Michael Anthony on Van Halen
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Sauce boy is a little delusional. Guess hanging around Spammy will do that.
Mentions that they became bigger with Hagar. Which isn't true at all.
Maybe he thinks the number 1 albums on billboard is the ultimate measuring stick. Sales say otherwise.
Even compare the 1984 and 5150 tours. The 84 tour was doing so well they couldn't book the band to play so many multiple gigs in an arena.
The next step was stadiums. Unfortunately the band broke up before that could happen.=V V=
ole No.1 The finest
EAT US AND SMILE -
I think perception plays a big part in them thinking they became bigger during the Hagar era... Billboard number 1's don't mean much to us as fans but the recognition and plaques on the wall may mean more to Mike than just gross sales figures.
One measure that I've never seen is residual income from radio airplay... no idea how that's reported to the band but it could be the revenue from that may have been higher due to more radio play of Hagar crap in pop markets than traditional rock markets. The band may also have racked in more cumulatively with the Roth catalog residuals combined with the Hagar stuff during that period since both were on the air constantly back then."If you want to be a monk... you gotta cook a lot of rice...”Comment
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I think perception plays a big part in them thinking they became bigger during the Hagar era... Billboard number 1's don't mean much to us as fans but the recognition and plaques on the wall may mean more to Mike than just gross sales figures.
One measure that I've never seen is residual income from radio airplay... no idea how that's reported to the band but it could be the revenue from that may have been higher due to more radio play of Hagar crap in pop markets than traditional rock markets. The band may also have racked in more cumulatively with the Roth catalog residuals combined with the Hagar stuff during that period since both were on the air constantly back then.
If I can go back and think how much Van Hagar was played on other pop radio stations I'm gonna say not that much. Aside from maybe Why cant this be Love or Love Walks In, and the others off OU812.
I remember rock stations still played them regularly though, however, CVH was still very much in rotation as well.
Fast forward to the present Van Hagar is barely played at all. Its almost exclusively CVH on classic rock stations. And just look at the streaming numbers. Majority of songs are from CVH. So in the end CVH wins.=V V=
ole No.1 The finest
EAT US AND SMILEComment
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Those guys had management firms and accountants that handled all the business end of things... If they paid attention to anything it was the amounts rolling in on their pay checks for royalties. The numbers most like grew significantly in 85-96 due to the combined sales and airplay of both eras. In their minds... oh we must be bigger with Hagar. Not realizing they were still riding the Roth waves too."If you want to be a monk... you gotta cook a lot of rice...”Comment
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Those guys had management firms and accountants that handled all the business end of things... If they paid attention to anything it was the amounts rolling in on their pay checks for royalties. The numbers most like grew significantly in 85-96 due to the combined sales and airplay of both eras. In their minds... oh we must be bigger with Hagar. Not realizing they were still riding the Roth waves too.
I will give credit to Ed Leffler though. He was the kind of manager CVH actually needed. He made Van Hagar a lot of money. That much is true.
Contrast him to Noel Monk.=V V=
ole No.1 The finest
EAT US AND SMILE👍 1Comment
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Interesting point about radio airplay.
If I can go back and think how much Van Hagar was played on other pop radio stations I'm gonna say not that much. Aside from maybe Why cant this be Love or Love Walks In, and the others off OU812.
I remember rock stations still played them regularly though, however, CVH was still very much in rotation as well.
Fast forward to the present Van Hagar is barely played at all. Its almost exclusively CVH on classic rock stations. And just look at the streaming numbers. Majority of songs are from CVH. So in the end CVH wins.
Once Hagar left in 1996, within a couple of years of that I rarely heard Van Hagar stuff on the terrestrial classic rock stations: it was - and remains - virtually all CVH.
Far as Van Halen's record deals, it's not shocking that they had a shitty one when they first signed with Warner Brothers in the late 1970's. Or that they renegotiated a better deal. By the time Hagar joined the band, Van Halen had already built the clout through their record sales from 1978-1984. Commercially, Van Halen was as big as it ever got by the time 1984 hit the shelves. They never got any bigger when Hagar joined, regardless of the perceptions at the time. They WERE probably AS big as they got with Roth a la 1984 when Hagar first joined, with that first Van Hagar album in particular being their best-selling one with Hagar. As to how many of THOSE sales were the result of the work they had done with Roth, who can say although probably more than a few to say the least.
But I never saw it along the lines of, say, AC/DC where the first album they did with Brian Johnson was a quantum leap in sales over what they had done with Bon Scott ...where AC/DC's career REALLY kicked into high gear commercially (especially in the US) with the Back In Black album in a way that they hadn't when Bon Scott was fronting them. Which isn't to say AC/DC couldn't have gotten bigger or broke into the US market in a big way with Scott at the helm. Van Halen were ALREADY selling out multiple dates at 15 thousand seat arenas by the time 1984 rolled around. They had headlined Heavy Metal Day at the US Festival in 1983 in front of 250,000 or however many it was. They had sold out massive arenas and stadiums in South America. They were, what second from the top of the bill at Donington in 1984.
For whatever credit Van Hagar is due, that lineup of the band more or less maintained that level of success the band had with Roth in the US. No easy feat for a rock band replacing a frontman. They still managed to have a respectable degree of commercial success even with their last two full length studio albums with Hagar, when grunge was replacing rock bands who had been massively successful in the 1980s in terms of radio airplay/MTV videos. To be sure, Van Hagar fobbed off those schmaltzy synth power pop ballads and those undoubtedly helped keep them relevant commercially.
Scramby eggs and bacon.Comment
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Sauce boy is a little delusional. Guess hanging around Spammy will do that.
Mentions that they became bigger with Hagar. Which isn't true at all.
Maybe he thinks the number 1 albums on billboard is the ultimate measuring stick. Sales say otherwise.
Even compare the 1984 and 5150 tours. The 84 tour was doing so well they couldn't book the band to play so many multiple gigs in an arena.
The next step was stadiums. Unfortunately the band broke up before that could happen.
I suppose it speaks well of him that to this day he refrains from airing whatever beefs he had with the Van Halens in public, in terms of dirty laundry and whatnot. He made a couple of comments in the interview regarding how things eventually went south band-wise and he left or was fired or whatever. Who knows? Maybe by the time he was no longer in the band he was just as relieved to be out of it as the Van Halens were to see him go. Doesn't sound like that whole 2003-2004 experience with Hagar was really all that pleasant from anybody's perspective.
Personally, I never wanted another bass player in the band circa 2007, be it Ed's kid or anyone else. Anthony should have been there. Easy for me to say that, though. The reality of it was that Anthony hadn't really communicated with Roth in any meaningful way in the years since 1984 save for, what, that whole 1996 whatever the fuck THAT was and a couple of interactions at a few shows on that 2002 Sam and Dave tour. So, it wasn't like Roth was gonna have Anthony's back had Anthony rejoined the group for the tour in 2007-2008. And I'd be willing to bet Ed would have only had Anthony back for that 2007-2008 tour if Anthony did it as a salaried/for-hire guy: there was no fucking way the Van Halens would have cut Anthony in for a slice of the pie even close to as equal as theirs was. It probably would have been one of those Peter Criss deals where he got his 10% cut in 1996, Ace got his 20% and Gene and Paul split the remaining 70%. Under those terms financially and probably not on great terms with either Roth OR the Van Halens by 2007, why WOULD Anthony want to rejoin for a tour? Although Anthony being who he is, he probably STILL would have done it.
Scramby eggs and bacon.Comment
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I do recall the band got a respectable amount of airplay with the Van Hagar stuff when Hagar was in the band.
Once Hagar left in 1996, within a couple of years of that I rarely heard Van Hagar stuff on the terrestrial classic rock stations: it was - and remains - virtually all CVH.
Far as Van Halen's record deals, it's not shocking that they had a shitty one when they first signed with Warner Brothers in the late 1970's. Or that they renegotiated a better deal. By the time Hagar joined the band, Van Halen had already built the clout through their record sales from 1978-1984. Commercially, Van Halen was as big as it ever got by the time 1984 hit the shelves. They never got any bigger when Hagar joined, regardless of the perceptions at the time. They WERE probably AS big as they got with Roth a la 1984 when Hagar first joined, with that first Van Hagar album in particular being their best-selling one with Hagar. As to how many of THOSE sales were the result of the work they had done with Roth, who can say although probably more than a few to say the least.
But I never saw it along the lines of, say, AC/DC where the first album they did with Brian Johnson was a quantum leap in sales over what they had done with Bon Scott ...where AC/DC's career REALLY kicked into high gear commercially (especially in the US) with the Back In Black album in a way that they hadn't when Bon Scott was fronting them. Which isn't to say AC/DC couldn't have gotten bigger or broke into the US market in a big way with Scott at the helm. Van Halen were ALREADY selling out multiple dates at 15 thousand seat arenas by the time 1984 rolled around. They had headlined Heavy Metal Day at the US Festival in 1983 in front of 250,000 or however many it was. They had sold out massive arenas and stadiums in South America. They were, what second from the top of the bill at Donington in 1984.
For whatever credit Van Hagar is due, that lineup of the band more or less maintained that level of success the band had with Roth in the US. No easy feat for a rock band replacing a frontman. They still managed to have a respectable degree of commercial success even with their last two full length studio albums with Hagar, when grunge was replacing rock bands who had been massively successful in the 1980s in terms of radio airplay/MTV videos. To be sure, Van Hagar fobbed off those schmaltzy synth power pop ballads and those undoubtedly helped keep them relevant commercially.
Yeah I give Van Hagar credit for at least maintaining multi platinum sales on their last two albums. But perhaps their next one would've seen a downfall. Not sure.
Their sales did decrease from album to album though.=V V=
ole No.1 The finest
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In point of fact, if I recall correctly, BOV1 within a year of its release actually outsold Balance which had already been out for two years when BOV1 was released in 1996. ALL of that was doubtless on the strength of those two new Roth tunes.
Scramby eggs and bacon.Comment
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in reality, I listen to SiriusXM and channel surf to 80s, Classic Rewind, Ozzy's Boneyard, Hair Nation. Occasional terrestrial radio. I still hear Van Hagar... Why Can't This Be Love, Dreams, Love Walks In, Right Now, Poundcake, Finish What You Started, Can't Stop Loving You... I missed a few but damn I feel gay typing those out. I cringe once in a while. But it's not true that they do not get airplay.Comment
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in reality, I listen to SiriusXM and channel surf to 80s, Classic Rewind, Ozzy's Boneyard, Hair Nation. Occasional terrestrial radio. I still hear Van Hagar... Why Can't This Be Love, Dreams, Love Walks In, Right Now, Poundcake, Finish What You Started, Can't Stop Loving You... I missed a few but damn I feel gay typing those out. I cringe once in a while. But it's not true that they do not get airplay.
I mean, all I can comment on my region of the country and the radio stations I listen to. Admittedly, even with that, I'm not listening to terrestrial radio much anymore.
But it's kind of a moot point in that even when CVH wasn't getting played on the radio as much from 1986 through 1995 as Van Hagar was, it mattered not regarding which lineup of the band I preferred. Same applies today.Scramby eggs and bacon.Comment
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I dont listen to satellite radio so perhaps Van Hagar does still ger airplay there.
However, based on streaming numbers, majority of songs are CVH vs Van Hagar.=V V=
ole No.1 The finest
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Even with that recent Anthony interview, generally speaking I haven't had much interest in what any of the former members of Van Halen have had to say regarding the band since Eddie died. I think with this Anthony one I had a bit of interest because Anthony has, compared with the rest of the former members, given far fewer interviews over the years.
Really, and this will sound silly or whatever, but I did see a Cherone interview on a podcast maybe a few years after Eddie passed. It was maybe a half hour or something. And whatever one thought of Cherone's time in the band (admittedly, I didn't and still don't think too highly of it), at least Cherone was able to speak about his three or four years with the band in positive terms and didn't have anything by way of mudslinging or whatever to lob at the Van Halens or Anthony. He said the whole circumstances regarding how he came to join weren't ideal and there were some decisions made in terms of how the record was produced that didn't work out as well as they could have in retrospect, but he didn't have any regrets about any of it. And he was pretty conciliatory in saying how he understood that him being in the band probably wasn't what fans of the band wanted, that they wanted that Roth reunion in 1996 to be something beyond what it ended up being but he pointed out that ultimately Eddie didn't want the reunion in 1996 to be anything beyond what it ended up being and that if it hadn't been Cherone it would have ended up being somebody else other than Roth.
I mean, you contrast THAT with all the shit Roth, Hagar, and the Van Halens (including Wolfgang ...I mean, what the fuck does nepo-baby Wolfgang have to bitch about, regarding ANYthing?) slung at each other via the press since 1985. At least after Roth rejoined in late 2006, by and large Roth and the Van Halens went silent interview-wise. Then, Eddie dies and within a year Wolfgang is making his little comments about Roth, and eventually Roth throws some shit BACK Wolfgang's way. And Hagar seemingly can NEVER shut the ruck up about any of it. Like, fuckin' hell, from beyond the grave with the animosity, even.Scramby eggs and bacon.Comment
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