Brad's comments about Gary Cherone

[MightyVanHalen]

Here's something i pulled off the VHML. It's Brad explaining some of the bullshit Gary went through.


want to know what a really great guy Gary was in dealing with
all of the shit that he had to deal with? He and I would regulary
sit down and go over emails from the fans. He didn't care how
harsh they were, he wanted to read them. In Vegas he went through
a stack and I was really un-anxious for him to see one email in
particular because the person really slammed him, calling him a
flamer and a homo, etc. But, he read it aloud to me and respected
the person's opinion without getting upset or getting defensive.
I didn't see him falter at all. The man does his own thing regardless
of what anyone thinks. If you dig it, cool. If you don't, that's cool
too.

Here's another example. Gary, Mike and myself were rapping in between
takes at the Fire in the Hole video shoot and they asked me what
the fan reaction was so far. At that point in the tour, they had
just done the 10 US shows in between Australia and Europe. I told
Gary that some were good and some were really harsh. He wanted to
know exactly what people thought. I said, "Okay, some are really
positive and some people say you look like a fag the way you
dance around on stage." Gary just gave me this huge smile and said,
"Good. I'm going to do it even more then." And you know what? I
have a lot of respect for that. He is his own person and performed
the way he wanted to, not the way people wanted him to. It might
not have been the popular preference, but he was true to himself
and what he believed in. And that speaks volumes about his character.
Sure, he wasn't well-recieved by the VH populace as a whole, but
he stepped into a pair of shoes and gave every night his all. Most
people would have crumbled under the pressure he was put under
by many fans.


Brad
The Official Van Halen Web Site http://www.van-halen.com




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"No man is happy without a delusion of some kind. Delusions are as necessary to our happiness as realities." -Christian Nestell Bovee, American author (1820-1904).

[Wolfman]

Gary Cherone may not have worked out as singer for VH, but I dare anyone to dispute he was (and is) a superb human being after reading Brad's comments. The part about "doing it even more" cracks me up. The man obviously has very high self-esteem, and doesn't let what other people say about him get him down. Those are very admirable traits. Alhtough I didn't really care for the work he produced with Van Halen, I don't think he gets a fair shake as a person. So he looked faggy when he was dancing- maybe Ed does too. (Don't start flaming me- I'm not suggesting anything here)

[Brett]

I always liked Gary as a person, to take the crap he did, you've got to have an incredibly thick skin.

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[strungout]

I've always supported Gary and his contribution to VH. While it is my least favorite VH incarnation, I can still appreciate it and enjoy it for what it's worth. I saw the tour, and I loved it because he gave it his all, and didn't mind singing ANY old VH song, caring more about the fans than his nonexistent ego.
Even though I like Sammy/VH the most, I get more upset over Gary bashers than I do when Sammy gets flamed, because Gary really wasn't given a fair chance, and was in a lose-lose situation. I have the utmost respect for the guy, and hope that he really did come away from all of this with a postive outlook. I hope that his positivity wasn't just a facade he put on, because I know it must have been really hard to go through the shit he endured. I don't blame him for bringing VH down at all. I am happy he left, but not because I disliked VH3, but for Gary's own happiness.

The idiots who flame Gary, and those who threatened Gary on his website should be sat down and forced to listen to Brandy sing the national anthem over and over until they bleed out of their ears.

kudos to Brad for supporting Gary also!

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UP FRONT FANATICS!!!

"If I were you, and you were me...wonder who I'd rather be" -- Sammy Hagar

"My idols were always people like Genghis Khan, Muhammad Ali, Alexander the Great, or the guy who invented McDonald's hamburgers" --David Lee Roth

[Wolfman]

I think Gary was sincere-no putting on a front or anything. You're right strungout- kudos to Brad, too.

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RIGHT NOW....The original Van Halen is working together somewhere....

[WesIsOnFire]

What a guy that Gary! If only he could be remembered for his attitude and willingness to listen and please the fans instead of a low selling VH record. I always thought he seemed to be a pretty descent and cool guy!

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Van Halen Burning the Stage Forever!!!
You "Can't Get This Stuff No More" with any other band!

HOPE YOU'RE ALREADY FEELING WELL EDDIE!!!!!!!!

Having a bad day? Well VAN HALEN has been formulated to wipe those bad day blues Away!
Hide your sheep? What about Little Bo Peep?

[Glenn]

Now I like Gary even more. That sounds a little like the DLR attitude; you don't like me, tough shit, here's some more. You have to admire the courage he has. And I remember Gary for VH III, not the sales of VH III.

[Mario VH]

I don't care what the masses have to say about Gary and VH3. In my opinion Gary did a fine job with Van Halen especially on tour. The show I saw in Toronto was awesome and probably ranks as the best performance I've seen VH give to date. They were clicking on all cylinders that night and my fiancee and I had an incredible time as did the rest of the audience. VH3 was a stepping stone to something bigger and better with Gary and I really wished he would have been given another album to prove himself within Van Halen. Judging the guy based on only one album is a bit unfair but I guess understandable under the circumstances.
If fans want to criticize the guy for his on stage personna or the way he sang on the album well I have no problem with that. To personally attack the guy and call him a fag or some other garbage is just plain stupid and irritates the shit out of me. What more did people want from the guy. He did his best and that's all anyone could ask of him. If VH3 was a failure, it's not because of something Gary did or didn't do. It's a team effort and sometimes your best efforts or intentions get ignored by the masses. I guess at that point you move on and try again this time with DLR.

[Greg]

The article in the newest edition of the Inside Magazine summed it all up. He had toughest job in rock n roll. That'd be the shit if Extreme reunited.

[YankeeRose]

That's a cool article! Gary is a great guy. I never thought he acted Gay at all. I thought he had really good stage presence. He has a great attitude too. I hope Extreme gets back together too Greg.

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Right Now you're reading my post!
Stop lookin' out, start lookin' in,
be you own best friend....

[Brett]

What the hell is "acting like a fag" anyway? And who is the idiot who defined what this is? You know how many times people have asked me if I thought Dave was gay, with all of the crap he used to do in the 80's? I've even gotten emails from people asking me. My response is, WHO THE HELL CARES.

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[yankees99]

I have always liked Gary. I never understood why he would put himself in such a situation, why anyone in. The fact is NO ONE could have stepped in. Even Sammy, with all his commercial success with VH is crapped to this day. I think some posts on this site support that. I personally did not think the music was all that great on III, but I cannot deny the effort he put in. The guy gave it his all. What I admire most is how he has kept quite after the break-up. A total class act. I wish him all best as all VH fans should.

[This message has been edited by yankees99 (edited July 13, 2000 at 06:19 PM).]

[tap1966]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brett:
What the hell is "acting like a fag" anyway? And who is the idiot who defined what this is? You know how many times people have asked me if I thought Dave was gay, with all of the crap he used to do in the 80's? I've even gotten emails from people asking me. My response is, WHO THE HELL CARES.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Brett, what about Sammy? Is he gay too?

[JMJ]

that's fookin rough man! he stepped into VH not just after dave, but sammy as well. i don;t care who the third singer was, they never would have made it. kudos to gary for putting on 2 fucking bad ass shows i saw on the III tour in hartford and boston. he did something that sammy never did, he sang so much old stuff. i mean yeah, he only had one album and could have done all sammy shit but he didn't. he did a little bit of everything and gave me two of the best weekends in my life. so for that, i say thanks to gary!

the best is yet to come....

[Brett]

Don't know Jonathan, no one's ever asked me.

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Webmaster
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