RETURN THE REAL VAN HALEN

A fan wrote:

Even though here in australia we have never seen the band live as most of the fans in the states have I would rather bypass the chance the see the guys in the band enjoy themselves after years of dedicated work from the fans only to be shafted by jerks like crazyfeat.

Who is Crazyfeat? Is he back with Crazyhorse? hehehehehe

No, seriously, ... man I know what your going through down there. I haven't seen Van Halen since 1984. All I can tell you is if you guys have waited this long, don't sell out now just to see a "tribute" concert. You won't be seeing "Van Halen" with Gary Cherone. Save your money. I'm sure there are a lot of "tribute" bands down there in Australia who will portray Mr. Roth a lot better than Cherone will.

He's not going to pull off "Everybody wants some" or "Runnin with the devil" or "Ice cream man". He's not going to pull off Sammy's stuff either. Believe me, after people see this show, they are going to be hugely disappointed. I tell what, even if the album sells well, after the tour it will be all over. Van Halen is when Dave comes out, 3 or 4 songs into the set, sticks that microphone towards the audience, and the place goes wild. That's the heart of the show. That was the part that linked all the tours together. That was the defining point of a Van Halen show. Everyone was a community. A Van Halen concert was a tribal coming together.

I want you to see the "real" Van Halen. You have waited your whole life for this, and I don't want you to settle for 3rd best. Just be a little more patient. Patience is a virtue my "down under" fellow Van halen friend. Don't cheapen your wait with a "tribute" concert. Demand the real Van Halen. I am fighting for you. I am fighting for all Van halen fans. I am fighting for the quality music that they once made.

Don't be fooled by the rumors, it is 1986 all over again. Eddie did not get Gary Cherone because he thought he was a good singer. Eddie got Gary Cherone because he wanted someone he could manipulate. He couldn't control Roth. He tried to control Sammy, but Sammy in many ways, took a hike (and justifiably so). When Gary auditioned for Eddie, he saw the humbleness, the will to conform to Eddie's instructions. Eddie wants the singer in this band to have the same role that Mikey and all non-family members have, no role at all. This is a family band now. From management down. Ever work for a mom-and-pop store? Well that's what is going to happen to Gary. He is going to put in his time and get shafted at the end.

Don't buy into this. It is a scheme. The fans have been tricked and deceived. Demand the "real"Van Halen and it will come to pass. A few years ago I didn't even care about the whole thing. I thought "no way" would Roth ever be back in that band. Well, he was back in that band, 4 months maybe, but it happened. It will happen again too. It's not like the guy cheated with Eddie's wife or killed a member of his family. It's all little shit. All it takes is a phone call:

"Hey Ed, sorry about the 'hip' thing"

"Hey Dave, sorry about the 'cup' thing"

"Hey Ed, want to kick some butt?"

"Well Dave, it would make the fans happy!"

COME ON ED, DAVE... pick up the phone, make it happen. Life is too short for this crap. Talk to Paul McCartney, Robert Plant or Steven Tyler. Get it going man. You know deep inside it will happen. So come on, Remember your roots. Eddie if Dave pisses you off again, call him out on it. Let US know, we will keep him in line. Same for you Dave. Don't blow everything on your 2 ego's. Swallow your pride a little. Let by-gones be by-gones. Quit sweating the little stuff. Don't you see how much better and bigger you would be? Quit fooling yourself with "Mach III". Get back to the real deal! A fan-base is a delicate and precious commodity. Don't mess with it!

THE HYPOCRISY METER

Someone said:

Again, will you be as critical of Dave if he mud-slings in his book as you have been of VH for attacking Dave? My Roth-Fan Hypocrisy meter is in the red zone....

I think what happened in 86 and what happened in 96 is two different monsters all together. Like you, I gave VH and Dave both a fair chance at the beginning, although we came to separate conclusions. I was severely disappointed when I heard that Samuel Hagar was going to be the new singer. I bought 5150 and I didn't like it. I haven't liked anything really that much by VH since then.

I think that Sam was a bad fit for VH. They just didn't mix well. I heard a Sam song the other day called (I think) "4 Sides Of Love" which in my opinion showcased his voice much better than the VH sound did. I still don't think Sam is the man, but he does sound better on that song.

Today we have a choice. Either support whatever Ed dishes out or demand the real VH. The last 11 years for VH have been wasted in my opinion and any further support of them using the VH name is a crime. I would wait before you judge Roth until you hear exactly what he has to say. I don't speak for him, Slawterhouse doesn't speak for him and neither does MTV. I think a lot of that is advertising hype. We will see. He certainly has every right to tell his side of the story.

Will he say, "The 1997 Eddie is not the same as the 1984 Eddie", "Eddie can't play guitar anymore", "I'm going to go over there and kick Alex's ass", and will he get on TV, suck in his cheeks (like Ed did to him) and say "You Fucking better!"?

I think what he will right will be much more defensive than cheap-shots. It's about time he spoke, the man deserves his day in court and everyone has the right to write their story.

Regardless of what happens, I will support only one VH, the original "real" VH. In 86 it was mutual, in 96 Dave wanted back in, the fans wanted him back and he was back in. I would consider buying any EVH album other than one released under the VH name. Dave can't use the name, why should Ed get that right.

Jon Bon Jovi changed his band to "Jon Bon Jovi" from "Bon Jovi" and it was his name also. Why can't Eddie change "Van Halen" to "Eddie Van Halen"? He calls all the shots anyway. I wonder why he won't.

The bottom line answer to your question is this: It doesn't matter what Eddie said to Dave and it doesn't matter what Dave said to Ed. What matters is the publicity stunt that Ed pulled on me, a fan, in '96 by getting me interested in VH once again and then pulling a "Bait and Switch", telling me Dave was never in and to support the new VH with wonder-boy Cherone instead. I ain't no chump and I will never buy another VH album without Roth again!

THE VAN HALEN "GRUNTS"

Two different VH fans were discussing Gary Cherone:

From the way some of you guys talk, he is Jesus Christ Superstar, not a role he played. I just think you get carried away sometimes saying he so good and he will add so much to Halen.

Why are you shiting on the new album before its even released? In my opinion, as long as Eddie, Mike and Alex are the backbone, it doesn't matter who sings...even Wolfie could sing! It'll be a great album no matter what! They've never put out a shitty album and never will! Van Halen has given up on trying to please the un-pleasable former fans like you.

This is what you are up against Gary Cherone "illusionists" and others hoping for the best. This is what is known as the VH "grunt" fans. These grunts make up the base of the VH fans. They don't care who sings. They don't listen for a message or lyrical content, they don't listen for the vocal melody, and I really don't think they listen at all, at least not to the whole song. Put away your hopes for a new sound/level/change. It's all about keeping the grunts happy.

Eddie could release an album of pure keyboards and people like this would buy it and rave about it being the best guitar work by VH yet. They are the ones at the concert yelling "Eddie, Eddie, Eddie", they buy the album for the VH name, the pretty logo. It's all about the name. It doesn't matter if it's Gary Cherone or Gary Coleman singing, it's all about:

as long as Eddie, Mike and Alex are the backbone, it doesn't matter who sings...even Wolfie could sing. It'll be a great album no matter what! They've never put out a shitty album and never will!

You will bump into him in your record store. You will ask if he liked the song Gary wrote on the album and he will reply that he didn't know the words, but he does like the echo Ed uses on the solo. They don't care man, they don't care about Gary or Sam or Dave. These are the grunts. These are Ed's aces in the hole. He knows he can do whatever he wants. He knows he can always depend on the grunts.

Ultimately though, this will backfire on Ed. This is exactly what will destroy him and the group. The quality of music will suffer, because it is not about the quality of the singer, it is not about the chemistry, it is not even about the quality of the song. To Ed, it has become; who can he get along with, who can he manipulate, who will make him look good in history. It is about the quality of the logo, being able to use the genuine VH name brand on their album.

To make it with three different singers will be the ultimate prize for Ed. It will mean the band is about HIM. His ego will be satisfied. Fuck the fans, fuck Dave, fuck Sammy, and yes fuck Gary, he will become expendable as the rest. The band is now, about Ed. No one else. Don't ever forget it. It's not about change, it's not about the next level, it's not about the music, it's not even about money, it's all about Ed's ego, period.

The "grunts", "sheep", "Eddie-lovers"; they follow VH blindly. They support Eddie Van Liar and Eddie Van Asshole no matter. The quality of music does not count. The quality of singer does not count. The way they treat their fans does not count. The name is ALL that counts. Eddie is all that counts.

Ed will continue to lose the more diverse fans, the ones that listen for the whole package. He will gradually lose all respect of the music community (he is now seen as the "spoiled kid" of the music biz). He will lose airplay. He will lose clout. The music just won't be happening anymore, and one day he will wake up and find out that the grunts alone are not enough to carry the band anymore. Yes, even the VH name, will one day, prove to be the ultimate burden.

You can keep the name, you can keep the logo, but Ed, that doesn't mean you can keep the fans. Ooops, I mean... 'cept for the grunts.

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