Another LA Times Article

[eddiefansince80]

Rock Hall of Fame denies it snubbed Van Halen's Roth
The Hall's president and CEO says the singer was offered numerous chances to sing at the induction ceremony.
By Geoff Boucher, Times Staff Writer
March 10, 2007



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Van Halen's ups and downs
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- David Lee Roth not coming if he can't sing
- Rollercoaster ride for Van Halen continues
David Lee Roth has been doing all the talking lately--big surprise there--but on Saturday the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame responded to Roth's public protests that he's been rudely snubbed.

The clock is ticking toward Monday night's induction of Van Halen into the Hall and, as of Saturday, Roth was standing by his pledge to skip the show, which will air live on VH1 Classics. The flamboyant rocker blames Hall officials who won't let him perform on the stage. But Joel Peresman, the Hall's president and CEO, said in a Saturday e-mail to The Times that Roth has told only part of the backstage story.

"The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is sorry that David Lee Roth will not attend this year's induction of Van Halen. We offered him opportunities to play and sing a Van Halen song of his choice with our House band, including his own guitar player or a song with Velvet Revolver and he refused those opportunities."

Peresman concluded the e-mail with a curt denial that the Hall is somehow the bad guy in all this: "We made every effort and the decision not to come was solely his, not ours."

So who's telling the truth? It looks like both sides could have been less rigid and, that in the end, they ran out of time and patience.

The Roth camp says that the only offer they had received before Friday was an invitation to perform "You Really Got Me" with Velvet Revolver. Roth balked in part because that song, off Van Halen's first album, was originally recorded by the Kinks and is not a "true" Van Halen song.

Roth wanted to do his trademark tune, "Jump," but that was a curveball for Velvet Revolver, apparently, with rehearsal time limitations. On Friday, according to sources close to the show, event producer Joel Gallen offered Roth a chance to do "Jump" with Paul Schaffer and some players of Roth's picking but, for Roth, that came too late, apparently, to allow travel and needed rehearsal time.

Hall officials, privately, were surprised and wondered if Roth really wanted to perform at all. They also said if he had traveled east to New York to work with the producers on site, everything would have worked out.

Roth, meanwhile, said he felt like the Hall was more concerned with Velvet Revolver's issues than the band getting inducted. He said he's been preparing since December for the Hall event and loathes the prospect of missing it. "It rips my heart out," he said Thursday.

The Van Halen induction is looking to be a fairly sad affair. Eddie Van Halen announced last week that he is entering rehab and he's not expected at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel ceremony in New York.

[eddiefansince80]

Sorry if this is double posted. I looked under the news thread, and the existing "Roth" thread, and didn't see it.

[Van Squalen]

Kudos on balking at YRGM. Downgrade on planning for Jump. Double downgrade for not working it out.

I don't see what's the problem jamming with Shaeffer and the house band.

[buster65]

sounds to me more and more that roth was told "any chance of a reunion? you had better not play with anyone else at the RRHOF"

[voa38]

sounds to me more and more that roth was told "any chance of a reunion? you had better not play with anyone else at the RRHOF"

Damn it does seem possible...I hate to say that...

[VH sis]

i just heard on the radio station out here in LA ... the DJ said that Sammy has pulled up stakes on the RRHOF too ....

[Nostalgia Act]

What station???

And are they online?

[arcticwolf64]

sounds to me more and more that roth was told "any chance of a reunion? you had better not play with anyone else at the RRHOF"

Nah, I don't buy that for a second. If that was the case then why aren't Sam or Mike going to jam w/ VR. They have nothing to lose and Sam openly said he wanted to play.

I have to take Dave's side on this.

Who you gonna believe? A music executive or Dave?

By the way I've been to the Hall and it sucks! You can't take any pictures and it's the most sterile enviroment I've seen as far a Entertainment destination.

You wanna have a cool music experience go the Paul Allen's Experience Music Project.

Fuck you Joel Peresman!.....COCKSUCKER!!!!

[clrw5150]

Screw Roth then, that narcissistic prick. Just put Hagar up there, he'll red-rock everybody's ass off!

[JMJ]

dave's a nut like that and he has always liked things very well rehearsed..his stuff with vh was always staged and rehearsed to a tee. i'm not surprised, and this doeesn't bug or surprise me one bit

[charlesresta]

Sadly, deep down I had a hunch that Dave never wanted to perform. Needed time to rehearse for JUMP?? And just how many other artists besides Natalie Cole has DAVE jammed with? He has openly stated how he does not do jam sessions. Both RRHOF and DLR are full of crap.

[dolphmurph]

I think Dave is picky about who he performs with. I don't know why.

I think there's sort of a hint of that from him not wanting to sing with Sammy - even on their tour.

He's the center of the show - and I think he might feel lost sharing the spotlight. Might not even be an ego thing. It might be just the way he's wired to performing.

He has a self-indulgent act, and if the props around him don't reflect or promote his act - he might feel lost.

I think he should suck it up. But maybe he feels like he just can't be Dave without the right band. Without the right band - maybe he literally would feel like an American Idol contestant - just singing to a house band.

[darthadv]

i think the producers are running interference to save face... they were hoping to force a vh reunion performance and then realized that they couldn't get cvh in any way (pre-rehab announcement), and then wanted dave and sammy to perform back to back and thought they could still force the issue and call the shots... i now worry that they will somehow make fun of vh at the ceremony by taking some sort of cheap shot...

[F'nRockstar]

I don't think any of them will be there... which at this point in the trainwreck... might be better.

[VH sis]

What station???

And are they online?

just a blurb from the DJ after he played a VH song it was on klos ya they have an online site