Sammy Still Begging . . . .

[Grit]

At every chance Sammy Hagar can . . . . he tells every interviewer that he lusts for a Van Halen Reunion with Dave and him trading songs. Is it possible that such an event (which I hope never happens) could create a real battle between Dave Fans and Sammy Fans? I can see a Hagar fan booing Dave or vise versa and a huge fight happening. Of course Dave Fans would kick the shit out of Sammy fans but does anyone else think that might happen if they actually toured? . . . Curious.

[silverfish]

To paraphrase The Simpsons, Hagar is "rock music's answer to the question nobody asked."

[Terry]

At every chance Sammy Hagar can . . . . he tells every interviewer that he lusts for a Van Halen Reunion with Dave and him trading songs. Is it possible that such an event (which I hope never happens) could create a real battle between Dave Fans and Sammy Fans? I can see a Hagar fan booing Dave or vise versa and a huge fight happening. Of course Dave Fans would kick the shit out of Sammy fans but does anyone else think that might happen if they actually toured? . . . Curious.

I think it all depends on what the exact breakdown of such an audience for that hypothetical show would be.

I mean, I could easily envision a scenario where 50% or better of the audience are casual fans of the band, really only know the hits/most played radio tunes and honestly have no real bone to pick with who is fronting the band. In point of fact, for those people, it might be a draw to see both Hagar and Roth fronting Van Halen at the same show.

For the remainder of the audience, well...you have to figure the average age of a diehard Van Halen fan - regardless of singer/era - attending a show these days is...what? 45 to 50 years old? In all probability predominately white, suburban, middle-aged. With a few more pounds around the middle than back in the 80s or 90s. I don't see much in the way of an actual physical rumble between fan bases taking place at said hypothetical shows. People are too busy filming the shows on their smartphones to actually make the effort to punch the person standing next to them in the face because they are singing along with Why Can't This Be Love?

[Bloomington]

The most Sammy could ever hope for is Eddie throws him a bone like Mick Jones did to Lou Gramm on their 40th anniversary tour and let him sing a couple songs during the encore

[Jérôme Frenchise]

The most Sammy could ever hope for is Eddie throws him a bone like Mick Jones did to Lou Gramm on their 40th anniversary tour and let him sing a couple songs during the encore

Not even... Dave wouldn't tolerate that.

Beggars can't be choosers, anyway. :cool:

[ZahZoo]

Hagar is just taking out a page from Dave's playbook to getting back into Ed's head... Just keep mentioning that a reunion is bound to happen enough times to any press that will listen... for enough years... who knows..?

It worked for Dave.

[Nickdfresh]

Hagar is just taking out a page from Dave's playbook to getting back into Ed's head... Just keep mentioning that a reunion is bound to happen enough times to any press that will listen... for enough years... who knows..?

It worked for Dave.

I doubt it. Ed had his kid whispering that Classic Van Halen was so much better, because Ed is a savant easily confused by the scent of his own scat....

Dave is back because of Wolfgang and the fact that Ed seems deficient in taste and needs someone to be his editor. A role Dave once filled...

[ZahZoo]

That's a good point, Nick... you occassionally get one right.

The path to getting back into Ed's head must pass through Wolfgang's creative filter. But I think the repititious method of keeping the hair-brained idea floating in the public realm is the key to suckcess...

The only missing component right now is Sam and Mike need to be shamelessly touring on a predominently Van Hagar setlist filled with those timeless classics that didn't stand the test of time...

[DONNIEP]

You guys still buy the whole Magical Mystery Earbud story?


https://youtu.be/-jtp7pGZLL4

Same story, same music, same outcome. Both completely make believe.

[Terry]

I doubt it. Ed had his kid whispering that Classic Van Halen was so much better, because Ed is a savant easily confused by the scent of his own scat....

Dave is back because of Wolfgang and the fact that Ed seems deficient in taste and needs someone to be his editor. A role Dave once filled...

It certainly seems that without Wolfgang joining the band in 2006, none of what has happened the last ten years - whatever that was worth - would have taken place.

1996 to 2006 is what happened when Ed was left to his own devices and 100% in control of the band.

[Nickdfresh]

That's a good point, Nick... you occassionally get one right.

"Even a blind dog finds a bone once in a while"...


The path to getting back into Ed's head must pass through Wolfgang's creative filter. But I think the repititious method of keeping the hair-brained idea floating in the public realm is the key to suckcess...

The only missing component right now is Sam and Mike need to be shamelessly touring on a predominently Van Hagar setlist filled with those timeless classics that didn't stand the test of time...

y o
On that note, of the bone, I suspect that Sammy will someday find his and probably will appear onstage with Van Halen. But I seriously doubt it will be "every other song" or some ridiculous shit that would destroy any concert by preventing any flow and impeding any the momentum that creates a memorable performance. I guess it would just be as awkward as fuck, like a jerked off version of American Idol, which is being redundant since it's all jerked off. In any case, no one wants to see that.

I do think that Sammy will get some form of acknowledgement that he was part of the legacy but in no way THE legacy of the band. Someone hit it on the head here, he'll get a couple of songs at some moment aka - the Mick Jones/Lou Gramm-Fucked-off Foreigner moment - and not much more...

[Terry]

"Even a blind dog finds a bone once in a while"...



y o
On that note, of the bone, I suspect that Sammy will someday find his and probably will appear onstage with Van Halen. But I seriously doubt it will be "every other song" or some ridiculous shit that would destroy any concert by preventing any flow and impeding any the momentum that creates a memorable performance. I guess it would just be as awkward as fuck, like a jerked off version of American Idol, which is being redundant since it's all jerked off. In any case, no one wants to see that.

I do think that Sammy will get some form of acknowledgement that he was part of the legacy but in no way THE legacy of the band. Someone hit it on the head here, he'll get a couple of songs at some moment aka - the Mick Jones/Lou Gramm-Fucked-off Foreigner moment - and not much more...

I wouldn't be surprised if Sammy did a tour with Van Halen, either. I also tend to doubt it's going to be a co-lead singer "every other song" tour with Roth: I just don't see Dave agreeing to such a scenario. I don't even think Roth would want to do separate sets along the lines of the Sam and Dave 2002 tour. Not where Van Halen is concerned. While I'm not as certain that nobody would want to see that, I certainly wouldn't. It'd be too much of a freak show/publicity stunt type thing, and frankly the band doesn't need that angle to put asses in seats. I don't think even Van Hagar at this late date would need a novelty gimmick along those lines to sell tickets. And whatever has become of Roth's abilities as of late, I think the guy still has enough pride in what HE created with the band (and probably still has a low opinion of what the band did after he left) to not want to directly associate that with what transpired in Van Halen after Roth quit.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

They're gonna do something, just too many noteworthy things coming together around the same time....

First, clearly VH isn't a band that wants (or needs) to tour every single year.... I mean, look at bands like Cheap Trick, Skynyrd, KISS, and a few others.... They're touring the country EVERY year, and those bands are OLDER than VH.... Now obviously, VH probably gets a bigger cut per show, but it's clear that VH/DLR have no interest in touring other than the bare minimum to keep their bank accounts plentiful....

Second, the 40th anniversary of VH I, combined with three years since the last tour, will probably result in SOME kind of tour....

Third, I really don't see the VH brothers wanting to keep the band together past this upcoming tour, other than one-offs here and there... They're all in their 60's now, and financially secure.....

The only detail, as we all know, is how Hagar will be mixed into the set... And as I said before, I disagree on the Van Hagarita songs.... No, it won't result in sellout crowds at this stage... But there's a good percentage of the middle aged concert going crowd that just likes to sit in the lawn, drink overpriced beer, and have a good time with their buddies for a few hours....

Not that I WANT to see any of that, I just think it's inevitable....

[Terry]

About the only time since 1999 when Cherone quit that I got a real sense Van Halen had some real ambition and were really making an effort was in 2012. They put a new album out, did a club gig and a couple promo videos to launch the record, the record and the tour were advertised on tv. While the US leg of the tour got cut short, eventually they did some gigs overseas in 2013...

By the time 2015 rolled around, they did a couple pre-tour tv appearances, but the tour itself - much like 2007/2008 -was just a standard oldies setlist.

While I suppose Van Halen still is a band in the technical sense of the term, I've really looked at what they've been doing with Roth over the last decade as largely a business arrangement. These guys get together every 3-4 years, do a US tour, churn out the oldies, then bugger off. Apparently, there largely hasn't been the formulation of a new friendship between Roth and Eddie as the result of the reformation. It certainly hasn't resulted in a creative resurgence. Hey, I'm not expecting an album and a tour every year from these guys anymore. Or even just a tour every year anymore. Frankly, for me other older bands like KISS, Cheap Trick and Lynyrd Skynyrd have toured themselves into the ground in terms of overkill: I have no desire to see these bands anymore because they've been playing so often for so long (with comparatively little new music) that what they're doing has no chance to be special these days.

There just doesn't seem to be much of a reason to me why Van Halen has even continued since Cherone left, other than the oldies circuit is clearly the biggest revenue stream/path of least resistance for them and...what else are they going to do? Obviously, Dave would prefer to play to respectable-sized crowds fronting Van Halen than go back to smaller theaters as a solo act. I mean, even if Eddie decided to release a proper solo album at this point, like something along the lines of what Satriani or Vai have done...THAT would feel like it was 20 (if not 30) years too late, regardless of content/"how good it is".

I dunno if I'm explaining it properly...there's just nothing new by way of creative ground being broken with the band anymore. So, if it's going to be flat-out nostalgia, fine. Do that. Don't half-ass it, though. Get Anthony back for a tour. Clean up your live audio/video archives and release them. Don't settle for having your kid play bass and putting your Franky logo on tennis shoes. Why not go big or go home? It's the half-assedness of the band for the last 17 years that is the most disappointing aspect of all of it to me. Half-assedness wasn't a feature of the group that turned me onto them in the first place.

[Von Halen]

Personally, I think Dave should tell the band to go tour with Clichegar, and promptly release the John 5 album.

[Seshmeister]

I think denying Hagar closure and legacy may be more important to Dave than releasing what is going to be a pretty niche album.

[Von Halen]

I think denying Hagar closure and legacy may be more important to Dave than releasing what is going to be a pretty niche album.

Would you mind posting the definition of "niche" for Zah?

[Seshmeister]

I don't think he's going to get an arena tour from it.

It's all relative, The Who played The Colloseum in Vegas last week and said how it was great to being playing such a small intimate venue and they could do some deep cuts.

It holds 4300...

[Terry]

I don't think he's going to get an arena tour from it.

It's all relative, The Who played The Colloseum in Vegas last week and said how it was great to being playing such a small intimate venue and they could do some deep cuts.

It holds 4300...

I'd be a bit surprised, even at this late date, even hypothetically without Mike Anthony there, that Hagar fronting Van Halen wouldn't be able to fill venues with capacities around 10,000.

I'm not saying I wouldn't have a good chuckle about it should Van Hagar tour and it turns out I'm wrong and the venues end up being half full. I think the 2004 debacle of the band playing to half empty venues had as much to do with the word having gotten out about the dreadful shape that Eddie was in as it did the choice of lead singer.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

I'd be a bit surprised, even at this late date, even hypothetically without Mike Anthony there, that Hagar fronting Van Halen wouldn't be able to fill venues with capacities around 10,000.


This is where Hagar will benefit from the name once again. They'll get their 10,000 based off of the name, plus the band still sounds good....

[Terry]

This is where Hagar will benefit from the name once again. They'll get their 10,000 based off of the name, plus the band still sounds good....

Yeah, well, fuck it. Let Hagar benefit from the name yet again: if 10,000 people are willing to pay money to see Van Halen with Hagar fronting them...why not?

It'd be one thing if the band were actually creating new music with Dave, but that isn't the case.

At this point, what difference does it make who sings for another Van Halen nostalgia tour? I suppose there are still fans who want to hear Roth fronting the band. Myself, not so much: Dave sounds pretty awful these days. Awful to the point where I can't imagine paying dollar one to see him front the group anymore. Or even see him do a solo gig...his live vocals are THAT fucking bad these days.

To be sure, Hagar's entire career got an upgrade in commercial terms when he joined Van Halen. Oddly enough, I didn't dislike what the guy was doing before he joined the group. I wasn't a Sammy Hagar Red Rocker Superfan, but I didn't hate the material. At the end of the day, in terms of prestige, Hagar's career high point was when he joined Van Halen. Funny, because fronting Van Halen was Roth's career high point, too.

Maybe those two guys SHOULD co-headline a tour with Van Halen.

[Seshmeister]

I'm not saying I wouldn't have a good chuckle about it should Van Hagar tour and it turns out I'm wrong and the venues end up being half full. I think the 2004 debacle of the band playing to half empty venues had as much to do with the word having gotten out about the dreadful shape that Eddie was in as it did the choice of lead singer.

Flipside now applies though. Widespread YouTube and social media would have killed the 2004 tour even more.

I think most people must do what I do and check out recent video of bands I haven't seen for a while before buying tickets.

[Seshmeister]

They'll get their 10,000 based off of the name, plus the band still sounds good....

So instead of standing on the shoulders and riding the coat tails of the band Roth built, this time he would be doing it on the back of the band Roth REBUILT. :)

[damngoodtimes]

As much as I would love to see Sammy relegated to the kiddie table, like Foreigner did with Lou or GNR did with Adler, I can't see his ego allowing it. I actually can see Dave letting it happen, just because it would mean he won. Sam, on the other hand, truly thinks he is Dave's equal in terms of the VH history; he's fucking delusional, but I do think he really believes it.

[Terry]

Flipside now applies though. Widespread YouTube and social media would have killed the 2004 tour even more.

I think most people must do what I do and check out recent video of bands I haven't seen for a while before buying tickets.

Oh, absolutely.

I mean, I checked out the rehearsal footage and early 2007 tour dates well in advance of them playing Tampa in 2008.

I did the same again for the early 2012 dates, to make sure Ed wasn't shitfaced like he was the previous tour.

[Terry]

So instead of standing on the shoulders and riding the coat tails of the band Roth built, this time he would be doing it on the back of the band Roth REBUILT. :)

Why not? That strategy worked well enough for Hagar the first time around in the 1980s.

[Terry]

As much as I would love to see Sammy relegated to the kiddie table, like Foreigner did with Lou or GNR did with Adler, I can't see his ego allowing it. I actually can see Dave letting it happen, just because it would mean he won. Sam, on the other hand, truly thinks he is Dave's equal in terms of the VH history; he's fucking delusional, but I do think he really believes it.

Hagar not only thinks he's Roth's equal, he thinks he's better. Probably too many years of spouting bullshit sales and tour attendance claims in interviews have made Hagar actually believe the lies he has told.

I mean, at this late date, who gives a shit who was better? It was all pretty lame and ridiculous thirty years ago, now it's just ancient and pathetic.

I don't think it will be a case of Dave "letting it happen" in terms of Hagar touring with Van Halen again, because Roth's not really in a position to dictate anything to the Van Halens anymore. It's not the CVH era, where Roth is on equal footing with the Van Halens in terms of how the band is run. To be sure, it's Roth's choice to make about a co-lead singer tour. Outside of that, the Van Halens are gonna do what they're gonna do.

[Hardrock69]

I think denying Hagar closure and legacy may be more important to Dave than releasing what is going to be a pretty niche album.

I think denying Spambot closure and legacy IS more important to EVERYBODY than releasing what is going to be a pretty niche album.
:D

[Terry]

I think denying Spambot closure and legacy IS more important to EVERYBODY than releasing what is going to be a pretty niche album.
:D

I mean, is Hagar doing one more tour with Van Halen really the final step that needs to be taken to ensure Hagar's tenure with the band is considered as effective/important as that of the CVH lineup? Is one last Van Hagar tour really going to change anybody's mind about the two lineups one way or the other at this point? Is it really the case that whoever fronts the band on their last tour - Roth or Hagar - somehow 'wins' this 3 decades-long running debate?

"oooh, Sammy toured with the band last, then the band folded, so clearly Sammy 'won'! Yay!!!"

Honestly, fuck it. Give a tubby old tequila salesman a chance to show us all what dreams are made of one last time. Who gives a shit? Let Hagar stand up onstage with his bloated face, extended gut, ridiculous goatee, shit-eating grin and that stupid 5150 vagina hand sign while the Van Halens churn out mid-80s lame synth pop.

However, I DO think Roth should not associate himself with such a tour. If Hagar wants to hit the road with Van Halen, let him do it under the sole draw of the Van Hagar material. Don't enable Hagar to reap any benefit of the CVH stuff via Roth co-headlining the tour. I don't even want to hear the Sam Halen lineup play ANY CVH material. Not Panama. Not Jump. Nothing.

[twonabomber]

If Hagar wants to hit the road with Van Halen, let him do it under the sole draw of the Van Hagar material. Don't enable Hagar to reap any benefit of the CVH stuff via Roth co-headlining the tour. I don't even want to hear the Sam Halen lineup play ANY CVH material. Not Panama. Not Jump. Nothing.

No CVH, and I wonder if Ed would stipulate that there would be no solo Hagar material played.

[Nickdfresh]

God I fucking hope so...

[Romeo Delight]

I mean, is Hagar doing one more tour with Van Halen really the final step that needs to be taken to ensure Hagar's tenure with the band is considered as effective/important as that of the CVH lineup? Is one last Van Hagar tour really going to change anybody's mind about the two lineups one way or the other at this point? Is it really the case that whoever fronts the band on their last tour - Roth or Hagar - somehow 'wins' this 3 decades-long running debate?

"oooh, Sammy toured with the band last, then the band folded, so clearly Sammy 'won'! Yay!!!"

Honestly, fuck it. Give a tubby old tequila salesman a chance to show us all what dreams are made of one last time. Who gives a shit? Let Hagar stand up onstage with his bloated face, extended gut, ridiculous goatee, shit-eating grin and that stupid 5150 vagina hand sign while the Van Halens churn out mid-80s lame synth pop.

However, I DO think Roth should not associate himself with such a tour. If Hagar wants to hit the road with Van Halen, let him do it under the sole draw of the Van Hagar material. Don't enable Hagar to reap any benefit of the CVH stuff via Roth co-headlining the tour. I don't even want to hear the Sam Halen lineup play ANY CVH material. Not Panama. Not Jump. Nothing.

love this

[Nitro Express]

Hagar not only thinks he's Roth's equal, he thinks he's better. Probably too many years of spouting bullshit sales and tour attendance claims in interviews have made Hagar actually believe the lies he has told.

I mean, at this late date, who gives a shit who was better? It was all pretty lame and ridiculous thirty years ago, now it's just ancient and pathetic.

I don't think it will be a case of Dave "letting it happen" in terms of Hagar touring with Van Halen again, because Roth's not really in a position to dictate anything to the Van Halens anymore. It's not the CVH era, where Roth is on equal footing with the Van Halens in terms of how the band is run. To be sure, it's Roth's choice to make about a co-lead singer tour. Outside of that, the Van Halens are gonna do what they're gonna do.

Yeah. Sammy wants one more shot at glory after selling overpriced rot gut and fucking his chum Emril Lagasse up his greasy cajun ass.

[Terry]

Yeah. Sammy wants one more shot at glory after selling overpriced rot gut and fucking his chum Emril Lagasse up his greasy cajun ass.


BAM! Gay anal sex notches unknown!!!

[ZahZoo]

Would you mind posting the definition of "niche" for Zah?

Yeah... help an old guy out! That must be some hipster millenial speak for something fucking ultra cool...

[Nickdfresh]

BAM! Gay anal sex notches unknown!!!

Maybe that's where the lyrics for "Up For Breakfast" came from...

[Seshmeister]

No that was done by building sentences at random using an 11 year old boy to throw lumps of human faeces extracted from corpses at outsize Dr Seuss books and choosing the words in order of the amount that stuck to each one.

[smorgdonkey]

I think that Sam would love for this to happen because he doesn't have the wear and tear that Dave has. Dave was an unbridled animal whereas Sam was a watered-down replacement.

Hagar thinks that he is a big rocker but he never was in Dave's class so that he can do better versions of his weak stuff NOW than Dave can do of his amazing stuff now, means nothing to the people who know anything. It might mean something to the people who were casual enough fans to not favor the Van Halen or the Sam Halen or the people who are hard onto Sam's side but it means very little to people who can actually discern what good music is & what isn't good music.

[Terry]

I think that Sam would love for this to happen because he doesn't have the wear and tear that Dave has. Dave was an unbridled animal whereas Sam was a watered-down replacement.

Hagar thinks that he is a big rocker but he never was in Dave's class so that he can do better versions of his weak stuff NOW than Dave can do of his amazing stuff now, means nothing to the people who know anything. It might mean something to the people who were casual enough fans to not favor the Van Halen or the Sam Halen or the people who are hard onto Sam's side but it means very little to people who can actually discern what good music is & what isn't good music.


I mean, if Hagar wants another crack at Van Halen in terms of a tour to at least end his association with the band on a professional and positive note...I can't really blame the guy for that. That 2004 tour was a fucking fiasco. According to everything Hagar said, he knew Eddie was in a fucked up condition in the months leading up to the tour. Apparently, Eddie couldn't even get through a full-set rehearsal. Hagar admittedly kept telling himself that Eddie would somehow get his shit together, but it didn't happen. I understand contractual obligations, but my own feeling is Hagar should have pulled the plug on the tour before the contracts were even signed and made it known he wasn't going to participate if Eddie wasn't sober.

Whatever. The tour went ahead, to a pretty dismal result: I can't even imagine Van Hagar fans - low as their standards of excellence may be - could have been too happy with what transpired onstage from the clips I saw.

If Hagar's motivation now is to repair his relationship with the Van Halens and end the Hagar era of the band on a better note than it did 13 years ago, I get that. If Hagar's co-headlining tour idea springs from a genuine spirit of having everybody - Roth included (as well as fans of both lineups) - get along and wind down the band on a positive note for everybody...well, a pretty tall order, but I can appreciate the spirit of it.

If Hagar's motivation is to simply show up Roth (and, let's face it, Roth isn't what he was even ten years ago far as singing and performing goes) and put some bizarre final stamp on who the best singer for Van Halen was...even for a cheeseball like Hagar, THAT would be beyond ghey at this stage of his life.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

If Hagar's motivation now is to repair his relationship with the Van Halens and end the Hagar era of the band on a better note than it did 13 years ago, I get that. If Hagar's co-headlining tour idea springs from a genuine spirit of having everybody - Roth included (as well as fans of both lineups) - get along and wind down the band on a positive note for everybody...well, a pretty tall order, but I can appreciate the spirit of it.

If Hagar's motivation is to simply show up Roth (and, let's face it, Roth isn't what he was even ten years ago far as singing and performing goes) and put some bizarre final stamp on who the best singer for Van Halen was...even for a cheeseball like Hagar, THAT would be beyond ghey at this stage of his life.


I honestly think it's both.....

I think he's sincere that he wants to mend the fences with the brothers, but I don't think that applies to DLR. I think he wants to humiliate him night after night... That's why IMO he wants to play a few Van Hagar songs, then bring DLR on for Van Halen songs, etc.

[Terry]

I honestly think it's both.....

I think he's sincere that he wants to mend the fences with the brothers, but I don't think that applies to DLR. I think he wants to humiliate him night after night... That's why IMO he wants to play a few Van Hagar songs, then bring DLR on for Van Halen songs, etc.

Yeah, but all that would serve to do is embarrass what Roth has become in terms of a singer and performer now when contrasted with 30 + years ago. And, truth be told, Hagar might have held up better than Roth over the years re: now vs. back then, but even Hagar isn't the performer he was 30 years ago, either.

None of that will elevate the actual recorded legacy of the band, in terms of one era vs. another, inasmuch as I can't imagine that happening with any reasonable person. It'd be hard to imagine those partial to CVH reassessing that stance if such a co-headlining tour happened and Roth bombed while Hagar knocked the Van Hagar set out of the park.

[Terry]

Roth's last two tours with the band haven't been all that great from a lead vocal perspective, and that level of performance clearly is what it is now: you either accept it and continue to buy tickets for the shows, or you don't.

In the age of youtube and fan-made videos, potential ticket buyers have an idea very early on in a tour - within a couple of hours of the first show of Van Halen's 2015 tour ending - how the band is sounding. So most people outside of those ticket holders for the initial dates basically know what they're getting. I say all of this because that's how I made my choice not to see any 2015 shows.

So, if Hagar has some bizarre idea that a co-headlining tour would elicit some large-scale reassessment of either of the eras to Hagar's benefit, I mean, clearly he's free to believe that...apparently he believes Van Hagar sold 80 million records, so hyperbole isn't a concept he is unfamiliar with.

I just don't see Dave doing it in the end. I mean, if his personal, individual guarantee was massive...if he had a worthwhile payday for such a tour...maybe he would. As sort of a Last Waltz with a big check handed to him. Because, really, the idea of Dave going back to doing solo gigs in smaller venues...he's on the wrong side of 60 for that stuff, and the demand for Roth solo isn't high. I have no idea what Roth's finances are like - if he's set up for life or not - but I'd have to imagine a big, last payday would be appealing. Juxtaposing that, it'd still be hard to imagine Roth wanting to do such a co-headlining tour. Not because he's afraid of the Hagar comparisons in terms of Roth looking bad, but rather because Roth clearly believes what he did with Van Halen was exceptional, and that Hagar doesn't even deserve to be associated with that body of work.

[Nickdfresh]

Yeah, but all that would serve to do is embarrass what Roth has become in terms of a singer and performer now when contrasted with 30 + years ago. And, truth be told, Hagar might have held up better than Roth over the years re: now vs. back then, but even Hagar isn't the performer he was 30 years ago, either.

....

Yeah, I don't think Hagar is capable of much more than Dave at this point....

[Terry]

Yeah, I don't think Hagar is capable of much more than Dave at this point....

I mean, I've seen some clips of Hagar's recent shows - specifically the band playing Poundcake - and Hagar's voice wasn't what it used to be, either...and the band were playing at least a half-step down from the recorded version, to boot. Hagar was just walking around the stage, slightly bloated...he wasn't belting the tune out in a manner that recalled the original version, so if THAT is the level of performance Hagar would bring to a theoretical Van Halen/Van Hagar co-lead singer headlining tour, I don't see Hagar having the ability currently to make Roth feel embarrassed.

It'd be two aging ex-lead singers from Van Halen instead of one, with neither of them really able to bring to the stage a level of performance equal to their heydays with the band.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Oh by the way, in case if you were wondering if DLR is out of his yelping phase....

Um, no....

[ Sorry, I can only find the video posted on Toshi's FB page.... ]

https://www.facebook.com/toshimusic/videos/10155920085659905/

[DONNIEP]

Oh by the way, in case if you were wondering if DLR is out of his yelping phase....

Um, no....

[ Sorry, I can only find the video posted on Toshi's FB page.... ]

https://www.facebook.com/toshimusic/videos/10155920085659905/

Wow, next year's tour is gonna be awesome...

[vandeleur]

Ouch

[Terry]

Oh by the way, in case if you were wondering if DLR is out of his yelping phase....

Um, no....

[ Sorry, I can only find the video posted on Toshi's FB page.... ]

https://www.facebook.com/toshimusic/videos/10155920085659905/

Honestly, pretty abysmal and painful to listen to.

Does nobody tell Dave this? Apparently not. This was his vocal strategy in 2012, and it's not working.

Sadly, all Roth needs to do is sing and leave the yelping to one side: Roth's normal singing voice now isn't all that great, either, but ditching the yelping would be a marked improvement.

As to the rest of it, all the herky-jerky Wacky Uncle Dave stage theatrics...ugh.

[Von Halen]

Definitive David Lee Roth? :D

Motherfuckers still want to see Dave with the EEAS band? Seriously? He couldn't sing those songs properly 15 years ago, he sure as fuck can't (won't) do it now.

It pains me to admit it, but Dave has become a sad caricature of himself.

[Seshmeister]

Band does a good job on Jump.




https://youtu.be/UW5hpnm3OQI

[vandeleur]

Thats not saying a lot tho .... Daves dance moves are getting creepier as the years go by.
More the clown from it than the frontman from van halen.

People say he can't hit the same register ..... gonna end up on one :bigwink:

[chuckjitsu]

Where is that footage even from? Has Dave gone back to backyard parties in Pasadena? :)

I'm assuming this is some sort of private or corporate gig?

[Terry]

Definitive David Lee Roth? :D

Motherfuckers still want to see Dave with the EEAS band? Seriously? He couldn't sing those songs properly 15 years ago, he sure as fuck can't (won't) do it now.

It pains me to admit it, but Dave has become a sad caricature of himself.

I mean, I personally don't get any sense of snarky satisfaction watching Roth's performances as of the last several years and pointing out the nosedive in terms of quality, but what he brings to the stage now...it's past the point of trying to cobble together enough bits of silver to manufacture a lining for the guy.

If Dave can't cut the mustard with Van Halen onstage, regardless of Anthony being in the group or not...shit, Dave isn't even cutting it in those clips...WHY would one think it would be any better with the EEAS band?

And it's just...I don't WANT to say sad, but it is. To me, Roth was one of THE best all-around rock front men of all time. And I don't think it's beyond Roth to come up with new material better suited for what is left of his range these days that could make for interesting listening. But he HAS become a bit of a sad caricature of what he could bring to the stage 40, 30, even 20 years ago. Since 1999, he has just been waning. He took a major dip after the 2007/2008 tour, and hasn't gotten any better since. Just a little less effective with each subsequent outing.

That's a big part of why it matters not to me if Van Halen reforms with Hagar for a tour at this point: there's really nothing left for the band TO do with Roth going forward other than more of the same, and that just isn't cutting it anymore.

[Nickdfresh]

Thats not saying a lot tho .... Daves dance moves are getting creepier as the years go by.
More the clown from it than the frontman from van halen.

People say he can't hit the same register ..... gonna end up on one :bigwink:

Ha!

[THEDOCTOR]

I was thinking about something. I remember seeing live Stones footage when I was a young teenager and thinking how bad Mick sounded. Just terrible. It really reminds me of how Dave has become. Then I saw The Stones in 88 and I was really impressed by how much better Mick sounded. Since then it seems he has taken a better shot at trying to sing better. He's still not the most amazing vocalist ever, but he doesn't sound fucking terrible like he did in the early 80's footage. I had heard that he took vocal lessons. Perhaps it did and he got help in his delivery through new techniques, and perhaps it could benefit DLR to do the same. I mean come on Rob Halford blows your fucking eardrums hitting high notes still, it isn't impossible at advanced age to keep a modicum of vocal skills sharp, but I dunno, it seems very similar to me with Mick/DLR except that at one time DLR has some great live vocals(Listen to him do the screams on the first concert of the VHII tour in Outta Love Again-impressive) while Mick never was a vocal ace . But Mick sounds better live now than DLR does. Is it lessons? Is it the material? Is it technique? Is it that he cares a bit more than DLR? Did he take criticism to heart at some point?
I just find it very similar and think DLR could get some help and sound better. There are times when you see his approach working better on some songs until he reverts back to a technique that used to serve him well that sabotages him . Hell , I just saw Ratt a few months back and Pearcy notoriously has but ok to downright terrible in the 4 past times I saw him , yet he sounded really good this time.

[Von Halen]

I'm thinking VH should do the Dio thing, and just put a hologram of 1980 Dave out there.

[Igosplut]

Just like people in later life buy that car that they had when they were young, looking for that "elusive" return to youth through reliving often leaves them empty more than scratches the itch. Things get old, and bands/performers do too, and most of the time it's never pretty......

[Terry]

Just like people in later life buy that car that they had when they were young, looking for that "elusive" return to youth through reliving often leaves them empty more than scratches the itch. Things get old, and bands/performers do too, and most of the time it's never pretty......

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.

[Jetstream]

At every chance Sammy Hagar can . . . . he tells every interviewer that he lusts for a Van Halen Reunion with Dave and him trading songs. Is it possible that such an event (which I hope never happens) could create a real battle between Dave Fans and Sammy Fans? I can see a Hagar fan booing Dave or vise versa and a huge fight happening. Of course Dave Fans would kick the shit out of Sammy fans but does anyone else think that might happen if they actually toured? . . . Curious.

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

[Jetstream]

Roth's last two tours with the band haven't been all that great from a lead vocal perspective, and that level of performance clearly is what it is now: you either accept it and continue to buy tickets for the shows, or you don't.

In the age of youtube and fan-made videos, potential ticket buyers have an idea very early on in a tour - within a couple of hours of the first show of Van Halen's 2015 tour ending - how the band is sounding. So most people outside of those ticket holders for the initial dates basically know what they're getting. I say all of this because that's how I made my choice not to see any 2015 shows.

So, if Hagar has some bizarre idea that a co-headlining tour would elicit some large-scale reassessment of either of the eras to Hagar's benefit, I mean, clearly he's free to believe that...apparently he believes Van Hagar sold 80 million records, so hyperbole isn't a concept he is unfamiliar with.

I just don't see Dave doing it in the end. I mean, if his personal, individual guarantee was massive...if he had a worthwhile payday for such a tour...maybe he would. As sort of a Last Waltz with a big check handed to him. Because, really, the idea of Dave going back to doing solo gigs in smaller venues...he's on the wrong side of 60 for that stuff, and the demand for Roth solo isn't high. I have no idea what Roth's finances are like - if he's set up for life or not - but I'd have to imagine a big, last payday would be appealing. Juxtaposing that, it'd still be hard to imagine Roth wanting to do such a co-headlining tour. Not because he's afraid of the Hagar comparisons in terms of Roth looking bad, but rather because Roth clearly believes what he did with Van Halen was exceptional, and that Hagar doesn't even deserve to be associated with that body of work.

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 :)

[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!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HplDeGapwVo

[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...
http://anonmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Duckie-290x290.jpg

[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...
http://anonmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Duckie-290x290.jpg

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..:headscratch: 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.

[Seshmeister]

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

I know he would have had a ghost writer but did he even read his own autobiography?

[Seshmeister]

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.

I don't think there is much in there tbh...