VH RIGHT NOW, RIGHT HERE I SAY

**DFVH5150** · 04.29.07, 12:41 PM

Hello, I’ve been on these forums and the VHMLs for about ten years now and mostly just check for updates and only post on occasion. Given all the stuff that’s happened recently, I thought I’d share my thoughts on everything that’s been going on. A little belated, and I’m a little drunk, so there may be some ramblings, but I think I have some pretty good points. I wasn’t too worried about sentence structure, grammar, coherence, and good writing, so bear with me here. Feel free to jag me, which I’m sure some people will. Not that anyone gives a shit, but if you’re bored, it’s long, and here’s all my thoughts on everything Van Halen in recent times:

I’m sure we can all agree: there is no band or artist in the world who has an unluckier fan base than us. ’85 Dave. ’96 Sammy . ’96 Dave again. ’99 Gary. ’00 Dave again. ’01 Dave a-fucking-gain. ’04 Sammy again (I thought this time he was in for good). ’07—Dave back! It’s on TV! The radio! The Internet! Rolling Stone even has a picture! Most of all…it’s actually on the official site! They’re going to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the timing is perfect! Everything’s coming together and it’s finally happening after all these years, all these attempts, all these rumors, all these hiatuses and all these extreme disappointments. But now, naturally, Mike’s out. I actually miss those times, because now, as usual, we’re back to square one again: “nothing.” Well, sort of. And this is what I want to talk about.

The Dave Reunion

At least we know it’s for a great reason because of Eddie being in rehab. At least we know the new bassist is his son and not some new douche replacing Mike. And last and certainly not least, at least we know Diamond Dave is still back and in the band—and at least we know this “hold” isn’t because the band’s fighting again. Actually, we don’t “know” all of this, but it’s more likely than not. Not only is there hope, but it’s pretty much a definite I believe. The only thing that can fuck this up is time, which hopefully isn’t going to be the case.

I’ve always been an optimistic VH fan/psycho despite eeeeeeeverything that’s happened with their history. Even though this summer went from heaven to limbo in less than a week after everything was announced, it’s at least looking good for later in the year or ’08. And these aren’t based off of rumors. My point is: at least we’re not on a 3-4 year hiatus again with no news, band status, music or concerts and AT LEAST WE HAVE SOMETHING REAL NOW, AND IT INVOLVES DLR BEING BACK IN THE BAND.

Mike

So what if Wolfie’s in and Mike’s out? Mike just recently said in a (KLOS?) radio interview something slightly positive about him being back and there has been talks but everything’s basically up in the air as always. I think he’ll be back when they tour and I always have even since this Wolfie thing began. Of course now Wolf said he’s “too young for VH,” but I still think it’s a possibility he’ll be on board for when they do tour. That’s sucks more than anything in the universe that after all these tries to get Dave back they finally do, and now Michael Anthony won’t be with them. I’m as disappointed/furious as any and everybody, but again, at least it’s his son taking over. Obviously Mike’s background vocals are an unbelievably important part of VH’s signature sound (I think as important as Eddie’s guitar for that matter) and obviously it would have been better to do the reunion with all four members, then after the tour get Wolfie. Would make all the sense in the world—but this is Van Halen we’re talking about. And I do understand how important it is to him and how much he wants to share a stage with his son. But anyways, yes this sucks more than anything in the world, but wouldn’t you all rather have this DLR/WVH line-up than nothing at all?! I think we should all be GRATEFUL.

Hall of Fame

I’m even grateful for the Hall of Fame. Sure, it’s gay, unjust and all of those other things. It’s not the most exciting thing in the world, but it’s cool that they’re finally in. And I think it was great and the best it could be given the circumstances. The Other Half saved the day. I’m still surprised Ed and Al didn’t show despite everything. Why didn’t Ed start rehab right after that than right before that? I’m sure there’s reasons and most of the logical ones have already been mentioned here. Dave not being there, though, that was the weirdest. Was it the reason he said? Almost definitely not, because they said the opposite of what he claimed they said. Not that I believe them more than him of course, but it makes no sense whatsoever that they would do that to him. So, he had to have been full of shit, with all-do respect. Was it respect for the brothers? No, because he would have just said that instead obviously. Was it fear of sharing the stage with Sammy? My wife thinks that, but he wouldn’t necessarily have to. I think it was fear of getting the boot again from the band, personally (which is insane in and of itself that they would threaten to boot him for that). Maybe he’s just being extra, extra careful this time around, which I think is worth it.

Mike deserved to give the speech. Absolutely. I believe that he is the nicest guy in rock’n’roll like everyone says. Giving props to Gary proves what a class act he is. And Sammy DEFINITELY deserved to be there just as well, there’s no arguing that. As far as Velvet Revolver goes, I think they were the right choice. Sure the Chili Peppers would’ve been a little better, but not that much. VR is an L.A. band, but not only that, the second biggest L.A. hard rock band next to VH—Guns N’ Roses, that is (third, being the Crue right behind them). And I don’t think they blew that bad. I think it was pretty entertaining to hear GN’R/STP doing VH. Slash did fuck up the intro for sure though. “Best of Both Worlds” would’ve have been than “Runaround” though for the medley, but it was still interesting to hear. I don’t think their speech was too bad, based off of the fact that it’s Slash, Weiland, and the rest of the Gunners we’re talking about here. They could have praised Eddie more and mentioned how he changed the face of music for at least a whole decade though. And “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” and “Why Can’t This Be Love” were the best songs to play hands down that particular evening because of the way everything resulted. Very suitable.

Ideally, it would be all 6 (or 7) members showing up with each era doing a song. “Jump” and “Right Now (or “Dreams”)”, then all of them performing an encore of a neutral song, “You Really Got Me.” But that didn’t happen, and that may have been Dave and Sammy’s last chance to share a stage. But they didn’t in ’02, so I don’t think anyone was expecting them to like we used to when talking about the future HOF long before the Heavyweight Champs of Rock and Roll Tour. And anyone who says the The Other Half’s performance was anything less than amazing (given that the David Letterman band as their back-up) is an anus.

Overall, the night made sense because it was totally symbolic of their history and was still very fun to watch thanks to Sammy and Mike. Plus, what a cool montage. And how about that 1980 footage?! I didn’t see anyone mention that. It must be from the movie they were going to make then…so that means someone has the footage?

**DFVH5150** · 04.29.07, 12:44 PM

Sorry, apparently you get cut off after 10,000 letters so I had to continue this. Feel free to not continue reading like most of you have been already(which I don't blame you). But if you have, here's the rest:

Wolfie

Anyways, back to Wolfie. The first thing I thought about when this was originally mentioned late ’06/early ’07 was WHY NOT HAVE HIM PLAY GUITAR? How hard is that? I only saw one other person on this list mention that surprisingly. Have dueling guitars between father and son. Eddie will still get to play with his son, Mike will be there on bass—everybody’s happy. VH as a 5-piece. That solves everything. But hey, I used to jerk off to Fraggle Rock, so what the fuck do I know?

Back to the reunion with Roth—Sammy said it best at the HOF press conference, and I’ll get to that a little later. The original line-up (with or without MA) would be the hugest, I don’t care what anybody says. You gotta be a real asshole to think otherwise. Especially those dicks out there who thought the ’04 reunion tour didn’t do well. What’s your definition of “well?” They didn’t sell out most of the show like they did back in ’95 and before, but they sold out a good number of them and arena and amphitheatres were mostly full. Plus, they were in the Top 10 for the highest grossing tours of the summer. They were right up there with that fag Dave Matthews. This would’ve been the best year obviously because of the HOF, but it’s not going to make that much of a difference a year later. Even though we were sooooooo close this time, it’s still beyond exciting that they got that far and supposedly still are amicable and ready to reunite when the time’s right. Just looking at the classic logo on the official site gets me hard (I still like the swirl logo better though). And who cares about the press conference? Sure a big one with the Dahm Triplets and midgets again would be better, but it’s only a press conference after all. They don’t need a big one to sell out shows. They probably just don’t want to jinx themselves by doing it up too much, especially after all the past attempts.

New Album/DVD

As far as the album goes, yeah, another Best of/Greatest Hits would be more than absurd. I still can’t believe how many Aerosmith has. I bet even if they were still touring this summer that would have been scrapped for obvious reasons. Aside from the ultimate—a brand new studio album or even EP if they’re pressed for time—the best thing they could do in terms of a retrospective album to celebrate the reunion would be the obvious: a live album. I’m talking about a live album from the ’78-’84 days. The best live band in the world doesn’t have a live album! How fucked up is that?! I know they were going to in the old days but released 1984 instead fortunately. They probably were going to after that but broke up before that had a chance to.

But a new live album, with maybe a couple songs from each tour, plus some new songs would sell trillions. It’s not even that much work for them, is it? Just do a couple new songs and fix up some old live stuff. Again, everybody would be happy. Or, do a couple new songs, live songs and some old demos. Two CDs would be ideal, but even one would be the greatest. Even just one new song would suffice. Shit, if you don’t have time, just do a cover or something. How about “In the Midnight Hour” like they were going to long ago? Or how about an old demo that they re-work, like “Let’s Get Rockin’,” “Big Trouble (the newer version they never released),” “Down in Flames,” “Get the Show on the Road,” or “Put Out the Lights.” I know Eddie hates not moving forward, but it’s one fuckin’ song! It will make things so much easier for them if they have time restraints. They have to put out at least one new song, original or cover, for when they go on tour. And you gotta have the accompanying live DVD, right? Just a couple songs from each tour and the videos not on their other compilation DVD. Not much to ask. Think they would? No, never, never. Probably more likely in a box set at the end of their careers.

Sammy (and Gary)

One thing I must say is that I really believe after this reunion tour, SAMMY AND MIKE WILL BE BACK FOR GOOD. I always saw them playing as old men like The Stones and retiring late with Sammy. Like I said before, I think Sammy summed it up at the HOF press conference when he said to do a reunion tour with Dave first, and then reunite Van Hagar. Speaking of Sammy, God I hope him and Mike do a mini-tour this summer like they said they might. Anywhere seven hours driving or less from Pittsburgh. And what about Extreme, can these pricks tour somewhere outside of Boston, Japan, Portugal, or fuckin’ Neptune? Other people would like to see them. Sure, they weren’t that big and had horrible timing, but they have a decent enough following to tour clubs. Or how about a tour with other bands? I know they turned down a couple of those because they don’t want to be grouped with those ‘80s pussy rock bands (which I love). They actually were one of those bands at first until they grew musically. But they are the most underrated band ever, in my opinion. I always liked them as much as Dave and Sammy solo and no one else was even close, that’s why I shit when of all people, Gary joined VH. That’s why I loved VH3. But I guess Gary’s doing Hurtsmile instead for now. There were some Extreme U.S. Tour reunion rumors last year, but I guess that’s on hold, too. Those new Gary songs are exceptional, by the way. I would imagine a new album’s coming up. Sounds just as great as TOJ.

Back to The Red Rocker, in the meantime, I think Sammy and Mike should expand the Wabos with a new guitarist—a shredder. Chickenfoot sounds great, but I’d like to see Sammy, Mike, Vic, Mona, and Dave with a new addition. Someone like Nuno Bettencourt, Steve Vai, or Dweezil Zappa. Even like a Steve Stevens or Warren DiMartini would work. How about Jimmy Page? That would actually be phenomenal. Granted, he’s no shredder, but he is one of the greatest for many other reasons obviously and that would put the new Wabos on the map. Having Nuno or Vai would be cool because it would be like a Van Hagar-meets DLR or Extreme thing. I actually think Joe Satriani would be the best choice. He’s popular enough to put them on the map, too. Plus, Sammy’s friends with him already. Keep Vic, just make some new additions. Have two bass players, fuck it. I think that would be close enough to Van Hagar to keep me happy until they reunite again someday. But hey, I used to dance naked in front of my cats, so what the fuck do I know?

Eddie’s health

In closing, thank God Eddie’s back. I have to say, heterosexually-speaking, I like Ed more with the long hair because it looks more like Eddie. But I have to say that the ’95 ‘do suits him well, especially with the tan and the teeth. His face is fuller and he looks so much different and healthier than he has since the new millennium. Even with the short hair, this is oddly enough the first time he looked like the happy, smiling Eddie we all know and love since…1995. Even ’96-’99 was different because he was always frowning in interviews and talking shit on Dave and Sammy, and ’04 he was too drunk. He was always drinking on tour since ’78, but ’04 was definitely different as we all know. Hopefully he’s truly better for the first time this time FOR GOOD. And of course the tour was postponed because of this. Whether it was because of Val/Wolfie, his new fiancée Janie or the promoters is anyone’s guess. Probably all of them. I thought he would be in there for much longer than that. Apparently there’s many different programs for rehab and he had the 30-day, naturally.

The question is: now that he’s out…when will we get the tour? Late ’07 or ’08? Is there still a chance for this summer? One thing I do know is that I’m grateful for the fact that Dave’s back in the band, with or without Mike—but prayfully “with!” It feels nice to say it thought, doesn’t it? “DAVID LEE ROTH IS BACK IN VAN HALEN!!!!!!!.” Amen.

**Mikey Metalhead** · 04.29.07, 12:55 PM

you could just reply to your own thread rather than start another one.
(looks like the mods merged it)

do you have an abridged version of your rambleings?
I don't have the attention span to read past four or five sentences

**right-here-i-say** · 04.29.07, 01:27 PM

Nice thread title!

**Menlow** · 04.29.07, 01:39 PM

When I looked at the size of the forst two posts, for a moment I thought somebody had reposted those two chapters from Sam's autobiography.

**PlexiBrown** · 04.29.07, 01:44 PM

It feels nice to say it thought, doesn’t it? “DAVID LEE ROTH IS BACK IN VAN HALEN!!!!!!!.”

This is all that you really needed to type.

**Nickdfresh** · 04.29.07, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by DFVH5150

Hello, I’ve been on these forums and the VHMLs for about ten years now and mostly just check for updates and only post on occasion. Given all the stuff that’s happened recently, I thought I’d share my thoughts on everything that’s been going on. A little belated, and I’m a little drunk, so there may be some ramblings, but I think I have some pretty good points. I wasn’t too worried about sentence structure, grammar, coherence, and good writing, so bear with me here. Feel free to jag me, which I’m sure some people will. Not that anyone gives a shit, but if you’re bored, it’s long, and here’s all my thoughts on everything Van Halen in recent times:

I’m sure we can all agree: there is no band or artist in the world who has an unluckier fan base than us. ’85 Dave. ’96 Sammy . ’96 Dave again. ’99 Gary. ’00 Dave again. ’01 Dave a-fucking-gain. ’04 Sammy again (I thought this time he was in for good). ’07—Dave back! It’s on TV! The radio! The Internet! Rolling Stone even has a picture! Most of all…it’s actually on the official site! They’re going to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the timing is perfect! Everything’s coming together and it’s finally happening after all these years, all these attempts, all these rumors, all these hiatuses and all these extreme disappointments. But now, naturally, Mike’s out. I actually miss those times, because now, as usual, we’re back to square one again: “nothing.” Well, sort of. And this is what I want to talk about.

The Dave Reunion

At least we know it’s for a great reason because of Eddie being in rehab. At least we know the new bassist is his son and not some new douche replacing Mike. And last and certainly not least, at least we know Diamond Dave is still back and in the band—and at least we know this “hold” isn’t because the band’s fighting again. Actually, we don’t “know” all of this, but it’s more likely than not. Not only is there hope, but it’s pretty much a definite I believe. The only thing that can fuck this up is time, which hopefully isn’t going to be the case.

I’ve always been an optimistic VH fan/psycho despite eeeeeeeverything that’s happened with their history. Even though this summer went from heaven to limbo in less than a week after everything was announced, it’s at least looking good for later in the year or ’08. And these aren’t based off of rumors. My point is: at least we’re not on a 3-4 year hiatus again with no news, band status, music or concerts and AT LEAST WE HAVE SOMETHING REAL NOW, AND IT INVOLVES DLR BEING BACK IN THE BAND.

Mike

So what if Wolfie’s in and Mike’s out? Mike just recently said in a (KLOS?) radio interview something slightly positive about him being back and there has been talks but everything’s basically up in the air as always. I think he’ll be back when they tour and I always have even since this Wolfie thing began. Of course now Wolf said he’s “too young for VH,” but I still think it’s a possibility he’ll be on board for when they do tour. That’s sucks more than anything in the universe that after all these tries to get Dave back they finally do, and now Michael Anthony won’t be with them. I’m as disappointed/furious as any and everybody, but again, at least it’s his son taking over. Obviously Mike’s background vocals are an unbelievably important part of VH’s signature sound (I think as important as Eddie’s guitar for that matter) and obviously it would have been better to do the reunion with all four members, then after the tour get Wolfie. Would make all the sense in the world—but this is Van Halen we’re talking about. And I do understand how important it is to him and how much he wants to share a stage with his son. But anyways, yes this sucks more than anything in the world, but wouldn’t you all rather have this DLR/WVH line-up than nothing at all?! I think we should all be GRATEFUL.

Hall of Fame

I’m even grateful for the Hall of Fame. Sure, it’s gay, unjust and all of those other things. It’s not the most exciting thing in the world, but it’s cool that they’re finally in. And I think it was great and the best it could be given the circumstances. The Other Half saved the day. I’m still surprised Ed and Al didn’t show despite everything. Why didn’t Ed start rehab right after that than right before that? I’m sure there’s reasons and most of the logical ones have already been mentioned here. Dave not being there, though, that was the weirdest. Was it the reason he said? Almost definitely not, because they said the opposite of what he claimed they said. Not that I believe them more than him of course, but it makes no sense whatsoever that they would do that to him. So, he had to have been full of shit, with all-do respect. Was it respect for the brothers? No, because he would have just said that instead obviously. Was it fear of sharing the stage with Sammy? My wife thinks that, but he wouldn’t necessarily have to. I think it was fear of getting the boot again from the band, personally (which is insane in and of itself that they would threaten to boot him for that). Maybe he’s just being extra, extra careful this time around, which I think is worth it.

Mike deserved to give the speech. Absolutely. I believe that he is the nicest guy in rock’n’roll like everyone says. Giving props to Gary proves what a class act he is. And Sammy DEFINITELY deserved to be there just as well, there’s no arguing that. As far as Velvet Revolver goes, I think they were the right choice. Sure the Chili Peppers would’ve been a little better, but not that much. VR is an L.A. band, but not only that, the second biggest L.A. hard rock band next to VH—Guns N’ Roses, that is (third, being the Crue right behind them). And I don’t think they blew that bad. I think it was pretty entertaining to hear GN’R/STP doing VH. Slash did fuck up the intro for sure though. “Best of Both Worlds” would’ve have been than “Runaround” though for the medley, but it was still interesting to hear. I don’t think their speech was too bad, based off of the fact that it’s Slash, Weiland, and the rest of the Gunners we’re talking about here. They could have praised Eddie more and mentioned how he changed the face of music for at least a whole decade though. And “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” and “Why Can’t This Be Love” were the best songs to play hands down that particular evening because of the way everything resulted. Very suitable.

Ideally, it would be all 6 (or 7) members showing up with each era doing a song. “Jump” and “Right Now (or “Dreams”)”, then all of them performing an encore of a neutral song, “You Really Got Me.” But that didn’t happen, and that may have been Dave and Sammy’s last chance to share a stage. But they didn’t in ’02, so I don’t think anyone was expecting them to like we used to when talking about the future HOF long before the Heavyweight Champs of Rock and Roll Tour. And anyone who says the The Other Half’s performance was anything less than amazing (given that the David Letterman band as their back-up) is an anus.

Overall, the night made sense because it was totally symbolic of their history and was still very fun to watch thanks to Sammy and Mike. Plus, what a cool montage. And how about that 1980 footage?! I didn’t see anyone mention that. It must be from the movie they were going to make then…so that means someone has the footage?

Thank you for submitting your essay --(C+)

**vhrocker** · 04.29.07, 03:18 PM

**smme5150** · 04.29.07, 03:30 PM

Originally Posted by Nickdfresh

Thank you for submitting your essay --(C+)

I believe in free speech, but some times I wonder. All you have to have is a drunk and some type of forum they can be heard and this is the shit you will get: endless rambling that includes everything we already know! Fuckin drunk dumbass fuckstick. Next time save us the trouble and start "The idiots guide to deciphering drunk incoherent opinionated ramblings", or go stick your dick in a fence post. Both of which we could give a fuck.

**OU812fan** · 04.29.07, 03:46 PM

excellent post.

**Red** · 04.29.07, 04:13 PM

Heh, what do ya know, Tom Clancy posts here.

Nobody stretches a five-hundred page story into 1,100 pages like Clancy does.

**muffdiver** · 04.29.07, 04:22 PM

It is mandatory to use at least 3 smilies in a post that long....
Just warning ya before a mod does buddy....

AT · 04.29.07, 04:40 PM

Some funny replies to this one...

DFVH5150, I appreciate your optimism. You said some good things, and you said some stupid things. Beyond that I will simply say what I've been saying all along: Expect nothing, and should something good happen we can all be pleasantly surprised.