Sunset Sound VH Roundtable - Interview with Dweezil Zappa!

[Ed']

What that other guy says at the end is so true, when he talks about having the foresight to sit Dave and Ed down and say to them this chemistry you guys have is lightning in a bottle and don't let all the bullshit years down the line ruin it. There was something between Ed's guitar and Dave's voice and the songs they wrote together that just never happened again, all due respect to Sam and Gary it just wasn't the same level of magic and timeless music, plain and simple.

I think Ed had a better chemistry with Sammy in live.
It's due to the fact that Sammy was a better live singer, but not only.
The two were complementary in many ways, wheter it be in guitar duet, voice/guitar duet - remember the song Best of both worlds on LWAN - or generally in term of personnality.
As much as i love Dave in studio, as much as i think he was very perfectible in live.

[Little Dreamer]

Yup. I think the Brothers were never too keen on the sword dance, assless chaps, and other Dave-ism. Maybe you could say they were fans of Dave, but not so much of Diamond.
Plus from all accounts, Dave would tell everyone what to wear (even Mike complained about this). When Sammy joined, everyone could wear what they wanted onstage, I think it made a difference from their perspective. Sammy was more like one of the musicians, part of the band, whereas Dave was the MC, standing out from the rest of the band. Both were well suited for their respective eras.

[MD 5150]

Yup. I think the Brothers were never too keen on the sword dance, assless chaps, and other Dave-ism. Maybe you could say they were fans of Dave, but not so much of Diamond.
Plus from all accounts, Dave would tell everyone what to wear (even Mike complained about this). When Sammy joined, everyone could wear what they wanted onstage, I think it made a difference from their perspective. Sammy was more like one of the musicians, part of the band, whereas Dave was the MC, standing out from the rest of the band. Both were well suited for their respective eras.

^^^THIS^^^

Dave became too enthralled with his clothes, high kicks and swordplay, I think he forgot he was supposed to actually sing the songs. Van Halen termed themselves as "band new" during the LWAN interviews, that invigoration showed a brotherly cohesiveness in the band...something that was not there with Dave. When Dave came back to Van Halen it still wasn't there with Eddie and Dave. Proud Pop was standing on "Top of the World" playing onstage with Wolf.

[I Coulda Hada VH]

^^^THIS^^^

Dave became too enthralled with his clothes, high kicks and swordplay, I think he forgot he was supposed to actually sing the songs. Van Halen termed themselves as "band new" during the LWAN interviews, that invigoration showed a brotherly cohesiveness in the band...something that was not there with Dave. When Dave came back to Van Halen it still wasn't there with Eddie and Dave. Proud Pop was standing on "Top of the World" playing onstage with Wolf.

Eddie and Sammy were BFFs. Until they weren't.

[jimmy812]

Yup. I think the Brothers were never too keen on the sword dance, assless chaps, and other Dave-ism. Maybe you could say they were fans of Dave, but not so much of Diamond.
Plus from all accounts, Dave would tell everyone what to wear (even Mike complained about this). When Sammy joined, everyone could wear what they wanted onstage, I think it made a difference from their perspective. Sammy was more like one of the musicians, part of the band, whereas Dave was the MC, standing out from the rest of the band. Both were well suited for their respective eras.

I could see Dave suggesting outfits in the club days and maybe the first tour or two. After all, he was still trying to "sell" the band. But I don't think that continued post 1980. I can't see Dave signing off on anything Ed wore on those tours.

[I Coulda Hada VH]

I could see Dave suggesting outfits in the club days and maybe the first tour or two. After all, he was still trying to "sell" the band. But I don't think that continued post 1980. I can't see Dave signing off on anything Ed wore on those tours.

Dave was definitely better at marketing the band than Ed, Al and Mike. Also, Sammy was much better at the business side of things than Ed, Al and Mike.

[jimmy812]

^^^THIS^^^

Dave became too enthralled with his clothes, high kicks and swordplay, I think he forgot he was supposed to actually sing the songs. Van Halen termed themselves as "band new" during the LWAN interviews, that invigoration showed a brotherly cohesiveness in the band...something that was not there with Dave. When Dave came back to Van Halen it still wasn't there with Eddie and Dave. Proud Pop was standing on "Top of the World" playing onstage with Wolf.

In 2007-08 Dave looked like you'd want the rock star singer of Van Halen to look...at least at the shows I saw. But by 2015, he had gone full Vegas shiny shirts with the sparkles. lol

[jimmy812]

Dave was definitely better at marketing the band than Ed, Al and Mike. Also, Sammy was much better at the business side of things than Ed, Al and Mike.

Absolutely. Dave knew what it took to get the name out there. They just played and played and played. And, it didn't hurt that he had a guitar phenom to his left every night on stage.

[JUNGLE DRUMMER]

I think Ed had a better chemistry with Sammy in live.
It's due to the fact that Sammy was a better live singer, but not only.
The two were complementary in many ways, wheter it be in guitar duet, voice/guitar duet - remember the song Best of both worlds on LWAN - or generally in term of personnality.
As much as i love Dave in studio, as much as i think he was very perfectible in live.

Agree to disagree.

[Daisy Hill]

Dave was definitely better at marketing the band than Ed, Al and Mike. Also, Sammy was much better at the business side of things than Ed, Al and Mike.

Dave had a lot more ambition than the rest and certainly a lot more confidence. Dave is also a really smart dude. Not that the rest of them aren't smart, but Dave sees the world differently. I think Dave is a glass half full guy and Eddie was a glass half empty guy. Which is understandable given their backgrounds. Dave wasn't doing this so that they could drive shitty cars around LA to club gigs. He recognized the talent around him and knew that if he hitched his wagon to THAT and made the right business moves, they could go a lot farther the clubs.

If it hadn't been for Dave, Eddie certainly would have been "discovered" at one of the club gigs and ended up in another band (probably a successful band) and I don't know if he would have been happy with that because he always said there was no need for him to do a solo album because on every VH album he got to do what he wanted anyway. Wouldn't have been that way in someone else's band. and Alex might have ended up the same or as a successful session player. but Dave was the one who figured out the sum was greater than the parts and he wanted IN.

I thought it was interesting in Templeman's book that he talked about how hard it was to get Dave's vocals up to the level they needed at the first recordings. So it wasn't that Dave was preoccupied with prancing around the stage and his clothes and posing and that was why his vocals suffered onstage, Dave's vocals suffered when he was alone in a recording booth as well

If I remember correctly Templeman said that with Eddie, the thing was figuring out HOW to record him and then it was a piece of cake. With MIke, he didn't have to worry or give him much attention or direction because Mike was solid and just did his thing. Alex was a little inconsistent and that was hard to deal with and some of the recordings still bother Ted for being less than they should have been.

But Roth was the problem child staying after school day after day for extra help and Templeman was worried that they would never get it down and wondered if they needed a different singer.

But Roth toughed it out and worked with Templeman until they had something. Roth carried no delusions that they were making art. Roth wanted to be a rock star and just focused on what had to be done.

[ziggysmalls]

I know its likely not apples and apples but I kind of view Dave and Eddie as Ozzy and Randy. Underdogs. Didn't have a path but simply forged their own. When Sammy joined VH, it was like Jake E Lee joining Ozzy. There was now a brand and Jake had to fit the brand. It was far more corporate and serious. Doesn't mean either suck or are subpar but I simply believe when you are going against the world, something magical occurs.

Yes I know VH was against the world with 5150 and no coincidence its by far their best album with that lineup. However sleeping on silk sheets doesn't give you the eye of the tiger either

[VH1986]

Eddie and Sammy were BFFs. Until they weren't.

Perhaps it is better to have been BFFs and lost than to never have been BFFs at all.

[wombattt]

Perhaps it is better to have been BFFs and lost than to never have been BFFs at all.

Like Jonathan & David...to get Old Testament