'Right Now,' Van Halen tops list of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees despite splintered factions
DOUG FOX - Daily Herald

There are moments of clarity in every person's life that are ingrained in one's memory so completely as to almost be imprinted on the DNA.

Most people, for example, can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when world-altering events occurred.

Personally, I find that this phenomenon also happens with music. I have always tended to mark specific instances and periods of life based on certain songs and when I first heard them.

But nothing quite prepared me for that day in the summer of 1978 when my musical theory received relativity.

Living in Southern California at the time, the local hard rock radio stations of the day had been playing a trio of songs from an L.A. band that had just released its debut record. There was something about those three songs that seemed to force my hand -- as if drawn by a tractor beam -- toward the stereo's volume dial, where a quick right turn would raise things to a more enjoyable level.

The songs in question were "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," "You Really Got Me" and "Runnin' With the Devil." The band was Van Halen -- yes, the same ones getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday -- and life as I knew it was about to change.

I remember clearly the day my brother and I drove down to the local record store to purchase the cassette tape of this much-buzzed-about new band. Being the sensible older brother, I hedged my bets by allowing him to buy it -- figuring that if I ended up not really liking the rest of it, at least I wouldn't have risked my own hard-earned money on what was still a largely unknown quantity.

It turned out to be the best $5 I never spent. (Don't worry. I would later plop down money, most willingly, for the vinyl album and remastered CD.)

Leaving the record store, we pushed the tape in the car stereo, turned up the volume and headed for home. The short drive only used up one song, and we were just pulling into the garage as opening track "Runnin' With the Devil" came to its fiery conclusion.

And that's when the future officially arrived -- and it was named "Eruption."

The plan was to pop the tape out and continue listening inside the house, but the second song had just started and neither one of us could even remotely fathom reaching for the eject button.

To be quite honest, we weren't exactly sure what we were hearing during that initial listen. A torrent of notes exploded out of the left speaker at a dizzying rate as we looked at each other in slack-jawed amazement and wondered aloud whether what we heard was accomplished on synthesizer or guitar.

And while we didn't know exactly what we were hearing, we recognized that the music landscape as we knew it was changing before our very ears.

As it turned out, what we were experiencing was a 1-minute-and-42-second explosion of jam that changed guitar playing forever and signaled the arrival of a new six-string star: Eddie Van Halen.

It's been nearly 29 years since that magical moment and our initial reaction certainly has been validated over time. Van Halen's debut record went on to sell over 12 million copies on its own and is widely hailed as one of the groundbreaking guitar records of all time, just as Eddie is on nearly everybody's short list of all-time great guitarists. (Well, everybody except Rolling Stone magazine, that is, which, a few years back, laughably ranked him at No. 70 -- two spots ahead of noted shredder Joni Mitchell.)

The band has sold over 55 million albums in a career that has been nearly as controversial -- due mostly to a tragicomedy of revolving lead singers -- as it has been spectacular.

Despite all the drama, or perhaps aided by it, all eyes will be on Van Halen as the band heads this year's induction class into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- with ceremonies taking place Monday in New York City. The event will be televised live on VH1 Classic starting at 6:30 p.m.

Joining Van Halen in this year's class is R.E.M., Patti Smith, The Ronettes, and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

"House of Pain"

Almost everybody has a favorite band, or individual artist, and it's not every day you get to see yours inducted into the Hall of Fame. Sometime shortly after that fateful summer day in 1978, when "Eruption" unexpectedly assaulted my senses like a sledgehammer, Van Halen became mine.

Being a Van Halen fan used to be easy. From 1978 to 1996, the band could seemingly do no wrong. In 1984, Van Halen was arguably the biggest band in the world, riding its party-all-the-time image and high-energy concerts to the peak of commercial success.

Even a controversial switch in lead vocalists -- from David Lee Roth to Sammy Hagar -- in 1985 couldn't derail the Van Halen express. In fact, the Van Hagar era made even greater inroads into the mainstream with a succession of No. 1 albums, and Grammy and MTV Video Music awards.

During his tenure, Hagar was fond of saying, "What is understood need not be discussed." But what Van Halen fans have learned since Hagar was first ousted in 1996 is this: "What isn't understood will be discussed (and discussed and discussed ... ) on fan message boards, mailing lists, radio programs and myriad media outlets."

Consider this: In the 11 years since Hagar first left -- or was fired, depending on who you ask -- the band has released one tepidly received studio album ("Van Halen III," with ex-Extreme vocalist Gary Cherone at the mike), two greatest hits compilations (featuring a total of five new songs) and mounted two tours.

That's it.

Even Tom Scholtz from the rock group Boston (Motto: One new studio album every eight years!) considers that a painfully slow production pace.

Van Halen reunited with Hagar for a lucrative tour in 2004. That, however, ended in additional acrimony. The brothers Van Halen (Eddie plays guitar, Alex the drums) not only parted ways with Hagar after that tour, they also jettisoned bassist Michael Anthony -- presumably for moonlighting on tour last summer with Hagar when they played V.H. songs while billing themselves as The Other Half.

Anthony's replacement? Eddie's 15-year-old son, Wolfgang Van Halen.

Heir guitar at its finest.

"And the Cradle Will Rock"

Still not enough drama for you?

On Feb. 2, Van Halen announced it had reunited with Roth for a summer concert tour. The statement proved premature when almost three weeks later the tour's promoter, Live Nation, pulled the plug on the plans in the face of supposed chaos.

If that were not enough to test the faith of even the band's staunchest fans, rumors have been circulating for weeks as to whether certain group principals would perform or even show up for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday.

In a Los Angeles Times story Thursday, Roth said he will not attend because event organizers refuse to let him perform. When all the different factions in Van Halen could not agree to perform together at the induction ceremonies, Velvet Revolver (featuring former members of Guns 'N' Roses and Stone Temple Pilots) was recruited to induct the band and also play two V.H. songs in tribute.

In addition, it is reported that the brothers Van Halen also will not attend. In the greatest of ironies, that leaves Anthony and Hagar -- the two members who are not in the current lineup -- as the only ones slated to appear at their own Hall of Fame induction.

"Take Me Back (Deja Vu)"

It would appear these are the best and worst of times for Van Halen fans. Outsiders could rightly question how any fans remain at all.

But, at least in my case, I can tell you exactly why.

Van Halen isn't just a band.

It's an attitude.

It's a way of life.

And sometimes that way of life takes a toll on its principals.

In a statement directed to the band's fans, posted on Van Halen's official Web site Thursday evening, Eddie said he was checking into rehab.

"I have always and will always feel a responsibility to give you my best," his statement said. "At the moment I do not feel that I can give you my best. That's why I have decided to enter a rehabilitation facility to work on myself, so that in the future I can deliver the 110 percent that I feel I owe you and want to give you."

He also addressed the postponement of the reunion tour with Roth.

"Some of the issues surrounding the 2007 Van Halen tour are within my ability to change and some are not," he said. "As far as my rehab is concerned, it is within my ability to change and change for the better. I want you to know that is exactly what I'm doing, so that I may continue to give you the very best I am capable of."

The guitarist's statements took me back to an interview I did with him in 1998, during a period of reported sobriety for him. I asked him to evaluate his alcohol problems through the experience of hindsight. Recognizing his alcoholism then and the difficulty in coping with it, would he still take that first drink -- which was given to him by his father in an effort to calm his nerves before a show?

Interestingly, he didn't think he would change anything -- because it was the sum of those experiences which helped him arrive at his then-current mindset.

"I think I caught it just in time," he said of the alcohol problems. "I think when you hit around 40 and you don't cut the crap, you know, you either kick the bucket or just lose it in the turn."

For the past several years, I've wondered where the talented guitarist was in relation to his life's rhetorical turn -- and whether he was past the point of redirection.

Here's hoping for long straightaways ahead.

For better or worse, Van Halen remains my band -- even if it is at times a somewhat dysfunctional relationship -- because every time I hear one of Eddie's incendiary guitar riffs rip through my speakers, it is the summer of '78 all over again.

And life is good.

Come Monday night, I'll be celebrating Van Halen's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- even if most of the band's members are not in attendance themselves.

I am, after all, a Van Halen fan.

What is understood need not be discussed (further).

If You Watch

What: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2007 Induction Ceremonies

Who: Van Halen, R.E.M., Patti Smith, The Ronettes, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

When: Airing live on VH1 Classics on Monday at 6:30 p.m. A two-hour highlight special will air on VH1 on Saturday at 7 p.m.

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