Van Halen: Exuberant California, Zen Rock 'n' Roll

[DystopianDude]

I was just wondering if anyone read this book exploring the aesthetic value of Van Halen and how it ties to Zen. I'd bet it'd be quite interesting.

[Seshmeister]

I bought it but haven't got round to reading it yet.

Haven't heard anyone on here who has.

[DONNIEP]

I got this book as a gift and read it within a few days. I really enjoyed it and posted a mini review in the other thread. Everybody should pick up a copy. The guy that wrote it did the VH article in Classic Rock (is that right, sorry if I got the title wrong) that a lot of you read. Dude knows his Van Halen.

[Dave's Bitch]

Not sure I know what zen is

[Seshmeister]

Just a lot of made up hippy shit.

[Seshmeister]

John Cleese said he saw an ad in an LA newspaper which said 'How to use Buddhism to give you a competitive advantage!'

[Dave's Bitch]

I just googled it.Turns out it is also an internet service provider based in Rochdale in Greater Manchester,England.But I imagine this book is about the other Zen

[Va Beach VH Fan]

I've got the two books from Zloz, I still haven't finished his EVH book.....

But I've been cautious to make sure that if I buy a VH book that it isn't simply a bunch of cut and paste Guitar World and Circus articles....

Here is one review from Amazon....

I had been looking forward to buying this since reading the John Scanlan's cover story about Van Halen's '1984' in Classic Rock magazine last year. If you liked that, you'll also like this.

The first thing to say, though, is BUYER BEWARE. There are *no new interviews* in this book. It makes use of interview material you might be familiar with if you are a die-hard fan, but the book's not a biography, so the material crops up in unusual ways to suit different purposes that a conventional biographical narrative - a lot of the book is about trying to get into the state of mind of a time and place (Calif in the 70s) and the heads of the two main characters (EVH and DLR). The writer's a college professor, according to the cover - but it's an easy read, and never boring. I read it in one day.

An odd and fascinating book, really, about the 70s and the Southern California ... and Van Halen, and Ted Templeman, and Top Jimmy, and all sorts of other characters, etc etc.

Van Halen, really, are the like the main players at the centre of a wider story about the culture and music of those times. It even has a Soundtrack listed at the end, which includes lots of non-Van Halen songs - so, that's probably a good way to think about it. It's a bit like a film set in 1970-83, which flashes back to the early 60s, etc.

If you are interested in the deeper artistic motivations of David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen, then you'll probably find it pretty interesting. There are long chapters on Roth's Zen influences and how it fed into his creativity, and Eddie's 'brown' sound - but for what it reveals about his creative instincts. Also some good and rarely seen pics from the 70s

Oh, and don't buy it if you are a Van Hagar fan - I think Sammy Hagar is mentioned once in 220-odd pages. The first 200 pages are about the period up to 1983/84. There's a final chapter bringing things up to the 2007 reunion, but it's short and skates over the non-Dave years - the point being that the book is a really about Dave and Ed and what made them the artists and performers they are.

[Yount]

zen = hippie lol good one, that's like saying Hagar = rock

[Seshmeister]

Oh, and don't buy it if you are a Van Hagar fan [/I]

Because you will need opposable thumbs to open it...

[ELVIS]

Click!

[Coyote]

My copy should arrive sometime tomorrow... We'll see.

[DLR Bridge]

I'm always interested in the "deeper artistic motivations" of Dave and Ed. It's just that I'd prefer to hear it from the horses mouth. Think I still may ask Santa for this book, though.

I still wonder where the author got the info (in his Classic Rock piece) about the band almost putting a version of the old sea shanty, Blow The Man Down, on 1984. That article was the only place I'd ever heard that little rumor.

[Coyote]

I like it. Well written, and it gives a clue to why VH is still so goddamn interesting...