VAN HALEN in the studio????

[Nitro Express]

In the old days Warners was saying,"You guys owe us money and you owe us more albums and oh by the way, you are going back out on the road in a few weeks." Van Halen was under the gun and had to get the album out. Eddie had most the new music written while he was on the road previously. Dave jumped in the back of a limo and penned lyrics as he was driven all over Los Angeles.

They didn't have the luxury of diddling around. Warners was laying a boot in their ass. They were owned. They were property. It's why Prince wrote SLAVE on his face in protest. That being said, the crooked industry squeezed some good music out of people. LOL!

[Nitro Express]

The problem is Eddie no longer fears anyone and he has too much money. The days of "Yes Sir Mr. Templeman." are long gone. Ed is like a stubborn donkey that the more you whip it, the more it's resolve is to fight you. So you have to trick the donkey into moving and that is far from productive.

[Nitro Express]

I think Ed has always been strange. He even has admitted to being so himself. The thing is Ed is no leader. He needs a leader. I think in the past he did what he was told and accepted his fate. It's when Ray Daniels convinced Ed he should be be the leader where everything got fucked. Ed is a specialist. He's the guy you call in when you need specialized expertise. You certainly don't want such types in management. Ed sucks at managing (He can't even manage himself) and he sucks at producing (VH3 Anyone?). Ed is at his best when someone says, He Ed we need this kind of thing, and Ed takes the idea and tries to give that person what they asked for. When Ed sets off to make his own dreams it really sucks.

Ed Van Halen is at his all time best when he's part of a team that includes the right people and Ed is excited about being part of that team.

[ZahZoo]

This reminds me of something Dave mentioned in his recent interview...

I'm not sure what's in Ed's mind at this point. I'm gonna guess that his plans are to write with his son, and I'm not sure where that actually leads. But truth be told, Edward and I haven't written a new song in 20 years.

It's no secret that Ed's motivational catalyst for music is Wolfgang since 2006... It's got to be eating away at Dave terribly to be on the outside looking in... Of course it's even further removed when you are 5400 miles apart in different worlds.

[DLR Bridge]

Yes, Ed is a strange cat....no doubt about it....and I wish he had the drive that Dave has.....but Ed was on fucking fire on the last tour and album.

I'm kinda hoping he's still on fire and that we're all just a bunch of impatient mo-fos.

[DLR Bridge]

This reminds me of something Dave mentioned in his recent interview...



It's no secret that Ed's motivational catalyst for music is Wolfgang since 2006... It's got to be eating away at Dave terribly to be on the outside looking in... Of course it's even further removed when you are 5400 miles apart in different worlds.

Didn't they (Ed, Al & Dave) say on one of those Vimeos from last year that the band recorded all of VH II and then, called Dave up and said "you're up" so to speak? I can understand Dave wanting the camaraderie that goes with the collaborative effort, like the pre-WB days, but is the way things are done now so different from how the bulk of the 6 pack was done?

I do like Dave's use of the expression "wood shed" though. Only people who mean business with their art break that term out.

[DLR Bridge]

Isn't that an odd turn of events, having to perform due diligence as a Van Halen fan as a means of avoiding a misuse of money re: buying tickets to a potentially bad show? What was long ago once a no-brainer (i.e. Van Halen would provide a kick-ass show) has now become a crap-shoot.

I've pretty much decided to employ what I call the "Frank Sinatra" decision tactic from here on out with VH. Die hard Sinatra fans knew they weren't getting the ol Blue Eyes of old by the time the mid 1980s rolled around. They just went out of love for the guy and never knowing if each time they saw him would be their last or not. I'm that hopeless a fan of this band. Only a return to the Hagar era could change my mind.

[ZahZoo]

Didn't they (Ed, Al & Dave) say on one of those Vimeos from last year that the band recorded all of VH II and then, called Dave up and said "you're up" so to speak? I can understand Dave wanting the camaraderie that goes with the collaborative effort, like the pre-WB days, but is the way things are done now so different from how the bulk of the 6 pack was done?

I do like Dave's use of the expression "wood shed" though. Only people who mean business with their art break that term out.

I'm not sure that was VH II... from what I recall reading was all 4 members were in the studio composing and most of the stuff was all recorded live with very little over dubs with some lead guitar and backing vocals mostly. It wasn't until Ed built 5150 that he had a place to write and compose and have vocals phoned in...

[FORD]

Tremonti is not a full-time gig either though. Just a sideline. Creed is said to be planning more albums/tours.

How about this for a scenario......

Now that Scott Stapp has re-embraced his fundagelical roots (he was even on the 700 Club a while back) maybe the other members of Creed are fed up with him, and will kick him out of the band. They can hire Hagar as a singer, since he would love to sing "With Arms Wide Open" and all that other shit. And if Wolf wants to play bass for them, that's OK.

Without the ball and chain of the Chedmaster in the way, Mike Sobolewski finds himself available for Van HALEN.

[Fairwrning]

Yep, they've had like 10 albums "in the can" for over a decade now...

Still, it's better than nothing!

Agree..where is all this material he was writing all these years..I love ADKOT but we all know it was written years ago (except lyrics)...according to Ed they could release a double Cd..

[Fairwrning]

My days of rumors and speculation about this band are over. To keep my sanity, everything just goes in one ear and out the other.

Spoken like a true fan..been way too much bullshit

[78/84 guy]

Agree..where is all this material he was writing all these years..I love ADKOT but we all know it was written years ago (except lyrics)...according to Ed they could release a double Cd..

Maybe they should. Clean house. Problem is everyone wants the old stuff in concert. Not A bad idea though.

[Hardrock69]

I've pretty much decided to employ what I call the "Frank Sinatra" decision tactic from here on out with VH. Die hard Sinatra fans knew they weren't getting the ol Blue Eyes of old by the time the mid 1980s rolled around. They just went out of love for the guy and never knowing if each time they saw him would be their last or not. I'm that hopeless a fan of this band. Only a return to the Hagar era could change my mind.

Dude that is LITERALLY why I went to see Frank at Long Beach Arena in February 1991.

Hell NO he was not going to be able to sing like in his younger days (50 years before...).

I went because I COULD and because I was never going to be able to see him again!

It was true....that was the only time in my life I got to see him, and I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to see him just once.

SO...as for VH...if I never get to see them again, I am fine with it. I finally got to see the 3/4 VH (2 ways of 3/4 actually - blood and band), and so I am satisfied.

Only thing I wish I could see again would be the original 4, but I have given up on that a long time ago.

[chi-town324]

Tremonti has said that he is writing new material while on this mini tour for the next alter bridge album. His other full time gig...now if Wolf is asked to join alter bridge we might have some real drama...

[Never was]

But no one wants Dave to go back 50 years like Sinatra had to , how about just to the last tour when he put in a ton of vocal work for his bluegrass project which rolled into the VH renunion. He doesn't need to be 25 again, just 55. That probably should be his bigger concern than the background vocals.

Dave is Dave either way