because he honestly thinks he is plain, flat-out better than Roth. While Hagar certainly owns up to the easy, self-evident truth that CVH were a massively successful band, Hagar overall thought Roth even in [Roth's] heyday was a clownish showoff buffoon with more chutzpah than talent. Despite Hagar's consistent on-the-record prevarications over the years regarding CVH's sales stats vs. Van Hagar's, I have no doubt Hagar knows the truth about the numbers. And I think it still mystifies Hagar as to why someone like Roth - who Hagar has more contempt than respect for - is looked upon by what one could safely say to be a majority of fans as THE definitive singer for Van Halen, while Hagar is looked upon mostly as the replacement singer/2nd singer/merely 'a' singer for Van Halen.

I think these are all good points. But I would "Balance" that befuddlement and Sam's belief that he's a better singer or whatever with Sam sort of being the perpetual 80's teen comedy archetype of the 'best-friendzoned' orbiter of the hot girl constantly making mix-tapes for her while he can't understand that she only wants to be his friend, but always wants to fuck Roth. And you know those mix-tape always have Why Can't this be Love...

[Terry]

Now Hagar says a VH reunion is "not on his bucket list"

http://www.vhnd.com/2017/09/16/sammy-hagar-dead-horse/

Ed must have told him no, we will not play any of your solo songs on the reunion tour.

It'd be hard for me to imagine a Hagar reunion would be on anybody's bucket list in terms of concert-goers, but I suppose there are people out there who would like to see it...

For myself, a CVH reunion would be...what's the word I'm looking for here...'nice' if it happened. I don't think Anthony rejoining would make the band or the performances sound much (if at all) better than they currently would already with Wolfgang playing, so it would be more in terms of a gesture and perhaps concluding the live work of the band on a "back to where it all started" note. I think the reality is that a CVH reunion is really the only thing Van Halen can do at this point to generate a substantial level of interest in future shows beyond what another tour with Wolfgang (or Hagar) would produce.

But, you know, Roth is basically past it. I think Hagar is correct in that Van Halen is a dead horse, and not just in terms of future involvement with Hagar. The band have been back together with Dave for a decade. They have managed to go on three tours, make an album that was half reworked leftovers (and the other half that wasn't really only had a couple of tunes that rose to the level of CVH excellence) and fob off an uninspired live album that nobody asked for, or wanted. Even taking into account the advancing age of the band, 1 album in a decade isn't an indication that Ed or Dave have any serious ambitions regarding the creation of new material. They've accepted Van Halen as a nostalgia act that, for now, remains a solid source of guaranteed revenue.

And all of that is fine, for them: good work if you can get it, I suppose. Ten years ago, I was frankly hopeful Roth rejoining and Ed seemingly getting control of his addictions would produce something more than what we got, specifically in terms of new either new music or at least issuing previously unreleased CVH material. I suppose in the end the principals, Roth and the Van Halen brothers, just waited ten years too long to finally get it together, and what we got was the best they were capable of doing by the time they got around to doing it. C'est la vie.

[Terry]

I think these are all good points. But I would "Balance" that befuddlement and Sam's belief that he's a better singer or whatever with Sam sort of being the perpetual 80's teen comedy archetype of the 'best-friendzoned' orbiter of the hot girl constantly making mix-tapes for her while he can't understand that she only wants to be his friend, but always wants to fuck Roth. And you know those mix-tape always have Why Can't this be Love...

Being at ground zero in high school when Roth left and Hagar came aboard, I can say the primary observation I noticed is that pre-1984, Van Halen appealed to stoners/burnouts/partiers. The release of the Jump single started the transition and the 5150 album solidified the bringing onboard of the segment of students who were 'big man on campus' jocks/'good girl' cheerleaders or student government types: Van Halen once Hagar joined were now safe for kids who basically listened to their parents and teachers and did what they were told.

[Fairwrning]

So now, apparently, Sammy is butthurt about not getting a bday call from the brothers.. Thay dont like you..move on..

[DavidLeeNatra]

Fucker turned rather unnoticed 70...me forgot about it.

[twonabomber]

I had to look up the story. VHND had it, and Sammy said it on Eddie Trunk's show. Big surprise there.

[78/84 guy]

Nostalgia tours are only worth seeing if the band can reasonably approximate the material onstage as it was originally recorded.

Most times, it is the lead vocals that end up doing these aging bands in for me. I get that it must be a motherfucker to maintain a lead singer's voice when they age. Particularly if their catalog is rife with screaming and high notes sung by a young man in his 20s or 30s: it's just not reasonable to expect that stuff to be replicated 30+ years on.

So these bands tune down from the original recorded versions to give the lead singer some room to breathe and not strain as much. But some of these bands are tuning down more and more as they age to the point where even the instrumentation just sounds weird/off/wrong. And eventually it inevitably reaches a point where the lead singer's voice just gives out in terms of cutting the mustard. Van Halen have reached that point.

I don't know man.....not sure if it makes me happy or sad that all of this fussing about Van Halen is still even going on. I guess it's cool people still care and want something from them. I guess deep down I do. Mostly vault stuff at this point. New album or a tour would be interesting but it's like come on.....it's kinda over isn't it ? I get that feeling anyways. Dave's been back over a decade. It's amounted too very little. Time is marching on.......these guys are getting old. The band still sounds decent but Dave turned into a lazy fuck the last few tours. I guess I'd show if they come around for their 40th or whatever....but at this point it's kind of like well I guess I'll go but are they ?.......is this what Van Halen should look & sound like ? This is band that wrote Everybody Wants Some ? I had a feeling I wanted it over before they started to faulter in their older age before it gets.....well kind of silly. Dave's there pretty much in a live setting unless he puts some effort into it. I just don't see it from him. Maybe he just got old. Nothing young about hitting 60.....A album like A.D.K.O.T. would be nice. I don't need a tour personally. I missed the last one and didn't lose sleep over it. Any sort of Hag reunion is a who gives a shit for me. And many.....I guess it's always good too have hope and faith right ? Just like Hag has....and a million fans......seems like that's all that goes on at this point. Van Halen isn't a band anymore. It's a corporation. Bands play music. They don't petal shit with stripes for a living.....

[Nitro Express]

I don't know man.....not sure if it makes me happy or sad that all of this fussing about Van Halen is still even going on. I guess it's cool people still care and want something from them. I guess deep down I do. Mostly vault stuff at this point. New album or a tour would be interesting but it's like come on.....it's kinda over isn't it ? I get that feeling anyways. Dave's been back over a decade. It's amounted too very little. Time is marching on.......these guys are getting old. The band still sounds decent but Dave turned into a lazy fuck the last few tours. I guess I'd show if they come around for their 40th or whatever....but at this point it's kind of like well I guess I'll go but are they ?.......is this what Van Halen should look & sound like ? This is band that wrote Everybody Wants Some ? I had a feeling I wanted it over before they started to faulter in their older age before it gets.....well kind of silly. Dave's there pretty much in a live setting unless he puts some effort into it. I just don't see it from him. Maybe he just got old. Nothing young about hitting 60.....A album like A.D.K.O.T. would be nice. I don't need a tour personally. I missed the last one and didn't lose sleep over it. Any sort of Hag reunion is a who gives a shit for me. And many.....I guess it's always good too have hope and faith right ? Just like Hag has....and a million fans......seems like that's all that goes on at this point. Van Halen isn't a band anymore. It's a corporation. Bands play music. They don't petal shit with stripes for a living.....

I'm sure we will see a 5150 dildo come out soon from EVH Gear and Sammy will be selling Cabo Wabo anal lube in fruity tropical flavors in case you want to toss some salad Sammy style.

[Terry]

I don't know man.....not sure if it makes me happy or sad that all of this fussing about Van Halen is still even going on. I guess it's cool people still care and want something from them. I guess deep down I do. Mostly vault stuff at this point. New album or a tour would be interesting but it's like come on.....it's kinda over isn't it ? I get that feeling anyways. Dave's been back over a decade. It's amounted too very little. Time is marching on.......these guys are getting old. The band still sounds decent but Dave turned into a lazy fuck the last few tours. I guess I'd show if they come around for their 40th or whatever....but at this point it's kind of like well I guess I'll go but are they ?.......is this what Van Halen should look & sound like ? This is band that wrote Everybody Wants Some ? I had a feeling I wanted it over before they started to faulter in their older age before it gets.....well kind of silly. Dave's there pretty much in a live setting unless he puts some effort into it. I just don't see it from him. Maybe he just got old. Nothing young about hitting 60.....A album like A.D.K.O.T. would be nice. I don't need a tour personally. I missed the last one and didn't lose sleep over it. Any sort of Hag reunion is a who gives a shit for me. And many.....I guess it's always good too have hope and faith right ? Just like Hag has....and a million fans......seems like that's all that goes on at this point. Van Halen isn't a band anymore. It's a corporation. Bands play music. They don't petal shit with stripes for a living.....

All of what you said is really the essence of it.

To be kind, in 2007/2008 I could sort of give the band a pass in terms of doing an oldies tour, because considering the shape Ed was in and the amount of time that had elapsed since 1996 in some ways it was a long shot that tour even happened: it wasn't reasonable to expect more than a greatest hits set. And I was fine with that, because I wanted to see Dave play with the Van Halens again. I wasn't thrilled with Wolfgang being there...I'm still not, truth be told, although without Wolfgang giving Eddie a reason/enthusiasm to go out and play it wouldn't have been a shock if Ed just literally drank himself to death after the 2004 tour concluded. I suspect Wolfgang was attentive enough - and it didn't take a genius to figure this out - to realize that people wanted to see Roth back in the band and hear that CVH material.

In 2012, the band displayed some ambition. They recorded a new album. Half the tunes were reworked demos, but there was new material and the band played some of it during the shows. It felt like Van Halen had a purpose other than serving up retreads.

Post-2012, we got a half-assed live album from a 2013 gig nobody asked for, and a 2015 tour that was strictly oldies again. From 2013 onward, Van Halen feels more like a joint business venture to me than a band.

I think that CVH stuff wasn't designed to be played by men approaching their 70s. While the Van Halens still serve the stuff up in an acceptable manner, Roth is no longer up to the task. He just looks ridiculous and sounds terrible. He can't move as well as he used to, his jokes are more weird than funny, he can't stay in key, he can't scream like he used to. The band is weezing along for no particular purpose other than to make a few bucks playing to those who want to see them: Van Halen are merely existing rather than thriving.

Van Halen merely existing rather than thriving wasn't a feature that turned me on all those years ago: why should I settle for that from them now?

[twonabomber]

I guess it's cool people still care and want something from them. I guess deep down I do. Mostly vault stuff at this point.

I'm starting to think that there won't be any vault stuff released until Ed is dead and gone, and Wolfgang needs the money. Or maybe he'll pull a Dweezil Zappa and tour as Van Halen Plays Van Halen.