http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/ Posts for alt.music.van-halen Fri, 26 Jan 2007 12:45:56 PST http://www.nnseek.com/ http://www.nnseek.com/img/64.png 64 64 NNSeek http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/they_survived_roth_s_original_departure_and_actually_138073859t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/they_survived_roth_s_original_departure_and_actually_138073859t.html But Not 'Ha Ha' Funny
by Trent McMartin

How much more can Van Halen fans take? First David Lee Roth was out,
though red rocker Sammy Hagar turned out to be more than a suitable
replacement. Then Hagar leaves (or was fired) and the band brings back
Diamond Dave for a doomed brief stint before settling on Gary Cherone,
who lasted one unsuccessful album, 1998's Van Halen III - the album
for which longtime bassist Michael Anthony reportedly played on only
three tracks. It's enough to make you ask, "Where have all the good
times gone."

I remember seeing that MTV awards ceremony back in '97 with Roth and
Van Halen and it reeked of nothing more than a cash grab. The nineties
were the golden age of reunions, with many groups like the Eagles,
Fleetwood Mac, Jane's Addiction and KISS getting their classic line ups
back together. The tours and coinciding greatest hits compilations
brought in a lot of money and proved that dinosaurs of rock could
reclaim their past glory, though if only for a brief time. Nostalgia
can only take you so far.

Van Halen's second reunion came after a disastrous album and tour with
ex-Extreme front man Gary Cherone. After that debacle, the group went
on hiatus for a few years only to unexpectedly reappear with Hagar in
2004. After the '04 tour, Hagar finally had had enough of EVH's erratic
behavior (reportedly fueled by alcohol abuse) and he left the band once
again. Bassist Michael Anthony soon followed and was replaced with
Eddie's teenage son, Wolfgang Van Halen, last year.

Line up changes are a normal occurrence in rock music, some bands
experience it more than others - just take Black Sabbath and Guns N'
Roses for example. Van Halen was no exception. They survived Roth's
original departure and actually became more successful without him,
earning four number one hit albums and winning multiple awards
including the 1992 MTV Video of the Year award for their "Right Now,"
music video.

Now with Hagar currently out of the picture, there's been speculation
that David Lee Roth will join the group for a third outing (his
mid-nineties turn lasted all of a few days, if that). Even a summer
tour in the works, though, like anything with Van Halen, it's all up in
the air.

Speaking to Rolling Stone recently, Eddie Van Halen couldn't (or
wouldn't) fully commit to Roth being welcomed back into the group,
saying he is waiting on Roth, not the other way around. It's been
widely known that Roth has wanted to get back into Van Halen for years,
especially after his solo career stalled, and even recently Diamond
Dave was quoted as saying a reunion was 'inevitable'. Reportedly, Roth
has even stood in on a few informal jam sessions with the Van Halens
(Eddie, Alex, and Wolfgang)

But the lack of assurance on EVH's part is leading to speculation that
a reunion is farther away than originally reported. The brothers Van
Halen revealed to Rolling Stone that a summer tour is first and
foremost on the agenda and will occur with or without Roth. "Whoever
the singer is, they'll be surrounded by Van Halens," Alex Van Halen
remarked.

Which begs the question, does anyone actually care anymore? The band
has put their fans through hell and the thought of a new tour is more
laughable than celebratory. Those fans hardened from a decade worth of
fiascos may still care, but they're small in number. Most have moved
on, including myself, a self-professed former 'Van Halenite.' It was
Van Halen, and more specifically Eddie Van Halen, that made me fall in
love with the guitar, even inspiring me to pick it up, though only
briefly (I learned a few chords and a couple John Denver tunes). Other
than a handful of other bands, I cannot think of any one group who
actually influenced me more musically than Van Halen - they were my
first big concert (Northlands Coliseum, 1991).

As of now, the group is rehearsing, evidently without Roth, and getting
prepared for their March 12th induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of
Fame. Despite DLR not being present much during recent jam sessions,
the energetic singer will attend the induction ceremony along with his
replacement Sammy Hagar and original bassist Michael Anthony, which
could make for an uncomfortable setting. No word yet if Gary Cherone
will be there, but I'm guessing it's unlikely. He's saving himself for
the 2012 Van Halen reunion tour - 'The Return of Cherone' - and the
follow-up 2015 tour, which will feature all three singers.

http://www.moregoatthangoose.com/blog/index.php?id=trent070126

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]]> Fri, 26 Jan 2007 12:45:56 PST http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/barely_legal_babes_130270979t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/barely_legal_babes_130270979t.html

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]]> Thu, 25 Jan 2007 21:23:04 PST http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/remember_the_last_time_dlr_was_on_stage_with_vh_130270211t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/remember_the_last_time_dlr_was_on_stage_with_vh_130270211t.html
The car-crash moment will be March 12, the RRHOF induction ceremony.

Wear a diaper, in case you shit yourself.

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]]> Thu, 25 Jan 2007 20:40:03 PST http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/only_official_by_name_130270467t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/only_official_by_name_130270467t.html to Van Halen. Back in 1996, everyone thought that this was a done
deal. But then it blew up.

Dave and the Van Halen boys still have plenty of obstacles to leap
through before the tour takes off. There's the rehearsals, the
collaboration between Dave and the Van Halens, Ed's drinking, etc.

Seriously, what's going to happen when Dave steps into the rehearsal
studio with Wolfgang? What happens when Dave criticizes the way that
Wolfgang plays bass (you know that Ed will never hear any mistakes in
his playing, no matter how bad he plays)... what's going to happen at
the press conference and HOF induction when Dave turns on his Diamond
Dave persona (remember the 96 VMAs).... what happens when Ed tells Dave
not to say that "F" word in front of his son?

My point is, there are plenty of eggs and only a small portion of them
have already hatched. There is a lot of time between now and the end
of May. For all we know, the tour could end up being cancelled early
when Ed can't stay sober or gets his feelings hurt by Dave.

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]]> Thu, 25 Jan 2007 20:38:05 PST http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/van_halen_reunion_via_fox25_news_boston_130269955t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/van_halen_reunion_via_fox25_news_boston_130269955t.html
Edward, Wolfgang and Alex Van Halen along with David Lee Roth for a 40 gig
date tour. A clip of the Mtv video "Jump" was aired along with a silent
clip of Sammy Hagar on stage with Edward Van Halen, archives. 10 p. m. news
eastern standard time, Comcast Barnstable County channel 13, Fox25 News.
Approx. 10:45 p. m. e. s. t..

--
William K. Mahler, Owner - Webmaster
Help Unicef Today @ www.mahlers.com
Yahoo Instant Messenger ID: mahlerscom
reply: mahlerscom at mahlers dot com

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]]> Thu, 25 Jan 2007 19:59:20 PST http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/a_tour_that_kicks_off_in_north_carolina_in_early_m_130269699t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/a_tour_that_kicks_off_in_north_carolina_in_early_m_130269699t.html Roth will rejoin his old band mates for a national tour that is
scheduled to reach the Southland in June.
By Geoff Boucher, Times Staff Writer
January 25, 2007

Give credit (or blame?) to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: David Lee
Roth is back with Van Halen and planning to tour.

The mercurial Roth, who officially left Van Halen on April Fool's Day
in 1985, will reunite with his old band for a tour that kicks off in
North Carolina in early May and includes June stops in L.A., Orange and
San Diego counties, according to sources in the concert industry.

Joining Roth will be guitar hero Eddie Van Halen and drummer Alex Van
Halen. But bassist Michael Anthony reportedly will be replaced by Eddie
Van Halen's teenage son Wolfgang.

The band had been planning a splashy press conference in L.A. to
announce the news, but word leaked out Thursday. There had been intense
speculation that the reunion might happen after the announcement this
month that the band would be inducted into the Hall of Fame in New York
on March 12.

That induction ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel could be a study
in awkward stage politics now, considering that Sammy Hagar, the
on-again-off-again replacement for Roth, is being inducted as well.

Hagar sang with the band on their lucrative tour dates in 2004 and 2005
and told The Times a few weeks ago that he hoped the ceremony would be
a good-spirited celebration of the band's legacy. Now, he faces the
prospect of playing the rock bridesmaid at the celebration of his
band's rekindled first marriage.

Hagar and Roth have feuded publicly, and in 2002, when they turned
their public animus into a tour of strange bedfellows, the venture
dipped into soap opera almost daily.

It's not technically Roth's first return to Van Halen; he appeared
onstage with the band at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1996. They
recorded a few songs but then it was all off again.

The return of Roth will be met with exultation by fans of the band's
edgier and and raunchier Sunset Strip metal roots and their remarkable
six-album rise to the top of rock stardom, which began with "Van Halen"
in 1979, an album that has shipped more than 10 million copies to
stores, according to the Recording Industry Assn. of America. Hagar's
entry into the lineup in 1985 marked a step toward a less aggressive
edge and more mainstream sound.

Fans have long debated which lineup truly rules and now Roth will get a
chance to present his argument onstage for the first time since the
Reagan administration.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-halen25jan25,0,2904496.story?coll...

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]]> Thu, 25 Jan 2007 19:08:07 PST http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/now_that_it_s_official_130268675t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/now_that_it_s_official_130268675t.html

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]]> Thu, 25 Jan 2007 15:42:34 PST http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/van_halen_s_official_website_is_undergoing_changes_130267395t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/van_halen_s_official_website_is_undergoing_changes_130267395t.html http://www.van-halen.com and try to enter the site
you're continuous redirected to to the logo (gateway) page... This
means changes of some sort are underway.

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]]> Thu, 25 Jan 2007 13:31:07 PST http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/time_has_been_somewhat_unkind_to_roth_130267139t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/time_has_been_somewhat_unkind_to_roth_130267139t.html
It has come to this. The gods of metal did grunt and the thunder did
creak and Poison, Dokken, Def Leppard, Ratt, Whitesnake and the rest of
the '80s quinquagenarian rockers have already wrapped up their various
"reunion" tours of the sundry community theaters, Midwestern county
fairs and shopping malls across this fine nation, so of course now is
the time for the granddaddy of all conflagrations, the Great Reuniting
fans have been waiting for about 20 years, the real Second Coming.

Yes, the original Van Halen, easily the greatest party-metal band of
all time, is finally reuniting (well, most of them) for a summer tour.
Shudder, and hope, and shudder again.

Incredible as this band was in its heyday (and much deserving of
inclusion in the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame), you have to admit, the
signs are not encouraging.

David Lee Roth, after a miserable (read: cancelled after four months
for allegedly being a crazed diva nut) stint as a radio personality and
a bizarre turn as a New York paramedic and some sort of crazy-ass thing
where he was last seen doing a kooky bluegrass version of "Jump" on
cable TV (and admittedly looking like he was having a blast doing it),
Roth looks like he's been ready to be permanently installed in the Tiki
Lounge at Caesar's Palace since about 1996.

Eddie Van Halen was last seen hosting a big porn party at his LA
mansion (warning: NSFW), celebrating the release of "upscale" porn
director Michael Ninn's latest, uh, masterpiece, Sacred Sin, for which
Eddie wrote the soundtrack. You think I am making this up. I am not
making this up. Somewhere, Valerie Bertinelli is twitching.

There is danger. There is wary trepidation among the hair-metal
cognoscenti. There is the nervous consideration that this will not be
the slightest bit pretty, given how, first and foremost, time has been
somewhat unkind to Roth, who now looks like a PTA dad and whose voice
was never all that spectacular and which clearly has dropped a few
notches in quality, and worse to Eddie, who's already had one hip
replaced and who battled both alcoholism and mouth cancer (after chain
smoking for his entire life) and now looks like something death dragged
into the kitchen to warm over.

What's more, word is that Eddie's 15-year-old kid Wolfgang will play
bass in place of Michael Anthony, who's only real contribution was
those famous high-range vocal harmonies. Wait, do I know way too much
about this? How sad. I guess I'll have to buy a ticket, just to quell
the demons. Sigh.

On the upside, I suppose it sure as hell beats that rumored Culture
Club reunion tour of Este Lauder department store makeup counters.

Somebody said, "fair warning."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=3&entry_id=12940

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]]> Thu, 25 Jan 2007 13:07:45 PST http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/since_there_s_nothing_else_going_on_part_iv_130266883t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.music.van-halen/since_there_s_nothing_else_going_on_part_iv_130266883t.html
http://tinyurl.com/3y4sgs

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]]> Thu, 25 Jan 2007 11:47:00 PST