The Roth of Dave
Rock 'n' roll raconteur in sparkling form
By MIKE ROSS -- Edmonton Sun
Sex and books and rock 'n' roll - welcome to The Tao of Diamond Dave. Selected wit and wisdom:
* "A guitar just doesn't sound right till it's been in a pawnshop at least once."
* "If you're a great talent and you don't move towards creativity, that's a sin. For that, you go to hell."
* "If you don't think that money can buy happiness, you're probably shopping in the wrong mall."
* "If you're over 25, a male and you're still fascinated with pictures of yourself, you probably have sex problems."
They can't all be winners.
The preceding was gleaned from 30 minutes of carnival barker spiel and breathtaking blarney from David Lee Roth - rock 'n' roll raconteur, scholar, scoundrel, larger-than-life self-parody, overgrown teenager still living out the rock star dream at the age of 48 and possibly barking mad as well. Diamond Dave plays Sunday at the Joint. It'll be a great show. Just ask him.
"It's one bomb-proof cupcake," he promises.
To the question of whether he ever doubts his own sanity, he replies, "No, I doubt the sanity of those around me. Not even the sanity. The values. I've managed to keep my values pretty simple. I like reading and walking. I'd rather walk along the beach in Tahiti."
With a book?
"No," he laughs. "No, I already read about Tahiti."
So reading is a good way to break the ice with women?
"I've done it with younger girls, mostly. Usually they're under 25. But I just spent the night running around Las Vegas with a couple of girlfriends I knew before I was even in Van Halen. We were up until about nine o'clock in the morning and lemme tell ya, the last thing on those girls' minds was reading."
Gosh, how do you do it, Diamond Dave?
He reveals his secret: "Belligerent enthusiasm. Yeah, it goes well with anything: Hockey, government, rock 'n' roll!" To expand on the theme: "I'm not interested in people testifying as to what they don't like. I'm interested in people who are gonna."
Gonna what?
"Anything! Gonna do anything. Gonna go somewhere. Gonna make a contribution. Gonna do something. I got a lot of blood family members who are all 'I don't wanna do that, I don't like that.' You know what? Kiss my a--. I'm interested in those who are pointing to the top of the mountain. After a fashion it doesn't even matter if they make it. And in terms of the media, curiously enough, I never read anything with my name on it. Anything good can't possibly be good enough and anything bad ruins the rest of my happy hour."
Diamond Dave takes time to plug his upcoming album, Diamond Dave. It contains songs by the Beatles, Hendrix and the like, but not ones you normally hear. The band is made up of musicians young enough to be Roth's sons - and maybe are if we did a DNA test - using an "old-school" approach and the same "furious, belligerent enthusiasm" throughout. There it is again.
Time to clear up a couple of things. First, to the obvious Van Halen question, Roth brings up Atticus Finch, so no help here. All he says is this: "I play (Van Halen music) religiously. It's not like riding a bike. It's something you have to play routinely. These songs are as familiar as the national anthem. People have super-high expectations. I suspect that's the reason I've still got a job here."
There's the Sammy Hagar issue - coincidentally another overgrown teenager still living out the rock star dream at the age of 54. Roth and Hagar were recently on tour together in "Sans Halen," but it fell apart because the two didn't get along very well. Stop the presses. Eddie must be gleeful: Yeah, see how they like working with themselves for a change. Frickin' lead singers.
"I think Sam came out to prove something and maybe came up a little bit short," Roth says.
"I don't think of Sam really as a colleague. There's always been a competitive angle coming from Sam. Indeed, I think everybody including his own band had a damn fine time out there."
As our little chat ends, Roth hears the interviewer's crying baby in the background (this was my fifth attempt getting him on the phone; finally had to do it at night from home). "Oh, is that Hagar in the background?" Diamond Dave laughs like hell. "There's your final note! That s--- is operatic!"
So it is. Off he goes, belligerently enthusiastic as ever.
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