Northern Girl
09-02-2004, 03:59 PM
Posted on Thu, Sep. 02, 2004
Together again
Fences mended, the Hagar-helmed Van Halen rolls into town Sunday
By PETE TATTERSALL
THE SUN HERALD
Somewhere down there in Hades, it's a safe bet that things have gotten a bit cooler of late. Sammy Hagar, after all, is back with Van Halen.
Arguably one of the most influential bands in the history of modern rock 'n' roll, Van Halen takes the stage at 8 p.m. Sunday at the Coliseum (and no, there's no opening act).
And while the specter of David Lee Roth, the band's original frontman, will forever loom large over the group, Hagar has succeeded over the intervening years in establishing himself as the voice behind the musical tornado that is Eddie Van Halen's guitar.
The four members of Van Halen, who also include drummer Alex Van Halen and bassist Michael Anthony, have a new album on the shelf. Aptly titled "Best of Both Worlds," the two-disc set contains a slew of Van Halen classics ("Hot For Teacher," "Panama" and "Jump"), plus three new tracks ("It's About Time," "Learning to See" and "Up For Breakfast").
Hagar and Alex Van Halen recently took part in a conference call with about 10 reporters representing newspapers ranging from Australia to Atlantic City to South Mississippi. Here are excerpts from the conversation, which lasted about an hour.
Is this a full-fledged reunion, or just a tour?
"I personally have a hard time with calling this thing a reunion. It's more like a continuation," said Hagar. "We are four real musicians that play music with or without each other, you know, for the rest of our lives. And it just doesn't feel like it's a reunion. I mean I know some people see it kind of like that, but it's really more of a continuation of where we left off...
We're just going out and doing it. And it feels great."
Band members have quarreled famously in the past. Has that made things difficult today?
"Yes, there's moments when tempers flare. You know, we're in a very pressure cooker kind of environment... So there is stress," said Van Halen.
On how stress can take a toll on band members:
"There's a lot of pressure... We feel like, 'Hey, we're great,' you know. We can walk out there and do anything, the place is packed... So that confidence comes. But deep inside there is stress every night to do a great show, and if you have a bad night... I'll tell you, we're human," said Hagar. "We try to blame anything and everything... And we get in the room, the four of us after a show, and if one of us had a bad show, you know, you're going to start accusing somebody, 'Hey, and you did that too fast.'... So yes, there has definitely been tension, but not the kind of tensions where it's like, 'Hey, (expletive deleted), I'm leaving.' Not that kind of friction... But definitely, we've yelled things back and forth at each other... (But) I mean, hey, when you walk out on stage and you've 10,000 or 12,000 people with their hands in the air, on their feet for 2½ hours, it's got to get you pretty... happy."
Has the way the fans have received the band on stage differed from the early days?
"For me it feels the fans are... happier to see us. It's like the wait has been... absence makes the heart grow fonder... I think it feels better than it ever did, from the audience," said Hagar.
The members of Van Halen, and their core audience, are older now. What kind of effect does that have?
"There's two ways where you have a peak in this business...
No. 1 is when you first make it, and you first get out there and there's that intensity... You're playing out your dream... The audience is young and fresh, and everybody is so crazy and intense. Hey, that is a special moment. Anyone that has that experiences once in their life is a very lucky human being," said Hagar.
"But then to have to still be around, you know, 20 years, 25 years later, and have the warmth and the depth of those people coming with you all of that time, most of them, and growing up with you, and doing it on a whole other level. And having it still be intense and almost like the beginning, only different. It's kind of like bookends.
"To have both those in your life, you're doubly lucky. I feel like one of the most blessed, fortunate people on this planet. To have experienced this this long, and to have it be as intense as it is right now for us, it's very special. And in a way for me it's better than it was in the very beginning, because there's more soul... When you play those songs, and you see people crying and stuff. I know it sounds crazy, but man, come on, that touches you. I never get too old to enjoy that feeling. It's a wonderful. It's a love-fest."
Hagar, on getting back together with the Van Halen brothers:
"It was a little stranger, because we had grown eight years farther apart in a way. But there was a whole other meaning, which was the music, and the soulfulness (of the audience)... It's like after eight years of not seeing Alex and Ed, I realized I really loved these people. And this is, like, somebody I spent a lot of time and did some great things with. And I preferred to put all differences aside, we all did, and say 'Let's make music together, again, let's go out and do this, you know, and let's see how it feels.'
"And it just felt good. It's different, yes, it's totally different. I'll tell you right up, it's totally different. But we're a lot older and more mature. And I think we put all of our differences aside. We chose not to say, 'You did this! Yes, but you said this!' We chose not to do that and to try to rise above, and we went for the enlightenment instead of the therapy."
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/thesunherald/entertainment/9558882.htm
Together again
Fences mended, the Hagar-helmed Van Halen rolls into town Sunday
By PETE TATTERSALL
THE SUN HERALD
Somewhere down there in Hades, it's a safe bet that things have gotten a bit cooler of late. Sammy Hagar, after all, is back with Van Halen.
Arguably one of the most influential bands in the history of modern rock 'n' roll, Van Halen takes the stage at 8 p.m. Sunday at the Coliseum (and no, there's no opening act).
And while the specter of David Lee Roth, the band's original frontman, will forever loom large over the group, Hagar has succeeded over the intervening years in establishing himself as the voice behind the musical tornado that is Eddie Van Halen's guitar.
The four members of Van Halen, who also include drummer Alex Van Halen and bassist Michael Anthony, have a new album on the shelf. Aptly titled "Best of Both Worlds," the two-disc set contains a slew of Van Halen classics ("Hot For Teacher," "Panama" and "Jump"), plus three new tracks ("It's About Time," "Learning to See" and "Up For Breakfast").
Hagar and Alex Van Halen recently took part in a conference call with about 10 reporters representing newspapers ranging from Australia to Atlantic City to South Mississippi. Here are excerpts from the conversation, which lasted about an hour.
Is this a full-fledged reunion, or just a tour?
"I personally have a hard time with calling this thing a reunion. It's more like a continuation," said Hagar. "We are four real musicians that play music with or without each other, you know, for the rest of our lives. And it just doesn't feel like it's a reunion. I mean I know some people see it kind of like that, but it's really more of a continuation of where we left off...
We're just going out and doing it. And it feels great."
Band members have quarreled famously in the past. Has that made things difficult today?
"Yes, there's moments when tempers flare. You know, we're in a very pressure cooker kind of environment... So there is stress," said Van Halen.
On how stress can take a toll on band members:
"There's a lot of pressure... We feel like, 'Hey, we're great,' you know. We can walk out there and do anything, the place is packed... So that confidence comes. But deep inside there is stress every night to do a great show, and if you have a bad night... I'll tell you, we're human," said Hagar. "We try to blame anything and everything... And we get in the room, the four of us after a show, and if one of us had a bad show, you know, you're going to start accusing somebody, 'Hey, and you did that too fast.'... So yes, there has definitely been tension, but not the kind of tensions where it's like, 'Hey, (expletive deleted), I'm leaving.' Not that kind of friction... But definitely, we've yelled things back and forth at each other... (But) I mean, hey, when you walk out on stage and you've 10,000 or 12,000 people with their hands in the air, on their feet for 2½ hours, it's got to get you pretty... happy."
Has the way the fans have received the band on stage differed from the early days?
"For me it feels the fans are... happier to see us. It's like the wait has been... absence makes the heart grow fonder... I think it feels better than it ever did, from the audience," said Hagar.
The members of Van Halen, and their core audience, are older now. What kind of effect does that have?
"There's two ways where you have a peak in this business...
No. 1 is when you first make it, and you first get out there and there's that intensity... You're playing out your dream... The audience is young and fresh, and everybody is so crazy and intense. Hey, that is a special moment. Anyone that has that experiences once in their life is a very lucky human being," said Hagar.
"But then to have to still be around, you know, 20 years, 25 years later, and have the warmth and the depth of those people coming with you all of that time, most of them, and growing up with you, and doing it on a whole other level. And having it still be intense and almost like the beginning, only different. It's kind of like bookends.
"To have both those in your life, you're doubly lucky. I feel like one of the most blessed, fortunate people on this planet. To have experienced this this long, and to have it be as intense as it is right now for us, it's very special. And in a way for me it's better than it was in the very beginning, because there's more soul... When you play those songs, and you see people crying and stuff. I know it sounds crazy, but man, come on, that touches you. I never get too old to enjoy that feeling. It's a wonderful. It's a love-fest."
Hagar, on getting back together with the Van Halen brothers:
"It was a little stranger, because we had grown eight years farther apart in a way. But there was a whole other meaning, which was the music, and the soulfulness (of the audience)... It's like after eight years of not seeing Alex and Ed, I realized I really loved these people. And this is, like, somebody I spent a lot of time and did some great things with. And I preferred to put all differences aside, we all did, and say 'Let's make music together, again, let's go out and do this, you know, and let's see how it feels.'
"And it just felt good. It's different, yes, it's totally different. I'll tell you right up, it's totally different. But we're a lot older and more mature. And I think we put all of our differences aside. We chose not to say, 'You did this! Yes, but you said this!' We chose not to do that and to try to rise above, and we went for the enlightenment instead of the therapy."
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/thesunherald/entertainment/9558882.htm