Alex Billboard Interview

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  • Silexxx
    Head Fluffer
    • Sep 2010
    • 293

    Alex Billboard Interview



    ‘If I Start Throwing Dirt, It’ll Never End’: Alex Van Halen on Why He Didn’t Want His ‘Brothers’ Book to Be a Tell-All
    "Before I die I would like to at least partially set the record straight."


    By Gary Graff

    Alex Van Halen hopes that those coming to his new memoir, Brothers, for a tell-all will be disappointed.


    “It’s not about the dirt,” Van Halen, older brother and bandmate of the late Eddie Van Halen, tells Billboard. “If I start throwing dirt, it’ll never end. I think some people would like that; that’s how projects are sold nowadays. I think it divides the audience, and we’re not here to divide. I think the tone of the book and how I want the book to be perceived is more on a spiritual and creative level. That’s why there’s very little, or any, dirt in there.

    “The majority of things that were written about Ed were third party,” he continues. “They weren’t really there. I’m not degrading any of it, but it’s not accurate. I really felt like a lot of the stuff that was out there was incorrect, and it didn’t do justice to the more sensitive side of Ed. So before I die I would like to at least partially set the record straight.”

    Brothers, publishing Oct. 22 and written with New Yorker staff writer Ariel Levy, acknowledges the sex and drugs and rock n’ roll. But as the title indicates it’s primarily a chronicle of the drummer’s relationship with his guitar hero brother, who passed way during Oct. 2020 at the age of 65 after a long battle with cancer. The tome is undeniably emotional, with some passages written directly to his late brother. Van Halen acknowledges that the process “really took its toll on me.”

    “You have to remember we were together for 65 years; that’s a lifetime, if not more,” explains Van Halen, who was born in Amsterdam and came to the United States with his family in 1962, eventually settling in Pasadena, Calif., where the Van Halen band was formed in 1974. “(Brothers) not only forced me to look at everything Ed and I had done in our lifetime, but also — and I should thank Ed for this — it forced me to look at me. What are my motivations? Why am I really doing this? Who does anybody do this? It took me a lot of places…very heavy.”

    Throughout Brothers’ 231 pages, Van Halen discloses the tight bond between him and Eddie, personally and musically — and presents the connection between those two as one and the same thing. Van Halen offers a detailed account of the entire family dynamics, too, from the influence of their father, Jan, a jazz musician, and their more strict Dutch East Indies-born mother Eugenia, and the impact of immigrating to America and being treated as outsiders. The passion for music came early and was a constant, of course, and one can read in Brothers a kind of mission on Van Halen’s part to offer a more expansive and sophisticated view of his brother’s talents.

    “There was more going on than most people recognize or realize, and it’s not our job to ‘teach’ people,” explains Van Halen, who also makes use in the book of a variety of other sources, including published interviews with his brother, books by original frontman David Lee Roth and producer Ted Templeman, and philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche. The brothers, who first learned to play piano, actually started out on each other’s instruments before switching as teenagers. “When Ed picked (the guitar) up he could make it sing. It was amazing. That sound, that intonation was phenomenal. You couldn’t express it in words. Everybody gets blinded by the fact Ed was such a phenomenal player (that) you’re not even understanding who the human being was. Maybe people don’t care, but I care. He’s my brother.”

    Brothers of a Band

    Writing about Van Halen the rock band in Brothers, Van Halen says that “me, Ed and Dave were very subversive in the way we looked at music and the political system and the way we looked at people in general…The band was dysfunctional. It was completely running on three wheels, if you will. I think Ed was quoted as saying ‘but we always played well,’ and that was ultimately what kept it together until it was no longer together. It was a very sad moment when that whole thing fell apart.” Van Halen, in fact, writes in Brothers that Van Halen’s 1985 split with Roth “was the most disappointing thing I’d experienced in my life, the thing that seemed the most wasteful and unjust. Until I lost my brother.”

    Despite the acknowledged rancor with Roth over the years – and blaming Roth for the failure of a planned Eddie Van Halen tribute tour — Van Halen maintains that “I’m not angry at all with Dave. He was one of the three main components of the band. At the time we didn’t recognize it because we were constantly battling things out. That’s why I mentioned (in the book) that the first person I called when Ed died was Dave because I felt like I owed him that, to the work we had done together and the fact that our families knew each other and the fact that everybody was sort of on the same level, if you will, when we first started. I don’t know where things went wrong…I have nothing but the utmost respect for Dave and his work ethic. I just think some of his choices were really strange to me, but that’s not my job to figure it out.”

    Other than his brother’s death, Van Halen chose to stop the story with the Roth split, leaving out subsequent runs with Sammy Hagar and Gary Cherone and even the reunion with Roth that started in 2007. (Roth and Hagar both wrote memoirs after their respective tenures with the band.) Van Halen cites “limitations to how big the book could be” but also says it the scope of the narrative made sense to him.

    “What happened after Dave left is not the same band,” Van Halen explains. “I’m not saying it was better or worse or any of that. The fact is Ed and I did our best work whenever we played. We always gave it our best shot. But the magic was in the first years, when we didn’t know what we were doing, when we were willing to try anything.” Not surprisingly, Van Halen was not responsive, either, when Hagar and bassist Michael Anthony reached out about him taking part in some way in their Best of All Worlds tour celebrating Van Halen.

    “I’m not interested,” he says. “They’re not doing the band justice. They can do what they want to do. That’s not my business.”

    Everybody Wants Some

    Van Halen does add, however, that his auction of drum equipment and other items in June “was misinterpreted” and simply clearing out a warehouse of gear that wasn’t being used.

    “I’m not quitting. I don’t know where that came from,” Van Halen says. “I’ll die with sticks in my hand.” Spinal issues he’s been battling for decades are still present, he adds, including a recent injury during a trip to a shooting range in 2022. “But with modern technology we have now I should be OK in about five years,” he says.

    Despite rumors of what the Van Halens were up to between the last tour with Roth (in 2015) and Eddie’s death, Alex maintains there was little to report. “We never really talked about it,” he says. “We prefer that things just happen by some kind of magic. The issue was Ed had been dealing with cancer for quite a number of years, and some of the stuff that he was doing out of the normal procedures, if you will, had side effects. Some of the stuff that was being said about Ed was completely wrong, and it was painful…. He was fighting cancer. It’s as simple as that.”

    Fans are certainly excited about the presence of a new instrumental track, “Unfinished,” that’s part of the audio version of Brothers. It hails from a trove of ideas the brothers recorded at Eddie’s 5150 studio and stashed away, and Alex anticipates releasing more of that material “when it feels right.”

    “I’m not in a hurry,” he says. “I do have a certain obligation to keep it to Ed’s standards. He was meticulous and he was a pain in the ass…and I need to have access to the right takes, ’cause not every day did we play at our best. But we always had the tape recorders running. We didn’t go in the studio like, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna make a record from beginning to end.’ We had little pieces here, little pieces there, you put ’em away until the time comes and you go, ‘Hey, I think I like that piece…’ and then go back to it and build something from there.” He told Rolling Stone that he’s approached OpenAI about using its technology to help turn some of the material into songs.

    “I know people want to hear it,” Van Halen adds, before cautioning that, “the other side of the coin is this doesn’t sound like Van Halen. You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.” He says that for future releases he’s also “looking forward to getting some people involved…other musicians and producers. You have to have the right team, because not everybody can do everything. So we’ll see.”

    For the time being Van Halen is focused on promoting Brothers, which he’d also like to turn into a movie — though he notes that, “I learned a long time ago not to put your hope in things that don’t exist yet. I know people who would be willing to participate, but it’s a very complex fabric of things that need to happen.” Meanwhile Van Halen has three book events lined up — signings at Barnes & Noble in New York on Oct. 21 and at Books & Greetings in Northvale, N.J., the following day, and a live conversation on Oct. 24 at the Frost Auditorium in Culver City, Calif.

    “People can ask whatever they like — that’s their prerogative,” Van Halen says. “It’s my prerogative to answer. Or not answer.”

    One thing Van Halen will make clear, however, is that his brother is still a strong presence in his life.

    “He’s not gone for me,” Van Halen says, citing the “island voodoo” of their mother’s upbringing and the Spooky Action at a Distance concept of quantum physics. “He’s still there. His spirit’s here, and it’s not something you can grab or touch. There’s something between us that’s just connected on a level that is beyond explanation. Scientists will tell you that you cannot destroy energy, it just takes different shapes, and that’s kind of how it is for me with Ed.

    “I really had a tough time when Ed passed — full of rage, for a number of reasons. I heard this thing by Billy Bob Thornton; he just said basically when his brother died he didn’t know how to deal with it, and he basically said that you’re not running away from the fact that you’re not together anymore. You accept it for what it is and then the pain will slowly diminish, but it’ll never go away. That’s why i said (in the book), ‘When I see you again, I’m gonna kick yo’ ass…’”
  • Terry
    DIAMOND STATUS
    • Jan 2004
    • 12045

    #2
    Assuming the book, as Al says, isn't a tell-all mud sling, I'm fine with that. Mostly because with Van Halen there had been more than enough of that starting in 1985.
    Scramby eggs and bacon.

    Comment

    • Seshmeister
      ROTH ARMY WEBMASTER

      • Oct 2003
      • 35444

      #3
      I saw a headline today that said 'Alex Van Halen confirms it was Roth that stopped Eddie Van Halen tribute.'

      Click bait and so on but really not the story no matter which way you read it.

      What annoys me about all of this is that it will prove again how shit music journalists are. We know it because we know too much about this band but also because Hagar is a shitty liar and over the years you soon start to realize that many if not most music journalists just look at the last couple of things the artist said in previous interviews and then presents that as the 'facts' to fill the first couple of hundred words of their interview.

      Hagar soon realized that he could just make shit up like about album sales and saying it in an interview quickly makes it a 'fact'.




      Comment

      • DLR Bridge
        ROCKSTAR

        • Mar 2011
        • 5477

        #4
        Having completely adjusted my expectations, I’m now just looking forward to the tales of humanity the brothers endured early on in their lives. For under 250 pages, the book should end at the same time Van Halen Rising did; getting signed to Warner Bros. I’m thinking this was the best way Al could stick a finger in Sam’s eye for his tell-all book and motor mouthing through the years. That said, I think Al is, and has always been, kind of a dick. I almost feel like he’s having fun with Roth, saying he was vitriolic over honoring Ed. He’s probably aware of those Roth Shows from this past summer that let some of Dave’s grievances with both brothers in through the back door for all to see and now here’s his go at airing a different kind of laundry. It won’t even matter to everyone (the casuals) if it’s true or not. People just love to stomp their foot and say, “I knew Dave was the reason a tribute to Ed never happened.” I call bullshit on Al’s take, 100%. He didn’t quote a single word Dave said. I’ve watched interviews with Satriani describing talking to both Al and Dave about a tribute and those guys were on the same page. After all, it was Dave who once said, “I don't need so much to remember, no no. That's how it is when you tell the truth“ not Alex.

        Comment

        • Silexxx
          Head Fluffer
          • Sep 2010
          • 293

          #5
          Dave did repost that 'Nothing Could Have Stopped Us' Van Halen tribute song on his social media after these interviews.

          Comment

          • ZahZoo
            ROTH ARMY WEBMASTER

            • Jan 2004
            • 9054

            #6
            I'll most likely buy the book... but I don't expect any historical revelations from it. Based on these short interview insights it sounds more like Al unloading the emotional baggage from he and Ed's life. Those two were/are a mess from a alcoholic/substance abuse perspective... raised by a hard core alcoholic and authoritative mother. Don't need an autobiography to hear more about that shit... they lived it publicly enough to know the bottom line.

            Their biggest saving grace from being typical fucked up losers were... they were great musicians...

            I don't give rat's ass about the failed tribute soap opera... glad it didn't happen. Why... doesn't matter. It was doomed at inception. There's been no one competent driving the VH bus in decades...
            "If you want to be a monk... you gotta cook a lot of rice...”

            Comment

            • Terry
              DIAMOND STATUS
              • Jan 2004
              • 12045

              #7
              Originally posted by Seshmeister
              I saw a headline today that said 'Alex Van Halen confirms it was Roth that stopped Eddie Van Halen tribute.'

              Click bait and so on but really not the story no matter which way you read it.

              What annoys me about all of this is that it will prove again how shit music journalists are. We know it because we know too much about this band but also because Hagar is a shitty liar and over the years you soon start to realize that many if not most music journalists just look at the last couple of things the artist said in previous interviews and then presents that as the 'facts' to fill the first couple of hundred words of their interview.

              Hagar soon realized that he could just make shit up like about album sales and saying it in an interview quickly makes it a 'fact'.



              That whole thing of various music journalists over the last 30 years never fact-checking Hagar on any of his overblown claims regarding the record sales and concert audience sizes of both his solo career and his time with Van Halen used to irritate me. Mostly because certainly by the early 2000's the data was readily available with a minimal amount of online research.

              You do get to the point where, you know, who gives a shit anymore about Hagar's lies and the ineptitude of music journalists? Hagar is who he is.
              Scramby eggs and bacon.

              Comment

              • FORD
                ROTH ARMY MODERATOR

                • Jan 2004
                • 59145

                #8
                The idea of a "Van Halen" tour without Eddie was fucking ridiculous. The current "Van Hagar Lite/Chickenshit 3.0" tour is beyond pathetic, and even if Dave & Al were there, it still wouldn't be Van Halen. A single tribute to Eddie concert would have been fine, much like the remaining members of Queen did after Freddie died, with numerous guests invited to fill in. Guitarists, in this case. Satriani. Wolfie. the guys Dave hired for the Vegas gigs that never happened.. whomever wanted to show up. But just have it be one "Big Goodbye Party" and be done with it.

                Which of course is also where Queen should have left it. The tours with Paul Rodgers were OK, but the Lambert thing is just a fucking embarrassment and makes a joke out of everything that band ever was.

                Glad to hear Alex admit to what I have suspected for some time now, that he really doesn't have much use for Sammy, or even the Van Hagar catalog, and focused his book on the Real Van HALEN. Though he must have signed off on the recent remastering of the Van Hagar vinyl box set and the FUCK "super deluxe" set. But then, he's got medical bills to pay for, so I guess there are practical reasons for doing that.
                Eat Us And Smile

                Cenk For America 2024!!

                Justice Democrats


                "If the American people had ever known the truth about what we (the BCE) have done to this nation, we would be chased down in the streets and lynched." - Poppy Bush, 1992

                Comment

                • Vinnie Velvet
                  Full Member Status

                  • Feb 2004
                  • 4622

                  #9
                  Originally posted by FORD
                  The idea of a "Van Halen" tour without Eddie was fucking ridiculous. The current "Van Hagar Lite/Chickenshit 3.0" tour is beyond pathetic, and even if Dave & Al were there, it still wouldn't be Van Halen. A single tribute to Eddie concert would have been fine, much like the remaining members of Queen did after Freddie died, with numerous guests invited to fill in. Guitarists, in this case. Satriani. Wolfie. the guys Dave hired for the Vegas gigs that never happened.. whomever wanted to show up. But just have it be one "Big Goodbye Party" and be done with it.

                  Which of course is also where Queen should have left it. The tours with Paul Rodgers were OK, but the Lambert thing is just a fucking embarrassment and makes a joke out of everything that band ever was.

                  Glad to hear Alex admit to what I have suspected for some time now, that he really doesn't have much use for Sammy, or even the Van Hagar catalog, and focused his book on the Real Van HALEN. Though he must have signed off on the recent remastering of the Van Hagar vinyl box set and the FUCK "super deluxe" set. But then, he's got medical bills to pay for, so I guess there are practical reasons for doing that.
                  The Van Hagar remaster campaign is simply a record company release though yes Al would have to sign off on it. And yeah, he figured he could make a few bucks off of it.
                  =V V=
                  ole No.1 The finest
                  EAT US AND SMILE

                  Comment

                  • Seshmeister
                    ROTH ARMY WEBMASTER

                    • Oct 2003
                    • 35444

                    #10
                    Originally posted by Terry

                    You do get to the point where, you know, who gives a shit anymore about Hagar's lies and the ineptitude of music journalists? Hagar is who he is.
                    Don't get me wrong I'm not losing any sleep over it but yeah blatant lies about facts annoy me. It's amazing to me how if you just keep saying something in public just how many people will end up believing it. Remember this is a subject that we know a hell of an unhealthy amount about so you also have to think about how many things we know less about and have fallen into the same trap ourselves.

                    Nowadays rather than arguing I just say 5150 sold half as many as 1984 and every subsequent Van Hagar album sold fewer than the last.

                    Comment

                    • Terry
                      DIAMOND STATUS
                      • Jan 2004
                      • 12045

                      #11
                      At one point, Van Halen's first album and 1984, which were both Diamond status (or 10x platinum), had combined almost sold as much as the entire Van Hagar catalog. This was back in the late 1990's/early 2000's. I have no idea what the sales stats are for the catalog these days.

                      Yeah, Hagar's blatant factual lies are irksome less for the reason that Hagar lied - because that's what he does - but mostly in the manner lazy interviewers consistently accept what he says and print it (or post it online). A trait of his that annoyed me as a fan of CVH, yet the passage of time has seen it annoy me less.

                      As you say, it does make one wonder what other nonsense finds its way into print.

                      Except for that Richard Gere gerbil story. THAT I totally think is true.
                      Scramby eggs and bacon.

                      Comment

                      • Seshmeister
                        ROTH ARMY WEBMASTER

                        • Oct 2003
                        • 35444

                        #12
                        Hoary urban legend reports a celebrity was taken to a hospital emergency room to have a gerbil removed from his rectum.


                        Hah there was a Marc Almond one where he had to get his stomach pumped because there were 30 dogs sperm in it. I think we half believed that one back in the 80s but for one thing in what hospital do they have a test for that?

                        Comment

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