At 8pm tomorrow night, an interview with Sammy will be webcast live. Click here for details.

HARDKNOCKZ

October 3, 2000 - Yesterday marked the 4 year anniversary of David Lee Roth's "Open Letter" to his fans. No words can describe the feelings Dave expressed in his letter, so I'll just reprint it to refresh your memories:

October 2, 1996

To whom this may concern,

You've probably heard rumors that Van Halen and I will not be consummating our highly publicized reunion. And since neither Edward, Alex, nor Michael have corroborated or denied the gossip, I would like to go on record with the following: Eddie did it.

It's no secret, nor am I ashamed of my unbashed rapture at the prospect of resurrecting the original Van Halen. A "couple of songs" was all I knew for sure when Edward and I got together three months ago to write them. At that time, the band tip-toed around me sprinkling sentiments like, "this isn't sure thing, Dave: this doesn't mean anything long term, Dave; we're still auditioning other singers, Dave." I was cool. I was happy. I was in the moment.

The next thing I knew, the four of us are doing surprise walk-on at the MTV Awards. I told Edward at that time that I didn't think it was a good idea for the band to go to New York half-cocked; and that I didn't want to Imply by our presence that we were "back" if in fact it was just a quickle for old time's sake.

Well ain't hind sight always 20/20...Had I asked for something in writing, this wouldn't have happened. Had I acknowledged the occasional icy grip in my stomach, maybe this wouldn't have happened. But I didn't. Like I said--rapture. And, I love these guys. Do I trust them? That question never entered my mind.

Then, a series of events last week led me to discover at about the same time the press did, that the band, along with their manager, had already hired another lead singer, possibly as long as three months ago. I wonder how he felt the night of the MTV Awards. It certainly explains why on that night Edward looked as uncomfortable as a man who just signed a deal with The Devil. I can't think of a reason Edward would lie to me about being considered for the lead singer when he had already hired someone, and then let me appear on MTV under the impression that there was great likelihood that Van Halen and I were reuniting. As I said, I told him in no uncertain terms that I didn't want to do the MTV gig as a band unless we were in fact, a band.

And so I apologize to my fans and my supporters, and to MTV. I was an unwitting participant in this deception. It sickens me that the "reunion" as seen on MTV was nothing more than a publicity stunt. If I am guilty of anything, I'm guilty of denial. I wanted to believe it just as much as anyone else. Those who know me know that trickery was never my style.

Dave's open letter was followed by a press release from Eddie, Alex and Mike the next day:

The unnamed person mentioned in Van Halen's response was, of course, Gary Cherone. As you all know, things didn't work out with Gary and he departed from the band in November 1999. Van Halen have given their fans no official confirmation of who the new singer is. This "no news is good news" policy, and the silence of David Lee Roth has led fans to only one conclusion: Dave is back.

In an interview on WRIF's "Drew and Mike" show on October 4 (1996), Eddie revealed that Gary Cherone wasn't the only person (apart from David Lee Roth) in the running for the lead singer job. He declined to name the other singer who auditioned. Earlier this year, a Van Halen insider posted to the VHLinks Message Board that the other singer who auditioned for the job was a guy by the name of Mitch Malloy.

Mitch was recently interviewed by Andrew McNeice of melodicrock.com to promote his new album, Shine. Mitch spoke openly about his time with Van Halen in the interview, and revealed that he was actually given the job before Gary, but knocked it back. He also told Andrew that after he declinded the Van Halen gig, Eddie asked him who he thought should be the singer. Mitch suggested David Lee Roth!

The interview is a great read, and provides another insight into the whole 1996 reunion fiasco. If you've got a minute, you can read the interview here.

Finally, I'm asking all Van Halen fans to please keep your chins up. Although the band have been silent for almost a year, and many of you are unhappy about being kept in the dark, all the signs are still pointing to a new studio album being released soon. Some are saying it may be out in January 2001.

October 10, 2000 - David Coverdale has addressed the false rumours that he is the new singer for Van Halen. If you've been following this site since Gary Cherone departed, you'll know that the rumour was found to be false last December. Unfortunately, the climate of "no news is good news" from Van Halen led to the rumour resurfacing several times on message boards over the course of the year.

During a recent internet chat to promote his new album, Into The Light, the Van Halen rumour was brought up by a fan with the handle of "JohnBoy".

Eddie's wife, Valerie spent last week doing the media rounds to promote her latest film, Personally Yours, which aired on CBS last Sunday night. DJ Elliot brought up Van Halen with the question: "what's your husband up to these days?" Several listeners emailed me with reports about what was said, but none contained actual quotes, so it's hard for me to give an accurate report. That said, the impression the listeners got from the interview was that David Lee Roth is back in Van Halen and they will tour in 2001.

The official VH site has just added a new section titled The Pleasure Dome. The new section is an interactive message board, using the same software as the VHLinks, DLR Army and official DLR site message boards.

Finally for today, I'd like to wish David Lee Roth and my sister, Andrea a happy 46th birthday! (Andrea is 27). If you think Dave is only 45, read this!. It's still a relatively unknown fact that the band lied about their ages in the earlier years. Mike was born in 1954 (not 1955). Likewise with Dave. Alex and Edward were born in 1953 and 1955 respectively, not 1955 and 1957. I hope this helps to prevent my mailbox being filled tomorrow morning!

October 11, 2000 - Just in time for Diamond Dave's birthday comes the grand opening of the Van Halen Store. This all-new web site comes to you from the guys at The Inside magazine. To celebrate the opening, the store is offering a free "Van Halenized" mousepad (right) with your first order.

The Van Halen Store contains over 150 items of official merchandise, mostly from the David Lee Roth era. Other features include:

• Secure server. No credit card risk.
• A familiar shopping cart system. No more writing down item codes!
• A section dedicated to new items, including the newly remastered Roth-era albums for the cheapest price on the net.
• Catalog search.
• Comprehensive reviews of each issue of The Inside magazine.
• Apparel, caps, books, CDs, videos, posters, collectibles, accessories - everything a Van Halen fanatic would ever want!

The next time you need to make a Van Halen purchase, remember this address: www.vanhalenstore.com

October 16, 2000 - The hottest rumour going around at the moment is that David Lee Roth will do a surprise gig at the Viper Room in Hollywood, CA tonight.

The rumour first surfaced late last week over at KNAC.COM, then spread across the VH/DLR message boards over the weekend. The Viper Room's phone machine has a message stating that a "secret surprise special guest" will be opening for regular Monday night band, Metalshop.

Unlike the dozens of other rumours that have been going around this year, this one will quickly be proven true or false, tonight! Although the Viper Room is only a small club, it's likely that one or more friends of this site will be at the show. If it happens, look for a full report here after the gig!

October 17, 2000 - Yet another rumour bites the dust! David Lee Roth didn't appear at the Viper Room last night. The wait continues...

October 19, 2000 - On September 18 I posted part of a Sammy Hagar interview conducted by Rob Putnam for Music Connection magazine. The full interview hits the street today. Click here to find out where to pick up the magazine in your town. Rob has allowed me to reprint a couple of questions here as a sneak preview...

RP: Are there any songs that you're most proud of?

Hagar: I thought lyrically the Van Halen song "Right Now" was a classic statement. "I Can't Drive 55" was also a favorite. It wasn't a gimmick, it was about me being a car guy. The first song I ever wrote was "Bad Motor Scooter." That's a legitimate, for real song. Then there's "Kama," from "Marching to Mars." That was about the birth of my daughter, which had a profound effect on me. It nailed the meaning of her name, which is the Sanskrit word for love. I still get goose bumps about it.

RP: How do you feel about Napster ?

Hagar: I think it's fabulous technology, but it's being misused a bit. I spend a lot of time and money -- sometimes millions of dollars and a year of my life -- to make a record. It doesn't matter how much money you have, it's a question of ownership. Unless you choose to give that away, I don't think that someone has the right to take it. If someone had a master key to every brand-new Ford truck made and went to the factory and gave everybody keys, they'd go to jail. Trucks cost about $20,000. One song on our record could cost $60,000 to make. But the real issue is that the record companies will ultimately control it, make money and not share it with the artists, just like they did with MP3. That's more criminal than Napster.

RP: Do you think you'll ever resolve things with Eddie Van Halen? Would you like to?

For the rest of the interview, pick up Music Connection magazine, circulated throughout the world. See http://www.musicconnection.com.

In other Sammy news, look for the Red Rocker to kick off "The NFL Today" on CBS this Sunday with a live performance at 12pm ET. For full details, check out the press release.

In addition to his Cabo Wabo Birthday Bash tour dates, Sammy and his band will be joining Ted Nugent for his annual Whiplash Bash on New Years Eve at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan.

Be sure to login to Yahoo Chat on October 24 at 9pm ET for a live Internet chat session with Sammy. Full details.

Yet another interview with Sammy showed up on the wires yesterday. Click here for "Five Questions With Sammy Hagar" by AP writer, Chelsea J. Carter.

Check out David Lee Roth's web site for his latest Daily Catastrophe. If you missed the first installment, you can view it by clicking on this link. Also, entries are now open for Dave's "Miss Slawterhouse Fall 2000" contest.

Finally for today, the only piece of Van Halen info I could dig up was the Boylans Beer commercial! It could be old news, but I haven't seen it before. Plus, it's not as if Van Halen are flooding my mailbox with press releases like Hagar and Roth's people are at the moment (thanks, guys), so this is about as close it gets to news in the current climate. Click here to view the beer commercial.

Late update: this link was sent to me today. Remember the competition to win the autographed Van Halen remasters at the official VH site? Well, the CDs were signed by Eddie, Alex and Mike...

October 26, 2000 - Remember the cool car driven by David Lee Roth towards the end of the Hot For Teacher video? Well, it's for sale. From November 1, the car will be auctioned at Everybody Wants Some!! - the auction section of davidleeroth.com.

The car is known as Tom's Tub Two, and even has its own web site. On the site you will find technical information, car history, photos and inspection reports - everything you need to know about the car. For more details, click here.

While I'm on the subject of the Hot For Teacher video, I was recently contacted by a journalist who is searching for the woman who played the teacher in the video. He was asked to write an article for a magazine on the theme of "hotties from the 70's, 80's and 90's", and specifically, the teacher from the famous Van Halen video.

If any readers out there know the model who played the teacher back in 1984, or know how we can get in contact with her, please email me and I'll pass the details on to the journalist. Thanks!

October 27, 2000 - Update! Thanks to those who responded to my call for information on the Hot For Teacher girl. It seems that the woman in question was Janet Jones, wife of Wayne Gretzky.

October 27, 2000 - Sammy Hagar was the special guest on Rockline this past Wednesday night. Still feeling the effects of a cold, Hagar's voice managed to struggle through the hour-long interview.

The topic of Van Halen was brought up by host, Bob Coburn...

Later in the interview, Sammy revealed that he's in the middle of writing his autobiography. The working title is The Long Road To Cabo, and is expected to be released in 2001.

You can listen to the full interview in Real Audio at Sammy's web site.