Gary Cherone on fronting Van Halen
A couple of us from the Van Halen News Desk just had the fortune of seeing Extreme perform in last week in Phoenix. Their show was absolutely killer! They’re an unbelievably talented band and one of the top rock acts around. They put on a really fun show.
KNAC: What did you learn or take away from your experience, with regards to being in Van Halen?
CHERONE: Well looking back on the three years I spent with Van Halen I guess, if I had to do it all over again I think I would have preferred to tour with them and then put out a record…it would have been a better idea to establish myself first and then hit the studio with the band. At the time it may have looked odd on paper but it actually worked live! I made a concerted effort to do the old Van Halen tunes that Sammy was not doing. I wanted to do the deep cuts…as a live act we did songs their fans had not heard in years! I don’t however; think we made a great record. I think their were some great ideas and some little gems but it was not a great record. I had fun but at times it was like being a stranger in a strange land.
KNAC: How intimidating was it to be in the band?
CHERONE: It was very intimidating. Most of the time the criticism just rolled off my back, but if I had a bad night or my throat hurt…sometimes it would get to me but what are you gonna do? I will say, each night when we came into town I would hear the radio djs take their shots at me and the band but at the end of most of the shows the same djs would be back stage and almost apologize to me or at the very least admit that the show was way better than they had originally thought.
Read the full interview at KNAC.com.
Filed under: Gary Cherone
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July 21st, 2009 at 10:20 am
Great Cherone! I like him. He did a great job with Van Halen! Love it!
July 21st, 2009 at 10:28 am
There was some great guitar work on that album, but that was it. Gary sounded raspy and at times just screaming at the mic. Not a great choice for a frontman. The guy is a great song writer but not a good singer unless in a lower key. I look for great things to come with Dave fronting again. Other than the great guitar riffs, it ain’t rocket science and I think Dave has finally learned that it is Ed’s band and he is just happy to be there. It’s unfortunate about Mike, but as they say, the show must go on. Ed would have put Wolf on percussion if Alex had bailed to be a full time minister. I look for great things to come in 2010.
July 21st, 2009 at 10:36 am
Well, I always liked Gary with Extreme and wondered why he sounded less than stellar on that VH record. He’s probably right in that they should have hit the road right away, then record. It always sounded unfinished to me, like demo cuts.
I haven’t picked up the then Extreme as of yet. The couple of songs I did hear didn’t get me that excited. Nuno is always fun to listen to though.
July 21st, 2009 at 10:41 am
Thanks for the Gary news! I really believe that he is one of the true good guys in rock n roll! He just didn’t stand a chance as the front man of Van Halen. At that point in the band’s career I’m not sure that anyone would have stood a chance other than Dave. I mean so many of us were geared up to welcome Dave back, especially after the MTV appearance, then things went south in a hurry. Next thing we knew there is an announcement that Gary Cherone has been named the new lead singer.
I remember all those rumors floating around as to who they would get after Gary was fired. Oh excuse me, quit! lol The rumor mill had David Coverdale of Whitesnake, Sebastian Bach, and/or Cory Glover of In Living Color, to name a few. None of those guys would have stood a chance either instead of Gary or following after Gary. It wouldn’t have mattered.
It really would have been interesting to see what would have happened if VH would have released that supposed second album with Gary. The second album that was allegedly already recorded at the time he left the band. I read somewhere there was a press photo of Gary with long, bleached blond hair, a la Dave and Sammy, that he grew for the second album and tour.
Oh well, Life goes on and it’s great that Extreme is back together and still rockin out!
July 21st, 2009 at 11:38 am
gary gave a good effort, it just didnt translate into a commercial success. it’s not his fault at all…
July 21st, 2009 at 11:47 am
Dan– True true:). I like the way you think.
Can we just talk about tequila some more..?
July 21st, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Another interview with Gary, but back in ‘98, good stuff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h27wznTwT10
July 21st, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Some people are just made to be in one band.
I think gary is perfect for extreme. Not a huge fan,
but the guy can sing, and if you dont believe me check out: “Extreme III: three sides to every story.”
Gary being asked to join VH was not a good decision because a “third” lead singer (no matter how talented) will NOT be accepted with open arms by die hard fans (which many of us here are). Fans of sammy had to deal with the fact that he would no longer be in VH and telling them we got the guy from extreme to sing with us now was like: What?
Even I felt that way back then. I heard VHIII maybe 2-3 times and that was enough. Some people say it’s a lost classic (like john corabi singing on the crue album after vince left) but I beg to differ…and obviously so does gary. But whats done is done. It turned out that even though the album bombed gary was a class act and bowed out gracefully. I truly hope the best for the guy. He did his best to work with a tough situation and got through it. I hope the tour with extreme continues to be a success. They deserve it. Shit….all rockers do!
July 21st, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Gary at least gave the Van Halen fans what they deserved in concert. Classic Van Halen Tunes. Something Sam (so called classy guy) Totally ignored.
Gary was dead on about DJ’s and radio stations not backing him or the album!
Outside of that: ANY Van Halen is better than NO Van Halen!!!!!
July 21st, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Seriously… of the footage I have seen of Van Halen live, I think the 1998 concert done in Australia was probably the best performance I’ve seen front to back by Van Halen.
Gary is correct. Probably would have been better to tour with them first, then cut the record.
There was so much energy on stage. Eddie was on fire! Mike was charged! Alex was solid!
Loved that Eddie and Mike took a line from why can’t this be love each. And having Mikey sing ‘Somebody Get Me A Doctor’ was a nice touch.
Gary did a GREAT job covering both Dave and Sammy.
Like his comment about the ‘little gems’ on the album. Unfortunetly, you can count them on your left hand… missing a finger and half a thumb.
July 21st, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Interesting statement by Gary. I think VHIII is a real guitar playing album. The gem nobody talks about is Dirty Water Dogs (a hit tune without the long intro). They should have done another album. VH had great potential with him. Pound for pound, he is a better singer than dave and sammy combined.
July 21st, 2009 at 3:22 pm
I think Mark Sachs nailed it…I really , really liked the song ” Without You ” …thought it ranked as classic VH. And everyone needs to quit bashing Dave…Without Him there would be no VH 1 thru 6. Eddie or not a band relies on all of it’s members to create a sound and a vibe and that’s it.No way around it.Period.
July 21st, 2009 at 3:58 pm
I was front row at the 88 Live In Sydney concert (right in front of Mikey) and it was a fantastic concert. They were a great band live with Gary and it certainly made me go back to III trying to find these great songs they played on the night.
Gary has some serious pipes - never heard someone sing so loud and yet keep it clear.
July 21st, 2009 at 4:48 pm
“Without You” is a kick ass song that is truly underrated!!!
July 21st, 2009 at 4:49 pm
I saw Van Halen in auguest 1998 with Kenny Wayne Shepard, It was the first and only time I saw VH. They opened with unchained and it was a good show. Sammy usually only played three dave era songs and they were, Aint talkin bout love, Panama and Jump. I think the record was over produced and the songs sounded like unfinished cuts glued together. does anyone agree?
July 21st, 2009 at 5:13 pm
That’s 98, Michael. Anyway, I totally agree with you, but here are some other points. I guess I’m just a VH snob, in that, yes it’s true that it takes all of the existing members of VH to make VH (and I don’t include Wolfie in that just yet), but this includes the Gary era as well. Look, one of the facinating things about a great mucisian like Ed, is that you can add a guy here, a gal there from time to time and great music will nevertheless emerge. Sure, I like it when my favorite band acheives commercial success without selling out, and VH has done that. But at the end of the day, I care about the music. For that matter, I think that III was a very good effort. Without You, One I want, From Afar, Once, Year to the Day, Ballot or the Bullet. That was a solid album and even though the shows were not sold out, I absolutely loved them. Year to the Day live…forget about it. The live performance of that song in Austrailia…that was stellar. Cherone is a bad ass for pulling it off the way he did. BUT, it’s time for Ed, Al, Dave, and Wolfie to put out a single or double album, tour it, and just jolt the music world with the energy and rock that it’s been missing for way too long. All hail to VH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 21st, 2009 at 5:21 pm
the 98 tour kicked ass in my opinion.Hearing “somebody get me a doctor” and “romeo delight” shake thru the building was incredible after years of hearing “why can’t this be love”and “finish what ya started”.VHIII was an eddie solo record, i thought, and he deserved to make one after 20 years of delivering the goods so to speak.He did exactly what he wanted to do regardless if it was popular or not.Like some people have stated,it was just bad timing after the dave mtv thing.Gary’s voice may have not suited vh but the guy tried his heart out to please hardcore fans and i appreciate him for it.Also extreme is one of the most incredible live acts you will ever see.
July 21st, 2009 at 6:58 pm
its about time (no pun intended) that we got some Gary news. like most of the above posters have already stated, Gary tried. and i think if VH3 would have been produced by someone who actually produced other rock records, it could have been much better, but even with that being said, no one really gave it a chance, or Gary for that matter because of the 1996 DLR tease.
July 21st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Where I thought Gary failed in Van Halen is as lyricist. His lyrics just didn’t fit on VH3. Some of those songs sound like they were wrote for Hagar’s vocals/lyrics and some don’t even sound like VH songs at all. In my opinion one of the best VH3 era songs was ‘That’s Why I Love You’ and from some bizarre reason it’s not on the album.
July 21st, 2009 at 8:11 pm
sam did running with the devil
he did jump
he did panama
he did aint talkin
and he did unchained
i think that is it
he did not want to play these songs as he wanted it to be a new band
i support this and if i were him i would not played any of the dave era stuff either. the comparisons were going to dog him in 86 anyway so again the van hagar catalog was strong enough for them to play non dave stuff
as for gary remember that edweird was blitzed out of his mind and i blame mike post for the mess too.
anyway you look at it was destined to fail
there are a few songs that have a van hagar feel to them
no classic vibe what so ever
i think it needed sammys and good producers imput to guide ed in the right direction not gonna happen
what i like about daves stuff is it is gritty and bluesy and more hard rock like pop and polished than with sam
but sam hits the harmonies with mike and that worked really well sammye even said it was ed’s solo disc
July 21st, 2009 at 9:03 pm
At that point in their carreer, no one could stand up to the paranoia of the Van Halen brothers. Michael was already a virtual outsider. Gary would never have been truly accepted into the band had it lasted. Twenty years after it all began, by 1998 Van Halen had turned into a reunion band: just listen to the concerts of that era: a little new, a lotta old. We can only hope that Van Halen will rise from the ashes with Diamond Dave at the helm. But I’m not holding my breath. I’m going to see Extreme tomorrow night here in Denver to enjoy the music and support Gary.
July 21st, 2009 at 10:21 pm
I was equally a fan of Extreme and Van Halen in the early 90’s, so I liked the choice of Gary (one of the few). Sure, I love Dave, but Dave wasn’t in the band, and neither was Sammy, so why the heck not someone like Gary? I might be the only person who feels this way, but I thought “Dirty Water Dog” was as good of a VH song as anything Sammy did, and I’m a big fan of a lot of the Sammy-era stuff. The album did feel half-baked overall, though.
I saw the VH3 tour twice (Cleveland and Denver), and being a big fan of unpredictable setlists, I loved the show. It was the best mix of the Sam & Dave eras that you will ever get to see, unless hell freezes over and they all tour together. On top of it all, I thought Gary crushed it vocally in Denver- I fell in love with “When It’s Love” all over again due to his performance.
Bottom line is that he wasn’t right for VH, but Gary strikes me as a good person, and Extreme really is the perfect fit for him. I get to see them tomorrow for the first time! I don’t give a crap who sings on the next VH album, just as long as there is one. 13 years is a flippin’ long time to wait.
July 21st, 2009 at 10:31 pm
i see what you are saying Mikey, its pretty obvious that Gary was trying too hard to fit in, instead of being himself and thats why i really wish they would have released that second album. if he would have been an equal in the band, we could have seen some good tunes. i think lyrically “The One I Want” and “Fire In The Hole” are the closest to Van-Hagar era stuff. Gary is a great song writer but hewas doomed before he got a chance to stretch out
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:16 am
“Amad says: Without You, One I want, From Afar, Once, Year to the Day, Ballot or the Bullet. That was a solid album and even though the shows were not sold out, I absolutely loved them. Year to the Day live…forget about it. The live performance of that song in Austrailia…that was stellar”.
You are writing words from my head, man. I can’t agree more!
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:27 am
III wasn’t such a bad record… but of course, fans expected to hear something different…because Gary is not Roth or Hagar…
live, Gary did a great job, even if turned out to be a Van Halen Karaoke Tour…
Gary’s only problem was the vocal difference with Hagar ( sammy has a higher pitch, more consistent…in fact many critics used to describe Gary “not as a singer, but a screamer)
The Roth tunes, turned out pretty well.
Gary, in my opinion did an awesome job… unfortuntely, he has not been able to express his talent completely…don’t forget, that in the end, VAN HALEN, it’s all about Eddie…
July 22nd, 2009 at 1:28 am
saw them in Dallas in ‘98, that show rocked!
July 22nd, 2009 at 3:28 am
I really enjoy III as an album. I also have some of the setlist for one of the Sydney shows in 98 - its great stuff. It was hard to think that Ed had pushed Mike out of that record when you hear (and see) the great relationship they had on stage. Many say Gary didn’t suit Van Halen, I just think it was a bad time for him to come into the band. Can you imagine if Mitch Malloy had said yes? He looks so much like Sammy, the comparisons would’ve been awful.
I think that the shows spoke for themselves. Gary did some really great spins on the Sammy material (Right Now, etc) and gave fans some old classics that had been forgotten by Sammy - I’m the One and Romeo Delight sounded pretty smoking. I just wish they’d have come to England. Or at least rescheduled the cancelled shows.
July 22nd, 2009 at 6:46 am
It’s funny, take a look at the picture at the top of this story. The Brothers look as happy as Larry… but take a look at Mike and Gary. A picture can say more than words…
July 22nd, 2009 at 6:59 am
I think Gary is probably a really nice guy. That really comes through in the interview.
He wasn’t really in a strong bargaining position when he was with VH. He seemed happy to do what he was told. In that way, I think he got the gig because Ed knew that Gary would do what he was told.
Given this, Ed got what he wanted, like Axl gets with his GNR. The result? Self-indulgent, over-produced music that people can’t relate to. Music that bears no resemblance to their proud legacys because a singular vision is narrower than a full bands.
I think Ed showed that he relates best to Sammy’s voice because he tried SO hard to make Gary sound like Sammy. If he had of written in Dave’s lower registers Gary could have “sung” rather than screeching to barely hit his higher notes.
Gary = good guy. No question. Good singer too, but a lousy lyric writer.
VHIII had a couple of moments on it where you could take a bit here and a bit there to make decent music with, but that’s it.
If Ed had of had a full-fledged partner like Sammy or Dave to say “that sucks/that’s good” where appropriate then I’m sure they could have made a good album.
Also, Ed’s bass playing tended to blend in too much with the guitars.
July 22nd, 2009 at 7:02 am
KARL - good point. But they were putting on their happy faces so that people would actually buy the crap they were trying to peddle. (Crap music, and utter B.S. about Sammy & Dave…)
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:03 am
I saw Van Halen twice on the III tour, in Hersey, Pa. and at the Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Va.. I knew something was up with the Hershey show when I got a letter in the mail about three weeks before the show. It stated “We want you to have a more intimate concert experience so the concert has been moved from the Hershey Park stadium to the Hersey Star pavilion.” As soon as, I read this I immediately knew that the translation of the letter was that they didn’t sell enough tickets for the show to be in the stadium.
The change in venue at Hersey was good for me because it put me on the second row. It was a great show and Gary did the best that he could do. It really was refreshing to hear the older stuff that hadn’t been played in concert for years. Plus, I took a camera and got some great shots of the band, especially of Eddie because I was on his side.
When I saw them at Hershey again in 2004, the show was in the stadium and it was pretty full. I remember looking at my girlfriend and saying the difference in the size of venues proves that people bought Van Halen with Sammy, but unfortunately not with Gary!
Oh well, the past is the past, let’s hope that we see a new album and tour. I really hope that Eddie proves so many of us wrong.
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:14 am
The only person to blame for VH3 is EVH. Cherone was mearly a puppet. If Dave has become a puppet then I suspect their next record (if there is a next) will just be an extension of the crapiness that was VH3.
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:22 am
I’ve seen every VH since “Women & Children” and musically the live music was fantastic. What “us” VH fans didn’t appreciate was his on stage moves. Gary was humping shit and very femine moves on stage. He looked incredibly awkward as a memeber of VH. I have to admit I was cringing a few times when I saw them in Vegas. A Van Halen frontman is a guys guy, dudes want to be him and girls want to sleep with them.
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:07 am
BTD:
Great post brother…
I have always been the one to state that a rock frontman should ALWAYS make some kind of impact. Dave to me (next to early jagger and tyler)was it…period. I’m not living in the past…i just havent seen that much energy…that much showmanship in quite sometime.
I never saw any concert for VHIII cause It just didnt intrest me at all. By that time to me…VH was done.
Never been a sammy fan, but when they got rid of him i was like: now what?
So you saw the “women and children first” tour? Wow…I’m so impressed right now! Love hearin’ the old stories about those classic concerts. “Musically the live music was fantastic” your quote and exactly what I’ve heard from others. What a lot of VHagar fans dont get is what went into those shows. The visuals…the rawness…the attiude…the fun! It was hard to see dave go and a new singer appear. (Yes…it really felt that quick) But my point is, die hard fans have hard times accepting change. If it was tough to accept sammy in the beginning….having a third lead singer was just ridiculous….
July 22nd, 2009 at 1:32 pm
I met Gary at a Kiss convention sum yrs ago and yes he’s a nice guy. VH3 sucked as did Dave’s Filthy pile of crap album some times you hit some times you sink. Just my 2 cents.
July 22nd, 2009 at 1:55 pm
I saw them twice on the VHIII tour in ‘98 and both shows rocked. I thought Gary did a good job with both Dave & Sammy era tunes, and I actually kind of liked some of the stuff on VHIII.
The stuff on III that wasn’t so good wasn’t entirely Gary’s fault anyway (if at all). Eddie wrote the stuff so if it sucked, he’s as much to blame as anyone.
I agree with many of the comments though - there was just no way a third singer would ever make it unless the album was the best thing they ever did. Neither Sammy fans nor Dave fans would be happy and the band had been around so long that its existing fanbase way, way outnumbered anyone that might have been a new fan because of VHIII.
July 22nd, 2009 at 3:56 pm
…what sachs said.
man - TEN years ago ! TEN!! sheesh !
poor gary never had a chance .. i know i was hard on him…
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Like Mark Sachs, I also attended the 1998 VHIII concert at Nissan Pavilion and the 2004 concert in Hershey. I left the 98 concert very sad. We had free lawn seats, and were told there was room for us to sit in the pavilion, another way of saying that there werent many tickets sold for this concert. Then the first encore was a song from VHIII, and people left in droves. I couldnt believe how VH fell out of favor with their fans…
The 2004 concert in Hershey was a huge contrast - it was one of the happiest times I had at a concert. The weather was perfect. As we were taking the tram to the stadium, we could hear the band taking a sound check playing Humans Being. Ed was actually smiling, and talking more in one concert than I had heard him talk the prior 4 live concerts that I had attend combined. The whole band was happy, and it showed.
I then saw them the next month in St Paul, MN. Not the same happy band from just a month ago. It was all business and not any smiling and laughing amongst the band…
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Great posts guys! Gary was and is a great talent. But being tossed into the fray as the 3rd frontman wasn’t going fly period. Also, because he was a little “odd” or a bit “different” on stage folks just savaged VH III. The material from III I really liked.. it was WAY different than anything VH had put out before. The fact that ED forged a new path with this record is awesome I have always respected Ed’s desire to change and at the same time remain relevant.
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:48 pm
waiting for VH_IV_
July 24th, 2009 at 2:02 am
How many more are going to come on this thread and say VHIII suffered because fans weren’t prepared to accept another front man. Wakey, wakey guys, it tanked because it sucked! With the exception of Without You the record was a turd. And much of that turdiness was due to Gary’s thin, strangled, flat and/or screeching vocals. And his uncomfortably gay stage moves wouldn’t have done the band any favours, either.
July 24th, 2009 at 5:14 am
It didn’t suck too much Karl, it doesn’t really compete with other VH albums but it is actually, to me, enjoyable to listen to once you get rid of the idea of the VH history or how tired Cherone seemed at the time. This was a rebound album, a quick fling to fill the split of Hagar - you have to admit, VHIII was pretty much like a one night stand in comparison to the long relationship Ed had with Dave and Sammy.
July 24th, 2009 at 5:43 am
At least karl is being honest. A majority said the same thing. Compared to all the others….it was def the red headed stepchild.
BUT I do believe karl that a good percentage of WHY it didnt do well was because there WAS a 3rd singer. Lets be honest here. Back in the 90’s there werent many people who liked extreme. “More than words” was their #1 hit and it wasnt a rocker ok. I remember back then “Guns n Roses” “Metallica”
“Anthrax” etc were what people were into hardcore. Not many rockers welcomed extreme with open arms. They were kinda lumped into a group with winger,poison,and other hair metal bands. Now please believe me…i’m not knockin’ cherone or extreme. Just trying to make it a point to say that when a lot of people heard the NEW lead singer of VH was the same guy that sang more than words…..it was a little hard to swallow.
July 24th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
I should probably point out that I take no pleasure in saying unkind things about Gary as he seems like really nice guy and I really like extreme.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Gary seems like a great guy, but nobody, and I mean nobody thinks that is a good album outside a few die hards on a Van Halen message board/fan site.
VHIII is an average album for any other hard rock band, and is sub par for a band of Van Halen’s stature.
Like him in Extreme however, and their new album is pretty good.
July 25th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
If you think “Dirty Water Dog” sucks than you are deaf. That tune rocks. VHIII is not a commercial recording because Ed was branching out and writing music to the lyrics (as compared to the way it was usually done). The writing was very much inspired by Brian May. I guess he sucks too. It was a total guitar players recording. Too many of you have simple minded pop ears looking for easy ear candy.
July 26th, 2009 at 2:29 am
1st of all Gary didn’t fail in Van Halen. He was the frontman for 3 years, they put out an album that had some decent solid tracks, his singing was very good, Ed was amazing on it. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s a solid album. They toured with Gary and he was amazing and brought a lot of energy every night. What failed here is that the fans, media failed to accept a third lead singer in Van Halen. It could have been anyone, they were not going to accept it.
I am sick of people still questioning this some 11 years later. He was a good fit for the band but the fans, media spit what could have been a great “3rd” era in the bands history out the door.
I hope some day in some capacity those “finished” songs from the 2nd album with Gary can be heard.
He is a great frontman, Extreme’s new album after 13 years “Saudades de Rock” is a totally amazing album. One of their best discs, and that is just a warmup to.
July 26th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Rickie, Dirty Water Dog was OK but it would have been a lot better if the singer didn’t sound as if he’d tied his tie too tight. Good solo, though.
No, it was nothing to do with that ‘3rd singer’ cop out. Album sucked, end of story.
Yeah, Saudades de Rock is a cracker. Hope they stay together for a few more albums. Nuno is just brilliant.
July 27th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
I especially dig this great photo of Gary & Nuno.
July 29th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
I like to compare III to Fair Warning. It was the Album that sold the least during Dave’s time but if your a musician you know it was Eddie’s masterpiece on guitar. Plus at the time music was going through another change so Gary had to fight that too. Please push your kids to rock.
July 30th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
atti your still alive, check the pm on vht
July 30th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Could not have said it better Kerndawg!
July 31st, 2009 at 2:06 am
Gary Cherone has gotten back to the band he belongs in. Extreme. BTW, is Nuno Bettencourt ever gonna get the fucking respect he deserves???? The guy is a true guitar god and a musical genius, pick up any album he has ever done, it’s just simply superb. He can do anything musically well, sing, play guitar, drums, bass, more and more.
I love Eddie Van Halen, while Van Halen fans were happy to see the band together again, I know I am happy that Extreme is making new music again.
Saudades de Rock is just really, really special.
Again, there is this guy named Nuno Bettencourt. Ed you da man but Nuno deserves some fucking respect.
September 19th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
While I’m reading most of this posts I start to understand that what one of my friends accussed me several years ago was true. Most of VH’s fans are “airheads” and that’s why they love the band. I argued with him a lot about his accusations, and tried to pinpoint in my favor some of the deepest songs VH has done, songs like “The Seventh Seal” from “Balance”. Also songs like “Don’t Tell me what Love can Do” from the same disc, “Dreams” from “5150″, etc. were some of my examples… I specially used on my point songs from “3″, like “Ballot or the Bullet”, “Once”, etc.
But now that I’m reading these comments I realize that he was right. From what I’m reading here what most “loyal fans” wanted was to hear old VH tunes, from the Dave era. O.K. Dave was a great showman and a decent singer, that’s it. There’s a comment by a Dan Russell that says that Gary is a great song writer, but not a great singer, well Dan I beg to differ, Gary’s been the best voice in VH history after Eddie’s Guitar. I’ve been a VH fan for almost 30 years and I’ve stood beside them on ALL the ups and downs. I loved the “3″ album, maybe it wasn’t the greatest VH CD in their career, but Gary did a great work on that disc, and the live material on concert was to die for, I sure loved the Dave era songs, tha Sammy era classics, and the explosive “3″ material. It may be that it was too heavy sounding for the fans or maybe too deep lyrically, or too political or maybe just the fact that there was not many party tunes, like “Jump”, sex oriented like “Hot For Teacher” or “Poundcake”, etc. but it was a great album from the band and Gary was a big part of that “success”. Well who knows, maybe the fans weren’t ready for that sound by that time. Anyway, I’m looking forward to what they have in store, be it with Dave or whoever they choose, and if they decide to follow Alex’s new beliefs and go full time christian I’ll be there waiting to support them. They have been a vital part of my life for such a long time, that they feel like family to me!!!
GOD bless the mighty VH forever!!!
November 18th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
I have to be one of the biggest fans out there, with the Van Halen proving it. Me personally, I thought VHIII was great, and I only wish Gary would’ve been giving the chance to record more. Rest on their laurels or do something Halen worthy. But don’t hang around too long trying to soak every last bit of the great legacy out of the toilet. However I DON’T look forward to Dave recording with the band. I feel a KISS moment coming if they do. However if they do record, they’d better make it good or the critics and some fans will bury them.