I Wonder .......

[Lodewijk]

I had this uncle, Uncle Frank. Uncle Frank, as my dad tells me, was the nicest guy on the planet. Never a bad word about anyone, always willing to help those in need, etc.etc.......

Uncle Frank worked for a time in construction when we all lived in Jersey when I was young.
One day, I found out that Frank had fallen at work and was in the hospital. Turns out, while working on a high-rise, someone above Frank dropped their hammer and it hit Uncle Frank in the head.....he then fell 63 feet to the ground below where he landed on a tree stump ! After a month in the hospital, Frank was never the same guy. he became a complete out of touch asshole who treated everyone around him with a high level of contempt !

The point of this story as it relates to this forum is that sometimes in peoples lives, unexpected things happen to us and sometimes those things have long term effects.
I don't know for sure, like the rest of you I'm not close to Ed, but maybe something similar is going on with him.......cancer, divorce, failure, something we don't know about.......you never know what might trigger a drastic change in one's personality. Maybe the happy, humble, smiling, energetic Eddie has left the building !

I just got to thinking of how different Ed has been for the last few years and everything he's been through and it made me think of my Uncle Frank ! Weird !

Any of you guys have any similar experiences with someone ? Just curious.

[MF5150]

That was very well put and a very possible explanation regarding Ed's antics. And I have experienced people, some even close in my family, who have gone through these "transformations".

But even though while some people think Ed is a prick and an asshole, I always remember in the back of my mind one of the 2 Dorks interviews in 2005 with Ed when they got 2 fans to call in an talk to Eddie and one woman called and said, "Eddie I love your music". and Eddie responded with a genuine, "Why Thank you". Ed also answered their questions and was very polite.

So while we might view Ed as a bit off the wall and prick-ish, I think that we are ignoring some of the cool things Ed is known for and we are exagerating the negative things that Ed is known for. I still think Ed is a cool person and I'm sure if you met him on the street he would be polite and willing to sign an autograph or take a picture with you. I think Ed just says certain weird things in the press because it's what many people expect Ed to say these days.

[distortion9]

I had a friend that basically lost his mind when he found out his girlfriend was cheating on him. Drinking, HEAVY drug use, got locked up a few times. Then the dangerous shit started happening, fights, robberies etc. I tried to help him out but, he basically just...gave up. He told me he didn't give a shit about anything anymore....NOTHING...I believed him. All this shit over a girl.

You can only hope that when someone has an experience that screws them up, somehow they find a way to make a change for the positive and NOT spiral out of control. I HATE seeing people give up.

Look, I know I viewed by most of you as some "doom and gloom" Rothtard that only posts negative posts about VH or Ed....whatever, there is no shortage of "positive posters" around here. Someone has to be the flip side of the coin. To me, it seems like Eddie has lost his way and I feel for the guy. He has cancer yet smokes, he's an alcoholic yet drinks....wtf man?! The holding of grudges....let it go already.

Better yet, practice what you preach and "Rise" before it's too late.

[perticelli]

I'd say that just being a human being in this world todaygets yous tressed out., On top of that, to have cancer, a divorce, and an addiction all adds up to a tough period in life.

Now add to that the idea of living in a microscope to ur every move you make out of ur house, every word you say, and mostly from people who dont even know the first thing about you personally.

Then add to that being a musician that makes a living off his music and you got to the point where you owned the world..

then add to that the idea of being herAlded as the greatest guitarist of all time...
then add to that all the millions of people who only tell u that ur the king...
then add to that that the expectations placed on you are so unrealistic only God can reach them...

I know, he has a lot of positive things that come along with all of this as well, but it cant be easy being EVH, or Elvis, or Lennon/McCartney, etc., etc.
And i'm not talking just being a rock star..im talking about being THE rock Star, numero Uno...

Anyone who isnt sure why Ed behaves like he does,Go live the life a bit, then get back to us. It's got great moments in it, im sure, but its gotta be tough and probably ages you pretty fast as well.

[Duke]

I think back to an interview i read with some actor, can't remember who. The jest of the article though is that after you watch a performer for so long, you feel like you know that person, when in fact, you only know the character they are playing.
So, say you walk up to Mel Gibson ( i realize this is a somewhat handy and perhaps bad example) and expect to get into this conversation with the nice guy he's almost always played in the movies, and instead you get the real Mel who is completley different, and you think "wow,i thought i knew that guy but i was wriong, what an asshole". Maybe he is, maybe he isn't.
Or perhaps you have a chat with Jennifer Aniston (i wish) and you think you're going to have a few words with friendly loveable Rachel, but of course, that won't be what you get. So you are disappointed in Jennifer Aniston, and that's just not right either.
Almost every entertainer has a public image that is crafted and managed, so when they are seen as humans people immediatley wish to tear them down and discuss their failings.
Even back to my radio days, i experienced it, folks heard me on the air each day and figured they knew exactly who i was, and took that as a good reason to walk right up and start talking like we are old pals.

And so, Eddie says very little to anyone publicly, because ultimately, he doesn't see where any good will come of it.
And so, for every person out there who has had a great experience when given the opportunity to speak to EVH, or any other celeb for that matter, they will always eventually get drowned out by the folks who met Eddie or whomever on a bad day, when he's screaming and attempting to autograph your glasses.

Maybe Ed did get hit on the head, or maybe all the other shit has added up to change the person, or maybe this is just the way he's aging. I can't say, i never met him, just saw him on stage and in the carefully produced videos that show off that big grin, so i have know idea what he was really like to begin with, and for the most part, neither do you.

[csm5150]

Granted, this has nothing to do w/present or future VH, but it has something along the lines of what happened to your family member. When my grandparents were alive, they worshipped the ground my cousin walked on. My cousin was w/my grandfather one day when he was hurt and had to go for help. They gave him money constantly, bought him new vehicles, etc. He was on drugs, drank alot, an outlaw, all that good stuff. They never really gave me the time of day. They did "give" me, my sis and two other cousins trust funds for college. Other than that, I didn't get shit from them. Well, fast forward to their death beds, so to speak. They attempted to make peace w/me and I was like, now? You've had all this time and now you want to make peace? Sorry, doesn't work for me. I know, this has nothing to do w/VH, hopefully it helps w/your family member.