EVH: Billboard Mag Cover Story Sneak Peek Via VHND

[vandeleur]

To be fair I think Dave is as cool as the next person but you wouldn't wanna be in a room for long with him never mind be his friend.

Dave tuning up ... Me me me me me .

It would wear thin pretty quick .

[VHscraps]

Reading the whole interview, you just can't help but think that he's really got it in for Mike.

What he says makes no sense, really - Mike had to come over and video record Ed playing the parts before going on tour?? Really?! I am not buying it for a minute. Does that mean Ed played all those bass parts in the studio, too, cos - y'know - Mike having to learn them to go on tour sort of implies that??

But, apart from that ... and strangely-enough ... I liked the article - he's certainly speaking his mind.

I find him, aside from the meanness towards Mike, to be likeable these days. I don't think a bit of tension in the band is a bad thing, if that's what the comments about Dave reflect. But who the hell knows what's really going on in terms of the lack of new music.

[Jetstream]

To be fair I think Dave is as cool as the next person but you wouldn't wanna be in a room for long with him never mind be his friend.

Dave tuning up ... Me me me me me .

It would wear thin pretty quick .

I actually do not think Dave is all about "me me me" when it comes to his contributions to the band, but I do think his inability to simply stop talking would turn some people off... especially when it gets compounded with a character like Edward's who cannot handle much conversation lol

[VHscraps]

I found it amusing that he has Google Alerts set up for anything that mentions Van Halen - so much for Ed not taking an interest in the Internet. I can just picture him sitting up at 5150, thinking, "Why the fuck won't Dave be my friend, goddam it. I need to set up a Google Alert to find out what the hell he is saying about me ..."

[Terry]

Well, Eddie has always had a somewhat different take on Van Halen than whatever the general consensus was. Then again, am I gonna believe Eddie Van Halen or someone who wasn't even in or directly working for the band? With Ed, it's hard to say.

I mean, in mid-2011 Ed gave an interview in which he said it wasn't even worth it anymore to put out any new material, so he wasn't going to bother recording anything new. 6 months later, ADKOT is released.

And, yeah, the whole idea of Ed having to teach Mike his bass parts via Mike video recording them prior to the band hitting the road...it just sounds like bullshit. Such a thing WOULD imply Mike didn't play on the albums (why would he have to be taught his bass parts by Eddie otherwise?), and I don't believe that is true. I can easily believe Eddie dictated some of the bass parts to Mike during rehearsals/recording, though.

[ZahZoo]

“He does not want to be my friend,” Van Halen says, seemingly bemused. “How can I put this: Roth’s perception of himself is different than who he is in reality. We’re not in our 20s anymore. We’re in our 60s. Act like you’re 60. I stopped coloring my hair, because I know I’m not going to be young again.”

Eddie would love to make another Van Halen album, but that plan has obstructions. “It’s hard, because there are four people in this band, and three of us like rock’n’roll. And one of us likes dance music,” he says. “And that used to kind of work, but now Dave doesn’t want to come to the table.”

This confirms my observations that there's no personal relationship between Ed and Dave.

It does raise an obvious question... Dave spent a whole decade from 1996 -2006 strategically positioning himself to return to Van Halen and sold the world on it being an "inevitable" reality. He wins his seat back at the table and now he won't sit down or is so lost he can't find the table..? WTF?

I know that this piece is through Ed's blurry reality goggles... but clearly Roth's recent antics and disconnection from the rest of the world raises some questions on his state of mind...

[twonabomber]

It does raise an obvious question... Dave spent a whole decade from 1996 -2006 strategically positioning himself to return to Van Halen and sold the world on it being an "inevitable" reality. He wins his seat back at the table and now he won't sit down or is so lost he can't find the table..? WTF?

I think Dave was campaigning to get back into VH earlier than 1996...

[ZahZoo]

I think Dave was campaigning to get back into VH earlier than 1996...

I think you are right... it's probably the rise of the internet that made the subject much more prevalent in popular discussion among those of us with an interest.

[Kristy]

Dull. And more dull.


Eddie no longer uses drugs since 2008. Who-da-fuck-cares? If he was a proper rock star he would have overdosed before the Spammy years. Eddie dresses "normcore." Golly! What insight! The guy looks like a total berk. Again with the god damn fucking millionaire rock stars and their mundane lives. Watching paint dry in a dentist office holds more interest than that junk journalism.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

I found it amusing that he has Google Alerts set up for anything that mentions Van Halen - so much for Ed not taking an interest in the Internet. I can just picture him sitting up at 5150, thinking, "Why the fuck won't Dave be my friend, goddam it. I need to set up a Google Alert to find out what the hell he is saying about me ..."

I have Google Alerts set up for "Van Halen" and "David Lee Roth", and I don't believe I've ever seen anything from here generate an Alert.....

And that's a good thing.... I doubt some (read: most) of the things said here, for ALL band members, past, present and future, would want to be read by them....


I don't know, there have been so many variations in The Story™ from everyone that I don't know what or whom to believe anymore....

I mean, the whole "He does not want to be my friend” statement is so bizarre on one hand based on the vitriol spewed from the brothers toward DLR after the breakup, but on the other hand there are those here that know DLR's associates that admit that good 'ol Dave often times is no cupcake to work for.....

[VHscraps]

...
on the other hand there are those here that know DLR's associates that admit that good 'ol Dave often times is no cupcake to work for.....

because he is a goddam fruitcake, mate ...! Ho ho. Would love to be a fly on the wall when those two get together

[Terry]

I think there's a degree of respect and affection between Roth and the Van Halens. If that respect rests more on their history together than anything they've been doing since 2006 is a bit of a gray area. I mean, you didn't hear Dave publicly bagging on Ed's diminished abilities displayed nightly in 2008, although clearly he could have.

I've worked with some of the same people for nearly 15 years, and while I have respect for their professional abilities and what they bring to the table in terms of the job, I've never had the slightest bit of interest in spending 5 seconds with them outside of the work environment. By all accounts, Ed and Hagar got along great as friends during the first three or so Sam Halen years. That level of friendship didn't translate into making great music as far as my ears were concerned.

Plus, Ed is as cuckoo as a clock when it comes to personal relationships and how people relate to one another. Frankly, Ed relates to his guitars and playing music better than he does to how humans interact. Therefore, Ed may well fell that Roth isn't interested in being his friend where that may not be the case. Maybe Roth would like to have a closer personal relationship to Ed, but is wary because Ed is slightly nuts. Who the fuck knows? Maybe Roth is also a moody loner beyauch. I've heard that description attached to him by more than one person over the years.

I don't think it's a hate scene. It more of a case of these guys having been able to create great music together, but not having much particular use for each other outside of that context. It seems like it has always been that way with them, though. They're quite a bit older, but the parameters haven't changed.

[FORD]

The two biggest "rumors" around Sobolewski's separation from the band were always 1) Because he couldn't remove his head from Sammy's ass and 2) That he didn't make any attempt to contact the brothers to pay respects when their mother passed away (while Dave, Cherone, and Hagar all apparently did so.)

This article apparently confirms both of those stories. As far as Dave & Ed not having much of a relationship, it's sad, but hardly surprising. Dave said pretty much the same thing in his most recent interviews, and who knows if they were ever in the same studio when ADKOT was being recorded. The album turned out damn good, considering. But it also explains the "Tattoo You"/plunder the vaults vibe about the whole thing, if the only time Dave & Ed are ever in the same physical location is when they are on stage.

Ironically, if they really don't get along, somebody should pull an Andrew Loog Oldham on them and lock them in a goddamn room together and not let them out until they write a new album. The agressive chemistry that might result would work in their favor.

[DLR Bridge]

Hmmm. I'm thinking that just maybe, some, if not all summer tour ticket holders are going to see their credit card accounts credited at some point.

What a batch of loony birds. Dave wants to wood-shed and create music, but can't get the brothers on board. Ed claims musical differences and a lack of friendship as being a road block to progress. It really is maddening to read this shit year in and year out. Time wasting fucking babies. Shut the fuck up already! I'm actually looking forward to Wolf's CD more than this looming train-wreck of a tour.

[twonabomber]

Ironically, if they really don't get along, somebody should pull an Andrew Loog Oldham on them and lock them in a goddamn room together and not let them out until they write a new album. The agressive chemistry that might result would work in their favor.

There isn't a big enough personality in the industry to do that any more. And you're comparing two songwriters at the beginning of their careers to two close to the end of theirs.