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By Entertainment Columnist - Scott Tady
07/09/2006
Roth jumps from radio to bluegrass
Tri County Customs
Don't fret about David Lee Roth. The former Van Halen singer has recovered from the colossal failure of his radio show.
Backed by a bluegrass band, Roth sings fresh versions of Van Halen classics "Jump" and "Jamie's Cryin'" on a new tribute CD, "Strummin' With the Devil: The Southern Side of Van Halen."
The disc includes bluegrass artists like David Grisman and the John Cowan Band doing banjo-fiddle-mandolin romps through Van Halen tunes like "Hot for Teacher" and "Dance the Night Away."
Roth and his bluegrass buddies were pickin' and grinnin' a few weeks ago on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." In hopes of catching the flamboyant rocker in bluegrass mode, I drove to Warren, Ohio, last Monday to see Roth perform in the minor league stadium of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.
But once Roth's roadies began setting up a stage with an arena-sized drum kit and a fortress of Marshall amplifiers, I knew I wouldn't be hearing any bluegrass.
Nope, Roth was kicking it old-school that night, with "kicking" the key word, as he punctuated most songs with one of his patented midair spin-kicks where his toes nearly touch his nose. For 50, he's remarkably limber, and whether it's a weave, a rug or a miracle, Roth's hair looks fuller than it did a decade ago.
More importantly, his voice has held up, and so Van Halen deep cuts like "Unchained" and "Somebody Get Me a Doctor" were a pleasure to hear, as were his solo hits "Just Like Paradise" and "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody."
For his guitar foil, Roth unearthed some Weird Al Yankovic-looking dude who had been playing in a Van Halen cover band. No, he wasn't as flashy as Eddie Van Halen, but Roth's guitarist did a fine job aping the monstrous riffs of Van Halen songs like "Eruption" and "Ain't Talking 'Bout Love."
Roth explained the origins of a few Van Halen songs. "Panama," for instance, was an Albuquerque stripper, while "Dance the Night Away" was about a girl caught in the back of a pickup quite literally with her pants down. When running from the cops, she pulled on her jeans backwards and left them that way as she danced the night away at an early Van Halen gig.
A few more stories like that might have kept Roth's radio show from flopping.
As a replacement for Howard Stern, Roth lasted just three months on stations like Pittsburgh's WRKZ-FM (93.7).
Interviewed by Country Music Television, Roth speculated that CBS Radio intended all along for his radio show to be a diversion until a long-term replacement could be found for Stern.
"Anybody who's gonna follow Howard is gonna take a beating," Roth said. "So what they needed was somebody with a great sense of humor and a real thick skin. They also needed somebody who could attract attention and kill a little time while they completed their contract with (current hosts) Opie & Anthony."
...
©Beaver County Times Allegheny Times 2006
07/09/2006
Roth jumps from radio to bluegrass
Tri County Customs
Don't fret about David Lee Roth. The former Van Halen singer has recovered from the colossal failure of his radio show.
Backed by a bluegrass band, Roth sings fresh versions of Van Halen classics "Jump" and "Jamie's Cryin'" on a new tribute CD, "Strummin' With the Devil: The Southern Side of Van Halen."
The disc includes bluegrass artists like David Grisman and the John Cowan Band doing banjo-fiddle-mandolin romps through Van Halen tunes like "Hot for Teacher" and "Dance the Night Away."
Roth and his bluegrass buddies were pickin' and grinnin' a few weeks ago on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." In hopes of catching the flamboyant rocker in bluegrass mode, I drove to Warren, Ohio, last Monday to see Roth perform in the minor league stadium of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.
But once Roth's roadies began setting up a stage with an arena-sized drum kit and a fortress of Marshall amplifiers, I knew I wouldn't be hearing any bluegrass.
Nope, Roth was kicking it old-school that night, with "kicking" the key word, as he punctuated most songs with one of his patented midair spin-kicks where his toes nearly touch his nose. For 50, he's remarkably limber, and whether it's a weave, a rug or a miracle, Roth's hair looks fuller than it did a decade ago.
More importantly, his voice has held up, and so Van Halen deep cuts like "Unchained" and "Somebody Get Me a Doctor" were a pleasure to hear, as were his solo hits "Just Like Paradise" and "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody."
For his guitar foil, Roth unearthed some Weird Al Yankovic-looking dude who had been playing in a Van Halen cover band. No, he wasn't as flashy as Eddie Van Halen, but Roth's guitarist did a fine job aping the monstrous riffs of Van Halen songs like "Eruption" and "Ain't Talking 'Bout Love."
Roth explained the origins of a few Van Halen songs. "Panama," for instance, was an Albuquerque stripper, while "Dance the Night Away" was about a girl caught in the back of a pickup quite literally with her pants down. When running from the cops, she pulled on her jeans backwards and left them that way as she danced the night away at an early Van Halen gig.
A few more stories like that might have kept Roth's radio show from flopping.
As a replacement for Howard Stern, Roth lasted just three months on stations like Pittsburgh's WRKZ-FM (93.7).
Interviewed by Country Music Television, Roth speculated that CBS Radio intended all along for his radio show to be a diversion until a long-term replacement could be found for Stern.
"Anybody who's gonna follow Howard is gonna take a beating," Roth said. "So what they needed was somebody with a great sense of humor and a real thick skin. They also needed somebody who could attract attention and kill a little time while they completed their contract with (current hosts) Opie & Anthony."
...
©Beaver County Times Allegheny Times 2006
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