Fuck You Ed

[Vinnie Velvet]

Ok its been two years....

RIP...

Blah blah blah....

BUT, let's bring this back to reality. Edward VH fucked up the band Van Halen more than anyone.

So here's a thread to remind us that Ed fucked us over first by being a fucking 12-hour a day drunk ass punk not answering Dave and Ted's calls in early 1985 to get going on the next VH album (so legend has it).

Fuck you Ed for YOU not trying to make it work. Yeah yeah, Dave had his own aspirations but did fuck all while it was Ed who was the first one to wank off with other people (Brian May, Jackson....etc before Dave did anything on his own) and create music outside of VH (the Wild Life score and some lame ass TV movie his wife was in).

Fuck you Ed for dumping Ted. Nice move ass clown. Dumping the producer that made the six pack sonically so good not to mention helping get your ass a record deal in the first place.

Fuck you Ed for ultimately being the one who brought in Spammy McGaygar. That's right. The chump who's entry all but made Ed's beloved band into a pussified top 40 act. Sure they made lots of money but hey....gay is gay.

And the biggest Fuck You Ed is of course for the debacle in 1996.

Here was Ed's chance to redeem himself for the breakup of CVH to finally set things right. Sure, Dave can be a handful and always was but Ed's ego couldn't take it. Thus he ends up using Dave to sell more copies of the Best Of album (must have learned those tactics from Hagar). Then goes and hires Ga y Cherone and delivers the dreadful VH3.

Although I, like many, enjoyed the long awaited Roth reunion in 2007.....alas I have to give another Fuck You to Ed for not bringing in Mike to get that true CVH reunion. Sure Wolf saved Ed from his demons etc, but hey Ed still deserves a Fuck You for this as well.

Anyway....I dont really care if there are those of you who think this thread is in bad taste or whatever. Fuck that.

This is the Army....or used to be anyway.

[Von Halen]

Used to be for sure. Remember back in the day when we would have so much activity it was unbelievable? Thank Fagbook and its supporters like NickDlibtard for ruining the great forums like this one.

I'll agree with you. Fuck Ed for every one of your valid points.

But I'll throw a fuck Dave in too. That dumbass has never been able to get out of his own way. He could have been more humble in 1996. He could have done more, much more, to make 2007 on more productive and better quality. Especially from 2012 on.

Fuck you Ed.
Fuck you Dave.

You both fucked up the greatest band in the history of rock and roll. Now you've both left it in the hands of a fat fuck that despises those of us that were there in the beginning. I have said for many many years, this is the hardest band ever, to be a fan of. They have fucked over their fans 6 ways to Sunday, time and time again.

[Vinnie Velvet]

Used to be for sure. Remember back in the day when we would have so much activity it was unbelievable? Thank Fagbook and its supporters like NickDlibtard for ruining the great forums like this one.

I'll agree with you. Fuck Ed for every one of your valid points.

But I'll throw a fuck Dave in too. That dumbass has never been able to get out of his own way. He could have been more humble in 1996. He could have done more, much more, to make 2007 on more productive and better quality. Especially from 2012 on.

Fuck you Ed.
Fuck you Dave.

You both fucked up the greatest band in the history of rock and roll. Now you've both left it in the hands of a fat fuck that despises those of us that were there in the beginning. I have said for many many years, this is the hardest band ever, to be a fan of. They have fucked over their fans 6 ways to Sunday, time and time again.

I agree with this yes.

I still argue that Ed deserves more of the Fuck you than anyone. But yeah fuck you to Dave as well.

[Terry]

I think it would have been bad form to do a Fuck you Ed post immediately after his death, just out of basic decency, although that sentiment pretty much reflects the sentiments I'd held certainly since 1996. I'd even throw in a Fuck you Alex for good measure.

Up to and including the 1985 split, I'd basically split the blame or responsibility evenly. The bottom line is that the Van Halens never particularly cared for Dave from the beginning. Not personality-wise and not in terms of how he sang. Even stylistically, Roth and the Van Halens were different re: the music they liked. Roth kinda finagled his way into the band despite the reservations the Van Halens had. Roth had a PA system the whole band could use, as well as rehearsal space at his father's house. Roth and the Van Halens all had ambitions beyond being a backyard party/regional bar band. They all worked toward that goal of getting signed to a major record label and touring big venues. They paid their dues, honed their abilities, nurtured their talents, got some lucky breaks along the way, eventually became stars.

It seems to me come 1983 that Ed was...I dunno if he was beginning to take his success for granted at that point or just felt by then that Van Halen's track record should have afforded him the right and expectation to do things the way he wanted to do them, to not have to listen to what Ted or Dave or whoever said and just have things his way, and maybe Ed was starting to tire of the perception of him as a flash rock guitar player above all else...a guitarist who amounted to little more than a guy who could play blazingly fast solos over dumb party rock music...but I think Ed wanted respect from rock critics and other musicians in general, and a lot of those people back then thought David Lee Roth was a clownish showoff who was holding Eddie Van Halen's musical greatness back and tethering it to hard rock. I think Ed felt that way, too. When Dave pitched the CFTH movie idea to the Van Halens, it probably solidified to Ed that Dave thought HE was the star of the band, whereas Ed doubtless felt that were it not for his guitar playing Van Halen would have never made it as big as they did.

I think success also went to Dave's head, in that come CFTH EP time when those videos were in constant rotation and Dave was at his zenith commercially, I'll bet Dave figured he WAS the star of the band and if not the main draw than every bit as responsible for Van Halen's success as anything Eddie was doing. Throw in musical differences and the fact that by 1985 Van Halen had climbed the summit, well, this was no longer four guys from Pasadena trying to break into the bar band scene on the fabulous Sunset Strip. It wasn't even the same four guys who for the first few CVH records were probably overwhelmed with the thrill of being signed to a major label and building their national audience. All of those previous circumstances probably made the members overlook their differences to work together. Once the success set in, Ed didn't see the need to do an album and tour every year, nor did he see the need to do any more cover tunes or have to battle with his lead singer and producer if he wanted to have keyboard-based material. By that same token, Dave felt he could do whatever he wanted musically a la the CFTH EP, and expand into movies. Once Van Halen got the success and had a substantial amount of time off in 1983 - got off the hamster wheel of album/tour, album/tour, album/tour - THAT is when the problems set in and those long-term personality differences exacerbated everything.

[twonabomber]

On 10-6-2020 I considered saying the same thing, pretty much "fuck you, Ed" for foisting Hagar on us. I deleted what I typed and posted this instead:




If I may bring a little positivity to the thread...












NO HAGAR REUNION!








too soon?

I did say somewhere that there is no God, because if there was, He would have taken Hagar before Ed.

[Vinnie Velvet]

I think it would have been bad form to do a Fuck you Ed post immediately after his death, just out of basic decency, although that sentiment pretty much reflects the sentiments I'd held certainly since 1996. I'd even throw in a Fuck you Alex for good measure.

Up to and including the 1985 split, I'd basically split the blame or responsibility evenly. The bottom line is that the Van Halens never particularly cared for Dave from the beginning. Not personality-wise and not in terms of how he sang. Even stylistically, Roth and the Van Halens were different re: the music they liked. Roth kinda finagled his way into the band despite the reservations the Van Halens had. Roth had a PA system the whole band could use, as well as rehearsal space at his father's house. Roth and the Van Halens all had ambitions beyond being a backyard party/regional bar band. They all worked toward that goal of getting signed to a major record label and touring big venues. They paid their dues, honed their abilities, nurtured their talents, got some lucky breaks along the way, eventually became stars.

It seems to me come 1983 that Ed was...I dunno if he was beginning to take his success for granted at that point or just felt by then that Van Halen's track record should have afforded him the right and expectation to do things the way he wanted to do them, to not have to listen to what Ted or Dave or whoever said and just have things his way, and maybe Ed was starting to tire of the perception of him as a flash rock guitar player above all else...a guitarist who amounted to little more than a guy who could play blazingly fast solos over dumb party rock music...but I think Ed wanted respect from rock critics and other musicians in general, and a lot of those people back then thought David Lee Roth was a clownish showoff who was holding Eddie Van Halen's musical greatness back and tethering it to hard rock. I think Ed felt that way, too. When Dave pitched the CFTH movie idea to the Van Halens, it probably solidified to Ed that Dave thought HE was the star of the band, whereas Ed doubtless felt that were it not for his guitar playing Van Halen would have never made it as big as they did.

I think success also went to Dave's head, in that come CFTH EP time when those videos were in constant rotation and Dave was at his zenith commercially, I'll bet Dave figured he WAS the star of the band and if not the main draw than every bit as responsible for Van Halen's success as anything Eddie was doing. Throw in musical differences and the fact that by 1985 Van Halen had climbed the summit, well, this was no longer four guys from Pasadena trying to break into the bar band scene on the fabulous Sunset Strip. It wasn't even the same four guys who for the first few CVH records were probably overwhelmed with the thrill of being signed to a major label and building their national audience. All of those previous circumstances probably made the members overlook their differences to work together. Once the success set in, Ed didn't see the need to do an album and tour every year, nor did he see the need to do any more cover tunes or have to battle with his lead singer and producer if he wanted to have keyboard-based material. By that same token, Dave felt he could do whatever he wanted musically a la the CFTH EP, and expand into movies. Once Van Halen got the success and had a substantial amount of time off in 1983 - got off the hamster wheel of album/tour, album/tour, album/tour - THAT is when the problems set in and those long-term personality differences exacerbated everything.

Of course I was never going to post a Fuck You Ed thread after he died.

But felt the need to do this considering he is being looked upon now around several circles as a saint. When in fact if you were to pin point just ONE singular person that created a lot of the messes it would mostly be on him.

[Nickdfresh]

17283
Used to be for sure. Remember back in the day when we would have so much activity it was unbelievable? Thank Fagbook and its supporters like NickDlibtard for ruining the great forums like this one.

I'll agree with you. Fuck Ed for every one of your valid points.

But I'll throw a fuck Dave in too. That dumbass has never been able to get out of his own way. He could have been more humble in 1996. He could have done more, much more, to make 2007 on more productive and better quality. Especially from 2012 on.

Fuck you Ed.
Fuck you Dave.

You both fucked up the greatest band in the history of rock and roll. Now you've both left it in the hands of a fat fuck that despises those of us that were there in the beginning. I have said for many many years, this is the hardest band ever, to be a fan of. They have fucked over their fans 6 ways to Sunday, time and time again.

I don't know anything about Fagbook Von, can you tell me more?

I hate Facecrook, Twatter and Instacunt myself and basically only use FB for work 99% of the time, and checking on relatives the rest and maybe gathering info on whores.

So really not sure why you are name dropping me when you did far more to ruin your own site, jerkoff....

If you old men are yell at clouds, yell at ALL the fucking cunt-clouds!!

Though I do agree Dave deserves nearly as much blame. But WTF, how does anyone leave ALEX out of any of this! He was the main cunt during the post-1984 era as he effectively took over the band from Dave's feeble grip...

[Terry]

Of course I was never going to post a Fuck You Ed thread after he died.

But felt the need to do this considering he is being looked upon now around several circles as a saint. When in fact if you were to pin point just ONE singular person that created a lot of the messes it would mostly be on him.

I wouldn't think for a minute that you would have right after he died, just out of a sense of general taste and timing and based on reading your posts for years and years...like, I would have been surprised if you had along the lines of "that's not the Vinnie Velvet I thought I knew from all the time spent on these forums."

But I don't disagree with you that Eddie...Eddie was more than a bit of a fuck up when he wasn't playing guitar.

The Hagar years were what they were. The band made the music they wanted to make. They toured. They had a decent amount of success post-1985, managed to maintain it through the end of the 1980's and into the 1990's better than most of their hard rock contemporaries.

It wasn't until 1996 and that whole Hagar departure/Roth debacle and the interviews in the aftermath of it that made me realize Ed was a bit of a dick and a bit out to lunch. All through just what transpired in terms of events. How hard was a Roth reunion in terms of it being a no-brainer? Nope. After diddling with Mitch Malloy, Ed opted for Cherone. Whatever one thought of the Van Hagar records in terms of the tunes, at least most of the Van Hagar records were competently produced re: recording and mixing. Van Halen III was half-realized and subpar on a basic production level, and that record was Eddie's baby. At least the Van Hagar records would have a few tracks that were interesting in terms of what the guitar was doing. Van Halen III didn't have a single track that I found compelling even on an instrumental level. My reaction to Van Halen III was that Eddie was not only spent creatively but after 20 years of professional studio recording and 15 years of having a studio in his backyard, he couldn't even grasp how to make a decent-sounding record. That made me think that Eddie was clearly best served by having his music recorded and engineered by someone other than himself or a yes-man producer.

And then the bizarre comments he made about him getting tongue cancer from putting metal guitar picks in his mouth, to his "I'll play the tuba if I want to on a record"/fuck the fans stance he took in the fallout of the 1996 Roth reunion falling apart. Then Van Halen III tanking. Then WB booting the band off the label. Then Eddie's relapse. Then his divorce. Then ejecting Michael Anthony from the band. Then replacing Anthony with his teenaged son. And the lost years of the early 2000's when he was doubtless fucked up on more than just alcohol. By the time 2006 rolled around, I didn't even want to look at a current picture of Eddie Van Halen because by all appearances it was evident Eddie didn't give a shit anymore.

I wouldn't have said this right after he died but considering what Van Halen's music meant to me and what the image of Van Halen meant to me and what Eddie as a guitar player meant to me in the early 1980's... the last 25 years of Eddie's life weren't overall pleasant in the least from my perspective as a fan. The highwater mark of those years from what I saw was that Eddie eventually cleaned himself up and got his chops back up to par enough to do a few reunion tours with Roth. The best Eddie was able to manage in those last 25 years was getting himself together enough to perform his old CVH tunes live. And even THEN he couldn't see clear to doing a CVH tour. He only bothered because he wanted to play with his kid. This guy who just floored me with his ability in the early 1980's had put himself through the wringer via his addictions, couldn't recognize a no-brainer opportunity in 1996 when it fell into his lap and did what he wanted to do. Cheapened the image by slapping his patented Franky stripes on everything under the sun, frittered away his ability and talent through drink and drugs, probably took years off his life via his own lifestyle choices.

Yeah, sure, doubtless avid Guitar World readers would get emotional about all the things I said in this post. Eddie Idolators who put him on a pedestal. Just like anybody who puts whatever entertainer or person on a pedestal, pointing out the object of their deification was - like everybody else who has ever lived - only human in the end is a slap of reality that crowds out the magic.

For me, humanization is more interesting than perspectives fogged by excessive celebrity worship.

I suppose it was the joy and marvel of what Eddie did with a guitar...it was that powerful and wonderful to the point where the offstage human reality (which wasn't pretty a lot of the time) is glossed over by some. But, as you and other reasonable people know, Eddie was no saint. Wasn't the worst far as rock star behavior went, either. His own worst enemy in the end, I think. I dunno...I like to remember him and Van Halen back in the day when CVH dominated the rock scene. The years after Dave left were at best mere echoes. Back when we were all so young.

[Nickdfresh]

17283

I don't know anything about Fagbook Von, can you tell me more?

I hate Facecrook, Twatter and Instacunt myself and basically only use FB for work 99% of the time, and checking on relatives the rest and maybe gathering info on whores.

So really not sure why you are name dropping me when you did far more to ruin your own site, jerkoff....

If you old men are yell at clouds, yell at ALL the fucking cunt-clouds!!

Though I do agree Dave deserves nearly as much blame. But WTF, how does anyone leave ALEX out of any of this! He was the main cunt during the post-1984 era as he effectively took over the band from Dave's feeble grip...

Retard erases DDLR.com, but I'M the problem! Fucking cunt asshole!

Going on 49K posts but I'M THE PROBLEM...

Fuck you Dave, Ed, and Alex. But fuck you too, Von....

http://www.ddlr.com/

[Nickdfresh]

The only relatively blameless Classic Van Halen member is Mikey. They as a group fucked him early on and often, and he was never is any sort of decision cycle. But Dave, Al, and Ed were all dicks that cheapened their legacy at some point. According to the lore, Dave was the "leader" of sorts in the beginning, but Alcohlex took over circa 1984-85 and Ed, being the actual savant writer, took over after that in the Hagar era. A lot of blame to go around...
https://i.imgflip.com/wslr8.jpg

[ZahZoo]

At a loss for words...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSDj7bjAv2s&ab_channel=TheMuppets

[Von Halen]

Retard erases DDLR.com, but I'M the problem! Fucking cunt asshole!

Going on 49K posts but I'M THE PROBLEM...

Fuck you Dave, Ed, and Alex. But fuck you too, Von....

http://www.ddlr.com/

NickDelusionaldumbass.

You don't know anything about Fagbook, but you use it for "work", "checking on relatives" and "gathering info on underage whores". Way to contradict yourself, NickDumbass.

DDLR was only put up in the first place because the fag bass player from the Atomic Punks deleted this place. Sarge was busy doing what you failed to do, building a career defending our great Country. There was never room for two DLR specific sites. When Sarge finally got the time to bring this place back, we like Dave and Ed, should have put our egos aside and found a way to merge together. But as you know, Sesh can be difficult and his substance abuses were raging. Just like Ed's. In reality, the glory days were in the rear view mirror, but we still could have done more to fend off the likes of Fagbook and the Fagbook supporters and lovers, like you. You and your kind are 100% responsible for the death of the VB style message forums. Now quit hijacking Vinnie's great fuck you to Ed thread, and get back to stalking underage girls on Fagbook.

[Vinnie Velvet]

The only relatively blameless Classic Van Halen member is Mikey. They as a group fucked him early on and often, and he was never is any sort of decision cycle. But Dave, Al, and Ed were all dicks that cheapened their legacy at some point. According to the lore, Dave was the "leader" of sorts in the beginning, but Alcohlex took over circa 1984-85 and Ed, being the actual savant writer, took over after that in the Hagar era. A lot of blame to go around...
https://i.imgflip.com/wslr8.jpg

Can't say Bass Player is totally blameless. We are led to believe he never contacted Ed and Al after the passing of their mother in 2005. Not even a condolence card or flowers. Nothing.

At the height of the breakup even Dave still got in touch with them to send condolences on the passing of their dad in 1986.

Its no surprise then that Mike was one that never got a final chat or even a text with Ed before his passing. Again, he could've easily called or got his number. But again, nothing.

[Terry]

Yeah, we're led to believe that.

Sounds sort of like that feeble excuse Ed made after the news that his son was now playing bass joined, that since Mike was playing with Hagar he couldn't also play with Van Halen when they got back with Roth in 2006.

Would have been closer to the truth if Ed just flat-out said he didn't want to have Michael Anthony in the band anymore and would rather play with his kid.

Ed didn't even want Anthony to play on the 2004 tour, so I highly doubt it was Anthony failing to pay proper condolences a year after the 2004 tour ended that ended up being the final straw. Ed just had no more use for Michael Anthony, and probably didn't have any particular use for Anthony as far back as that unpublished 1982 interview where Ed said Anthony basically contributed nothing but still got an equal share. Even as recently as 2015, where Ed was saying his background vocals were just as important to the CVH sound as Anthony's and that he had to teach Anthony everything Anthony ever played...yeah, considering all that it wasn't a surprise Anthony didn't get a final call from Ed. I mean, they hadn't played together or even as much as spoke to one another for 15 years.

Taking all of that into consideration, had Ed's health permitted I'll bet even if the band had asked Anthony to do a tour in 2019 they would have had Azoff make Anthony some lowball financial offer...probably less than Wolfgang had been making.

Lot of things went wrong with Van Halen over the years, but I tend to doubt Anthony was the cause of any of 'em.

[Nickdfresh]

NickDelusionaldumbass.

You don't know anything about Fagbook, but you use it for "work", "checking on relatives" and "gathering info on underage whores". Way to contradict yourself, NickDumbass.

Try making sense you senile old cunt.

I spend little time on "Fagbook" and don't go on for days at a time. But even if I did WTF does that have to do with the supposed downfall of message boards? I mean WTF do you do when your not here drunk posting? Much like your ignorant political choices and inbred still stuck in highschool mentality, it makes no sense. Yes a lot of people use social msg. sites but I largely do not and put no content up on them. I used to go on for the Bills/Sabres Mafia stuff but even that is run largely by aholes that couldn't afford, or have the knowledge, to run a real message board (and yes it is way to easy for clowns to set stuff up there that are the last people that should be running anything that has mass appeal and just steal others intellectual properties). I don't like the rise of social media anymore than you do, but the real reason this site went downhill is the incessant cunt bickering that happened between factions. And the worst offenders are the ones THAT FUCKING SHOULD BE ON FACECUNT! The ones that made this place their club without putting anything back into it and having weird agendas like trying to "take over a site" they could never run let alone afford. I've always defended this site from that sort of shit. No one is underage, Instascam is more for that but I don't even have an account. Also you might notice that this shit won' last forever and there is nothing much left of Van Halen world and there hasn't been for the better part of a decade now. But if the band were active and not old or dead, then this place would be more active and I think the online member high was set around the 2015 tour or just prior...

I still have no idea why you associate me with Facebook and its just fucking bizarre. Some did run off this site to places like FB, literally were terrorized off this site because they didn't want to deal with the shits you guys gave fucking tickets to! Fucking sociopathic psychos (like you) are the ones that drove many good, longtime posters off this site. Not me. Not even Facebook, but at Facecrap, they do have more recourse to deal with fuckheads that have so little in life to lose they would actively stalk people in real life over a website. Some even did lose a lot for doing that, and she shall also remain nameless...


DDLR was only put up in the first place because the fag bass player from the Atomic Punks deleted this place. Sarge was busy doing what you failed to do, building a career defending our great Country

Fuck you Von you pussy-biotch! I did serve, just not to the extent Sarge did and I didn't realize there was any crime in serving and then ETSing and choosing not to have a career in the military. I have the upmost respect for Sarge (is it Colonel now?) and what he has achieved. But I think he's also paid a big physical price for it. You fucking never served anything you pathetic jerkoff who thinks he's a tough guy, but like every bully Von Helen, a nice punch in the mouth would put a trash POS "talker" like you in her place!



There was never room for two DLR specific sites.

Maybe not but I was on both of 'em, I think someone (who will remain nameless) tried a third with predictably comical results.


When Sarge finally got the time to bring this place back, we like Dave and Ed, should have put our egos aside and found a way to merge together. But as you know, Sesh can be difficult and his substance abuses were raging. Just like Ed's. In reality, the glory days were in the rear view mirror, but we still could have done more to fend off the likes of Fagbook and the Fagbook supporters and lovers, like you. You and your kind are 100% responsible for the death of the VB style message forums. Now quit hijacking Vinnie's great fuck you to Ed thread, and get back to stalking underage girls on Fagbook.

Again you senile old queen, you make no fucking sense. Seriously, your mind is going like dementia shit with clown-ass statements like that! It was never a direct competition. Few go to FB for that sort of shit and we even have a presence there but "Fagbook" groups are notoriously terrible and run by fucktards. Again, you're just a fucking moron that is poorly educated outside of whatever vocational skillset you have and project some weird fucking nonsense onto others. I'm sure you're a real hoot at whatever watering hole you drown your delusions in...

People like you Von Queerbait: sociopathic social-idiot psychos that name drop members with their fucking creepily gay "Cable guy-like" obsessions in every completely unrelated topic, are the ones that drive people out of here! You "Fabulous" old bastard!

[Nickdfresh]

Can't say Bass Player is totally blameless. We are led to believe he never contacted Ed and Al after the passing of their mother in 2005. Not even a condolence card or flowers. Nothing.

At the height of the breakup even Dave still got in touch with them to send condolences on the passing of their dad in 1986.

Its no surprise then that Mike was one that never got a final chat or even a text with Ed before his passing. Again, he could've easily called or got his number. But again, nothing.

Yeah maybe he did or didn't. But if I got fucked out of royalties like he did, I might not be into buying Hallmark cards for the ones primarily responsible...

[Nickdfresh]

Hey everyone! I destroyed message boards when I created Facebook! So says Von FUcking Retard Helen!

LMFAO!!!

[Nitro Express]

Ed was a rockstar. The lucky ones have short amazing lives. If they don’t manage to die young and quick we get to see the slow pathetic demise. Some manage to clean up later in life but the magic is long gone. If Ed would have died young in an alcohol fueled cocaine binge in a bed full of whores he would be a bigger legend than he is now. Hendrix didn’t live long enough to reach the slow demise and have the pathetic crying breakdowns and drama that destroy good art. Jim Morrison did it right. Leave the country and die mysteriously and then get buried in a creepy old cemetery your family have zero ties to. No family plot. Jim came here, died and here he is. We had to fence him in because the motherfucking fans leave wierd shit, fuck on top of the grave and tag the place.

[Nitro Express]

Used to be for sure. Remember back in the day when we would have so much activity it was unbelievable? Thank Fagbook and its supporters like NickDlibtard for ruining the great forums like this one.

I'll agree with you. Fuck Ed for every one of your valid points.

But I'll throw a fuck Dave in too. That dumbass has never been able to get out of his own way. He could have been more humble in 1996. He could have done more, much more, to make 2007 on more productive and better quality. Especially from 2012 on.

Fuck you Ed.
Fuck you Dave.

You both fucked up the greatest band in the history of rock and roll. Now you've both left it in the hands of a fat fuck that despises those of us that were there in the beginning. I have said for many many years, this is the hardest band ever, to be a fan of. They have fucked over their fans 6 ways to Sunday, time and time again.

Social media is more like socialist media. I always thought it sucked. It bottle necked the internet discussions and put them under the control of a few big tech companies who don’t believe in free speech at all. On top of that, they own anything you post and they sell the information they gather. On top of that they try and influence society with fake posts.

It was much better when websites were ran by one or a few people and they moderated the forums. Not high tech corporations with an agenda. Social media is a data mine and a social influencer.

[Nitro Express]

Shit. I will finish by saying Fuck You Wolfie you fat fuck! I’m tired of the brat. I will say fuck Jimmy Page to save Kristy the trouble.

[Nitro Express]

Yeah, we're led to believe that.

Sounds sort of like that feeble excuse Ed made after the news that his son was now playing bass joined, that since Mike was playing with Hagar he couldn't also play with Van Halen when they got back with Roth in 2006.

Would have been closer to the truth if Ed just flat-out said he didn't want to have Michael Anthony in the band anymore and would rather play with his kid.

Ed didn't even want Anthony to play on the 2004 tour, so I highly doubt it was Anthony failing to pay proper condolences a year after the 2004 tour ended that ended up being the final straw. Ed just had no more use for Michael Anthony, and probably didn't have any particular use for Anthony as far back as that unpublished 1982 interview where Ed said Anthony basically contributed nothing but still got an equal share. Even as recently as 2015, where Ed was saying his background vocals were just as important to the CVH sound as Anthony's and that he had to teach Anthony everything Anthony ever played...yeah, considering all that it wasn't a surprise Anthony didn't get a final call from Ed. I mean, they hadn't played together or even as much as spoke to one another for 15 years.

Taking all of that into consideration, had Ed's health permitted I'll bet even if the band had asked Anthony to do a tour in 2019 they would have had Azoff make Anthony some lowball financial offer...probably less than Wolfgang had been making.

Lot of things went wrong with Van Halen over the years, but I tend to doubt Anthony was the cause of any of 'em.

Mike gets fucked in the ass because he likes a good ass fucking. Why do you think he’s around Hagar all the time? Sam digs Mike because he feels like a dominant male when he pegs the gimp. You know how losers are when they finally find someone they can boss around and ride their ass. In Sam’s case it’s literal.

[Nitro Express]

Why this place slowed down was you could get bootlegs and videos at other sites like YouTube. Also the excitement around Van Halen and a reunion wained due to too many false starts and then Ed being so fucked up. Most fans just blew it off. By the time a reunion with Dave really happened people were burnt out and probably pissed Mike wasn’t on tour. Oh the fat brat is going to sing backup and play bass. Fuck that. I’m saving my money, staying home and will masturbate instead.

[Terry]

Mike gets fucked in the ass because he likes a good ass fucking. Why do you think he’s around Hagar all the time? Sam digs Mike because he feels like a dominant male when he pegs the gimp. You know how losers are when they finally find someone they can boss around and ride their ass. In Sam’s case it’s literal.

Mike got his percentage in Van Halen whittled down over the years, while he was still in the group. About the only reason I can think he went along with that is a passivity about it all that is hard for me to understand on the outside looking in. He didn't grow up with the Van Halens, so it wasn't like they were childhood friends. May well be that on a personality level Anthony wasn't much more amicable with the Van Halens than he was with Roth. Maybe Anthony just got along better with Sammy Hagar on a personality level than he ever did with the Van Halens or Roth.

In the end, who had Anthony's back? Not Roth. Not the Van Halens. Hagar did. If you were Anthony, out of those 4 who would you consider to be worth hanging out with? The three guys who didn't give a shit if you were there or not vs. the guy who appreciates what you brought to the table as a player and likes hanging out with you as a bud?

Seems a pretty easy determination to make were I in Mike Anthony's shoes.

[Terry]

Why this place slowed down was you could get bootlegs and videos at other sites like YouTube. Also the excitement around Van Halen and a reunion wained due to too many false starts and then Ed being so fucked up. Most fans just blew it off. By the time a reunion with Dave really happened people were burnt out and probably pissed Mike wasn’t on tour. Oh the fat brat is going to sing backup and play bass. Fuck that. I’m saving my money, staying home and will masturbate instead.

I'd buy all of that.

Fans got older along with the band. While I was stoked in 1996 at the possibility of a reunion, by 2006 I wasn't nearly as stoked; when Roth finally rejoined it had more of a feeling of Van Halen having run out of options and the whole biz being several years too late, in addition to Anthony not being part of the proceedings which made it feel at best 75% of what I wanted.

In addition to everything else external from the site, it should be said that the sheer amount of asshole trolls and flame wars when the site had its highest volume of posting traffic...more than a few hardcore members tired of the assholes as time went on, left and didn't come back. Good riddance some may say, but more than a few real good peeps said sayonara because of that.

[Vinnie Velvet]

I'd buy all of that.

Fans got older along with the band. While I was stoked in 1996 at the possibility of a reunion, by 2006 I wasn't nearly as stoked; when Roth finally rejoined it had more of a feeling of Van Halen having run out of options and the whole biz being several years too late, in addition to Anthony not being part of the proceedings which made it feel at best 75% of what I wanted.

In addition to everything else external from the site, it should be said that the sheer amount of asshole trolls and flame wars when the site had its highest volume of posting traffic...more than a few hardcore members tired of the assholes as time went on, left and didn't come back. Good riddance some may say, but more than a few real good peeps said sayonara because of that.

For me when Dave finally rejoined in 2007 I was still stoked. Yeah it was disappointing that it wasn't a true CVH reunion but after all it was always "Dave or the Grave" so I stuck by that.

The flame wars is what made it all fun. Lol

This of course started at the Links.

"EUAS" - Eat Us And Smile!

[Terry]

For me when Dave finally rejoined in 2007 I was still stoked. Yeah it was disappointing that it wasn't a true CVH reunion but after all it was always "Dave or the Grave" so I stuck by that.

The flame wars is what made it all fun. Lol

This of course started at the Links.

"EUAS" - Eat Us And Smile!

Yeah, I was happy Roth finally got back with the group. Not as much because it took ten years after 1996 (lot of wasted years to my mind), and Anthony wasn't there. But it was cool to be able to see Roth and Eddie onstage together again and experience some old the old magic again.

The flame wars were fun to watch...from a distance. I'll admit to getting some rubbernecking enjoyment out of it.

The Links I was aware of. Had been on the site once or twice to look around, but it was way too pro-Eddie Van Halen for my taste. To the point where you couldn't say anything remotely critical about Eddie or the state of the band without a million people dousing you with the Eddie Kool Aid. Plus, there was nothing going on there that I couldn't get here in terms of content I wanted, or quality posts. Am assuming you're talking about the Van Halen Links site.

I actually migrated over here from slawterhouse to ddlr.com and then this place.

[Seshmeister]

I did say somewhere that there is no God, because if there was, He would have taken Hagar before Ed.

He could have had the aliens just through him out the airlock 50 years ago...

[Seshmeister]

But as you know, Sesh can be difficult and his substance abuses were raging. Just like Ed's.

I know you all are just trolling each other but me, difficult is just crazy talk? I've always been the lukewarm water :)

The DDLR going on too long but also not going on long enough is a complicated and not very interesting story but I can confirm as I'm sure Nick actually knows that Von didn't erase it. We just got to a point where it was going to cost too much. The only surprising/disappointing thing for me about it was how many people didn't just come back here for whatever reason. Anyhoo keep the thread back on topic...

[Seshmeister]

Why this place slowed down was you could get bootlegs and videos at other sites like YouTube. Also the excitement around Van Halen and a reunion wained due to too many false starts and then Ed being so fucked up. Most fans just blew it off. By the time a reunion with Dave really happened people were burnt out and probably pissed Mike wasn’t on tour. Oh the fat brat is going to sing backup and play bass. Fuck that. I’m saving my money, staying home and will masturbate instead.

We were way ahead of the time with social media and as everyone now knows from Alex Jones upwards, the internet works best on anger and conflict. Apart from everything else DLR Army lost a lot of fizz when Hagar became irrelevant after the reunion.

It's not all just about Facebook and Twitter I see Bulletin boards for sports teams still do pretty well as it's good to have a place to meet with like minded people about something you really like and rant shit without worrying if your boss or Aunt May is going to be disturbed about it.

[Von Halen]

I know you all are just trolling each other

What? Me trolling? I would never. I would really never troll NickDishonorabledischarge.

[Vinnie Velvet]

Yeah, I was happy Roth finally got back with the group. Not as much because it took ten years after 1996 (lot of wasted years to my mind), and Anthony wasn't there. But it was cool to be able to see Roth and Eddie onstage together again and experience some old the old magic again.

The flame wars were fun to watch...from a distance. I'll admit to getting some rubbernecking enjoyment out of it.

The Links I was aware of. Had been on the site once or twice to look around, but it was way too pro-Eddie Van Halen for my taste. To the point where you couldn't say anything remotely critical about Eddie or the state of the band without a million people dousing you with the Eddie Kool Aid. Plus, there was nothing going on there that I couldn't get here in terms of content I wanted, or quality posts. Am assuming you're talking about the Van Halen Links site.

I actually migrated over here from slawterhouse to ddlr.com and then this place.

Yes I'm referring to the Van Halen Links site run by Brett.

Ah Slawterhouse I remember posting shit on there. Good times. Also DDLR.com.

[Von Halen]

Brett is the biggest bitch on the internet. NOBODY sucks off Clichegar more than Brett. He should have changed the name of that shithole to the Van Hagar Links, years ago. He will be more sad when Clichegar croaks, than he was when Ed croaked.

[Heater]

It seems like Ed was always a dick to Mike, or thought very little of him. That 82 interview showed that as did the Billboard one in 2015 or whenever it was. Mike’s vocals were a HUGE part of their overall sound and none of their songs would be as great as they are if he was missing, it was shitty how Ed tried to minimize Mike’s input. When Ed knew he was dying, HE should have been the one reaching out to make amends. So to some extent, yes, fuck EVH.

[ZahZoo]

Bulletin Boards were the precursor to what we refer to as social media... a foundation that continues today. Prior to that you had news groups in the very early days of public interaction sites on the internet. Back when when we used dial-up modems on telephone lines to connect to this digital world. Facebook is just part of the journey. Something new is a click/tap away...

A lot has changed in the last 25 years... somethings remain a constant... human interaction is messy, but it's it's a part of what makes us unique, interesting and evolving.

Troll on... jackasses!

[Nitro Express]

Bulletin Boards were the precursor to what we refer to as social media... a foundation that continues today. Prior to that you had news groups in the very early days of public interaction sites on the internet. Back when when we used dial-up modems on telephone lines to connect to this digital world. Facebook is just part of the journey. Something new is a click/tap away...

A lot has changed in the last 25 years... somethings remain a constant... human interaction is messy, but it's it's a part of what makes us unique, interesting and evolving.

Troll on... jackasses!

Yeah like social credit scores, censorship and the internet of things. In the future, health insurance companies might require you to wear a device that monitors your body functions. The Information Age can be wonderful or it can be dark. With the government and big tech in bed together with no checks on it, it's getting dark quick. In the past the internet was a free and open space. Today if you post the wrong thing and you command enough attention you can have you bank accounts canceled. We are in the early stages of high tech fascism.

[Nitro Express]

It seems like Ed was always a dick to Mike, or thought very little of him. That 82 interview showed that as did the Billboard one in 2015 or whenever it was. Mike’s vocals were a HUGE part of their overall sound and none of their songs would be as great as they are if he was missing, it was shitty how Ed tried to minimize Mike’s input. When Ed knew he was dying, HE should have been the one reaching out to make amends. So to some extent, yes, fuck EVH.

I don't have to psycho-analyze a person to appreciate a certain talent they have. I want to be entertained. I could care less about the inner drama or what a person eats for breakfast. I think there's two kinds of fans. Ones who buy the product and others who obsess over their idols to unhealthy levels.

For me, Ed entertained me and I appreciated his talent. Do I obsess over it? Nope. Ed is dead. The cigarettes and unhealthy lifestyle shortened his life. No surprise. There isn't anything left of the old Van Halen that interests me. It's finished.

[Nitro Express]

Brett is the biggest bitch on the internet. NOBODY sucks off Clichegar more than Brett. He should have changed the name of that shithole to the Van Hagar Links, years ago. He will be more sad when Clichegar croaks, than he was when Ed croaked.

Sam is in his 70's. He's put on weight and he seems to drink quite a bit. Too bad he doesn't smoke. Them damn cigarettes are what get you unless you are Keith Richards.

[Nitro Express]

We were way ahead of the time with social media and as everyone now knows from Alex Jones upwards, the internet works best on anger and conflict. Apart from everything else DLR Army lost a lot of fizz when Hagar became irrelevant after the reunion.

It's not all just about Facebook and Twitter I see Bulletin boards for sports teams still do pretty well as it's good to have a place to meet with like minded people about something you really like and rant shit without worrying if your boss or Aunt May is going to be disturbed about it.

Yeah the Roth Army was a pretty slick website in the day. I discovered it looking for bootlegs which were starting to pop up on the internet. Once YouTube became a thing all that stuff ended up there.

[Nitro Express]

Yup being nice and friendly is boring. People want drama and they especially want a train wreck.

[Nitro Express]

Mike got his percentage in Van Halen whittled down over the years, while he was still in the group. About the only reason I can think he went along with that is a passivity about it all that is hard for me to understand on the outside looking in. He didn't grow up with the Van Halens, so it wasn't like they were childhood friends. May well be that on a personality level Anthony wasn't much more amicable with the Van Halens than he was with Roth. Maybe Anthony just got along better with Sammy Hagar on a personality level than he ever did with the Van Halens or Roth.

In the end, who had Anthony's back? Not Roth. Not the Van Halens. Hagar did. If you were Anthony, out of those 4 who would you consider to be worth hanging out with? The three guys who didn't give a shit if you were there or not vs. the guy who appreciates what you brought to the table as a player and likes hanging out with you as a bud?

Seems a pretty easy determination to make were I in Mike Anthony's shoes.

Mike is a Type B personality. They tend to be non-confrontive. Also Mike probably viewed himself as expendable or he knew the Van Halen's did. Of course seasoned professionals like Andy Johns and Ted Templeman knew what Mikes vocals added to the mix. Mike was an important element. Anyways Mike knew how lucky he was. He was in one of the biggest rock and roll bands ever. Van Halen made good money. He figured even with the pay cuts he was still doing better than if he was in another band.

It turned out well for him. He's got a nice place in Newport Beach. He's got a lot of nice cars. He seems to be the one with the most stable family life. Mike is still married to his high school sweetheart and seems happy.

[MasonL]

I hear this argument a lot that "it was all about Eddie" so it didn't matter who the singer was. Nothing could be further from the truth. In the golden days of Van Halen, Roth was the point guard. He was the one who kept everybody bought in and focused on the mission. Ed was incredibly insecure who falsely thought he could lead a band. He has one specialty and he does a hell of a job at that. He should've stuck to being one of the greatest instrumentalists in the history of the sport. His little makeshift home studio ruined the Classic Van Halen.

I always thought that a big reason why Ed never wanted to work with Dave again until 2007 was because he would have to compete again. He couldn't just order the singer around like he tried to do after 1985 and eventually did with Cherone. Or that the music would be so good that it would make him look like a fool for ever calling it "Van Halen" without Dave.

All in all, just a lot of wasted years and opportunity to become one of THE greatest bands ever - they still are in my opinion - but the average listener just lumps VH in with the Def Leppards, Motley Crue's and Poison's of the world. That's a shame because the real lineup was legitimately one of the greatest ever. By the time they got Dave back in '07 they were just a nostalgia act.

[MasonL]

But I'll throw a fuck Dave in too. That dumbass has never been able to get out of his own way. He could have been more humble in 1996. He could have done more, much more, to make 2007 on more productive and better quality. Especially from 2012 on.

Dave certainly could have made some more reasonable and restrained decisions throughout his career, but then he wouldn't be himself. I think if he had stuck with Vai/Sheehan for much longer he could have stabilized his solo career and would've maintained some popularity throughout much of the 90's. But it's not really in his wiring to be businesslike. He really just makes decisions on a whim and then later figures out what his goal is.

At least he was being true to himself for the most part. Unlike a certain singer, who just does whatever will make him money at the end of the day. Selling out. You have songs about "sex without love" and then two tracks later a song about spank lines. You have "Good Enough" and then "Not Enough." You have "Dreams" and then "The Dream is Over." Just total cash grab/whatever is popular now mindset. There's no vision there.

[Terry]

I don't have to psycho-analyze a person to appreciate a certain talent they have. I want to be entertained. I could care less about the inner drama or what a person eats for breakfast. I think there's two kinds of fans. Ones who buy the product and others who obsess over their idols to unhealthy levels.

For me, Ed entertained me and I appreciated his talent. Do I obsess over it? Nope. Ed is dead. The cigarettes and unhealthy lifestyle shortened his life. No surprise. There isn't anything left of the old Van Halen that interests me. It's finished.

It was always that thing since 1996, trying to figure out what was going on behind the scenes, trying to figure out the personalities offstage, trying to figure out why it went wrong and who was to blame. As if even knowing any of that would make a difference anyway re: Van Halen doing or not doing whatever.

Ed had a great talent that entertained. I suppose it was because he and Van Halen entertained me beginning at an age when was young enough to still buy into those rock star celebrity myths. I guess it is part of getting older and the perspective that comes with that...I guess it's difficult to realize your childhood or teenaged heroes are only human but doing so is only natural and healthy.

I still like the music, which in the end is all that ever mattered all along, really.

[Nitro Express]

It was always that thing since 1996, trying to figure out what was going on behind the scenes, trying to figure out the personalities offstage, trying to figure out why it went wrong and who was to blame. As if even knowing any of that would make a difference anyway re: Van Halen doing or not doing whatever.

Ed had a great talent that entertained. I suppose it was because he and Van Halen entertained me beginning at an age when was young enough to still buy into those rock star celebrity myths. I guess it is part of getting older and the perspective that comes with that...I guess it's difficult to realize your childhood or teenaged heroes are only human but doing so is only natural and healthy.

I still like the music, which in the end is all that ever mattered all along, really.

Oh people thought Ed had a magic black box in the day. Now you can read and watch interviews with people who worked on Ed’s equipment and knew him. Nothing magical about any of his stuff. People drove the prices of Sylvania 6CA7 tubes thinking they would give you the magic sound. Ed used them because they lasted longer. His favorite tube to use was the Telefunken EL34 but EL34’s aren’t very robust and not the best to use in a amp turned to 10 and expected to work through a few live shows.

Anyways Ed’s tone is a Super Distortion pickup into a Echoplex preamp into the Tebble High Gain input on a 1967 Marshall Super Lead 100 head into a Marshal 4x12 cab with two JBL D120 speakers and two Celestion greenback speakers. For effects it’s a script Phase 90, MXR Flanger, Univox tape delay, echoplex tape delay set to a short slap back delay.

That’s the classic VH formula and unless you wrangle the strings like him you ain’t going to sound like him. But that was his rig. Oh and he did drop the amps voltage to around 89 volts with an Ohmite variance. Makes the amp a tad quieter and gives it more sag.

[Terry]

Oh people thought Ed had a magic black box in the day. Now you can read and watch interviews with people who worked on Ed’s equipment and knew him. Nothing magical about any of his stuff. People drove the prices of Sylvania 6CA7 tubes thinking they would give you the magic sound. Ed used them because they lasted longer. His favorite tube to use was the Telefunken EL34 but EL34’s aren’t very robust and not the best to use in a amp turned to 10 and expected to work through a few live shows.

Anyways Ed’s tone is a Super Distortion pickup into a Echoplex preamp into the Tebble High Gain input on a 1967 Marshall Super Lead 100 head into a Marshal 4x12 cab with two JBL D120 speakers and two Celestion greenback speakers. For effects it’s a script Phase 90, MXR Flanger, Univox tape delay, echoplex tape delay set to a short slap back delay.

That’s the classic VH formula and unless you wrangle the strings like him you ain’t going to sound like him. But that was his rig. Oh and he did drop the amps voltage to around 89 volts with an Ohmite variance. Makes the amp a tad quieter and gives it more sag.

When I first started learning the instrument in the early 80's at a young age, I'd read articles and interviews in Guitar Player and later Guitar World where Ed would sort of detail the specs of what he was using. Back in my first few years of playing before I got a decent guitar and decent amp, I figured Ed must have all this customized equipment to get that "Brown Sound". After a few years when I got a decent guitar and a decent amp and some decent DOD stomp boxes, I could fiddle about with the tone controls on the amp and the effects pedals and get a good tone.

Same as today, where my primary electric is a 1990 Charvel San Dimas with one double-coil stock San Dimas pickup in the bridge and a single volume knob. My Peavey Transtube Blazer 158 is just a 15 Watt amp with reverb (I sold off my Marshalls in the early 90's when I stopped playing in bands). I've got a Pro Co Rat distortion pedal, an MXR Distortion + pedal, an MXR Phase 90 along with a BOSS Digital Delay and Boss Flange Shifter. Between all that stuff, which is just fairly basic electric guitar equipment, I can fiddle around and get a tone close enough to what Ed was getting to my ears.

It's exactly as you said, in that unless you knew what he was doing with his hands - and that was far more important than his gear - you could play with all the most expensive official EVH high-end equipment there is and you're not going to sound like him. Even beyond that, though, how far does one want to go to approximate what Eddie was doing? People paying $20k or whatever for one of those Franky replicas...

There's only one Eddie Van Halen. Even the most accurate EVH clone is still an EVH clone.

[Nitro Express]

You can get a good Eddie vibe through all sorts of stuff. Also a big half stack is going to sound better in a bigger room. In a household bedroom you are going to get a better sound through a smaller amp. I got a decent Ed vibe running a Bogner La Grange overdrive into a Phase 90 into a MXR EQ into a battery powered pig nose. I ran a Kramer 84 guitar through that rig.

[Nitro Express]

Some say entertainers are born and not made. I think that’s true. Eddie had all the gifts to be a top notch rock and roll entertainer. I know he down played the rock star thing but he definitely had the stage magic. Also he hated doing the rock talk schtick and he let Dave do that. But because Ed wasn’t on the television shows and radio shows bullshitting it made him more of a mystery. Ed was like a mad scientist and you couldn’t wait to see or hear what he conjured up next. Early VH just had the perfect ingredients and watch Mike during those early shows. He had the stage magic as well.

[Nitro Express]

Matt Bruck said Eddie's 5150 guitar was a great sounding and playing guitar. He said it was light which is interesting because it has a Pacer body and those were maple. I have a Pacer and it's heavy. Anyways it obviously was a great guitar because Eddie wore the thing out playing it. I have two similar guitars with the big hockey stick headstock. I find the extra mass on the end of the neck gives both guitars more sustain and resonance. But I gravitate to those quite a bit. They play and sound great and a Kramer is just a comfy guitar to wear, especially with an Italian leather strap. I have an EVH pickup in one guitar and a custom EVH pickup I had Seymour Duncan wind for me. I put the EVH volume pots in them which are real smooth for doing the volume knob swells. No EVH stripes. Not my thing. One has a swirl paint job and the other has a few pinup girls on it. One has spinning propellers on her tits and she's riding a bomb. WWII stuff but it's cool.

[ZahZoo]

From a gear perspective... you can only get so close in replicating a certain instrument to a degree, but it's impossible to mass produce it. Pretty much an 80/20 endeavor... you can get 80% of the way there with the same woods, electronics and build specs.

But that 20% is what eludes a true replication... that one slab of wood from a tree grown in a specific location/year and pissed on by Yogi bear every October before hibernation in the 1950's... the tiny variation of each component in the signal chain... how much dog piss was distributed on the bottom speakers in a cabinet... where it was recorded... the relative humidity, temperature and moon phase the day it was recorded... how much Schlitz Malt liquor was spilled on the maple neck... then the final element... the hands, bone density, relative hydration and intoxication levels, and chest resonance of the player...

[Terry]

From a gear perspective... you can only get so close in replicating a certain instrument to a degree, but it's impossible to mass produce it. Pretty much an 80/20 endeavor... you can get 80% of the way there with the same woods, electronics and build specs.

But that 20% is what eludes a true replication... that one slab of wood from a tree grown in a specific location/year and pissed on by Yogi bear every October before hibernation in the 1950's... the tiny variation of each component in the signal chain... how much dog piss was distributed on the bottom speakers in a cabinet... where it was recorded... the relative humidity, temperature and moon phase the day it was recorded... how much Schlitz Malt liquor was spilled on the maple neck... then the final element... the hands, bone density, relative hydration and intoxication levels, and chest resonance of the player...

Bear piss and moon phases...

I fuckin' KNEW Eddie was bullshitting us about all the 'Variac' nonsense all along!!!

I would have never guessed -or even considered - bear piss and moon phases, though. I just assumed he sprinkled Frosted Lucky Charms cereal dust on his gear.

[Vinnie Velvet]

Some say entertainers are born and not made. I think that’s true. Eddie had all the gifts to be a top notch rock and roll entertainer. I know he down played the rock star thing but he definitely had the stage magic. Also he hated doing the rock talk schtick and he let Dave do that. But because Ed wasn’t on the television shows and radio shows bullshitting it made him more of a mystery. Ed was like a mad scientist and you couldn’t wait to see or hear what he conjured up next. Early VH just had the perfect ingredients and watch Mike during those early shows. He had the stage magic as well.

Eddie didn't want to be a rock star, however, just on his looks alone and the way his presence was on stage he became just that. And when you have Dave choreographing stage moves and what not you have the recipe of a superstar rock band.

And thats what they were. I know I rag on Mike but his presence complimented well with the showmanship of Dave and Ed.

[Terry]

Ed wanted to be a rock star.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, Eddie claimed otherwise for decades.

Considering how he utilized his musical ability (playing clubs in search of a record deal, posing for promotional pictures to be published in magazines covering rock music), that claim was just bunk.

Ed wanted to be a rock star without necessarily having to contend with all the trappings of being a rock star. That's totally understandable.

But he wanted to be a rock star. No mistake about that.

[Vinnie Velvet]

Ed wanted to be a rock star.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, Eddie claimed otherwise for decades.

Considering how he utilized his musical ability (playing clubs in search of a record deal, posing for promotional pictures to be published in magazines covering rock music), that claim was just bunk.

Ed wanted to be a rock star without necessarily having to contend with all the trappings of being a rock star. That's totally understandable.

But he wanted to be a rock star. No mistake about that.

Ok I can buy that.

More Ed lies lol.

He of course engaged in all the excess of a rock star (groupies - pre Val but most likely even during their marriage; drug use etc)

[Terry]

Ok I can buy that.

More Ed lies lol.

He of course engaged in all the excess of a rock star (groupies - pre Val but most likely even during their marriage; drug use etc)

I mean, Ed became a rock star because he deserved to be. There's no doubt about that, either. He became a rock star because of his musical ability and not some non-musical bullshit hype.

He wanted to be recognized for his musicianship in the genre of rock music.

You don't sign a record deal with a major label and expend the effort to play to as many people as possible because you don't want to be a rock star.

It was always silly on the face of it for Ed to claim otherwise, because it was inherently self-evident.

[Nitro Express]

It’s only rock and roll. Look. Eddie Van Halen and most the people who made a living in his profession aren’t exactly the most stable people in the world. You actually have to take what these people say with a huge grain of salt. You are talking about people who go from rehab center to rehab center. Break down to break down and between trips to the counselor and shrink they stick explosives up the cat’s ass. They get away with it because the cops are fans.

[Nickdfresh]

What? Me trolling? I would never. I would really never troll NickDishonorabledischarge.

Nope. You wouldn'tt know what a DD214 is Vonpussybiotchfaggotloserwhoneverservedanythingbut atrumpcockdownhisthroat. Neither of mine say that, and that's a bit defamatory and there ain't no "dis" in 'em. I guess being a social degenerate gambling douche that catches social diseases like HepAIDS (then runs around calling everyone else drunks) would preclude you from serving though. A few of my more hotheaded veteran friends would take great exception at you disparaging one. Especially coming from a dickhead that has never served anything but hotdogs up his asshole...

Just a word of warning....

[Nickdfresh]

I know you all are just trolling each other but me, difficult is just crazy talk? I've always been the lukewarm water :)

The DDLR going on too long but also not going on long enough is a complicated and not very interesting story but I can confirm as I'm sure Nick actually knows that Von didn't erase it. We just got to a point where it was going to cost too much. The only surprising/disappointing thing for me about it was how many people didn't just come back here for whatever reason. Anyhoo keep the thread back on topic...

Von only trolls for boys cocks.

You can "confirm" all you want, but I can confirm that Von is a fucking retard and makes really stupid comments when he's drunk. It also is telling no one from there wants to come here. Maybe they're all on Von's Facebook page sharing recipes and stories about how gay Dave is?

[Nickdfresh]

It seems like Ed was always a dick to Mike, or thought very little of him. That 82 interview showed that as did the Billboard one in 2015 or whenever it was. Mike’s vocals were a HUGE part of their overall sound and none of their songs would be as great as they are if he was missing, it was shitty how Ed tried to minimize Mike’s input. When Ed knew he was dying, HE should have been the one reaching out to make amends. So to some extent, yes, fuck EVH.

I cunt believe I agree with Bleater, but there is some truth to this. Yeah Mike soils himself around Hagar a bit, but he ain't a villain here. The biggest means of being a dick to him was reducing him to little more than a contract player as VH reached their zenith on the grounds he wrote little if anything. Okay but, gee, um, Alex? What fucking concept album did he ever write for that cred?

[ZahZoo]

Bear piss and moon phases...

I fuckin' KNEW Eddie was bullshitting us about all the 'Variac' nonsense all along!!!

I would have never guessed -or even considered - bear piss and moon phases, though. I just assumed he sprinkled Frosted Lucky Charms cereal dust on his gear.

Don't forget Eddie boiled his guitar strings... but not just any water could produce that tone. Only Pasadena Pond Scum™ from the city water system in the 70's had the right mineral content to turn his Ernie Ball Super Slinkies into tone magnets!

[Terry]

Don't forget Eddie boiled his guitar strings... but not just any water could produce that tone. Only Pasadena Pond Scum™ from the city water system in the 70's had the right mineral content to turn his Ernie Ball Super Slinkies into tone magnets!

I was going to mention the boiling of his guitar strings thing! Which he may or may not have actually done according to which story you read/believe.

There was also the 'dipping of his pickups in wax' thing or potting the pickups in wax.

Both of which were part of that mystique in the early 1980's as to how Ed got the sound he did, and when you read them in a guitar mag back then along with the variac stuff it seemed like Ed was using this tricked-out gear and secretly conjuring up his sound.

For me, it was always a bit more what he was doing with his hands than the tones he was getting. I enjoyed the way the guitar sounded on those CVH albums, to be sure, but it was what he was actually playing that I was trying to figure out.

[Terry]

It’s only rock and roll. Look. Eddie Van Halen and most the people who made a living in his profession aren’t exactly the most stable people in the world. You actually have to take what these people say with a huge grain of salt. You are talking about people who go from rehab center to rehab center. Break down to break down and between trips to the counselor and shrink they stick explosives up the cat’s ass. They get away with it because the cops are fans.

Most of the people in Ed's profession don't really have much to say worth listening to if they're offstage. Goes for most rock star interviews. May be some things of interest some of these rock musicians say in interviews if they're talking about their take on the band they are in. By and large, once they start talking about any subjects outside of that, there's little to nothing they have to say that you wouldn't hear from any person anywhere else.

[Nitro Express]

Don't forget Eddie boiled his guitar strings... but not just any water could produce that tone. Only Pasadena Pond Scum™ from the city water system in the 70's had the right mineral content to turn his Ernie Ball Super Slinkies into tone magnets!

That was the poor musician’s trick to get the gunk out of the strings and bring some life back to them. Yeah Ed boiled his strings when he was poor but as soon as he was getting advances from Warner Brothers I doubt it.

[Nitro Express]

Ed used Extra Light Fender nickel wounds not Ernie Ball. The Fenders had a bullet shaped end that fit snugly into a Strat trem block. They were designed to help a Strat stay in tune better. Ed was using a Fender Srat tremolo in the early days. Fender still makes those strings with those funky ends.

[Nitro Express]

I was going to mention the boiling of his guitar strings thing! Which he may or may not have actually done according to which story you read/believe.

There was also the 'dipping of his pickups in wax' thing or potting the pickups in wax.

Both of which were part of that mystique in the early 1980's as to how Ed got the sound he did, and when you read them in a guitar mag back then along with the variac stuff it seemed like Ed was using this tricked-out gear and secretly conjuring up his sound.

For me, it was always a bit more what he was doing with his hands than the tones he was getting. I enjoyed the way the guitar sounded on those CVH albums, to be sure, but it was what he was actually playing that I was trying to figure out.

Al told Ed not to divulge too much to the public so Ed would sometimes tell half truths. He did use a Variac but he actually turned the voltage down. He said in an interview he turned the voltage up and would watch the tubes melt. Of course if you turn the voltage up you are going to make the filter caps in the amp explode. Ed also said Jose Arredondo made massive modifications to his amp. Jose did do mods and became famouse for it but Ed’s amp never was modded. Jose’s would do maintenance and repair work on it. He was struggling so Ed put his name out there to help him out. Soon after Jose’s was backlogged with over a year’s worth of work. Everyone wanted the Jose mod which was basically putting clipping diodes in the preamp.

[Nitro Express]

I would say the biggest factor in sounding like Ed is you have to play like him. If it’s not happening with the strings nothing that comes after matters. What Ed was chasing was getting what he was doing with the strings to come through. He wanted a sensitive pickup and amp. That means a lot of gain. A guy at Sunset Sound said Ed wanted him to play through rig and he go’s see! Everything you do on the fretboard rings out through the speakers. That’s what I’ve been chasing. It was getting the harmonics and subtle tapping to ring out. But you have to be able to get those sounds with the strings first. Ed was really good with his fingers. Most guitarists can’t play Mean Streets. Even Nuno admitted that’s one song he just can’t do.

[Terry]

I would say the biggest factor in sounding like Ed is you have to play like him. If it’s not happening with the strings nothing that comes after matters. What Ed was chasing was getting what he was doing with the strings to come through. He wanted a sensitive pickup and amp. That means a lot of gain. A guy at Sunset Sound said Ed wanted him to play through rig and he go’s see! Everything you do on the fretboard rings out through the speakers. That’s what I’ve been chasing. It was getting the harmonics and subtle tapping to ring out. But you have to be able to get those sounds with the strings first. Ed was really good with his fingers. Most guitarists can’t play Mean Streets. Even Nuno admitted that’s one song he just can’t do.

Some parts of the Mean Streets Intro I can do. The tapped harmonics parts of the intro I can do, mostly because I started with DTNA and the Women In Love intro and the Spanish Fly intro to learn the technique.

The beginning of the intro where he's doing that slap funk bass technique with his thumb and index finger I can't do. I've seen the close-up footage of him doing it and watched other people on youtube who can do it: I understand the physicality of where the thumb and index finger need to be placed on the fretboard, along with the muffling Ed is doing with his left/fretting hand. I simply can't alternate the thumb and index finger quick enough and slap them on the neck precisely enough to make it sound like it should. Nope, not even close.

I should say, though, with the tapped harmonics in general I couldn't figure out how that was done until the late 1990s/early 2000s when tabs came out describing how to do it and I started collecting VH live video boots that showcased Ed's hands close-up. Pinched harmonics and natural plucked harmonics I learned fairly quickly after I started playing, along with finger tapping, but tapped harmonics not so much.

[Nitro Express]

The Mean Streets intro is basically doing bass slap funk on a guitar but to sound like Ed you have to be spot on. I liken it to forging a signature. Everyone is going to slap a bit differently. Also how your guitar is set up is very important. String tension and height play a big factor here.

[Nitro Express]

Ed was a pretty short guy. The first time I saw Van Halen in person I’m like woah, these guys are shorter than I thought they would be. Ed had big strong hands though and really fluid fingers. Not everyone has hands like that so not everyone is going to be able to play like him.

[Seshmeister]

Some parts of the Mean Streets Intro I can do. The tapped harmonics parts of the intro I can do, mostly because I started with DTNA and the Women In Love intro and the Spanish Fly intro to learn the technique.

The beginning of the intro where he's doing that slap funk bass technique with his thumb and index finger I can't do. I've seen the close-up footage of him doing it and watched other people on youtube who can do it: I understand the physicality of where the thumb and index finger need to be placed on the fretboard, along with the muffling Ed is doing with his left/fretting hand. I simply can't alternate the thumb and index finger quick enough and slap them on the neck precisely enough to make it sound like it should. Nope, not even close.

I should say, though, with the tapped harmonics in general I couldn't figure out how that was done until the late 1990s/early 2000s when tabs came out describing how to do it and I started collecting VH live video boots that showcased Ed's hands close-up. Pinched harmonics and natural plucked harmonics I learned fairly quickly after I started playing, along with finger tapping, but tapped harmonics not so much.

Yeah the rhythm of it is what defeated me back when I used to sit trying to do these things.

Back almost 20 years ago now (how can it be that long???) I asked Brian Young about how he had nailed it and he said it took him a couple of weeks but I don't know what that means - is that 8 hours a day for a couple of weeks or 10 minutes a day?

Nowadays we have stuff like this on YouTube and it makes me think I could maybe eventually get there with the help of it but who has the time? :)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yahz17IefkE

[Rikk]

On 10-6-2020 I considered saying the same thing, pretty much "fuck you, Ed" for foisting Hagar on us. I deleted what I typed and posted this instead:





I did say somewhere that there is no God, because if there was, He would have taken Hagar before Ed.

Can't believe I missed your original post. YES, there was a silver lining to the sad news about Ed.

That said, it's ok...Eddie appears to Sammy in dreams now with riffs and songs...thank God their "great partnership" can cuntinue...

[Rikk]

Brett is the biggest bitch on the internet. NOBODY sucks off Clichegar more than Brett. He should have changed the name of that shithole to the Van Hagar Links, years ago. He will be more sad when Clichegar croaks, than he was when Ed croaked.

I actually came here in 2004 because I was posting some truly non-combative posts about not being happy with the state of Van Halen. I thought it was a cheap compromise to bring Hagar back on board...at the time, I was more passionate than I became later about Roth finally coming back. And, out of nowhere, Brett jumped out himself and told me to shut the fuck up or he would kick me off the Links permanently. You know, ALL CAPS and lots of !!!!s. He was like a mad dog in heat.

MAX messaged me and told me to check out the Army. He said, "You can say what you want there." I came over here and was much happier.

I had some good conversations about VH at the Links in my early times there...but every other thread was "This is off-topic; closing" or "Stop arguing, fellows or I'll ban you." The place fucking sucked.

Brett used to come over here when he was bored (which for a while was quite frequent).

The guy was a fucking cunt.

I have no idea what drama happened with DDLR, this place, etc. I was off-the-radar too long and missed it.

I enjoy coming back and posting time to time...I'll never stop doing that.

At least I know I can say what the fuck I want here and not worry about getting "banned"...and if I were banned, who gives a fuck? I have a family and a nice big house and fuck it all... But I like posting here. If I hear things about some war that happened or something, I'm usually out-to-lunch. I haven't been involved in a big flame war since me and several others were fighting the great fight against FABULOUS SHADOW in all her fatness...(ah, good times)