Van Halen the brand name

[dropdeadlegs]

What with all the BS that has gone on with the band the past 18 years, I wonder if Edward & Big Al ever regret naming the band Van Halen. The problem is now that Van Halen is a brand name just like Coke A Cola, Pepsi, Nike and Macdonald's. People are conditioned now to think of a particular image when they hear the moniker. "Van Halen". If the end product (in this case music) doesn't fit the perceived association it's bound to have negative reactions. It's pretty sad, that if Ed & Al put out music separate from the band, that they have to think very seriously whether or not they want put their legal surname on it. I know they have every right to, but they're many out there who only associate the name Van Halen with David Lee Roth or to a lessor extent Hagar.

[Mario VH]

Interesting post. I think that the scenario your describing happens especially with an established act or product. It would have been the same had the band decided to call themeselves Rat Salade, Mammoth or whatever because of the success that the band has enjoyed over the years. Van Halen has enjoyed stardom on 2 fronts with both Dave and Sam so it's more difficult to put a label on what Van Halen is suppose to sound like. Is it the free swinging spirit that Roth brought to the band or the more mature sound that Sam brought-maybe it's a combination of both. That's what makes me love Van Halen as much as I do because their are so many different variances to their music. In my mind 3 was still a Van Halen record despite the fact it was devoid of either Dave or Sam's vocals. Four dynamic individuals should be given the artistic freedom to create the music they choose to make despite what the fans demands on the product should be. If you want to buy the product fine, if you don't that's fine too. It's definately the consumers choice. Van Halen has always defied the trends and that's why they were able to survive and prosper as long as they did. They didn't make the same record twice but they didn't cater to the flavour of the month mentality either.