LOOKING AT THE POSSIBILITY (AGAIN) OF A VAN HALEN REUNION TOUR
by Buck Woodward - 11/13/2006

"I think, eventually, the inevitable will happen."
- David Lee Roth, January 2006, on whether the original Van Halen
lineup would ever play together again.

It has been well over two decades since David Lee Roth performed on
stage with Edward Van Halen. It has been ten years since any new Van
Halen music with Roth on vocals was released (two tracks on the Best Of
Vol. 1 compilation). Yet, here we are in 2006, and once again there is
tons of discussion regarding Diamond Dave once again fronting Van
Halen. Incredibly, there seems to be an even bigger buzz about Van
Halen's unconfirmed plans than there is for the upcoming Genesis
reunion, which is confirmed. It is a testament to the enduring
popularity of Van Halen's music that despite all the false starts and
incorrect rumors, many are still clinging to the hope that the mighty
VH will once again perform in front of an arena of fans.

So, why do the rumors seem to have more impact this time around?
Before we discuss that, a little history lesson. (For those of you who
are well aware of Van Halen's past, feel free to skip the next six
paragraphs).

Van Halen burst onto the music scene in 1978 after a few years on the
California club circuit, with Edward Van Halen revolutionizing the
electric guitar while David Lee Roth set the standard that every hair
metal frontman to emerge from Los Angeles over the next ten years would
try to copy. After the amazing debut album Van Halen, the group dove
into the album-tour-album cycle that was normal for a band at the time,
and made their way from opening act to headliner, playing in front of
packed stadiums. By the time 1984, with the mega hits "Jump", "Panama"
and "Hot For Teacher" was released, they were, arguably, the biggest
rock band in the world. However, but the time 1985 ended, Roth would be
gone, with the general belief being that Dave felt he was the "star"
and didn't need to share credit with the guitar whiz or the other
members of the band (which, by the way, are Eddie's brother Alex Van
Halen on drums and Michael Anthony on bass and background vocals).

So, Roth was out, and despite record company and management wanting
Eddie to release a "solo" record (in the hopes that it would buy them
time and hopefully get Roth back in the fold), Van Halen moved forward
with a new singer, Sammy Hagar, the former Montrose singer who was
coming off his greatest solo success to date with the VOA record and "I
Can't Drive 55" single. The result was a string of four multi-platinum
number one records (5150, OU812, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge,
Balance) and arena tours, while Roth responded with two hit solo albums
featuring guitarist Steve Vai (Eat Em And Smile, Skyscraper) before
watching his star fall following the moderate success off A Little
Ain't Enough (which featured guitarist Jason Becker). Van Halen, it
appeared, had proven that Roth needed them more than they needed Roth.

However, during the Balance tour, things started to disintegrate for
Van Halen and Hagar. Following the death of longtime manager Ed
Leffler, the band had disagreed on hiring Ray Danniels, the manager of
Rush and brother-in-law of Alex Van Halen. Hagar flatly didn't trust
him (and wouldn't let Danniels handle his affairs), and it apparently
drove a wedge between him and the brothers (Michael Anthony, who had
grown close with Hagar, stayed out of the line of fire), which was made
worse by Edward's continued battle with sobriety. A dispute over
releasing a Greatest Hits set and songs for the soundtrack to the movie
Twister ended up being the final nails in the coffin, and Hagar was
fired/quit (depending who you ask) and Van Halen, for the second time,
was without a singer.

In a shrewd business move, David Lee Roth was brought back in to record
two songs for the Hits set (Best Of Vol. 1), and the reunited original
lineup made an appearance at the MTV Video Awards. However, before
that night was even over, Roth and Eddie were back at odds, with Roth
angry over Eddie's constant mentioning that there would not be any
reunion tour in the near future, due to him needing hip replacement
surgery. Before MTV even finished putting together their "Welcome
Back" video for Roth, he was back out of the band. Of course, he never
was really back in the band, as Van Halen's story has always been that
Roth was just coming in for the Hits project, and there was never an
intention on their part to go further with it.

Later the truth came out that Van Halen had actually been working with
singer Mitch Malloy, but apparently a combination of Danniels' "strong
arm" management style (like Hagar, Malloy didn't want him handling his
business) and Malloy's uneasiness over the Roth situation led to it not
working out. Enter Gary Cherone, former lead singer for Extreme. A
great singer and frontman, Cherone seemed like a good choice, and the
group released Van Halen III, which was produced by Edward and Mike
Post (best known for his work with television soundtracks). The band
went on a tour, and while they were still playing arenas, the crowds
were a bit smaller. What was worse, is it became apparent that the
main draw for the shows was the nostalgia of hearing the old hits, as
VHIII hit number four on the charts, went gold and stalled, ending Van
Halen's string of number one studio albums (all four Hagar albums had
topped the charts) and was the only Van Halen record not to achieve
multi-platinum status.

And for a long time, that was it. Cherone was let go, and no
replacement was named. Van Halen would go over six years without
releasing any new music. When they finally did, it was three songs for
another hits project (Best Of Both Worlds) and saw Sammy Hagar (who had
been a lot more prolific than his former bandmates, releasing CD's and
touring regularly) back fronting the band. There were numerous
declarations that "Van Halen is back!" and things looked good as the
group embarked on a 2004 arena tour. With Irving Azoff (who has a
knack for getting bands back together, like Journey and the Eagles) in
place as manager, things looked good for the group. However, by the
end of the tour, the good vibes had given way to animosity, as Edward's
attitude and refusal to change the setlist (the band played the same
set at every show, changing three songs if they played the same venue
twice) ticked off Hagar, who was already annoyed at the high ticket
prices being charge for the shows. When a Japanese and European tour
was proposed, Hagar refused, and Van Halen went back into hibernation.

Okay, the history lesson is over, so it is back to the more recent
past.

In 2006, David Lee Roth made headlines as the lame duck replacement for
Howard Stern on morning radio, garnering bad reviews and taking the
fall on numerous stations. Hagar released a new CD and went on tour
with Michael Anthony as his special guest, playing a set of Van Halen
tunes under the moniker "The Other Half". Hagar also made it clear in
numerous interviews that while he had no beef with Alex Van Halen, he
flat out refused to have anything to do with Eddie. As for Edward, he
finally produced some new music, two tracks for Michael Ninn's artsy
porno flick Sacred Sin. He even hosted a party for the film at his own
home, and performed a few classic Van Halen songs for the assembled
guests. Edward also released a series of guitars with his famous
striped design and two effects pedals, as well as new Van Halen
T-Shirts and other merchandise.

When the rumors of a Van Halen reunion began this Fall, they normally
would be taken with the usual grain of salt. However, the scuttlebutt
was given an added kick when it came out that, after being eligible for
at least three years, Van Halen were finally being put on the ballot
for induction into the Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame. Now, it should be
pointed out that the Hall Of Fame isn't always a guarantee of a
reunion. The Police played at their induction, but hasn't performed
since. Cream played, then took a few years before getting back
together for a series of shows. However, there can be no doubt that
concert promoters see dollar signs whenever a group reassembles to be
inducted into the Hall Of Fame, and that appears to be the case with
Van Halen.

Let's take a sidebar to discuss the Hall Of Fame for a moment. In the
past, when a group has been inducted into the Hall Of Fame, all members
that contributed to the success of the group are usually invited to
accept the honor. This has resulted in such unique scenarios as the
then-feuding Temptations standing at the podium, Eric Claption, Jeff
Beck and Jimmy Page being inducted with the Yardbirds, and Mick Taylor
standing side by side with his replacement, Ronnie Wood, as the Rolling
Stones were inducted. With that in mind, it would stand to reason that
a Van Halen induction would include both David Lee Roth and Sammy
Hagar. Given that Hagar and Roth have shown the ability to at least be
civil together, and that Alex Van Halen is still supposedly on speaking
terms with everyone in the band, it isn't inconceivable that all of
them could stand on stage together and accept the induction. Just don't
expect Hagar and Eddie to be standing next to each other.

That bring us to the performance portion of the ceremony. A few years
ago, the Hall Of Fame came up with the idea that all inductees would
perform after accepting their award. It was a sneaky way to strong arm
some groups into reuniting, at least for a few numbers. However, a few
artists have still managed to get away without singing a note either by
naming a substitute (Black Sabbath had Metallica perform for them, the
remaining Ramones had Green Day play in their place) or coming up with
an excuse (Michael Jackson's mysterious foot injury right before the
ceremony). Would Roth and Hagar share a microphone? Kid Rock tried to
get the two singers to perform together during their joint tour, but it
never happened. Would Eddie just want to play an instrumental medley
and shut out both lead singers? Perhaps Gary Cherone would sing....
okay, that's probably pushing it.

Back to the tour rumors. Edward Van Halen's spokesperson Janie
Liszewski had the following response to the talk of Van Halen hitting
the road:

"Yes, I can confirm this story in the respect of Wolfgang being the new
bass player for the band and yes he has been in the studio with his dad
and uncle rehearsing and writing for an upcoming summer 2007 tour.
Wolfgang most certainly has inherited the Van Halen musical genius
gene. At 15 years of age his knowledge, understanding, skill, and
command of multiple instruments is impressive. There has been no
confirmation that David Lee Roth will be touring this coming summer."

So, let's examine that statement. Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie's son, who
occasionally joined his father on stage during guitar solos during the
2004 tour, is now the "new bass player" for the band. That would mean
that Michael Anthony, who Eddie had less than kind things to say about
during a rambling Howard Stern appearance a few months ago, is out of
the band for the first time since 1978. While not a total surprise,
given Anthony's relationship with Sammy Hagar, it still casts a shadow
on this reunion. For his part, Anthony recently stated that no one has
contacted him, one way or another, about any Van Halen projects.

Because of Edward's guitar wizardry, Anthony never had a spotlight on
his bass playing (although his work on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
proves he can do a lot more than just hold down the bottom end)
however, no one can deny that Michael Anthony's background vocals were
an integral part of the Van Halen sound. When Van Halen recorded three
songs for the Best Of Both Worlds compilation in 2004, Eddie and Alex
shut Anthony out of the songwriting, and Eddie handled the bass parts
on the recording. However, Anthony was eventually bought in for the
singing, an admission that without his harmonies, it wouldn't sound
like a Van Halen song. The idea of a live Van Halen performance without
Michael Anthony just seems bizarre, and there is no way a 15-year-old
Wolfgang is going to be able to sing in Anthony's style. Of course,
given that Van Halen has used a (hidden) keyboardist on the road
before, it wouldn't be shocking for them to hire a background vocalist
to stand under the stage as well.

Back to the statement, the idea that Eddie, Alex and Wolfgang are
"writing" has gotten a lot of chuckles from those in and out of the
industry. For all of Edward's bragging that he has "thousands of
songs" written, fans have only heard five of them in the last eight
years. If a tree falls in the forest, and none one hears it, does it
make a sound? If Eddie Van Halen has written thousands of songs, but
no one hears them, do they really exist? Regardless, Van Halen isn't
going to rake in millions with a new record (in this day and age, very
few artists do). Nope, the money is in the tour, and the biggest
offers are going to come from promoters that want the nostalgia bill of
Van Halen with David Lee Roth at the helm. We know Roth will do it,
and it appears Eddie is much more willing to do a run with Roth than
Hagar at this point.

So, while the Hall Of Fame is still a question mark, I think the idea
of a Roth-led Van Halen being on tour next summer isn't out of the
realm of possibility. However, let's not kid ourselves here. This
isn't some sort of reformation of the classic lineup. Michael Anthony
won't be there, and there won't be any new recordings with Diamond
Dave. This is strictly a nostalgia trip where the Van Halen brothers
will rake in the cash by performing a 90-minute set of early Van Halen
tunes with Roth. I'm sure Dave will be in tip-top shape, and will
recreate as many of his classic stage moves as he can at 53 years of
age. As for his voice, well, it was never about the singing with Roth
anyway, it was about the attitude. For the fans who have been waiting
for this event since 1985, I'm sure they will be happy. Maybe Eddie
will be able to keep his act together long enough for the band to make
it through more than three months of touring and fans overseas will get
a taste of Van Halen again as well.

I believe the tour will happen, and it will be all about the money.
Not that this should surprise any of us. After all, there is a reason
they call it the "music business". So, save your pennies (because the
tickets won't be cheap) and enjoy the trip in the "wayback machine". I
know I will (and then I'll probably go see Hagar & Anthony again too).

For all the BS and trash talk, we Van Halen fans will put up with it
all just to hear Eruption one more time.

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