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Thought you all would enjoy the read.... What the FUCK!
from: http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journal...g/10122648.htm
Right now, Van Halen is all about music
By Steve Penhollow
The Journal Gazette
Is there a job more coveted yet feared in the world than the lead singer slot in the band Van Halen?
When you agree to front Van Halen, there is a good chance that at some point down the road you will be sent packing and be advised not to let the door hit you on the way out.
Oh, and you should also expect to be disparaged in the press for a few months after your departure.
Then, you know, maybe they’ll hire you back – or just pretend they’re going to.
Van Halen is a volatile band, and drummer Alex Van Halen is the first to admit it.
“We’re volatile only to the extent that we’re as good of friends as we are,” Van Halen says in a phone interview. “It’s because we are so intense.
“It’s part of our nature. As much as I love (brother and guitarist Eddie), if you put us in a room with no one else for 15 minutes, we’d be at each other’s throats.
“But it’s always about creative differences. Always. It’s never personal.”
“Music is a dialogue. It’s about an emotional reaction. We’re very needy people, you know,” Alex Van Halen says, laughing.
When Sammy Hagar rejoined the band last spring, a lot of fans were frankly whopperjawed. Hagar’s departure from the band in 1996 (murkily mired as it was in the rock band equivalent of adultery) was as acrimonious as any celebrity divorce.
Hagar gave many angry interviews, including one in 2000 to Razor Magazine.
“They all got greedy,” Hagar said. “They thought, ‘We’ll bring (David Lee) Roth back and we’ll get Sammy to go along with it.’ ‘(Expletive) you,’ I said. ‘I ain’t going along with no kind of stupid (expletive) greatest hits record and all this stuff. Get out of here! We don’t need to be doing anything cheap to our fans.’
“Your fans aren’t 12-year-old kids, for God’s sake. They’ve been with us for 10 years with me and seven years with Roth before that. Seventeen years. They know what the (expletive) is going on here.”
A lot has happened in the ensuing eight years.
Gary Cherone’s short-lived stint as lead singer produced one of the worst albums of the band’s career.
Alex Van Halen has nothing bad to say about Cherone.
“He was just the wrong choice. It’s that simple. No harm, no foul,” Van Halen said. “Nobody sets out to make a bad record. I just think the chemistry was wrong. It was just one of those things.”
Eddie Van Halen developed tongue cancer in 1999 and subsequently watched his marriage go sour. Doctors pronounced him free of cancer in May 2002.
Alex Van Halen says his brother hasn’t said much to anyone about this ordeal.
“I can’t speak entirely on his behalf, but he showed bravery and fortitude. He never gave up. There were days when I didn’t know if I was going to have a brother a year from then. He went through that and came out the other end stronger for it.
“Whether that character was always there or developed along the way, I can’t say. I just accept it and don’t question it. When you make it through something like that, it definitely adds a lot to your arsenal. When he’s ready to talk about it, he will.”
Alex Van Halen says he received a call out of the blue from Hagar not too long ago, inquiring about the health and well-being of the band and its members.
“Nine years does things to people,” Van Halen says. “It softens the memory of how badly things came unglued. Sam just called me one day. We got together, had lunch, lunch turned into dinner, dinner turned into ‘Join us in the studio,’ that turned into ‘Let’s make new music’ and that turned into ‘Let’s forget what happened.’ ”
Alex Van Halen says the band finally grew up.
“There is an intensity and depth in Van Halen that didn’t exist before when things got ugly… real ugly. We just decided to say ‘Why would we want to relive that? Let’s forget it.’ ”
Every time it looks as if Van Halen is about to take on a new or slightly used vocalist, there is always much speculation about whether the band’s first frontman, David Lee Roth, will return.
Van Halen says Roth fans just need to accept the fact that Diamond Dave is history, at least as far as this group of guys is concerned.
“I can say something comic, but let me preface that by saying, ‘He needs meds.’ I am very serious about that. It’s that simple. It’s not even his fault, really.
“Whatever our personal differences are, there are no bigger fans of this band than the people who are in this band. So we understand why people would love to see that sort of reunion. But that’s just not going to happen. Some things are impossible. The Beatles will never get back together and David Lee Roth will never again sing with Van Halen.”
The return of Hagar to Van Halen coincided with one of the slowest summers in the history of rock touring. Lots of bands, including Van Halen, were forced to sell tickets at cut-rate prices and throw in food vouchers as an added enticement. Alex Van Halen downplays the seriousness of all this.
“I think it’s been great, otherwise we wouldn’t be doing it. It’s nice seeing everybody again – not that I am implying that I have a close personal relationship with every one of our fans.”
People have been speculating for years about whether Van Halen is past its prime; whether it can ever make music as potent as it produced in the ’70s and ’80s.
Alex Van Halen said people who have been given talents by God are required to exercise those talents in spite of crazes, conventions or accusations of decrepitude.
“I read this interview with Elton John recently and the reporter suggested that his personal plateau had happened awhile ago and so, now that he’s older, why would he keep writing music? And he was taken aback of course. Everybody has a high point and a lot goes into that: timing, situation, general consciousness.
“It may or may not happen again, but that shouldn’t have anything to do with why you keep creating.”
Van Halen says the band is currently writing material that he believes is its best in a great while.
“I can’t put it into words, unfortunately, but the stuff is absolutely brilliant,” he says.
Alex Van Halen says the band has purged itself of angst over profits, pans and chart positions. Now it’s just about the music.
“When you leave the planet, you leave music behind. You don’t leave behind box office scores or how many dollars changed hands.
“You come to the planet with nothing and you leave with nothing, so you’d better do some good while you are here.”
from: http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journal...g/10122648.htm
Right now, Van Halen is all about music
By Steve Penhollow
The Journal Gazette
Is there a job more coveted yet feared in the world than the lead singer slot in the band Van Halen?
When you agree to front Van Halen, there is a good chance that at some point down the road you will be sent packing and be advised not to let the door hit you on the way out.
Oh, and you should also expect to be disparaged in the press for a few months after your departure.
Then, you know, maybe they’ll hire you back – or just pretend they’re going to.
Van Halen is a volatile band, and drummer Alex Van Halen is the first to admit it.
“We’re volatile only to the extent that we’re as good of friends as we are,” Van Halen says in a phone interview. “It’s because we are so intense.
“It’s part of our nature. As much as I love (brother and guitarist Eddie), if you put us in a room with no one else for 15 minutes, we’d be at each other’s throats.
“But it’s always about creative differences. Always. It’s never personal.”
“Music is a dialogue. It’s about an emotional reaction. We’re very needy people, you know,” Alex Van Halen says, laughing.
When Sammy Hagar rejoined the band last spring, a lot of fans were frankly whopperjawed. Hagar’s departure from the band in 1996 (murkily mired as it was in the rock band equivalent of adultery) was as acrimonious as any celebrity divorce.
Hagar gave many angry interviews, including one in 2000 to Razor Magazine.
“They all got greedy,” Hagar said. “They thought, ‘We’ll bring (David Lee) Roth back and we’ll get Sammy to go along with it.’ ‘(Expletive) you,’ I said. ‘I ain’t going along with no kind of stupid (expletive) greatest hits record and all this stuff. Get out of here! We don’t need to be doing anything cheap to our fans.’
“Your fans aren’t 12-year-old kids, for God’s sake. They’ve been with us for 10 years with me and seven years with Roth before that. Seventeen years. They know what the (expletive) is going on here.”
A lot has happened in the ensuing eight years.
Gary Cherone’s short-lived stint as lead singer produced one of the worst albums of the band’s career.
Alex Van Halen has nothing bad to say about Cherone.
“He was just the wrong choice. It’s that simple. No harm, no foul,” Van Halen said. “Nobody sets out to make a bad record. I just think the chemistry was wrong. It was just one of those things.”
Eddie Van Halen developed tongue cancer in 1999 and subsequently watched his marriage go sour. Doctors pronounced him free of cancer in May 2002.
Alex Van Halen says his brother hasn’t said much to anyone about this ordeal.
“I can’t speak entirely on his behalf, but he showed bravery and fortitude. He never gave up. There were days when I didn’t know if I was going to have a brother a year from then. He went through that and came out the other end stronger for it.
“Whether that character was always there or developed along the way, I can’t say. I just accept it and don’t question it. When you make it through something like that, it definitely adds a lot to your arsenal. When he’s ready to talk about it, he will.”
Alex Van Halen says he received a call out of the blue from Hagar not too long ago, inquiring about the health and well-being of the band and its members.
“Nine years does things to people,” Van Halen says. “It softens the memory of how badly things came unglued. Sam just called me one day. We got together, had lunch, lunch turned into dinner, dinner turned into ‘Join us in the studio,’ that turned into ‘Let’s make new music’ and that turned into ‘Let’s forget what happened.’ ”
Alex Van Halen says the band finally grew up.
“There is an intensity and depth in Van Halen that didn’t exist before when things got ugly… real ugly. We just decided to say ‘Why would we want to relive that? Let’s forget it.’ ”
Every time it looks as if Van Halen is about to take on a new or slightly used vocalist, there is always much speculation about whether the band’s first frontman, David Lee Roth, will return.
Van Halen says Roth fans just need to accept the fact that Diamond Dave is history, at least as far as this group of guys is concerned.
“I can say something comic, but let me preface that by saying, ‘He needs meds.’ I am very serious about that. It’s that simple. It’s not even his fault, really.
“Whatever our personal differences are, there are no bigger fans of this band than the people who are in this band. So we understand why people would love to see that sort of reunion. But that’s just not going to happen. Some things are impossible. The Beatles will never get back together and David Lee Roth will never again sing with Van Halen.”
The return of Hagar to Van Halen coincided with one of the slowest summers in the history of rock touring. Lots of bands, including Van Halen, were forced to sell tickets at cut-rate prices and throw in food vouchers as an added enticement. Alex Van Halen downplays the seriousness of all this.
“I think it’s been great, otherwise we wouldn’t be doing it. It’s nice seeing everybody again – not that I am implying that I have a close personal relationship with every one of our fans.”
People have been speculating for years about whether Van Halen is past its prime; whether it can ever make music as potent as it produced in the ’70s and ’80s.
Alex Van Halen said people who have been given talents by God are required to exercise those talents in spite of crazes, conventions or accusations of decrepitude.
“I read this interview with Elton John recently and the reporter suggested that his personal plateau had happened awhile ago and so, now that he’s older, why would he keep writing music? And he was taken aback of course. Everybody has a high point and a lot goes into that: timing, situation, general consciousness.
“It may or may not happen again, but that shouldn’t have anything to do with why you keep creating.”
Van Halen says the band is currently writing material that he believes is its best in a great while.
“I can’t put it into words, unfortunately, but the stuff is absolutely brilliant,” he says.
Alex Van Halen says the band has purged itself of angst over profits, pans and chart positions. Now it’s just about the music.
“When you leave the planet, you leave music behind. You don’t leave behind box office scores or how many dollars changed hands.
“You come to the planet with nothing and you leave with nothing, so you’d better do some good while you are here.”
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