Van Halen
David Lee Roth

Jul 5, 2000 - Earlier this year, it was rumoured that the new Van Halen album would be titled Reawakening The Giant. The latest unconfirmed rumour is that the album will now be titled Tabula Rasa. Please note that this title is just a rumour.

Jul 7, 2000 - VH-1 are looking for contributions for a new show. If Van Halen's Panama has served as a soundtrack to your life in some way, they would like to hear about it. The more detailed the story, the better the chance of getting contacted for an on-camera interview.

Jul 8, 2000 - Those who purchased Tribute To Van Halen:2000 may be interested in reading an interview with Jake E. Lee. Jake played guitar on Runnin' With The Devil, and speaks candidly about the making of the tribute album.

Jul 12, 2000 - The voting in David Lee Roth's "Miss Slawterhouse" Summer 2000 beauty pageant is underway. You can vote for your favourite by going to Dave's official site and clicking on DAVE-O-MATIC.

Jul 15, 2000 - New York Daily News writer Mitchell Fink is reporting that "the original Van Halen are poised to rock again". According to his article, Dave has been telling friends that he has reunited with Eddie, Alex and Mike and that all four are in a New York recording studio recording an album.

Jul 19, 2000 - Mondays Boston Herald featured an interview with Beach Boys legend, Brian Wilson. Wilson mentioned that his favourite cover of one of his songs was David Lee Roth's version of California Girls.

Jul 21, 2000 - Sammy Hagar's "Beach Party Extravaganza" is happening tonight at the Riverport Amphitheater in St. Louis, MO. The party starts at 6pm.

Jul 21, 2000 - Thanks to everyone who voted in the remasters poll. The question asked was would you prefer to have bonus tracks on the remasters? The results were as follows:

Jul 25, 2000 - Metal Edge is reporting that Dave is planning another "solo jaunt" in September because he is tired of waiting around for something to happen with Van Halen.

Jul 27, 2000 - Since there are so many going around, I've started a new section on the site dedicated purely to rumours. Please remember that everything you read on the page is a rumour!

Rumours

Jul 28, 2000 - Gary Cherone was at the Samuel Adams "Grill & Groove" party yesterday in Boston. The party was broadcast across the USA and around the world on radio.

July 7, 2000 - Mike Hartman, former guitarist and songwriting collaborator with David Lee Roth, died yesterday in an Indianapolis hospital. He was 24.

Hartman was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when he was just six weeks of age. He spent most of his life in and out of hospitals. When I interviewed him last year, Mike told me that he was taking 15 pills per meal, and 7 aerosol inhalers per day.

Mike met his idol, Steve Vai when he was a teenager through the Make A Wish foundation. It was this connection that eventually saw him collaborate with David Lee Roth in early 1998 for his DLR Band album. Two tracks from the album, King Of The Hill and Indeedido, were co-written by Roth and Hartman, and featured Hartman on guitar and bass (under the pseudonym "B'urbon Bob").

Hartman and Roth went their separate ways after the recording of DLR Band. This allowed Mike to work on his first solo album. Black Glue, featuring performances by former DLR drummers Gregg Bissonette and Ray Luzier, was released on April 6, 1999.

My best wishes go to Mike's wife, Jeanie and his family. Memorial contributions may be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 6931 Arlington Rd, Behtesda MD. 20814

VHND Mike Hartman Interview - March 5, 1999

Associated Press Obituary

July 14, 2000 - It's been a long time coming, but Warner Bros. today announced that it would reissue the Van Halen catalog with remastered music, original artwork and liner notes.

The new series, "Warner Remasters", will debut on September 19 and carry a suggested retail price of US$11.98. Other artists in the series include Dire Straits, Eric Clapton and Rod Stewart.

No bonus tracks are planned for the Van Halen remasters. Alex Van Halen was quoted on the Billboard web site today about the decision:

"I agree with Gregg (Geller, Warner Bros. Records VP of A&R) that the albums should come out as they did originally. If you start tinkering with it and start to repackage it, then the next thing you know, you're re-recording stuff. Where do you stop? I like that there's nothing extra on our records. They become different animals if there's more stuff on it."

Geller said there may be some later reissues with bonus tracks, but the first 20 albums in the series will be true to the original. Artists were given the option of having Warner Bros. do the remastering, or have their own engineer do it. Van Halen chose to have their own guy do the remastering. Alex Van Halen told Billboard:

"This isn't just about the liner notes. The picture you paint sonically is a record of your life. I can really tell a difference."

Hopefully the correct version of Runnin' With The Devil will be included this time. A re-arranged version was used in the first pressings of Best Of Volume One, and on the Detroit Rock City soundtrack.

The Warner Remasters series will be updated quarterly.

Billboard Article

July 19, 2000 - Launch.com, one of the more reliable music news sites on the web has thrown a bucket on the Van Halen reunion rumours. This article, written by Darren Davis and Bruce Simon, claims that there is no validity to the rumours of Van Halen reuniting with David Lee Roth.

Their rumour busting focuses on the New York Daily News article from the weekend that claimed the band were recording with Roth in a New York studio and would launch a world tour in February.

Launch contacted Van Halen's management who referred them to Warner Bros. Records. A spokesperson for the label told them there was no new Van Halen project on the schedule for the rest of the year. [Maybe someone should tell that spokesperson to read their own publicity about the remasters!]

The Launch reporters also tried to contact David Lee Roth about the rumour, but were told by a spokesperson that "nothing has been confirmed about this or any other reunion story."

Another Van Halen fan site, VHLINKS.COM, is polling fans to see if they still believe Dave is back. If you wish to participate in the poll, click on this link. Poll results at the time of writing this article are dislayed for you on the right. I'll post updated poll results over the next few days.

Recent emails I've received from fans over the past month have shown a definite change in the climate. The anticipation about a possible reunion is not as prominent as it was earlier in the year. The overall feeling I'm getting from fans is that Van Halen need to make an announcement soon, or they will lose interest completely.

Personally, I'm moving to an upgraded server in anticipation of a traffic meltdown. ;)

July 23, 2000 - Last Friday (July 21) saw the launch of Yamaha's new publication, Yamaha All Access. The magazine is aimed at highlighting the success of artists who use and endorse Yamaha musical products. The first issue of Yamaha All Access features an interview with Van Halen bassist, Michael Anthony. I haven't been able to confirm when the interview with Mike took place.

Mike endorses his own Yamaha signature bass series. The electric bass will feature Mike's trademark Chili Pepper fretmarker inlays on the neck. It is expected to be released this fall.

The following notable quotes from the interview relating to the current Van Halen situation have been reprinted below for your information.

Yamaha: "Who is your new singer?"

Michael Anthony: "I can't tell you, we're saving the announcement for the right time."

Yamaha: "Aw, cmon!""

Michael Anthony: "All I can say is, it's going to be huge. It's a name people will know."

The article also states that Van Halen will launch a world tour in 2001.

Read the full interview at yamaha.com

July 27, 2000 - As the weeks and months go by without an announcement, you can't help but wonder whether all the rumours about David Lee Roth's return are just a great big internet hoax. Sure, all the signs indicate that Dave is back, but what if he isn't? What happens then?

Do Van Halen reunite with Sammy Hagar? Not likely. It is common knowledge that Sammy is recording a new solo album and planning to release it in October.

Will they hire a fourth singer? This outcome is even less likely. Unless Van Halen have completely fooled us with their silence, the only logical conclusion is that Dave must be back. Roth's uncharacteristic silence on the matter also lends credibility to the theory.

With the Sammy Hagar and fourth singer options out of the way, and assuming David Lee Roth is really back in the band, why all the secrecy? The most obvious answer to this is the aborted reunion in 1996. Fans of the original lineup thought Dave was back in the band after learning that Van Halen were recording new tracks with him for the 1996 Best Of album. The MTV Awards appearance, one that saw them receive a standing ovation from the audience in attendance, further cemented the fans' belief that the original Van Halen were back for good. We all know what happened next.

Last night I was reminded of an interview with David Lee Roth that appeared in Issue 14 of the now defunct Popsmear magazine in 1998. The interview was conducted by Frank Meyer, who now writes for KNAC.COM. Although the interview is over two years old, it's interesting to read how Dave would have gone about the 1996 reunion had he been in charge at the time.

"...What we got with the last greatest hits from Van Halen, who had a series of other agendas, was a black and white album cover picture of a piece of a guitar. Half of it was some other singer. No video. Had I been in charge, it would have gone something like this: In America, we believe big time in publicizing the shit out of 'we ain't talkin'.' First we make goddamn sure that everybody knows we ain't saying anything..."

This quote is very interesting, and sums up the current situation well. Everyone knows that Van Halen aren't saying anything. Dave is also silent. A co-incidence? Possibly.

"...And we leak, dribble, ooze and supply the internet with all the most colorful, rumor-mongering, gossip, detailed, tabloidal...'they were chasing him and nine paparazzi were killed in a tunnel.'"

This quote is even better. Gossip, leaks, rumours, all showing up on the internet? It's one thing for Van Halen to be silent on the reunion issue, but for a band that have only officially said five words since announcing that Gary Cherone was no longer in the band (the infamous "no news is good news"), they've still managed to keep themselves in the limelight, purely from the speculation about Dave being back.

If Dave wasn't back in the band, it would be easy to put out a press release stating that fact. They haven't. Come on, guys. What are you waiting for?

Popsmear Interview - Part 1
Popsmear Interview - Part 2