Does this make you cringe?

[private parts]

Man, there is no one like the Diamond One and his fellow VH bandmates. I've seen a couple of VH tribute bands before, some better than others musically, and I give them credit for trying and for the fact that they love classic VH as much as we do. But. When someone tries to become DLR on stage....
well... frankly its an embarrassment to them and to Dave. NO ONE can imitate Dave. No one can pull off his banter, his SCREAMING, his jumping, his stage dress, or his attitude. Those that try..FOOLS!!

I'm sure most of you have seen these VH posers, and probably have discussed it here before but I've seen KISS tribute bands, Nirvana etc. They all seem ok for some reason. But when they try to do the MIGHTY CLASSIC VAN HALEN.. well they SUCK. Is it just me or does watching this make you puke in your mouth?

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[private parts]

I hope I don't offend anyone here. For all I know these guys are members of the Army. I don't mean to pick on them. Musically they sound great (best I've heard)
but seeing someone "doing" DLR just rubs me wrong.

[fourthcoming]

You know what bro, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.......at least their paying homage to one of the greatest bands of all time. And....at least their not playing Love Walks In. I give em props for bravery......nobody can come close to the real thing.......makes you appreciate Diamond Dave and the boys just a little bit more.

[private parts]

Ya I agree. I give em props for trying. I think I would like it better if they just played the music as themselves and not playing the part.
They definitely can PLAY THE VH. If someone recites the Gettysburg Address, do they have to dress like Lincoln?

[vandeleur]

Nah there's a place for cover bands and as long as they get they are there to make the punters happy ,god bless em , there are some great musicians playing covers just to help out on the cash front usually to support their originals band ... And as for a Dave impersonator its never gonna be the real Thing but am sure it's fun watching them
Having a shot at the title ...

[hambon4lif]

I hope I don't offend anyone here. For all I know these guys are members of the Army. I don't mean to pick on them. Musically they sound great (best I've heard)
but seeing someone "doing" DLR just rubs me wrong.

I wouldn't worry at all about offending anyone. Some people will have a stick up their ass no matter what is said. It's like they sit around just waiting to be offended.

As far as the Punks go, they haven't been shit since Ralph left. His DLR was so spot-on it was scary. I let their current toolbag of a singer know that in a MySpace battle awhile back that was fuckin' EPIC! I'm pretty sure that bastard hates me to this day....
They passed on a guitarist named Derek, who's now in another trib band (Fan Halen) who does Eddie alot more justice than that piece of shit in the video you posted.

For what they were, they used to be decent (definitely a better alternative to listening to the gay-ass Van Hagar crap), but they've made some shitty business decisions and they aren't worth a damn anymore. Now that the REAL Van Halen is back, they're also completely irrelevant.

[private parts]

I wouldn't worry at all about offending anyone. Some people will have a stick up their ass no matter what is said. It's like they sit around just waiting to be offended.

As far as the Punks go, they haven't been shit since Ralph left. His DLR was so spot-on it was scary. I let their current toolbag of a singer know that in a MySpace battle awhile back that was fuckin' EPIC! I'm pretty sure that bastard hates me to this day....
They passed on a guitarist named Derek, who's now in another trib band (Fan Halen) who does Eddie alot more justice than that piece of shit in the video you posted.

For what they were, they used to be decent (definitely a better alternative to listening to the gay-ass Van Hagar crap), but they've made some shitty business decisions and they aren't worth a damn anymore. Now that the REAL Van Halen is back, they're also completely irrelevant.

Reunited Van Halen bad for business. Rockin was there business, business ain't so good.

[fourthcoming]

Maybe they can re-name themselves 51shitty and do all the clunkers from 1985 to Up For Breakfast. There's a halfway decent cover band here on the Island called Completely Unchained.....again.....nothing like the real thing but you can tell they are old school VH freaks. Hambon said it perfectly....now that the real VH are back.....kinda tough to be a CVH tribute band.

[private parts]

Well they'll have some new material to play between (knock on wood) now and a new release in the future.

[Sensible Shoes]

I just saw Unchained Sunday night in BOston before the concert. Believe me they do NOT suck. Rick sounds a lot like dave even if he doesn't resemble him.

[tjvhou812]

I just saw Unchained Sunday night in BOston before the concert. Believe me they do NOT suck. Rick sounds a lot like dave even if he doesn't resemble him.

you lucked out, i could'nt get in, line was way to long

[Hardrock69]

I remember back in the mid-80s, where I would see touring club bands....bands who toured the US, and some of the frontmen were mimicking Dave's schtick....his mannerisms....sometimes his facial expressions that were in some of the VH videos on MTV....

It was like watching trained monkeys.

I was out on the road in 1984 with a band called Diamond Romeo.....played the Southern circuit from Georgia to Texas for the most part. Singer's face looked exactly like Dave. He could have done a great Dave impersonation. But, he was true to himself, and did not copy anyone else. Hell, the band did not even play any Van Halen material at all.

As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...but it can also be seen as a lame attempt to ride the coattails of the stars in order to somehow impress people when they are unable to impress anyone with their own shit.

I knew a dude from Wichita who was an EVH NUT! He had the guitars, the red and white striped overalls, had every note down perfectly....but the dude had no original material at all.

It always used to make me marvel at him....wondering if he was so devoid of originality, or had no imagination.....so that the best he could do was to pretend to be someone else...

Ah well.....some guys are over-the-top good at that sort of thing, and also have a creativity as well....say for instance..Randy Hansen. He has been doing Hendrix tributes his whole life....but has also released albums of all-original material, had music on the soundtrack for Apocalypse Now, etc., and is the single greatest guitar showman I have ever seen in my life.....

But people of his caliber are very rare....

[vandeleur]

I've seen that a lot in guitar circles , people with great technique who can copy incredible pieces of music but just cant do original stuff ... I've often wondered if copying/studying someone so much can in some way kill off creativity ... Am not saying that happens all the time but ive seen a good few examples .

[DONNIEP]

The Punks were hands down the best VH tribute band ever. Period. Then Ralph and Russ left and it's been downhill from there. The newest guy they have sucks ass and looks like a fucking idiot. But back in the day, they were the closest damn thing you could get to seeing the real VH. I can't find the video I wanted to post - them doing Light Up The Sky with Mikey - but this one's pretty good.

[sadaist]

Before 2007 I saw the Atomic Punks maybe 4 times. had a great time every one of em. I think my first show was 1997 or 98 at a beach bar in San Diego. Ralph was so DLR it was scary. If you were drunk and kinda far from the stage, I swear you felt like you just used a time machine to 1981. It was very cool.

2007 and beyond I have no need for the Atomic Punks. I think Ralph made the right choice leaving them behind.


But hey, if people can go to a bar with friends, drink up, and rock out to live Van Halen music I say FUCKING A! Nothing wrong with that. You wanna see wrong? Look up the VanHAGAR tribute bands.