Van Hagar Interview: 2/86 Musician Magazine!

[Panamark]

The GAY 5150 WALK IS IN THAT THREAD AT DDLR!!

WARNING WARNING !!

The article was pretty cool. I always thought Dave wanted to make
another album. Not just a movie.. Those fuckers are probably talkin
out their asses anyways.

[academic punk]

Originally posted by Terry
I remember that article. Funny to see Alex and Ed being called out for "the-powers-that-be" bullshit of Warner Brothers execs wanting to replace Roth with Hagar shortly before the band was signed by WB itself.

First thing I remember about the split and press releases was Ed saying Roth had bailed. Ed and Als stories about that 1985 split changed with the weather. Roth has always been consistent.

Other thing I remember about all the press between April of 1985 and March of 1986 was Van Halen telling everyone how much the band had improved since Roth left, how the music was better and how Roth was going to be a movie star.

Then 5150 came out. Myself and everyone I knew were suitably underwhelmed by the advance listenings of Why Can't This Be Love. Then the full-length album followed, confirming our worst fears. About a half-year later, Eat 'Em and Smile was released and none of us gave a shit about the circumstances behind Roth's departure or how happy Ed was with Sammy. EVH was now a keyboard player in a pop band with his best axe work already behind him and we were scrambling to figure out how Vai pulled his amazing shit on EEAS off.

Nailed it, Terry!

I remmeber the article when it first came out. They said somehting about not being to appreciate a Porsche until you've driven a Volkswagon.

Hey, you know what? FUCK YOU. Even if you were brain damaged and impotent enough to see a point in Van Hagar, how insulting is that comment to every single fan the band had through the Roth years? Hmmm....every album platinum...biggest band in the land...The only person who could be considered riding on anyone's coattails in that band is Mike. NO WAY did THEY make Roth.

The truth is they all made each other (band chemistry is one of the most elusive things in the world), and you know what? Hate to preach to the converted, but, yeah, look ta the videos, look at the liveproduction, look at the interviews, and of course THE MUSIC, Ed may have been a master and innovator of the instrument, but Roth was a master and innovator of how to create and present a hard rock band.

Now fuckin' get in your Volkswagon, Al, get into a head-on collision, and break the two remaining vertabra in your worthless neck. Bitch.

[Terry]

The interplay between Roth and EVH was the most interesting part of the whole band as far as I'm concerned. Mike and Al were the rhythm section. Period. 'Specially on that first album - ANYONE could have done the bass and drum work. Nothing exceptional.

Always funny to reread these old interviews. Bottom line is the music did the talking. Ed, Al and Sam can whine to GUITAR WORLD, the East Bumfuck Daily Bulletin and any other media outlet that can still be bothered to pay attention to them about how much they think Roth sucked. All an interviewer would have to do is hold up the album covers of WACF or Fair Warning, sit back and then watch them stumble trying to explain how Van Hagar is the definitive lineup.

Can't blame the guy in the 2/86 interview, but after 5150 came out there were too many in the press who continued to blow smoke up Van Hagar's ass when they should have known better.

[ashstralia]

i read it when it
first came out, too.
bullshit then, bullshit now.

the brothers are a pair
of semi-literate morons,
who got very lucky to find
a genius frontman.

[CVHfan]

An interview of a band after they lost their mojo.