Thank you, Van Halen!

[Jack Panama]

[I originally posted this in the thread re Dave's new interview, but what ended up coming out as I typed seemed bigger than just that interview, so I figured I'd start something new]

Well I guess we've suspected that the band was done for a few years now, but there's always been at least a glimmer of hope of one more album, one more show, one more tour.

And now that Dave's muzzle is off and he's repeatedly talking about the band in past tense terms, and with Wolf moving on to his solo stuff, it seems to truly 100% be done and over. Upon letting that finally sink in, I am at first fleetingly tempted to pine about so many years of wasted time and missed potential, but then, after about 2 seconds, my true love for this band kicks in, waxes nostalgic, and overwhelms me with gratitude for just how much this band, in all of its iterations, has given me over the years! I am taken back by just how much of my childhood, adolescence, and adulthood has been influenced by this band! Seeing the boys with Sammy in 1993 in Park City Utah, being on the 4th row, is still the single best and funnest concert I have ever been to. Seeing them again with Dave in Virginia in 2015 (this time on the 11th row) was one of the highlights of my 2010s. Unlawful, VHI, WACF, 5150, 1984... those are as much the soundtrack to my life as anything else. No matter my mood, now matter how stressed I am, and no matter how hard things get, I can hear the opening bars of Romeo Delight or Top of the World and I'm instantly transport to a better place and a happier state of mind, and suddenly everything seems manageable and okay again.

So if it's truly done, which it finally seems to be, all I can is, Thank You, Boys! Thank you Ed and Al for switching instruments! Thank you Dave and your $$ for financing the early years. Thank you Mikey for your Jack Daniels bass and for always being a class act. Thank you Dave for forgetting the $#@! words at every single show. Thank you Ed for your smile and for the kicks and stripes. Thank you Al for your thumping rhythmic sound and that deep snare (and for occasionally getting divorced once in a while which usually meant we got something new). Thank you Ted Templeton for giving us so many amazing sounding albums. Thank you Sam for carrying on and adding to the legacy and for just being you. Thank you Gary for "Once" which is nothing short of pure sonic poetry! Thank you Wolf for bringing your dad back out and giving us one more album and a few more years with him, Al, and Dave.

Thank you to this band! Thank you a million times over!!

Long live Kings Edward, Al, Dave, Mikey, Sammy, Gary, and Wolf!! Long Live the MIGHTY VAN HALEN!!!

[japeape]

Can someone close this?😂

[DRFC]

1) you don't have to wait until they announce they are finished to thank them
2) you don't have to thank them
3) they didn't announce they are finished