Will VAN HALEN Be The Next 'Rock Star' Band?
- Oct. 19, 2005
MTV.com is reporting that a source close to the "Rock Star" TV show has claimed that the core VAN HALEN trio — brothers Alex and Eddie Van Halen and bassist Michael Anthony — will be auditioning potential frontmen and women for the show's still-hypothetical second season. The winner would be stepping into the shoes previously worn by David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar, and (briefly) former EXTREME singer Gary Cherone.
The news follows weeks of rumors concerning potential "Rock Star" second-season bands, with VAN HALEN and even ALICE IN CHAINS being the popular frontrunners. Earlier this week, a spokesperson for ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist Jerry Cantrell scoffed at the notion that the band would even consider appearing on the show.
On Tuesday (Oct. 18), "Rock Star: INXS" co-host and former JANE'S ADDICTION guitarist Dave Navarro declined to discuss the show's future or confirm whether he's been approached to reprise his role for a second season. However, he did say, "VAN HALEN would be awesome — I'd just love to sit and hang with Ed."
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COMMENT | posted by : The Bishop 10/19/2005 1:05:34 PM
sad
COMMENT | ^^^agreed^^^ posted by : King Dinosaur 10/19/2005 1:07:26 PM
Good for Cantrell, though.
COMMENT | posted by : backwoodshick 10/19/2005 1:18:46 PM
This is sad for any band that does it. Basically selling out to get popular again.
i would def watch the VH and AIC versions though.
STP or RATM would also be fun, but they already started other things.
COMMENT | posted by : bucketbinge 10/19/2005 1:21:51 PM
This would be classic. Eddie stumbling around drunk with a shopping cart full of cans and speaking in tongues while Alex is wearing a neckbrace and Mike Anthony is just happy to be working. Meanwhile, Roth will be making fun of the show on a weekly basis on the radio. VH has fallen and will never get up.
Chapter Nineteen Source of Infection "For some reason," acknowledged Sammy Hagar, "the changes I've experienced in my life have always been very big and very dramatic. I have shed my skin so many times over the years, I refuse to take stock of the work I've accomplished. You would never catch me shouting, "Hey world, look at me! Look where I've come from and what I have done. I'm worth this much money, and I have this much power." Though I have every right to be proud of my achievements, I'm not the least bit interested in bragging about them. I don't care about what I've done in the past. I'm only concerned with what I can do in the future. It's not that I take anything for granted. I believe that when you die, you are shown an inventory of what you've done in your life and are judged accordingly." Until the very end, everyone in the Van Halen organization thought Ed Leffler was going to pull through. When his condition suddenly took a turn for the worse, no words could describe the anguish and pain that gripped Hagar after his death. The Van Halen brothers were equally devastated. After the funeral, the band got together for an informal discussion about their future. They were all curious about one thing. In the past, had Leffler mentioned to anyone who he thought should succeed him as manager in case something happened? When the answer turned up no, they all looked at each other with some misgivings. During their manager's entire stay in the hospital, no one had mustered up the courage to pose the management succession question to him. Up to his last breath, everyone had tried to convince themselves (and Leffler) that everything would be all right. When the worse case scenario came to pass, it left the four musicians entirely clueless as to how their business affairs had been run. No one, including the accountants, could provide anyone with answers. Ed Leffler's business sense and management style allowed Van Halen to fully flourish. That unique level of trust between the band and its manager played a critical role in the development of Eddie and Sammy as one of the most prolific songwriting teams in rock. Their partnership had produced three straight, chart-topping albums. Outside of the Rolling Stones seven consecutive No. 1 records in the '70s, no other rock band outside of Led Zeppelin had come remotely close to matching the remarkable streak. The incredible chemistry that existed between guitarist and singer was as formidable a duo as any Page and Plant, Townshend and Daltry, or Richards and Jagger combination. Leffler's presence was the thread that bound everything together. When he died, the fabric of the band began to unravel. His losing battle with cancer threw the group into a tailspin the likes of which they'd never recover.
"Don Engel was Leffler's close friend and attorney," Hagar said. "We asked if Ed had ever confided in him the name of a person to manage Van Halen, in the event something went wrong. Don said, "No, Ed just told me the names of people he didn't want involved." Howard Kaufman was mentioned as one, and somebody else, because they handled too many artists. Now you would think that as much as Leffler and I talked every day, this kind of thing would have come up. It never did. Not once did I ever say, "Ed, if anything ever happened to you, what's our deal at Warner Bros.? Who do you talk to there? Who did you make the deal with at Warner/Chappell? Why did you do this? Why did you do that?" We always talked about the band, the direction we were taking, problems within the group or Van Halen's future. We often talked about my personal problems with Betsy, or our kids. For some strange reason, it just never crossed my mind to ask him any questions about our business. We wrote the music and completely trusted him to run our affairs. There was no reason to ask him any questions about a successor, because he was going to be with us to the end (or so we hought.)
"I never realized how much we took him for granted, until it came time for us to find a replacement. We had decided to delay looking for a new manager until the start of the new year. No one seemed to be in any hurry, least of all myself. To this day, it's still hard for me to believe he's gone. It is true that you never appreciate how much someone truly means to you until they're gone. Although Ed's death was especially hard on me, it really had a demoralizing effect on Eddie and Alex. They loved the man and would have done anything for him. I honestly believe that Eddie stopped trusting me the day Leffler died. He had always been there to ease his worries and to reassure him that the projects I involved myself with, outside the Van Halen framework, were okay. With Ed gone, the balance of power he always maintained between the brothers and myself, started to tilt in an ugly direction."
Soon after the funeral, a distraught Hagar decided to get away from the band. He and Kari flew off to Maui, where the couple rented a house, with plans to stay there a few months. Outside of a November 5 appearance at Neil Young's seventh annual Bridge School Benefit Show at the Shoreline Amphitheater near San Francisco, Sammy remained isolated on the tropical isle. Shortly after Leffler's death, his private utopia was interrupted by a disturbing call from Cabo San Lucas concerning the club. The Cabo Wabo needed another cash injection to continue operating. An outraged Hagar lowered the boom on the manager. He had just been down there for his birthday bash and raised tens of thousands of dollars for the bar. How could it possibly need more money with the holiday season approaching, and tourists starting to pour in?
"David Haliburton was the worst manager in the world," Sammy asserted. "People just hated him, because he was such an asshole. When Ed Leffler died, he kept hitting me up for money. I said, "David, I ain't giving you no more money. Close the club on Monday and Tuesday; fire half the employees; do whatever you have to do but cut expenses. I'm not putting any more money into the club." The two of us were on really bad terms. The last three months before Leffler died, this guy started stealing money and doing a lousy job keeping the bar open. The club had been going down for a long time. It was losing money every month, and because we toured so much that year, Mike and I couldn't go down and support it. My birthday bash was the only time we were down there in 1993."
Hagar was planning to quietly celebrate the holidays in preparation for what he knew would be a busy year. In addition to making a new album, there was also the business of selecting a new manager for the band. The process was not going to be easy, and he knew it. It was going on three years since Van Halen put out its last record. Sammy and Eddie's songwriting skills would be put to the test, especially in the absence of Leffler's fatherly influence. Unfortunately for Hagar, he was about to face a year of adversity he would not soon forget. The church refers to the seven deadly sins of man as greed, gluttony, lust, sloth, envy, wrath and pride. Starting January 1, 1994, the Red Rocker would come face to face with these human failings, when he unexpectedly found himself in a battle for the soul of Van Halen.
The new year filled Hagar with a sense of hope. After all, how could it possibly get any worse than the personal loss he had just suffered. That question would be answered sooner than he ever expected. The first indication that 1994 was heading in the wrong direction came when David Haliburton again phoned the singer's Hawaiian retreat. This time it was New Year's Day, and he had an announcement to make. The suitcase heir was quitting and had given the Cabo Wabo's keys to the employees the night before. Jolted by the news, and somewhat relieved, Sammy immediately chartered a flight to Cabo San Lucas to see what shape the club was in. When he walked into the bar, he was taken back by what he saw. The place was in utter chaos. Haliburton's total neglect of the club's business affairs had left it in dire financial straits.
As he inspected the books and totalled up the damage, Hagar's shock turned to anger when he realized his baby needed almost $300,000 to stay solvent. "When Ed Leffler died," discovered Hagar, "everything at the Cabo Wabo went downhill. Leffler used to keep an eye on Haliburton, even though he stopped bringing money up from the club in June. He was either spending it or putting it in his pocket. On New Year's Day, the asshole calls me in Maui and says, "I quit. I gave the employees the keys." When I finally got to the bar and started checking things out, I was thinking, "Wow, what's going on here? Why aren't we selling any beer?" I found out that from June 1993 to January 1, 1994, David had not only stopped keeping the books, he quit paying the bills. He didn't pay the government their taxes on the building, or the employees, or their workman's comp. The club owed something like $170,000 in back taxes. None of the vendors had been paid, so they stopped selling us beer, food for the restaurant and tee shirts for the gift shop. I kept mumbling to myself, "I'm going to kill this guy." The place was totally wiped out. "I reported my findings to the band and told them how much we owed. Eddie and Al said, "We ain't paying it." Mikey said, "Let's do what we have to do. I don't want to let it go." I didn't either, so instead of letting the government seize the property, I talked to Marco Monroy, who had built the club. I told him I needed his help to save the bar, and would he be my partner. His family was pretty influential down there, plus they were politically well- connected. The governor of the state was a family friend. Marco intervened on my behalf, and the government had mercy on me. Instead of going into my pocket to pay the back taxes, they allowed the club to make $3,000 a month payments toward the debt. All we had to do was stay current with everything else. Marco arranged all this and said, "I'll take care of the payments; don't worry about it." I told him that would be great. To come in as my partner, paying off the debt would be his equity in the place. He even paid off the vendors off and started remodeling the club. We shook hands on our deal and I flew back to Hawaii."
Envy With the bar problems apparently solved, Hagar returned to Maui to enjoy the island paradise. His reprieve was short„lived. Toward the end of January, Sammy received yet another surprise phone call. This time it came from old friend, John Kalodner. He was calling to inform him that Geffen Records was set to release a Sammy Hagar greatest hits album in a couple of months. Kalodner wanted to know if he would participate on the project. "Kalodner called to let me know what Geffen was planning," he said a bit surprised. "John said, 'Leffler held us back for all these years. Now that he's gone, we're going to do it.' Before I could object, he says, 'Would you do a couple of new songs for it?' I asked him for how much, but he didn't know. So, I said, 'Well, if you guys pay me $500,000, then I'll do it. Otherwise, you can put a greatest hits record out, and I won't support it.' Now I wasn't sticking them up, but I figured if they'd give me that kind of money, it would be worth my time to work with them on it."
Ed Leffler had negotiated a clause in Hagar's original Geffen contract that called for him to be paid $250,000 in the event he agreed to record two new songs for a greatest hits record. Sammy had a special purpose in mind for the additional half million dollars he was requesting -- it was earmarked for his divorce. The matter had been dragging through the courts for over 18 months, because Sammy's accountants were slow in getting financial information on his various holdings to Betsy's lawyers. Since California law clearly stated that the assets of his marriage be divided equally, Hagar was expecting to hand over a substantial amount of cash to his wife. He figured that instead of pulling the money out of his pocket, he'd try his hand at picking someone else's -- namely Geffen. Though the logic was sound at the time, the act itself was immediately misinterpreted by Eddie and Alex.
"The tension between the Van Halens and myself," pointed out Hagar, "really started in late January. That's when they accidentally heard about my involvement on the greatest hits package Geffen was putting together. One day, while they were speaking to Don Engel on the phone, he mentioned in passing that he was talking to Geffen Records about Sammy's greatest hits record. I had not told the brothers what was going on, because I was waiting for Kalodner to call me back. If Geffen accepted my request for an additional $500,000, then I was going to give them the songs. If they didn't, I would not get involved. There was no need for me to say anything until I heard back from the record company."
For years, Ed Leffler had kept Geffen from releasing a greatest hits album of Sammy's solo material. Every time the subject was brought up, Leffler would tell them that Van Halen had a new album coming out and to reconsider. Since the label was getting fifty percent of the profits from anything new the band recorded, they would back off. When David Geffen sold his company to MCA Records, keeping the company at bay was difficult but manageable. After the manager unexpectedly died, however, the floodgates were opened and there was no control switch to stop them. Management green-lighted the project. Since he knew all the principle players involved, and Van Halen had no manager when Kalodner stunned him with his disclosure, Sammy decided to handle the negotiations himself, with Don Engel's assistance.
"Leffler always knew what to say," divulged Hagar, "whenever the subject of the greatest hits record came up. He always said the right things to keep both Geffen and Warner Bros. happy. When Capitol released "The Best of Sammy Hagar" in 1989, we had absolutely no control over that. When Eddie and Al found out what Geffen was doing, they called me in Hawaii and wanted to know why I was getting involved with the greatest hits package. I was flying into Los Angeles in a couple of days, so I told them I'd explain everything when I got into town. Kari and I flew in from Maui and checked into the Bel-Air hotel. From there, I went straight to Don Engel's law office. Then I placed a conference call to the brothers at a prearranged time. With Don listening, I explained to Eddie and Al that my involvement with the greatest hits package centered on my divorce. I told them the main thing holding it up was money. To settle the property issue, I was going to have to make a large cash payment to Betsy. The deal with Geffen was simple. If they gave me the half million I requested for two new songs, I would also do a two-week press junket in Los Angeles and New York to promote the record. That ended my involvement with the album. There would be no new single release and no videos. If Geffen didn't pay me the figure I thought was fair, I wasn't going to have anything to do with the record."
Hagar says he repeatedly emphasized to the brothers that the only reason he was involving himself in the greatest hits package was to settle his divorce with Betsy. "When I finished my explanation," he replied, "Eddie and Al assured me they understood, and everything I was doing was fine with them. Their comments should have been reassuring words to hear, but they weren't. I knew they were up in arms over what I was doing and didn't dig for one minute my involvement with Geffen, whatever the reasons. Frankly, I didn't care. I wasn't making any money off this project, and they damn well knew it. If they couldn't deal with it, that was their problem, not mine. From my standpoint, buying Betsy off in one large chunk was a good business deal."
Kalodner called Hagar two weeks after their initial conversation and said the label had agreed to his terms. He flew into Los Angeles to finalize the agreement with Geffen, then went to Conway studio where he recorded "Buying My Way into Heaven" and "High Hopes" with producer Mike Clink. The two songs had previously been submitted to Van Halen for consideration, but Eddie rejected them. "You know what's amazing," he mused. "I presented those songs to the band two albums in a row, and they passed on them. When Eddie and Al found out I was using them for my greatest hits album, they got really pissed off. "What are you going to do now Sammy, go solo?" Those two were so paranoid, they were suspicious of anything I did outside the band. Eddie had totally closed down on me after Leffler's death. Without Ed around to validate exactly what I was doing, the brothers stopped believing me. When I gave those two songs to Geffen, Eddie honestly believed I was only out for myself and was trying to become a solo artist again. He thought I was going to pull a Roth trip and screw him and his brother. Again, without Leffler to verify what I was saying, Eddie and Al grew increasingly suspicious of me. They stopped trusting me after that.
"I was ticked off by their ridiculous attitude. I had been in this band for almost nine years and had never done a thing to warrant any type of suspicion. For reasons known only to themselves, the brothers couldn't stand for me to do anything outside the band. However, they did whatever they wanted to musically, under the context that it was for Van Halen. If Eddie and Al wanted to do an instrumental for the record, we'd do it. In other words, they had a solo project within the band. I didn't play guitar on the albums, and I didn't write the music. My job was lyrics and melody. We had built Eddie's 5150 studio into a state-of-the-art facility. Since it was located right outside Eddie's house, and Al lived less than two miles away, the Van Halen brothers became studio rats. They were in there all the time, doing whatever they wanted. Eddie would write music, tell Al what to do, and they would play for hours. It's not that I really complained about this arrangement, but the scenario was strange to deal with, especially when they were griping about me doing outside projects. And the thing is, I never did anything outside the band, so what was there to bitch about?"
Lust The new year was barely six weeks old, and already Sammy was getting a bad taste of what life in Van Halen was going to be like without Ed Leffler. The Red Rocker longed for the soothing effect his old friend had on the band, especially when the brothers started turning on him. For the longest time, Sammy had absolutely no idea who was fueling their suspicions. He says the drastic behavioral changes Eddie and Alex exhibited toward him were quite unsettling. Tensions especially boiled over when it came time to select a manager for the group. Though the atmosphere was friendly between the parties when potential names were initially discussed, it turned ugly soon afterward.
Throughout the process, Hagar sat in amazement as Eddie and Al continuously objected to the various people the band interviewed for the manager's job. For reasons known only to themselves, he says the pair would come up with the lamest excuses to dismiss people from the list. Surprisingly, the individuals they were rejecting were no lightweights in the music business. A number of well-regarded managers expressed an interest in managing Van Halen. The band met several of them in their offices, while others were interviewed over the phone. After weeding out several candidates, they invited the finalists to lay out their management proposals.
"There was Doc McGee," revealed Hagar, "whom we knew from his Bon Jovi days. There was Neil Young's manager, Elliot Richards. We met with Toto's managers, who were really nice and interesting gentlemen. We talked with Tom Petty's manager, Tony Dimitriades, and Tim Collins from Aerosmith. Herbie Herbert, from Journey, was thrown into the mix, as were Cliff Bernstein and Peter Mensch. Paul McGinnis from U2 was mentioned, but we never called him. The process was going smoothly, until we got together to discuss the various proposals. Ed and Al had something negative to say about every person we had interviewed. I was shocked, because everyone who survived the cut was a top-line manager. Finally, I suggested we team up Johnny Barbis and Shep Gordon to manage our affairs. Johnny was a marketing whiz and Shep was a manager Leffler highly respected. Combining their respective talents would make them a dynamic team. The brothers got really excited with the idea and asked me to set up a meeting."
When Hagar called Gordon and Barbis about combining their respective talents to manage Van Halen, the two music executives were excited over the idea. Sammy had known Shep for a long time, and counted him as one of his closest friends. Gordon had also managed Alice Cooper's affairs since he started in the business. Barbis had been a close friend of Ed Leffler's for years, and the Van Halen's knew him well. "Johnny flew in from New York," he announced, "and Shep caught a flight from Maui. We all met at Shep's L.A. offices for lunch, and the meeting went better than I expected. That evening, I went to dinner with Johnny and the brothers, and we had a great time. The next day, when we all got together, Alex started things off by saying, "I don't think they're going to work. Shep Gordon stole money from Alice Cooper. He made side deals with promoters, like with P.A.'s. Alice would be paying out $15,000 a week, but Shep would only be charging promoters $10,000, keeping the other five." I looked at Alex and said, "You've got to be kidding! Shep Gordon is one of my best friends. You're an idiot to say that. Shep and Alice are best friends, and he's been managing Alice's affairs for 26 years. He never burned him. For God's sake, do you think Alice would still be with Shep if he had stolen from him?" I looked straight at Alex and asked him where he heard that. He simply replied, "Well, I just heard about it." At this point, I knew the brothers had been talking to somebody. I just wasn't quite sure who it was."
The next day the band got together for further discussions over the management situation. When Hagar arrived for the meeting, another figure was present. It was Alex's brother-in-law Ray Danniels. The voice behind the whisper in Eddie and Al's ear now had a face. Apparently the brothers had enlisted the Canadian to be their unofficial advisor in the management hunt. "Ray was in the room with us discussing the different management proposals," the singer stated. "Immediately he tried to sell himself to us by stabbing every other manager we had talked to in the back. Instead of coming into this thing telling us what he could offer, he did the opposite. He says, 'Well, if you want to use so and so, that guy steals money from his clients. Oh, you want to use that guy, he was caught doing drugs. That guy there, oh, he's hated by every record company.' You know what I mean. He had something negative to say about every single person, and Ed and Al are going, 'Oh really!' I'm sitting there listening to this guy saying, 'Bullshit!' Then he started attacking Shep and Johnny, two of my very best friends. He said quote unquote, 'Shep stole money from Alice Cooper. He made side deals with promoters. Johnny Barbis will burn you guys; he's a promotion's man, and all he'll do is sell you guys out and sell you cheap.' When he said that shit, I said, 'Listen you fucking asshole. Those guys are my friends. Don't ever say anything bad about them in front of me again, because I'll punch you in the fucking face.' Outside of Ed Leffler, Shep was one of the most brilliant managers I knew. Johnny was just a great guy, and the brothers knew that. They would never do the things Ray Danniels was accusing them of. I was so damn mad, I went off and busted him on the whole thing. I said, 'You're a piece of shit for the way you've come into this band talking to us. I would never allow you to be my manager.' After that, I had to get out of there. Later I heard from Michael Anthony that Ray stayed up all night with Eddie and Al slamming me. He said things like, 'Sammy wants his guys in there so that he can make side deals. Him and Ed Leffler made side deals. Him and Ed Leffler stole from this band.' It was all total bullshit, and these guys, I'm telling you, it was really, really bad."
The subject of Danniels handling Van Halen's affairs was closed as far as Sammy was concerned. However, Ray was far from being out of the picture. From the very moment Hagar confronted him with the lies he was spreading about other managers, then threatening to punch him out, a dangerous enemy had been made.
"Ray Danniels is a cunning snake," declared Hagar. "He's like the devil where he can tell you everything you want to hear. When it came to me, Ray couldn't pull off that shit. From that day on, the two of us never got along. Michael Anthony was on my side at first in vetoing Ray as manager. Unfortunately, he's the spineless wonder type. He has no say-so in the band unless Ed and Al need his vote. Then they make him do what they want. When Mike informed me that he was siding with Eddie and Al to vote Ray in, that did it for me. In our next meeting, I told everyone that if Ray Danniels became the new manager of Van Halen, I was quitting the band. Alex jumped up when I said that and wanted to fight me right there on the spot. We were pushing each other and would have gone at it, if Eddie and Mike had not split us apart."
"In the nine years I had been in the band, this was the first time Al and I ever started screaming 'Fuck you, fuck you!' at each other. When things simmered down between us, I told Alex that if he and I were going to fight over Ray Danniels, Van Halen was over. If I kicked his ass, the band would never be the same. If he kicked my ass, the band would be broken for good. Finally I said, 'Al, if you really want to fight me, let's take it outside and really do it without Ray Danniels being an issue.' Eddie quickly entered the conversation and said, 'Listen Sammy, why don't you call David Geffen, or so-and-so, to see what they think about Ray.' That broke the tension, and cooled off the situation between Alex and me. I told Eddie I'd call around to see what I could find out."
Hagar wasted no time in making phone calls to people around the industry to get information on Ray Danniels. Sammy says he was totally dismayed by the negative reaction he got from people who knew the manager. All the individuals he polled were unanimous in their opinion that Danniels was not a wise choice for the band.
"He had the worst rap for a manager I had ever heard in my entire life," said an astonished Hagar. "Straight up, I was told that if Van Halen hired Ray Danniels as their new manager, the band was finished. I got the very same answer from record company presidents, financial people and promoters. Everyone I spoke with in a position of authority, who had some sort of contact with him in the past, told me quote unquote, 'If you use Ray Danniels, this band will go down to nothing. This guy is a slime bag. He will stab you in the back, and he will rob those guys.' Every one of the people I spoke to felt the same way about Ray. Ed and Al still wouldn't listen to me when I reported my findings back to them."
"I even went to Mo Austin with a list of managers' names we were considering. He looked at it and said, 'Ray Danniels! Who's that?' I explained to him that he was the manager for Rush and he said, 'Na, forget it!' Eddie and Al still didn't care when I told them what Mo said. They were like moths drawn to a flame when it came to Ray. They had a single-minded consciousness about him. No matter what obstacles were thrown in the way, nothing was going to stop them from voting their man in as Van Halen's new manager. He had to have made some sort of deal with them, because the brothers offered to give a bigger percentage of their earnings than they gave Leffler. Now I didn't do that, and that's why we never got along. I wouldn't give him what he wanted. Here's the thing. Michael Anthony's the key. He would never say it now, but if he ever gets kicked out of Van Halen, or quits, he will have one helluva story to tell. He knows everything, because he was at a lot of the meetings with Ray and the brothers that I didn't attend. When Mikey was on my side, he told me some unbelievable things about Ray Danniels. You know what? Mike is still on my side, but he can't acknowledge it, if you know what I mean. If he did, the brothers would kick him out of the band."
After Johnny Barbis and Shep Gordon were voted down as a management team, Hagar's last chance to get a good manager for the band rested with Tim Collins, who handled Aerosmith. Sammy thought he would be a good fit for Van Halen, because he could help break Eddie from his drug and alcohol dependency ! just as he had done with Joe Perry. Hagar says that when the Boston native first hooked up with the Aerosmith guitarist in the early '80s, he was in terrible shape, worse than Eddie Van Halen ever thought of getting. Collins not only cleaned up Perry's act, he was instrumental in reuniting him with Steven Tyler. When he assumed management duties of the reformed band, a clean and sober Aerosmith once again became a powerhouse in the music business. Sammy believed the manager would do a good job of keeping Van Halen psychologically sound. Things were starting to get a little goofy in the studio, as he puts it, between Eddie and himself, and the band needed someone to calm things down. Another factor weighing heavily in Collins' favor was his strong relationship with MTV. Having won three video awards on their last album, Hagar thought it was especially important for Van Halen's new manager to have a strong relationship with the music video channel. Ray Danniels, he found out, had absolutely no pull at the network. Sammy thought it was vital to have MTV's support when the new album was released. An Aerosmith/Van Halen combination, he was convinced, would make both bands a powerful combination to be dealt with on a worldwide level. "I figured with both groups under his control," explained Sammy, "Tim could make phone calls and say, 'Oh, you don't like Van Halen. Well, you aren't going to get Aerosmith either.' Hearing that, people would go, 'Wait a minute; let's talk.' With both bands at his disposal, it would give Tim considerable clout in all aspects of the music business. He could definitely help us out in the European market where we had trouble. I really thought the brothers would understand that and vote him in. When I mentioned his name to Alex, he said, 'Tim Collins? He already manages Aerosmith. That's all he'll ever do. Aerosmith will be No. 1, and we will always be second.' I told Al that wouldn't be the case. In fact, I had already asked Tim that very question, about juggling both bands. Since these guys were already slamming every manager we talked to, I thought I'd better confront him on the issue before he spoke with the brothers.
"Tim was very matter-of-fact with me on the subject. He told me that if we scheduled everything just right, one band would be recording their album, while the other one was out touring to support their new release. Tim was up front and to the point with me about where his true allegiance rested. He said, 'Sam, if there was ever a time when both Aerosmith and Van Halen had a single coming out at the same time, my loyalty would lie with Aerosmith first. I'm not stupid enough to do something like that, but if it did happen and I was forced to make a decision for whatever reason, Aerosmith would take precedence over Van Halen.' After he said that, I knew he was the one we needed. If I would have posed that same question to Ray in regards to Rush over Van Halen, he would have said, 'Oh well, of course it would be you.' He would have said we were No. 1 over his wife, his kids, you name it, just to manage the band. When Tim told me that, I was thinking, 'Wow, that's a great statement. That's what I want to hear.' I told Al about my conversation the next day, and he said, 'That is a psychological ploy. He's been messing with all these psychologists that are involved with Aerosmith. He knows exactly what to say because of them.' I looked at Alex and said, 'Well, Ray's had fucking Rush for 23 years. Do you think he's going to be more loyal to us than them?' He said, 'Oh, Rush is going to retire. They are washed up. Ray knows they're finished. He told me that himself.' Alex went on and on with all this horseshit about Rush he'd been told by Ray."
Hagar says he was appalled at the negative comments directed toward Rush by Alex Van Halen that he attributed directly to Ray Danniels. Sammy was even more offended at the fact that Al's brother-in-law wanted to manage Van Halen so badly, he was willing to sell out his other band to get the job. For over two decades, Danniels had stood behind Rush. From what Hagar was hearing, apparently that was a thing of the past. The Red Rocker even spoke to Ray himself about the Canadian trio and was astounded by the answers he received.
"Ray even bad-mouthed Rush to me," said an incredulous Hagar. "Can you believe it? He was saying shit like, 'If they had a good singer, they could have made it on pop radio.' He was telling me that with the kind of music they play, Rush would never be any more than they already have been. I started hammering him with questions. I said, 'Ray, Rush should have been the Canadian Led Zeppelin. Why don't they sell records? Why did their last record only do 400,000 or 500,000 records?' He said to me, 'If they only had a singer.' He was crazy to say that, because Geddy Lee has one of the most unique voices in rock. Rush's big problem is they never had any videos which is one of the major complaints I had against Ray. I knew his dealing with MTV would bury us. I even called over there and asked them about their relationship with him. They didn't even know who Ray Danniels was. When I told them he was the manager of Rush, they said, 'Well, we never had a relationship with Rush. We've only had a couple of videos from them.' In other words, Ray had no clout with them whatsoever."
About a week after Alex and Sammy had their conversation, Hagar received a phone call from Danniels. He was in management discussions with the band Extreme, and wanted to know his thoughts about taking the band on as a client. The Boston-based outfit had been under the guidance of Louis Levine, who also managed Michael Bolton. The group, featuring Gary Cherone on vocals and Nuno Bettencourt on guitar, hit the big time in 1991 with Pornograffiti. The double platinum album featured the No. 1 smash, "More Than Words" and the Top Ten hit, "Hole-Hearted." After that record, the group stumbled badly and never again recaptured its past glory. "Ray was kissing my ass so bad you wouldn't believe it," added Hagar, shaking his head. "He called me and said, 'I have been asked to manage Extreme. I want to know your opinion of it.' He was trying to get me to say okay. Instead I just said, 'I don't think you should do it. Extreme is a bunch of losers No. 1, and second, their career is over. Ray went on to tell me that he had hired a guy in New York to handle the situation, so it wouldn't get in the way of things. He says, 'I promise you some other guy will manage the band. I'll just oversee it and help them out politically.' Let me tell you, he got way involved with them. When I brought up the subject of Ray managing Extreme to Alex, he said, 'Ah, fuck them. That doesn't matter; they're nothing. Besides, he's got another guy to work with them anyway.' I'm thinking to myself, 'Here we go again!'
While the debate over a new manager raged on, Van Halen was in the studio working on the album they were dedicating to the memory of Ed Leffler. David Lee Roth released Your Filthy Little Mouth on March 26. It entered the Billboard charts at No. 78 and dropped off fourteen days later. While Warner Bros. was trying to squeeze some airplay for Roth anywhere in the country they could, the Red Rocker was busy promoting his 12-song greatest hits album for Geffen. He called the record Unboxed, to poke fun at all the artists and bands that were releasing boxed set collections at the time. Released on April 2, Sammy stayed true to his word and did a two-week press junket. He did the David Letterman Show and appeared on CNN's Showbiz Today. He was slotted to do the Tonight Show and perform "Give to Live," but the brothers forced Michael Anthony to withdraw from Sammy's band at the last minute, thus cancelling the performance.
When Hagar returned to Los Angeles to resume the management debate, Sammy was convinced more than ever that Tim Collins was their man. Aerosmith was scheduled to kick off the Japanese leg of the Get a Grip tour in Yokohama on April 27. Collins flew out to L. A. about two weeks before the tour to talk with Van Halen and listen to some of the new songs. He answered all the brothers' questions about conflict of interest and band loyalties. He laid out his ideas for integrating his management style with both groups. The more he explained his plans regarding Van Halen, the further impressed Hagar became. After about a week of meetings with the manager, urgent business in San Francisco called Sammy away. As he was leaving for the airport, he told Collins they would speak shortly. Hagar was fairlyc confident that Ray Danniels was going to be cast aside in favor of the Aerosmith manager. When he returned to Los Angeles a couple of days later, to resume work on the album, he was stunned by what he saw in the studio. Eddie Van Halen's long hair was gone, and replaced by a crew-cut.
"When we took a break from recording that day," the singer said, "I found Alex outside smoking a cigarette, and asked him what had possessed Eddie to cut his hair. He then told me about the late night rendezvous with Tim Collins. After I had left town, Eddie called Tim late one evening in his hotel room and told him he needed to talk to him right away. When he arrived at the studio around two in the morning, Alex was there and sat with Tim through this meeting. Eddie was in really bad shape, just fucked up out of his brain. Valerie had apparently kicked him out of the house, because she didn't want him drunk around the baby. Tim sat with Eddie for two or three hours that night, while Edward laid his heavy guilt trip on him. At one point, Eddie started crying, grabbed a pair of clippers, and cut all his long hair in front of Tim. He said, 'I'm so frustrated. I've got to stop drinking. I've got to stop doing drugs. I'm not happy, I want to kill myself. I can't make a record like this. My wife hates me.' Alex told me his brother released every insecurity he ever had on Tim Collins that night. "About a week after this episode occurred, I received a phone call from Tim in Japan. He confirmed Al's story, and told me he was bowing out of the management picture. He said, 'I'm sorry Sammy. I really love you and Van Halen, but I don't think I can handle both bands. I don't think it would be fair for me to attempt it. Besides, Steven Tyler doesn't want me to do it.' That was a polite way for him to really say, 'I have my hands full with Joe Perry and Steven Tyler. I can't take Eddie Van Halen, too!' I understood where Tim was coming from completely. I told him thanks for spending all that time with us and wished him good luck. From that point on, I resigned myself to the fact that Ray Danniels was going to manage Van Halen whether I liked it or not. But, I had meant every word I told him in our first meeting, when I discovered he was the one behind the rumors about Shep, Johnny and the other managers. He was never going to be my manager, I didn't trust him, and I certainly didn't like the way he conducted business. The animosity between us really started to heat up when I absolutely refused to sign any documents that would acknowledge Ray Danniels as my manager."
Greed Ray Danniels unofficially came on board as Van Halen's new overseer later that spring. As work on the album progressed, Hagar quietly went about the task of separating his publishing money from the Van Halen account it was previously going to. Before Ed Leffler died, all the band's publishing income went into Yessup Publishing. The funds would then be divvied up from there. Shortly after Unboxed was released, Sammy instructed ASCAP, the music firm that monitored and collected album and song royalties for Van Halen, to separate his share of the proceeds. He now wanted his portion sent to Nine Music, the holding company that received all royalties from his solo work. After completing that task, the singer realized he had some publishing dollars coming from Warner/Chappell for the greatest hits album that was now on the market. He asked Van Halen's lawyer, Gary Stamler, to talk to his publisher, Rick Shoemaker, about the situation.
"Gary was involved in negotiations with Rick," recounted Hagar, "because he was making a publishing deal with Van Halen for the new record. Shortly after I asked Gary to talk with Rick, I received a phone call from him. He wanted to know what kind of money I was looking for. I said, 'Rick, until the Van Halen deal is done, you and I are not going to talk about money. I am not going to screw them out of anything. I don't want this to be used as any kind of leverage. I'm a fair guy. When you finish the Van Halen thing, call me.' He said okay, and after he finished working out the deal with Gary, he phoned. I told Rick my publishing contract with Geffen called for a $250,000 advance on the greatest hits record. I wanted an additional $500,000. He thought that was a little steep, but like John Kalodner before him, he told me he'd see what he could do. About ten days later, Rick called and said my request had been approved. When I hung up the phone, I had a big smile on my face. Without help from anyone, I had negotiated an extra million dollars out of the greatest hits deal."
During a break one day in the recording studio, Hagar made an offhand remark about the money that Warner/Chappell owed for publishing money on his greatest hits record. Ray Danniels overheard the comment and asked how much the contract guaranteed. When Sammy replied a quarter of a million dollars, the manager offered to intercede on his behalf to raise the ante. "Ray came over to me," he smiled, "and said, 'Sam, I can get you $350,000 if you let me go talk to them for you.' I just kind of looked at him and said, 'Oh really. That's odd. I already made a deal, and they are giving me a total of $750,000.' You should have seen the reaction on his face when I told him that. He was humbled, believe me. Ray thought he was really going to show me how great a businessman he was. My remark was not intended to lead him on, but he smelled money and jumped on the statement. He wasn't making anything with Van Halen yet, so he was looking to make some cash anyway he could. I didn't mean to hurt his feelings, well, maybe I did unconsciously. I wanted to let him know, that I knew, how much of a jerk he really was. After our conversation, Ray went to Alex Van Halen and told him I had been responsible for holding up Van Halen's publishing contract for the new record, while I negotiated a deal for my greatest hits record. The brothers would have freaked out if I had told them Ray offered to make the publishing deal for me. I never said a word about it. After he got involved with the band, I never told Eddie and Al anything about my business dealings, unless it had something to do with Van Halen."
That particular incident, plus the mistrust Hagar's involvement with his greatest hits package created, played right into the manger's hand. He was able to use these episodes as fuel to flame suspicions that had already surfaced within the band. Despite his misgivings over Danniels' appointment, Sammy says he was completely unaware of the damage he was doing to undermine his credibility.
While this silent war was being waged, south of the border, Marco Monroy had done a remarkable job turning around the fortunes of the Cabo Wabo. Though it still owed a tremendous amount of money to the government, it was holding its own financially. Part of the thanks went to the $300,000 Monroy had put into the club remodeling it. The architect had also hired an experienced club manager to get the place back on its feet. When Sammy flew down and saw the changes, he couldn't believe his eyes. He also knew he had to gain control of the club from the band, or Monroy's superb rebuilding efforts would be in vain.
"Right after Marco and I shook hands in January," replied Hagar, "he started pouring money in the club. He paid off the vendors, took over the debt to the government, bought new furniture and remodeled the entire club. I'm telling you, he turned the bar into a showplace. It was absolutely beautiful. Everyone in the band knew the situation with the government had been worked out thanks to Marco's intervention. I was totally up front about his involvement. If the band wanted to stay in the club, all they had to do was pay their share of the debt owed. I asked the brothers at least ten times if they wanted to stay involved. Eddie and Al would say, 'No, we want out. We want out!' Fine, then let's get it done."
"We hired this guy named Tito Roberts to run the Cabo Wabo. He had relocated from Mexico City to take over another club in town. Marco talked him into running our place, and he came in and did a great job. Since there was no deal in place with the band to sell their interest, I had to warn Marco to back off from what he was doing. I said, 'Marco, you're spending all this money. You know what can happen. If I don't get this club back from the band, I'm fucked. I can't sell you a piece of the club, because I don't own it.' I had to make something happen as soon as I got back. Alex still wanted to give the bar back to the government so they could write off their whole investment. I said, 'If you're going to give it to the government, then I'll take it. I don't want a tax write-off.' Al goes, 'What about the debt? How are you going to pay for it? What if they come after us?' I told him that was my responsibility, and I would indemnify everyone if it happened, just get the lawyers together and draw up a deal."
Alex Van Halen's prediction that Cabo San Lucas would one day become the Riviera of the Pacific was about to take place. Though the building boom hadn't reached the harbor town yet, it was close at hand. Property values were climbing steadily, and modern civilization was slowly encroaching on the area. The land the Cabo Wabo stood on was worth millions but, for some reason, that aspect of the bar was lost on the Van Halen brothers. Ray Danniels intervened on Hagar's behalf and had Gary Stamler and Michael Karlin draw up papers to transfer the brother's interest in the club to Sammy. The singer in turn, went to Ed Leffler's widow and offered her the same deal. She could relinquish the estate's right to the Cabo Wabo or pay its fair share of the debt. She signed her interest over. Hagar then approached Betsy. She loved the area and the club, and didn't want to sign away any claims to it at first. Sammy, however, convinced his soon-to-be ex-wife that the holdings were a money losing proposition she didn't need to be saddled with. Still in love and willing to do anything that her husband asked, she signed papers giving up her stake in the property.
"Believe me," lamented the Red Rocker, "the papers I had to sign with the brothers to get the club was a really shit deal for me. The terms were unbelievable. For instance, if I ever made a penny selling it, I would have to repay the band the money they wrote off on their taxes. Next, if I ever brought the concept to the United States and tried to franchise it, they would get fifty percent of the profits forever. That same deal also extended to anything associated with the Cabo Wabo name. I had to sign all these documents that stated in the event anyone got sued, I paid all the costs. It even said in the contract that I could not let the club interfere with the band. If Eddie and Al voted that it was not a good time for me to travel to Cabo because they needed me, I couldn't go. God's truth that fucking clause was in there. I had to agree to all these conditions, otherwise there was no deal."
Hagar had no bargaining power, and he knew it. Apparently, neither did Michael Anthony. The brothers made him divest his interest in the club as well. If he didn't, Sammy says, they would have kicked him out of Van Halen.
"When it came right down to it," he said assuredly, "they didn't want Mike to have anything to do with the Cabo Wabo. They especially didn't want him and me to own the club. The bottom line to the whole deal was this. I gave the brothers what they wanted, which was control over me. Eddie and Al knew that I'd do anything to keep my wonderful, great idea. They wanted to rub my face in it and say, 'See, it didn't work. We lost all this money.' Believe me, they didn't like the idea of me saving it. What they pulled on me was nothing but a powerplay; I guarantee it. The funny thing is it backfired. From January 1, 1994 when David Haliburton walked out to January 1, 1995, we paid off all the outstanding debts, redesigned the club, and I pocketed a tidy $300,000 profit. It was unreal."
Gluttony Making Balance was not a very fun proposition for Hagar. Though the band was working with a real producer this time, Bruce Fairbairn, the atmosphere in the studio was anything but pleasant. The Canadian-born studio veteran had caught the band's attention for his impressive work on Aerosmith's last two albums, Permanent Vacation and Get a Grip. Unfortunately, the producer would inadvertently get sucked into the mind games that were being acted out at the 5150 studio. He would later play an unwitting role in the final drama that unfolded between Sammy and Eddie Van Halen.
Throughout the recording of the album, the brothers, particularly Alex,would remind Hagar of the mistake he made recording "High Hopes" and "Buying My Way into Heaven" for his Unboxed collection. The singer admits he might have backed off the project completely if it hadn't been for his pending divorce. With his motives behind the project clearly stated, Sammy refused to let anyone make him feel any guilt for his decision. That included Alex Van Halen, who had money problems of his own.
"It used to really tick me off," said Hagar frankly, "whenever those two brought up my greatest hits record. I had participated on the Unboxed record for two reasons. One, I needed the cash for my divorce. Two, I really believed the release of the greatest hits package would stop any speculation on Eddie and Al's part, that I was angling toward reviving my solo career. Hell, I didn't need the extra money for those two songs. If push came to shove, I could have taken the money out of my bank account to settle the property issue with Betsy. As I look back on those events now, I realize there really wasn't any one thing I could have done to forestall the inevitable. Ray Danniels was slowly gaining control of the brothers. I'm sure he was behind the scenes telling these guys, 'Hey, you better watch out for this guy.'
When Hagar received his publishing check from Warner/Chappell, the divorce lawyers for both sides got together to hammer out a settlement. It was not a very happy scene. Betsy's attorney even had to pull her away from Sam as the terms for the divorce were being finalized. "While the lawyers were talking," said Betsy, "Sam and I were sitting in an empty courtroom waiting for our hearing. I said, 'Sam, we've probably got 30 or 40 more years on the planet. You can always come home if you ever change your mind.' He said, 'Well, I'm not closing any doors Betsy.' I started crying, and he put his arm around me. He said, 'Oh God, we shouldn't even be here.' My lawyer then came inside and dragged me away saying, 'Don't sit near him. Don't you go anywhere near him.' Sam knew I loved him, but you know, I realized that people have a different capacity for love. I'm a person that cares and loves deeply. Sam was very tender and passionate with me the whole time we were together. A part of me was spiritually evolved enough to forgive him, and willing to believe he would return some day."
"I'm so thankful that I had Andrew and Aaron in my life when Sam left. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had anything and been totally alone. I'll tell you what's interesting. Most of the times women in divorce retain everything, and the men go off by themselves. In this case it was reversed. I was the one that was cast adrift. Sam kept the house, the lifestyle and all our friends. I was the one left holding the bag. Right after he left me, I thought the only way I was going to get through it was to replace him as soon as possible. I got involved with this guy who was totally in love with me and wanted to get married. The problem our relationship had was my inability to let Sam go. Let me tell you something. No one going through a divorce has any business dating. Every time I was with him, I did nothing but cry about Sam. We went back and forth over this subject for over a year, and it was awful. Finally, we both knew our relationship wouldn't work out, because I still wanted my husband to come home."
Betsy's lawyers made it clear to her that since she had been married for so long, California's tough divorce statutes entitled her to support for life. To their astonishment, she didn't care about the financial aspects of her case. Her attorneys often got upset with her, she says, because of the dispassionate manner in which she viewed the proceedings. They were looking out for her best interests, but were hampered by the strong feelings Betsy still harbored for her soon-to-be ex-usband. In her mind, she had come to the conclusion that a friendly settlement would make Sammy feel more comfortable to come back home to her one day. When an agreement was finally reached, Hagar's wife only accepted the cash value for her half of their community property and alimony for nine years. She steadfastly refused to take any royalties her husband earned from his music, or make him financially responsible for her well-being the rest of her natural life.
"I know it must have been rough for my lawyers to deal with me," admitted Betsy. "They were trying to do the best job they could for me, and there I was going, 'I don't want to make Sam mad. I want him to come home.' I was so stupid about the divorce, even my son Aaron wanted me to fight for everything. My friends would say, 'Betsy, you got so screwed in your divorce settlement.' I said, 'No, no, I'll be fine. I got enough, I'll be fine.' I'm not a malicious or vindictive person. I wanted Sam to come home so bad, I thought if I made the divorce easy on him, he would. The whole situation was so horrible in the first place, I just wanted to make sure I had something coming in. I didn't complain about the arrangement. I always felt I was going to be fine. My lawyers wanted to go after everything of Sam's. They wanted to go through his home studio in Mill Valley and confiscate all his tapes. They said, 'You are entitled to the royalties of any song that was written while you were married.' I said, 'No, don't do it. I don't want to do that.' The other lawyer involved said this was the most amicable divorce he had ever been involved with."
Betsy admits that her intense love for Sammy blinded her to the realities of divorce. Instead of settling for what was fair, she went for less. She received half the value of the three homes they owned and other real estate holdings her husband had around Southern California. Betsy also retained some IRA accounts and half the gold Hagar always kept in a safe. Her total take from the 23 years of devotion to her marriage was a fraction of her husband's net worth. The alimony payments would stop in December 2003. From that point on, with no job skills other than her songwriting talent, she would have to fend for herself. Even that important fact of life didn't phase her. Money had never held any real value to her, especially after everything she'd been through with Sammy. Love was the one commodity she took stock in. For over two decades, Betsy had gladly stood by her man. Sadly, that sentiment was not returned.
"The one thing I'm very sorry I didn't get was my mother's silverware," confided Betsy. "Sam wouldn't let me have it. Once, I went up to Mill Valley to get all my things out of the house. All the locks had been changed and the gate recoded so I couldn't get in. I told my lawyer about it, and he said he'd get the police to escort me up there so I could get whatever was mine. Like a fool, I told him no, I didn't want to do that. Sam and No. 2 decided which of my things I could have. They just threw things into boxes, and one of the band's roadies drove them down to Spindrift. The only thing I got from my home of all those years were the items he decided were okay for me to have. I remember a time Andrew came back from visiting his father, and he told me he'd polished silver during his stay. I thought to myself, 'How funny; that's my mother's silverware.' Sam had a library built for me too, and I had several beautiful books I had collected over the years. I asked him if I could have them back, and he said no."
"Sam always told everyone how horrible I was during the divorce, and how I went after him. He has no idea how easy I was or maybe he does. When my lawyers got involved, right away, they started thinking Sam had moved money and hidden it somewhere. They saw that he was a lying, cheating jerk. The way to get to Sam is through his money. If you mess with it, you're in big trouble. In the beginning, he was furious about having to give me anything. He said, 'Betsy, you spent all of the money you deserved while we were married. You shouldn't get a penny!' He seemed to forget that I was the one who was responsible for redecorating and furnishing all the houses we lived in. I bought all the clothes and our food. Sam didn't go out and do any of that stuff. It was so comical of him to accuse me of spending all this money on the family, yet he would go out buy Ferraris without thinking twice about it. Finally, Ben Winslow, his attorney says, 'Hey look, this is California. You have to give her half.' He was totally upset about having to give me anything. Again, I didn't care about the money. All I wanted was for Sam to come home, and at one point, I thought he would. When I flew into Los Angeles to see my attorney, this one particular driver I knew from the limousine service we always used met me at the airport. He told me he had picked Kari up one time, and they started talking. She said, 'Look, don't worry. I know about Betsy. Sam and I are just going to have fun; he won't leave her.' Obviously that didn't last very long."
The saddest part of divorce, says Betsy, was losing touch with her husband's family, especially Bobbi. Once they
COMMENT | Van Halen Links_com - Sammy's book_.htm posted by : jimmyspin 10/19/2005 1:29:55 PM
To All Van Halen fans,,find the link and read all of it!Micheal Anthony is getting fucked over by Alex and Eddie!
COMMENT | It would be a total sell out, but... posted by : DMIZE 10/19/2005 1:38:00 PM
...what the fuck do I care. My personal entertainment value and humor provided by the show would far outweigh my dissapointment...bring it on.
COMMENT | ^^HAHA! Longest post ever! posted by : DLORE 10/19/2005 1:40:57 PM
You're damn right Jerry Cantrell would shoot that shit down. I respect him so much, and this just another thing that shows what kind of person he is. He IS all about the music.
INXS?!?!?!?! They sucked when they were popular and they will always suck...what ever happened to the person that won that contest, did they really get to join the band?? I never wasted my time with that pile of dung, so I wouldn't know.
BOYCOTT TELEVISION!!!! except for cartoons.
COMMENT | Fuck this shit posted by : thevalbomb 10/19/2005 1:49:28 PM
There's even a show on UK tv where you can win a Premiership football (sorry, soccer...) contract. "Who will be the next Football Icon?".
I know Jerry Cantrell has to much integrity to do some shit like that. Like said above theyre is no replacing Layne.
COMMENT | 2 WORDS FOR V.H. posted by : T-Boner.com 10/19/2005 2:33:24 PM
SEBASTIAN BACH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FUCK THE DUMB TV SHIT AND CALL BACH- LIKE YOU SHOULD OF DID WHEN YA HIRED GARY SHGAY
COMMENT | Long post... posted by : Blubbermouth 10/19/2005 2:35:44 PM
Very interesting. Sure it's just Sammy's side of the story, but judging by Eddie's actions all the time, Sammy's version is very believable.
If the brothers won't let Mike do his own thing, how is he going to start a band with George Lynch as was reported here?
And, that Rock Star show is so damn pathetic. Nobody gave a shit about INXS for the last 15 years, now nobody cares about them again after their latest 15 minutes of fame.
COMMENT | I hope it's a false rumor, but.... posted by : betty71 10/19/2005 2:36:30 PM
at this point does it really matter? This band that I loved, (Both versions), has completely lost its mind. It started that year at the VMAs when Eddie trotted at Roth and deceived all the VH fans into thinking there was going to be a reunion. To this day that is unforgiveable. I can't think of a band that has fucked with their fans more. Again, I loved this band. But these guys (the brothers) are not in reality. So do whatever you want, you already isolated your fan base. Fuck You!
COMMENT | ektaliptka posted by : betty71 10/19/2005 2:54:18 PM
Maybe, but it's debateable.
COMMENT | I agree posted by : Ultra Man vh 10/19/2005 2:56:20 PM
I agree with betty71. The VH sisters really screwed over the fans back in 96 at the VMA'S. I am a huge fan of the DLR era VH, and was really pissed when they led us on. And to add insult to injury, they reunited with Mr. Boredom himself, Sammy Hagar.
COMMENT | . posted by : Pink Tank Top And Orange Juice 10/19/2005 3:00:43 PM
Very debateable
COMMENT | Morbius76 posted by : Craig3010 10/19/2005 3:05:24 PM
I think you meant a reality show with Eddie getting drunk and beating on Valerie & Wolfgang. That's why she left him.
COMMENT | . posted by : Pink Tank Top And Orange Juice 10/19/2005 3:19:30 PM
With Sammy they became a pop band. I like Sammy's solo stuff, but I don't like the stuff he did with Van Halen. Also, after Jump was released Eddie thought that he could use more synth and piano sounds... To me the only decent alsbum with Sammy was Balance. It was pretty rough, if you look at what they released the years before.even the new tracks on the Best Off album goes in the same direction. And then they hire Cherone?! WTF?! But also VH's label sucks ass. After VH III was a flop, they droped them...
COMMENT | Paul McGuiness posted by : hurricane hugo 10/19/2005 3:24:41 PM
is probably the only manager who can whip VH into shape.
Big ups to Jerry Cantrell for giving the producers a big "Fuck You". Shit - he could probably get Maynard James Keenan or Chris Cornell if the surviving members of AIC wanted to do it bad enough.
interesting rumor dept. Chris Cornell was supposedly offered the lead singer's spot in VH by Eddie himself within a day of Sammy leaving the band...and turned them down flat. The host of "Rockline" asked him about it when Chris was touring behind "Euphoria Morning"; Chris answered with a terse "no comment"...then lightened up and laughed.
blessed be.
blessed be.
COMMENT | ONCE MORE FOR YOUR SIMPLE BLABBY MINDS posted by : T-Boner.com 10/19/2005 3:42:39 PM
If you are gonna fill DLR shoes - you better have a bad ass muther fucker up front! + A screamer. & Not to mention- Something for the females to lust over;-)
Sebastian Bach ! GODDER THAN GOD BTW;-) BACHSHSUSGHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the one nice thing ill say about this is id rather see van halen pick some talented kid who we've never heard of before who can sing the style appropriatly than just choose some other famous singer from some existing band. It sure as hell didnt work out with that Extreme guy. I would not want to see a mistake like that again.
Either way Van Halen will never be as good as they were with David again, but they can sure as hell be better than they were with that extreme guy. And maybe even top sammy too. The question is Does eddie still have what it takes to write good music. Its been a while.
...THE VAN HALENS HAVE CONTINUOUSLY DENIED THIS AS "COMPLETELY FALSE" RUMORS...
see melodicrock.com
COMMENT | WHY??????????????????????????????? posted by : Rich376 10/19/2005 4:06:17 PM
Who the Fuck would give a shit about VAN HALEN with yet another singer?? Isn't three singers enough?
I personally only care about David Lee Roth era Van Halen. But, I can deal with Sammy. Gary Cherone in VH was a total joke. VH only a reality show looking for a fourth frontman would be the final nail in the VAN HALEN coffin.
COMMENT | posted by : Rich376 10/19/2005 4:07:31 PM
I meant to say:
VH on a reality show looking for a fourth frontman would be the final nail in the VAN HALEN coffin.
COMMENT | Euphoria Morning posted by : Scot the Hoople 10/19/2005 4:23:57 PM
God, that's a good album.
COMMENT | BTW posted by : Scot the Hoople 10/19/2005 4:30:47 PM
That cut-and-paste comment above is 17 pages long when you copy it to Word. Fuckin' A.
COMMENT | Van Halen should do it ! posted by : Jakdknife 10/19/2005 5:22:10 PM
only if Diamond Dave auditions cause then he'd win by a fucking landslide and we'd have our real Van Halen reunion.
By the way hope some one shoots that little punk Dave Navarro.
COMMENT | ektaliptka posted by : Scot the Hoople 10/19/2005 5:55:57 PM
What a man does with his margins in the privacy of his own cubicle should be between him and the margins. Jeesh!
COMMENT | Will VAN HALEN Be The Next 'Rock Star' Band? posted by : Thrash-Metal28 10/19/2005 6:35:26 PM
NO
COMMENT | can eddie even sober up enough for a tv show... posted by : voorhees 10/19/2005 7:43:01 PM
plus eddie will fire the guy before he is even hired.
COMMENT | Please God, let this happen! posted by : keepastiffupherlip 10/19/2005 8:06:11 PM
I need something on TV to make me lmao again!
Note to Gary Cherone: Please do not re-apply for this position.
COMMENT | it's the new millenium posted by : guitar-zeus 10/19/2005 8:32:35 PM
the forth time's the charm...Fuck Van Halen...all these years I thought it was Sammy or DLR who fucked it up in VH...but man watch and reading about Eddie during this last tour and espeically at Dime's funeral...what a washed up piece of shit! Eddie is drunk 24/7...there was a St Louis radio station who had him on one morning at 1030 for an interview recently...he couldnt even talk he was so loaded...saying blah blah blah duh cool shit a few times, it was lame. I mean the dude can play guitar, and he's one of the best...but personality wise, I give my fucking washcloth I shower with more respect then this drunken-ass loser! what a waste.
COMMENT | Reality TV? The sad reality.... posted by : rocknteacher 10/19/2005 8:44:30 PM
...is that Eddie may just be drunk enough to DO this!
COMMENT | here's what they SHOULD do on the show posted by : Danowar 10/19/2005 8:56:22 PM
bring in someone to assfist the VH sisters to get over themselves and realize DLR should be singing and go tour the States and tickets will be 25$ no matter where you sit.
can i get an amen?
COMMENT | What is posted by : timzrage 10/19/2005 9:00:18 PM
Beau Bice doing?
COMMENT | posted by : tiffychanman 10/19/2005 9:10:05 PM
interesting
COMMENT | Good God posted by : egidizzy 10/19/2005 9:28:19 PM
This is a disgrace. At this point, they should simply let Eddie's son sing. The kid has got to be close to old enough, and his last name is Van Halen, so that's a plus.
COMMENT | Van Halen posted by : Itwalksamongus 10/20/2005 12:34:14 AM
I can't remember a band I loved so much and INSTANTLY hated when they changed singers. Anyone who's heard Sammy H. on the first Montrose album probably wonders with as to what the FUCK happened to this guy. Once he joined, Van Halen went from being a wild, swagering, drink from the bottle and shot from the hip ROCK band to a nice, safe, pop-hit machine that was so gutless/dickless/hopeless even a mom could love 'em. And Eddie Van Halen is fucking DONE unless he sobers up. What a sad waste of talent.
To the guy who posted that mile-long post - you didn't expect anyone to read that, did you? Fucking idiot.
And Finally Kull " is a stupid word with no meaning." Wait - it DOES have a meaning. it means "dumbass".
That's all.
COMMENT | posted by : vhfan888 10/20/2005 2:20:41 AM
VH needs to put out an album with a bunch of guest singers. People who are fans and dont have to squabble about why spotlight is on eddie and not them. He's the best guitar player ever you fucking babies. You'd all be cleaning toilets if you didnt cross his path
COMMENT | THEY SUCK!! posted by : Rousian 10/20/2005 2:30:25 AM
Hey , Maybe this show will make VH realize how much they suck!!
COMMENT | Stupid Statement of The Day Award! posted by : Itwalksamongus 10/20/2005 2:52:57 AM
"You'd all be cleaning toilets if you didnt cross his path"
Congrats, vhfan888!!!
That is astoundingly stupid. To think anyone's career path, no matter what it is, could be affected by whether they did or didn't hear Eddie Van Halen is a new low in Blab stupidity.
Idiot.
COMMENT | for the love of fucking christ and his faithful cross!!!!!!!!!! posted by : metal&bluesman 10/20/2005 8:56:46 AM
pick up the phone and get roth back!!!!!!!!!!!! they are both shit without eachother and great with eachother, so put your fucking egos away and give the fans what they want you fucking assholes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
COMMENT | super gay posted by : destroyer71 10/20/2005 10:04:01 AM
super mother freaking gay idea, for VH to do this. Ed should either get his shit together and realize that hooking back up with Sammy is their only chance, or start putting out solo guitar albums a la Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, etc. but a reality show? fer chrissakes!!
COMMENT | roth is done posted by : destroyer71 10/20/2005 10:06:01 AM
c'mon guys. I love the Roth-era albums just as well as any of you. but the guy CANNOT SING anymore. there is no way he could make it through a 90-minute set for an entire tour with VH. NO WAY
COMMENT | posted by : The Godfather 10/20/2005 6:10:43 PM
Jerry Cantrell is a smart man and I have a lot of respect for him. He made a very smart move by telling them to fuck off.
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