Van Halen cancels entire summer tour

[MIB41]

Well the most consistently dysfunctional band of all time continues...or discontinues. Official word from the Van Halen camp is "burn out". They need the rest.

Van Halen Postpone Summer Tour Dates | Music News | Rolling Stone

[Paul Evans]

Kind of a bummer.

I was considering a show here in Missouri with my High School senior.

Ah well...

As David Lee Roth sang, "That's life..."

[EMCE Hammer]

From Dave:

Public Relations

[huedell]

I've given Roth a full pass in every VH scenario... not because I think
he's a good guy or in any other way without sin as a personality
within the VH camp.

I gave Dave a pass because to me he created an incredible thing
along with the other three guys back in the 70s that was mostly
defined by what Roth brought to the table. Roth's way of interpreting
what Ed did and how they all they put it down on record was key to making
VH... not just a "big" band.... but at many times during Roth's time
in VH, the BIGGEST hard rock band in the world.

So... Roth leaves... and he has a very brief success run compared to
VH withOUT him a.k.a. "Van Hagar"

And, for a gazillion years I have to hear all this stuff about Dave's
shortcomings while all the while thinking... "Hey, Dave could
only connect with the public for about a decade or so. But I still
get what's Dave's about, and respect it. And Van Hagar wouldn't
have had the world's ear without Dave's early work branding the VH name."

Dave FINALLY rejoins VH.. and the whole situation has been bittersweet for
me. Most of it seems like it's too little too late... I could go into detail
regarding this bittersweet scenario, but I'll save you that long diatribe for now.

My POINT is that in 2012 I can finally say that I don't appreciate
Roth's devil-may-care attitude.... or maybe i just feel bad that I can't
rationalize it anymore.

This centers around his shot-to-hell voice. Maybe Roth has been addressing
his failing vocal chords in ways I don't know... but it's gotten to a point
where his performance on ADKOT combined with the dry production
on the vocal make him sound more strained than on any Roth post-Halen
album. (I like the album a lot regardless)

The WORST thing though... is that altho' Roth's been losing his voice for years now.... I think it's finally gotten to a point where it's eclipsed
Roth's overall persona, so that I am uncomfortable defending
him as an artist as well as VH's legitamacy in 2012.

What drove it home to me was listening to the FIRST reunion tour clips from 2007..... in those clips I heard and saw a much more confident Roth...
and that confidence included performance AND his vocal approach.

Maybe the world didn't agree with me... but that wouldn't be the first time
as you just read in this post

They're taking what they SAY is a VERY short break. I pray in that
time, Roth addresses his vocal issues... and then, if they find methods to
improve Roth's singing durability, I don't care if they take a
FIVE year break.

[MIB41]

I think this announcement is a sad reminder of how fragile and unpredictable the Van Halen camp has become for quite some time now. The whole lead singer debate really doesn't hold water in my book because this is Eddie's band. It's his musical direction that dictates where the band goes. Both Roth and Hagar have always been high profile performers who love the lime light. So their easy targets when the debate arises about musical style, success, and stability.

But the one consistent composer through all of this has been Eddie. He has always called the shots. It was Eddie who took the band in a pop direction with Jump. It was Eddie who took a new direction with VH III. And it was Eddie who wanted to go back and reconfigure old songs that formed the new album "A Different Kind of Truth". But somewhere along the way, fans decided whoever was at the lead mic position deserved credit or blame for that direction. To me it's pretty simple. It's called Van Halen because it IS Van Halen...Eddie Van Halen. When you hear Roth solo, it sounds like Roth solo. With Hagar, it sounds like Hagar solo. Put either of them with Eddie and it suddenly becomes Van Halen. There you go.

Eddie, for all his talent, has always been something of an inconsistent and unstable personality. He has enjoyed hiding behind the glow of the lead singers while he imposes his demands and draws a line in the sand every time one of them dares to voice their own opinion. At different points in his career he has gone behind the back of ALL his lead singers to talk to others about filling the role. And sometimes he's done it enough that no one even knew who the lead singer was. And the reasons he has given have always been petty to bait the fan base to run to his defense. "The lead singer has screwed me!"

And with the variety of abuses that have imperiled his life, it is anyone's guess what could really be happening in that camp once again. We can only hope that the need for 'rest' is true and that it doesn't break down into another personality war where we have to hear Eddie blame Roth for the collapse like he did in 1985 and at others points along the way. If it does and I am Sammy. I would RUN far away from any inquiries Ed has to come back. Van Halen is more a train wreck these days than a solid rock band celebrating it's colorful history. If you can count on anything, it's that the train always leaves the tracks. That is now as much of Eddie's legacy as is his guitar playing.

[huedell]

I agree with SOME of your sentiment MIB but not ALL of it.

I agree with the "Eddie as VH" theory a little... because Ed HAS been a constant.

But it was DAVE that called almost ALL the shots in the beginning of VH,
transforming a Sabbathy/metal/prog wannabe into a THE pioneer
guitarist for the up and forming pop metal genre which included bands like
AEROSMITH and KISS and later all the 80s hairbands as aftershock....

Ed only "became VH" once he helped to make Roth quit VH
by fighting him more often as VH wore on.

Eventually Dave thought he could survive without the VH hassle
and left... and forever after THAT Ed took hold of VH and never looked back.

So all you said about Ed is true to a point... but I'd lay just about equal value
(to be fair) on Dave's input and presence in VH.

It's this difference in how we interpret VH which helps to articulate our differences overall... even leading up to the current state of VH.

Either way... VH fans are the losers here.

Compared to a band like AC/DC, AEROSMITH or METALLICA who seemed to
have made through the "top metal band" industry mill a LOT more intact than VH.

Guess we should just be happy for what we DID get.

[MIB41]

Your absolutely right that Roth made contributions. But every lead singer brings a quality to his craft. If you had Freddie Mercury sing over KISS music and Paul Stanley sing over Queen music, it may be the same music, but it would certainly SOUND like a different band. Lead vocals are an instrument too. And while I would never doubt Roth offered up an array of ideas to the creative process, it was Eddie that either introduced those ideas into what he was doing or said, "No way." Case in point is the 1984 record. Dave wanted no part of that musical direction. You know that's well documented. But Eddie wanted it and so it was. And that record started the pop rock vibe that came to distinguish the Van Halen sound for many years to come. But with Hagar coming in the following year he took alot of blame for that sound which is completely inaccurate. And honestly this whole pop/rock comparison is muddy at best. Van Halen (in ANY incarnation) has always had a reputation for taking ANY kind of song and making it their own. Experimenting has always been Eddie's signature. For every radio friendly song Hagar sang like "Dreams", you had Roth shaking it to "Dancing in the Streets". And with Gary Cherone, it wasn't his singing that wrecked that album. His singing was pretty on par with Hagar's as far as delivery. The musical direction just took too far a left turn from what fans from either era were use to. Bottomline? There were no hooks in those songs. Nothing sounded radio friendly so the album tanked. So fans blamed Cherone. I blamed Eddie. It was his music and that's what didn't work. Same problem with ADKOT today. The music is just not in line with what people are use to hearing from this band. The merits of whether it's "good" are not really in question. Eddie is a great guitarist and composer. But he seems to have lost that connection with what audiences want to hear. He doesn't seem to understand his own product anymore. I think he's been reading these VH forums and thinking, "Oh I need to make a rock and metal record." Any successful Van Halen record has always allowed you to tap your foot to a hook. Whether it was the guitar riff, bass line, or the drum beat, one of those always connected with the listener. He doesn't seem to understand that anymore.

[huedell]

Eddie is a great guitarist and composer. But he seems to have lost that connection with what audiences want to hear. He doesn't seem to understand his own product anymore.

I don't think Eddie EVER knew much about this connection.

I give Sammy Hagar credit for coming into VH and not allowing
Eddie's scattershot decision making deter him (Hagar) from
takling over Roth's role in the band and helping to sell it.

The reason Van Hagar was successful was because Hagar (and whoever
was left with any influence in Ed's life) helped corral Eddie into making
solid VH albums.

I didn't really enjoy that "Hagar" era... but it sold well.... so bless!

eventually Ed's crazy mannerisms eclipsed his ability to put out better
material... and I'd say a different version of that has occured with Dave...

....we'll see where this goes... but I think both of them are too far gone to
expect anything great from them from here on out.... and for both
guys it's because of their inability to make good decisions.... not
because they COULDN'T improve if they were a bit less close-minded.

i thought ADKOT was a valiant effort... but in hindsight it's just mired
in what appears as a band disintegrating instead of staying afloat.

[MIB41]

I don't think Eddie EVER knew much about this connection.

I give Sammy Hagar credit for coming into VH and not allowing
Eddie's scattershot decision making deter him (Hagar) from
takling over Roth's role in the band and helping to sell it.

The reason Van Hagar was successful was because Hagar (and whoever
was left with any influence in Ed's life) helped corral Eddie into making
solid VH albums.

I didn't really enjoy that "Hagar" era... but it sold well.... so bless!

eventually Ed's crazy mannerisms eclipsed his ability to put out better
material... and I'd say a different version of that has occured with Dave...

....we'll see where this goes... but I think both of them are too far gone to
expect anything great from them from here on out.... and for both
guys it's because of their inability to make good decisions.... not
because they COULDN'T improve if they were a bit less close-minded.

i thought ADKOT was a valiant effort... but in hindsight it's just mired
in what appears as a band disintegrating instead of staying afloat.

SPOT ON.

[huedell]

SPOT ON.

That makes me happy that we are in agreeance... I'll even concede that
we can't see eye to eye on "everything VH"... but I think we're closer
in our overall estimations of VH's career than our lead singer leanings
would've revealed us to be early on in our VH discussions.

And...
Even tho VH hasn't broke up or gone on hiatus yet... I still feel like
everything since the ADKOT release has been anti-climatic.

Never thought I'd admit something like that to a "pro-Van Hagar" fan in a
million years

[MIB41]

It's all good! On a funny note, look at the photo on this report about Van Halen cancelling their tour. They choose to show a picture of Chickenfoot! You think that reporter's email is filling up?

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...QP72xg&cad=rja

[Mikey]

The only way to recapture the magic is if Eddie shut the hell up and let Dave do what Dave does best - headline the band.

In a way VH and DLR are like Mick and Keith ---Keith knows how to shut the hell up and let Mick do his thing.

[Cosmicman]

Big, big mistake! They have a new album that hit the charts and they are cancelling their entire summer tour? Wow. They just sealed their fate but if what Dave is saying is true in his public relations speech then it don't sound too bad.
We'll have to see after they return.

[Cosmicman]

It's all good! On a funny note, look at the photo on this report about Van Halen cancelling their tour. They choose to show a picture of Chickenfoot! You think that reporter's email is filling up?

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...QP72xg&cad=rja

I don't get how a "reporter" who is hired to report music news to the world can be such a ****up and post Chickenfoot on a Van Halen news story. You have to be really missing the bus with this one. If I was in charge of this website I would have this person ****tcanned.

[MIB41]

That reporter must have gotten the message. He has changed the photo. That is hilarious! What an idiot.