'Van Halen Rising' Book Chat with Greg Renoff - Oct. 17th, 9pm ET

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Got Tweeted this morning....

@Roth_Army Working on a book on #VH's early days. 200+ intvs; many lumniaries. Blog here: http://t.co/wbuEAqLuHC— Greg Renoff (@GregRenoff) July 10, 2013

[DLR Bridge]

F-ing-A!

[fraroc]

David and (unfortunatley) Sammy already wrote autobiographies, something tells me that it's time for the Van Halen brothers to write their side of the Van Halen story.

[Zing!]

Groovy.

[DLR Bridge]

That guy has some great pics on his page.

I love other people's tales of being there. The outsider looking in point of view puts you in the fray better than hearing it from the horses mouth sometimes. Dave's tales in his book are amazing, but there's always his slant. This looks to be a promising read indeed!

[ffoner]

Hey guys,

I'm the guy working on the book. Huge fan; saw em first in 84. Been around VH boards for years.

I'm a professional historian and a previously published author (pop my name into Amazon and you can see my first book) so this isn't some half-cocked project. I've been slogging away on it for five years. I'm still some ways away from publication but I'm getting closer.

My goal is to document how VH broke out of Pasadena and made it to the worldwide stage in 78. I've interviewed scores of musicians (many of whom made it big in the 80s) who gigged alongside Van Halen around LA before they broke. Tons of folks who saw them in the backyards, knew em in HS, and even the hosts of the backyard parties Roth talks about in Crazy from the Heat. Many unseen pix and other items; I've been to archives from Pasadena to NYC.

And for the record, Mike is as nice as everyone says he is. Had the pleasure of spending an hour on the phone with him.

I wanted to do the book because I feared that if I didn't write it all these great stories would be lost forever and I was tired of reading the same old accounts of ("they switched instruments..Roth joins..backyard parties.....rainy night at the Starwood....), which were largely based on supposition rather than actual research.

Be patient. Van Halen Rising is coming.

Thanks ----

[PETE'S BROTHER]

can't wait. whatever ya do, don't mention this site in the book or credits

[POJO_Risin]

Outstanding...

Just let us know how the Army can help...plenty of folks around that know plenty...

the pics are awesome...good stuff...looking forward to it...

[vandeleur]

Good luck with it

[ffoner]

Outstanding...

Just let us know how the Army can help...plenty of folks around that know plenty...

the pics are awesome...good stuff...looking forward to it...

Thanks, I appreciate it. I've lurked here for years.

[POJO_Risin]

In all serious...if you wheedle through all the "history" here, there is plenty of knowledge top to bottom...

Just let us all know how we can help...

The best part of the reunion for me was having the guys sit down and tell stories from the start of the band...

[ffoner]

That guy has some great pics on his page.

I love other people's tales of being there. The outsider looking in point of view puts you in the fray better than hearing it from the horses mouth sometimes. Dave's tales in his book are amazing, but there's always his slant. This looks to be a promising read indeed!

Thanks. It's going to be based on multiple perspectives of many people obviously. Official bios are great, but let's face it, how much do people remember on their own about events that happened nearly 40 years (!!) ago? (See Ozzy and Iommi's books for examples) Autobiographies can only tell part of the story. It's been like putting together a patchwork quilt to put the pieces together, but taken in total it's going to be the most complete story of how they made it.

[DavidLeeNatra]

can't wait. whatever ya do, don't mention this site in the book or credits

he could mention me being on the phone with Dave for 6.5 minutes during his radio show...

[ffoner]

In all serious...if you wheedle through all the "history" here, there is plenty of knowledge top to bottom...

Just let us all know how we can help...

The best part of the reunion for me was having the guys sit down and tell stories from the start of the band...

Those black and white interviews with Roth talking to the guys were great, obviously and were very helpful for what I'm trying to do.

Oh and the guy Roth mentions in one of them because VH borrowed his truck to haul gear back in 73? Yeah, I found him.

[DavidLeeNatra]

Thanks. It's going to be based on multiple perspectives of many people obviously. Official bios are great, but let's face it, how much do people remember on their own about events that happened nearly 40 years (!!) ago? (See Ozzy and Iommi's books for examples) Autobiographies can only tell part of the story. It's been like putting together a patchwork quilt to put the pieces together, but taken it total it's going to be the most complete story of how they made it.

true that! Ozzy's bio sucks ass...it's written together by some ghosty who was going through the different documentaries and interviews from Ozzy. there was literarelly NOTHING new in the book. not so much for keef's which is a fantastic read.