"Eddie Van Halen on Rocking Sober..." (Update: Mike Anthony response)

[Commander PK]

I love the guy, but I wonder sometimes if he realizes how condescending he comes off. New music with Dave would be great, and another tour next year. Pretty much opens up about everything.

http://www.vhnd.com/

Eddie Van Halen on Rocking Sober, Avoiding Beef and the Future of Van Halen

Guitarist speaks out about new album, departure of Michael Anthony and his fresh start

DAVID WILDPosted Jun 01, 2009 4:10 PM

Backstage in the celebrity green room of Spike’s Guys Choice Awards in a booth next to his fellow honoree Clint Eastwood sits Eddie Van Halen — rock’s ultimate guitar slinger — with his fiancé Janie Liszewski as he prepares to make an exceedingly rare public speaking engagement. In a star-studded night that will find Mel Gibson getting called “sugar tits” by Brad Pitt and Halle Berry making out with Jamie Foxx, Van Halen provides the clear emotional highlight when he receives Spike’s first ever Guitar God Award from Robert Downey Jr. and is called “a rock & roll revolutionary.” Shortly before taking the stage at Sony Studios in Culver City, Van Halen spoke exclusively to Rolling Stone about his fears of accepting the honor: “I never go to anything. That’s why I’m actually a little nervous to get up there,” he says. “I don’t even know what to say. Especially sober, ****.”

"Eddie, this is not the first time you’ve been called a god. But what did it feel like when you heard Spike wanted to give you the Guitar God Award — the first ever?"

Well, it’s a little overwhelming, I guess. I mean, who ever would have thought? I was seven years old when we came to America with my mom, my dad, my brother with 50 bucks and a piano. Who ever would have thought I would be a guitar god, you know? If I’m a guitar god, then my son would be Jesus, right? That means on the next tour, he’d have to walk on water.

"The Van Halen tour was such a success. Were you pleasantly surprised?"

You never know. But I do know this. Janie and I are getting married on the 27th of June, and then we’ll go on a honeymoon. Then Dave, Wolfie, Alex and I are going into the studio and record some new music and go on tour about a year from now.

"Did the Van Halen tour help fire up some new musical ideas?"

No, I am always writing, you know. But we’re a true band now. It wasn’t just a reunion one-off thing. I’ve already gone to Dave’s house four or five times over the last month. I’ve got so much music. It’s just trying to figure out what Dave’s into because we haven’t written together in a long time. But it’s great. It feels like we’ve always felt in the beginning. But I’m sober, so it’s different. He’s sober, so it’s different. It’s a wonderful feeling.

"Does getting married again and being so happy these days help or hurt musically? Because some people write better tortured but you seem to be in a great place these days."

Tortured, no. I started drinking when I was 12 years old because I was nervous. And my dad gave me a shot of vodka and it was a wonder drug. It really worked for a lot of years. But I certainly didn’t drink to make music or to write. It had nothing to do with it. I just get nervous. I’m nervous now. But I stopped drinking over a year ago, and I’m done with it. For 42 years, I drank. It just shows you anything is achievable. Just like coming here with 50 bucks and a piano.

"When I saw you guys on tour, the thing I got from it was that in rock & roll there’s the self-destruction myth that people like — the Kurt Cobain way to go. And this was the opposite. It was a statement about survival and growing up."

Thank God I caught it in time.

"Have you heard Chickenfoot?"

No, I haven’t.

"No particular interest?"

Well, I don’t listen to anything really, for one.

"You make your own music?"

Yeah, I’m too busy doing my own thing. I wish them well. The funny thing is that everyone who quits the band always claims they got fired by me. Hey, I’m not the bad guy here. When Hagar left the band, Mike went with him. Then when we get back together with Dave, and all of a sudden, he wants back in. It’s like, “No, dude, you quit the band.” So my son became the bass player. But we didn’t give Mike the boot to have my son play. He was around. We didn’t have a bass player. “Hey Wolfie, you want to play?”

"It must be pretty mind-blowing to play with your kid."

He was only 15 years old. “You want to play bass?” “Sure.” We did not have a bass player. That’s the only thing really that bothers me about people acting like I’m the bad guy. I just sit in the studio and write music. I’m not some tyrant. I’ve got no beef with anybody. I wish them well. I hope they are … I don’t know what a “supergroup” means, but I hope they accomplish what they’re setting out to do.

"There was a time when people were writing the guitar off. What do you think of the fact that kids are playing guitar in all these games and guitar is being rediscovered by a new generation?"

When was guitar written off?

"Well, first there was the time when the synthesizer era…"

Guitar is one thing you can’t synthesize.

[Busch1724]

Love the guitar playing, probably my personal favorite ever. However, he is a lying SOB.

[Commander PK]

Love the guitar playing, probably my personal favorite ever. However, he is a lying SOB.

Well, he really understates the Mike Anthony issue. Mike hardly even played on the Van Halen III album, and he didn't leave when Sammy left the first time in '96. He is skipping over 15 years worth of what has become common knowledge on the fall out now, and trying to make it seem like after the '04 reunion tour was when everything went south.

It's also common knowledge now that the only reason Mike was in on that '04 reunion tour, was because Sammy wouldn't do the tour without him.

[Commander PK]

I also don't believe him when he states he doesn't listen to anything. I don't believe him when he states he hasn't listened to Chickenfoot either.

The "I don't know what a supergroup is" is a somewhat veiled pot shot at those guys also. In a way, by dissing Sammy and Mike, he is dissing his band's legacy a bit as well. Clearly there is a still a lot of bad blood there, even if publicly things seem to be "cordial."

[USS Redskins]

It's been years since I bought a CD but this and the STP album next year will be the first and second....

The show was great last year. Eddie is the best guitarist, hands down. He has more ability in one of his butt hairs than most guys have in their whole bodies. He is a guitar god.

I am just glad the real Van Halen is together again. Van Hagar was totally lame and I wont even comment on the other guy.

[Busch1724]

Billy Sheehan has stated that Eddie wanted him in the band in the early 80s. Eddie has wanted to get rid of him for some time. Mike just seems like a nice guy and got jacked over by the brothers.

[codeorama]

I've never understood the problem with VH without Mike Anthony... Don't get me wrong, he contributed a great deal with the background vocals... but, VH is Eddie and Dave IMO. I do like a lot of what they put out as Van Hagar, but it wasn't the same, different group. Mike Anthony is not a dealbreaker IMO. Eddie is a badass guitarplayer/songwriter. Maybe he is lacking as a person... but I don't really care.

I think a lot of people just don't like Eddie as a person and use the lack of MA as an excuse. Oh well...

Chickenfoot? I gave it a listen. No thanks.

[TheLongshot]

I also don't believe him when he states he doesn't listen to anything. I don't believe him when he states he hasn't listened to Chickenfoot either.

I don't know. I know a lot of musicians who don't really listen to other music. Some just don't have the time considering that they are dealing with their own stuff.

The "I don't know what a supergroup is" is a somewhat veiled pot shot at those guys also. In a way, by dissing Sammy and Mike, he is dissing his band's legacy a bit as well. Clearly there is a still a lot of bad blood there, even if publicly things seem to be "cordial."

Course, Sammy doesn't like that Chickenfoot is being called a Supergroup either. He thinks it puts too much pressure on them.

[Commander PK]

I don't know. I know a lot of musicians who don't really listen to other music. Some just don't have the time considering that they are dealing with their own stuff.

I realize that, but Ed hasn't exactly been dealing with "his own" stuff in oh, what 5 years if you include the 3 ho hum tracks on Best of Both Worlds.

Course, Sammy doesn't like that Chickenfoot is being called a Supergroup either. He thinks it puts too much pressure on them.

and I agree, but coming from Eddie...I don't know I thought it sounded like a pot shot. Like I said, I love the guy, I've loved his music ever since my Uncle gave me his worn out cassette copy of Van Halen II when I was 7 or 8 years old. Watch interviews with Eddie, old and new, and a lot of times he does really come off condescending, almost like "what kind of dumb question is that?" condescending.

[Commander PK]

I've never understood the problem with VH without Mike Anthony... Don't get me wrong, he contributed a great deal with the background vocals... but, VH is Eddie and Dave IMO. I do like a lot of what they put out as Van Hagar, but it wasn't the same, different group. Mike Anthony is not a dealbreaker IMO. Eddie is a badass guitarplayer/songwriter. Maybe he is lacking as a person... but I don't really care.

I think a lot of people just don't like Eddie as a person and use the lack of MA as an excuse. Oh well...

Chickenfoot? I gave it a listen. No thanks.

agreed with everything, except for the Chickenfoot assessment. Everything I've heard sounds very promising, and they recorded the album at Skywalker sound, so you know it's going to sound great cranked to 11.

[codeorama]

agreed with everything, except for the Chickenfoot assessment. Everything I've heard sounds very promising, and they recorded the album at Skywalker sound, so you know it's going to sound great cranked to 11.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't "hate it", but it didn't sound like anything new or groundbreaking, Like Mastodon's Crack the Skye, which was amazing and I still can't stop listening to it. It also made me go back and re-visit Leviathan.

[BigMike619]

****a Wolfgang. Michael Anthony was the background vocal and always entertaining bassist to me. that JD bass is famous.

[Commander PK]

Don't get me wrong, I didn't "hate it", but it didn't sound like anything new or groundbreaking, Like Mastodon's Crack the Skye, which was amazing and I still can't stop listening to it. It also made me go back and re-visit Leviathan.

"Crack the Skye" is pretty groundbreaking. I've been into Mastodon since "Remission" and "March of the Fire Ants" Great stuff.

Chickenfoot's new album is just good, old fashioned hard rock. Nothing new, no gimmicks. They are doing it for fun, not money, and not recognition. All preliminary reports are pretty much saying that the album is some of the best work any of them have ever done, even given their pasts.

"Down the Drain" was recorded in one take. The wrote it on the spot, and from what I've heard, it's one of the best songs on the album.

[Commander PK]

****a Wolfgang. Michael Anthony was the background vocal and always entertaining bassist to me. that JD bass is famous.

I agree, but I would have to say that Mike was/is definately the most expendable member of the original 4. In a perfect world, none of them are expendable, but it's not a perfect world.

[TheLongshot]

I realize that, but Ed hasn't exactly been dealing with "his own" stuff in oh, what 5 years if you include the 3 ho hum tracks on Best of Both Worlds.

That is an assumption because he hasn't RELEASED any music. It doesn't mean he hasn't been writing or playing around with musical ideas.

In any case, I know a lot of people who don't like to do their job for recreation and prefer to do other things. Maybe Eddie is one of those people.

and I agree, but coming from Eddie...I don't know I thought it sounded like a pot shot. Like I said, I love the guy, I've loved his music ever since my Uncle gave me his worn out cassette copy of Van Halen II when I was 7 or 8 years old. Watch interviews with Eddie, old and new, and a lot of times he does really come off condescending, almost like "what kind of dumb question is that?" condescending.

I'm not defending Eddie. The guy definitely has an ego and has come off as a jerk in the past, including all the **** that has gone down with Sammy and Michael Anthony.

[Chachie]

Michael Anthony's background vocals were and are a signature of the Van Halen sound. It was a noticeable down point of seeing them live with Wolfgang on bass.

[Busch1724]

Not only do you have someone like Ed who doesn't tell the truth, Sammy doesn't say much that is true either. He's the king of hyperbole.

[Rocky21]

"The funny thing is that everyone who quits the band always claims they got fired by me. Hey, I’m not the bad guy here. When Hagar left the band, Mike went with him. Then when we get back together with Dave, and all of a sudden, he wants back in. It’s like, “No, dude, you quit the band.”

Revisionist history?

[Busch1724]

I'll never forget the MTV interview they did after the 1996 fiasco. Al and Ed (with his new glasses) sitting in chairs all serious and bullyish saying to Dave and Sam they better be wearing a cup next time they run into him. That was the moment I realized Ed is delusional. To top is off Al sits there the whole time looking all tough and waiting to pounce like a cat.

[Busch1724]

"The funny thing is that everyone who quits the band always claims they got fired by me. Hey, I’m not the bad guy here. When Hagar left the band, Mike went with him. Then when we get back together with Dave, and all of a sudden, he wants back in. It’s like, “No, dude, you quit the band.”

Revisionist history?

What's funny is that is the way Edward is: "Why me?". He plays it off and the press (music rags) let him get away with it because he sells magazines, just ask Guitar World.

Anyway, back around Balance it was about his new sobriety, during the '96 fiasco it was about his hip, during Van Cherone it was about sobriety, can't blame him over the cancer, and when talking about singers it's "why am I the bad guy here?".

[88Comrade2000]

Hey, getting one more album with Dave on lead; is good enough for me.

[Busch1724]

Hey, getting one more album with Dave on lead; is good enough for me.

Agreed, they will finally have some swagger back. I know some will think I'm crazy, but I think some of Dave's lyrics are genius and can't wait to see what kind of fun stuff he'll come up with...barring Ed doesn't have shackles on Dave and just lets Dave be Dave.

[Commander PK]

Agreed, they will finally have some swagger back. I know some will think I'm crazy, but I think some of Dave's lyrics are genius and can't wait to see what kind of fun stuff he'll come up with...barring Ed doesn't have shackles on Dave and just lets Dave be Dave.

I think that Ed will let Dave do whatever he wants. This is pretty much Van Halen's last shot at doing anything new that will be taken seriously. If they screw this up, and the album ends up sucking, that's probably the end of the group. Kinda like Metallica with Death Magnetic. After St. Anger they HAD to come back with something great, and they did. Van Halen has to do the same.

[Commander PK]

Mike was compelled to respond, and states he never quit.

http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/michael-anthony-i-never-quit-van-halen-208649

[zoony]

= (a) the most over-rated guitar player of all time and ( the biggest egomaniac ever