Who cares. Lead singer is the least of VH's problem. Unless Eddie is sober, a ticket to their show is going to be a gigantic waste of money. The last time they played the Toyota Center, I almost walked out. The 90 bucks I spend on upper deck seats was the only thing that kept me there. Never again.
I'm not a VH fan at all, but I was at that show too. One of my best friends got two tickets in the suites from a client so we went. Free booze and food. Lousy musical performance. When EVH whipped out the power drill during his solo guitar god routine, a teenager in our suite who had been partaking of the free booze puked his guts out, and me and my friend got the hell out of there. If I would have paid $90 like you I would have been pretty pissed off.
Even if Eddie miraculously is back in form, and DLR sheds 20 years of fat and vocal ineptitude, Van Halen won't be the same without Michael Anthony.
its funny, eventho I talked about how easy a bassist's job in a rock band is...I agree. He doesnt do anythig flashy musically, but his onstage enthusiasm is hard not to enjoy. Even if VH never does anything else, I can still enjoy getting to see Mike play with another of my favorite live acts....Sammy. I'd love to party with those two, but IM afraid my liver couldnt take it.
I may be in the minority on this, but I LOVE Michael Anthony's backup vocals. To me, that's just as much a part of Van Halen as finger tapping and Diamond Dave.
"To have my son follow in my footsteps on his own, without me pushing him into it, is the greatest feeling in the world." Translation "What the hell else was he going to do, you think he's ever heard anything but Van Halen music. I made the little **** do it."
I have a good friend who was on the road working with both Van Halen (last tour) and Sammy Hagar (last tour). He told me a lot of interesting stuff. Mainly, Alex is in INCREDIBLE shape. He rides an exercise bike during Eddie's solo and has a personal chef to make only healthy meals for him on the road. Eddie is still a MASSIVE smoker. He saw him take a few drags from a cigarette, set it down for a couple minutes during a song and pick it back up and re-light it. He's hooked like nobody's business. Oh, and Valerie is still around and she and EVH get along really well. Wolfgang is a decent musician. He said that the Hagar guys are fun to be around and really professional and that being around Van Halen was equally great. This was with Sammy and Mike. Personally, I've grown so tired of EVH and his craziness, I just don't care anymore. Plus, my guess is that Dave doesn't have his chops anymore. Most importantly, I love Mike's bass playing. I've always thought he was tremendously underrated, nevermind those classic high-pitched background vocals. I'm dubious.
Replacing Michael Anthony is about 10 minutes of work, 20 minutes if it has to be one person to do both the bass and background vocals. Michael Anthony is a really good guy but ... He is not a song writer and reading between the lines EVH may very well have laid down most of the bass lines on their CDs. I suspect that VH w/ Dave should sell as well as the Sammy and Dave tour. If EVH had Sammy open for the tour, they may be able to take ticket sales to the next level.
Man, what's with all the Michael Anthony hate?? The guy is a VERY underrated bass player. He isn't flashy because it's not his job to be flashy. That's Eddie's job. But he's rock solid and, like someone else said, his high pitched background vocals are as much a part of VH's sound as Eddie's tapping. Kind of reminds me of Frank Beard (ZZ Top drummer). People write him off because he played the same easy groove on every song on the Eliminator record. But he was just doing his job, staying out of Billy's way. Listen to any of ZZ Top's pre-Eliminator material and you'll hear what Frank can really do. One of the most underrated drummers ever. OK, I'm off my soapbox.
How many musos in the LA scene can play MA bass lines? How many musos in the LA scene can sing MA background vocals? How many musos in the LA scene can do both? It is not hate; it is just reality. The genius of VH is EVH and to a lesser extent DLR/SH.
Exclusive: Van Halen Reuniting With Roth For Tour Van Halen's original lineup in the early 1980s January 24, 2007, 4:20 PM ET http://billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003537232 Ray Waddell, Nashville Sources tell Billboard.com a contract could be signed as soon as today for Live Nation to produce a 40-date amphitheatre tour by Van Halen this summer, with original frontman David Lee Roth back in the fold for the first time in more than 20 years. As previously reported, guitarist Eddie Van Halen's 15-year-old son Wolfgang has stepped in for original bassist Michael Anthony in the new incarnation of the group, which also features drummer Alex Van Halen. Van Halen last toured in 2004 with vocalist Sammy Hagar, grossing nearly $40 million, according to Billboard Boxscore. Hagar refused to collaborate further with Eddie and Alex Van Halen after the tour's completion ("I don't get along with Eddie anymore, and that's all there is to it," he told Billboard.com in August 2005), although he has consistently played live with Anthony in recent years. The warring factions may wind up meeting in public in March when Van Halen is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "I see it absolutely as an inevitability," Roth told Billboard.com last May of a potential reunion with his ex-bandmates. "To me, it's not rocket surgery. It's very simple to put together. And as far as hurt feelings and water under the dam, like what's-her-name says to what's-her-name at the end of the movie 'Chicago' -- 'So what? It's showbiz!' So I definitely see it happening." Hagar recently told Billboard.com he was concerned Eddie Van Halen was asking too much of his son to have him join the band and promptly perform in front of thousands of people every night. Click to learn more... "That's a lot of pressure for Wolfie. Just 'cause he's Eddie's son doesn't mean he can go out and play in arenas and perform and entertain an audience for two hours," he said. "I would love to see Eddie and Alex get behind Wolfie, with a kid of his age singing, and produce the record for him and help him launch a career. I'd rather see it go that way than come out and say 'Wolfie's the bass player in Van Halen and maybe singing, too.' Van Halen's got way too much history to have that put on him."
Well, my baby, she don't want me around She said she's tired of watchin' me fall down She wants a good life, ah! An' all the best But I like that bottle better than the rest And she said: "I think that you're headed for a whole lot of trouble "Well, I think that you're headed for a whole lot of trouble" "Well, I think that you're headed for a whole lot of trouble" "If you take your whiskey" home.
Ah, but nothing beats Kiss live in the '70s. Strutter Deuce Detroit Rock City Hard Luck Woman Christine Sixteen Love Gun Rock and Roll All Nite That was just the best live performance of all time. Wow.
Newer, older, remakes to ensue: "Walking Kinda Fast With The Devil" "Hop" "Not As Pretty Woman" "Feel Your Love Later Tonight, Maybe" "Somebody Get Me Another Doctor" "And The Hospital Bed Will Rock" "Everybody Wants Something" "Teacher's Hot For Me" "I'm Still Waiting" "House of Pain Pills"
