David Lee Roth

Kebabkid

Danny1969 said:

Kebabkid said:

west said:

I saw the skyscraper tour in 88 at the hammersmith odeon ( had to look it up lol )  vai had that heartshaped guitar ...

I was at that one and the Wembley gig.
Great musicianship and shows with a good dose of humour.

I seem to remember DLR playing acoustic rather well on 'Ice Cream Man' and even doing some tapping whilst standing behind Steve Vai and his guitar 

He still takes guitar lessons .... It's a long time ago but I'm sure he did the intro for Hot for teacher when I saw him at Wembly in 86 ish. I definitely remember him doing Panama in a boxing ring and Californian girls on a giant surfboard

Yeah, I seem to recall something like that

RobertW

A lot of people proclaiming DLR to be a prick; is this just because he's loud and boastful? Which honestly to me is part of his appeal. Or am I missing something?

west

Im listening now , and havnt for many years . its stills sounds quite fresh lots of dynamics and clever parts which add to the enjoyment . the sheehan/ vai pairing was the coup de gras in a post Eddie context  (obviously planned two fingers up ) ...

im just glad i got to see van halen with roth in 1984 at donnington  all the mistakes made Ed seem human but he ran around like a bastard and i nearly copped it in the crush , and dlr with sheehan vai and bissonette ( no slouch ) was a delight too ...  old dude alert it seems like a decade ago but its far from that ...

Redlester

As someone else mentioned, he did a whole long stint as a paramedic in New York. There was an interview with him in the Guardian a few years ago, and they went into it at some length. It certainly made me think twice about him. Brash showman yes, but clearly someone with an essential integrity. 

CountryDave

One of the (few) benefits of being an old git is that I got to see some ace gigs including DLR at the NEC on a few post VH tours. Abseiling from the rafters into a boxing ring, then either Surfing back to the stage or riding a giant microphone.
Vai, Sheehan and Bissonette were on fire.
Eat em and smile and the above mentioned video were on heavy rotation in our house.
I read his book back then too. An interesting read, even if only half of it was true.
Saw him again post Vai (A little ain’t enough tour) But the volume level was so high that all I remember was leaving disappointed and not being able to hear anything for about a week.

EricTheWeary

.

yocky

RobertW said:

A lot of people proclaiming DLR to be a prick; is this just because he's loud and boastful? Which honestly to me is part of his appeal. Or am I missing something?

Yeah, prick's a bit harsh. Prefer him on stage though, wouldn't want to be sat next to him on a long bus journey

Philly_Q

When Van Halen split I thought we got two really great, but very different albums - 5150 and Eat 'Em and Smile.  It seemed like a pretty good result at the time.

I don't think either side ever did anything as good again - Van Halen with Hagar lost the old VH snappiness, the songs got long, meandering and boring.  Roth kept changing band members and never recaptured the magic of Eat 'Em and Smile.

Of the two albums, I think 5150 has dated more.... all those synths.  Eat 'Em and Smile still sounds great.

viz

Redlester said:

As someone else mentioned, he did a whole long stint as a paramedic in New York. There was an interview with him in the Guardian a few years ago, and they went into it at some length. It certainly made me think twice about him. Brash showman yes, but clearly someone with an essential integrity. 

There’s an AMAZING interview with that bald suntanned American radio chap - what’s his name? - where he talks about that time. He really is an incredible guy, even though he’s totes mental. 

digitalkettle

Joe Rogan?

viz

digitalkettle said:

Joe Rogan?

That’s the fellow. 

DrCornelius

Just started watching the Joe Rogan interview and lasted 10 mins, and this is coming from a big DLR fan.

 Absolutely exhausting.

How Eddie and Alex didnt suffocate him with a pillow on tour is surprising

Habanero

Talk of Van Halen singers normally only mention DLR and Hagar. I wonder if there is anyone that likes VH III with Gary Cherone the most?

Philly_Q

Habanero said:

Talk of Van Halen singers normally only mention DLR and Hagar. I wonder if there is anyone that likes VH III with Gary Cherone the most?

I think you could have left the last two words out of that question.

axisus

Habanero said:

Talk of Van Halen singers normally only mention DLR and Hagar. I wonder if there is anyone that likes VH III with Gary Cherone the most?

I've always said that I think that is a very underrated album. My two criticisms are 1) That Gary didn't sing his natural way, either the band or the producer told him that he had to 'gruff up'. and 2) - not a big criticism, but the album cover is rubbish.

If I picked 3 VH albums for a journey they would be 1984, 5150 and this one.

EricTheWeary

DrCornelius said:

Just started watching the Joe Rogan interview and lasted 10 mins, and this is coming from a big DLR fan.

 Absolutely exhausting.

How Eddie and Alex didnt suffocate him with a pillow on tour is surprising

I didn’t make it to the ten minute mark.

The DLR story I was going to post before was something I’d read online since Eddie’s passing. Although DLR  pretty much attempted to shag his way around the world apparently he was fairly chivalrous and in the times on tour in the 70s when anyone female was ‘fair game’ he’d protect the younger and more vulnerable women. 

I’m certainly not a long term or die hard VH fan but they were part of my yoof and weren’t interesting any more once DLR left. 

And Antony had a nice line in driving bass lines as well as the BVs. 

I might give Eat em a relisten, been a long, long time. 

AndyJP

Yeah, good post!  Have revisited this album too.   It's got so much talent and energy on it. The production is brilliant too, a real raw sound.

Have just finished the book by the Producer Ted Templeman, which covers this period in a lot of detail.  Well worth a read.  It really gives you the full details about 1984, the Roth EP,  the split and Eat em and Smile.    After years and years it's nice to know the truth about what happened.

adamino

VH III=Harsh Shite 

Vaiai

hollywoodrox said:

DiscoStu said:

Was never a fan of DLR but I loved Damn Good when I first heard it, so much so that I had to learn it. 

I’ve got that single on vinyl. I love Hina as well 

That whole album was more like Vai's Alcatrazz stuff, especially Hina - could defnitely hear his influence! Eat Em and Smile is one of the best rock albums - all the elements came together to create the perfect storm - Vai on this tour was top of his game!

yocky

Not particularly sold on Skyscraper, especially after EEAS but Hina is genius.