Alex Van Halen

[punkatomic]

What are your thoughts about Alex?

I only bring this up, because he rarely gets any pub, be it good or bad.

How much does he have to do with the direction of Van Halen?

Is he not allowing the release of vaulted Van Halen goodies?

How much influence in the creative process does he have within the band, yesteryear and present day?

The Oakland Unchained video is some of the best rock n roll ever captured on video. The ending is like a controlled implosion. Eddie and Alex are ONE. Fucking tight!

What I'm getting at?

Is some of the problems with Van Halen today, are that Eddie and Alex are not as tight, musically? Is Alex part of the problem?

[Humberto5150]

AVH is quieter and longer lives with the family. I believe we the EVH and AVH manage the band. Because they are the founders of the band.

AVH is more classic and dislikes of discussion and argument. AVH is the most serious of the band and if he is to fight the fight.

[Achilleslastand]

AVH is quieter and longer lives with the family. I believe we the EVH and AVH manage the band. Because they are the founders of the band.

AVH is more classic and dislikes of discussion and argument. AVH is the most serious of the band and if he is to fight the fight.

Of course EVH and AVH manage the band. Just look at their track record since daves been gone and especially the last 10-15 years.
I recall him saying something like we want VH to have a aire of mystery ala Zeppelin. I guess this is why we will probably never see a dvd/box set.
VH fans were duped at the "reunion" in 96 and the "grab ya cash" tour of 07-08......Cant ya see folks how much Ed and Al LOVE their fans?

[DefLeppardVanHalen]

Honestly, we don't know what role Alex plays in all this, but the only notable thing is that he is always behind Eddie, just as Eddie is always behind Alex. They're family, so blood is thicker than water.

[Humberto5150]

Achilles,

I already know this ... time will answer that with all ...

[vhfanjack]

Alex just listens to what Ed says and nods in agreement. I recall him saying that CVH was like the pre-form of the real Van Halen that was Van Hagar, though obviously, I can't remember exactly what he said.

He has a great drum sound, and has that connection with Ed. But, he gets too much hype in that people always put down Mike when he played a bigger role

[ravennaloveseddie]

Honestly, we don't know what role Alex plays in all this, but the only notable thing is that he is always behind Eddie, just as Eddie is always behind Alex. They're family, so blood is thicker than water.

I think you have a good point here - the Van Halens are brothers and it's obvious they have a great connection, both onstage and offstage. I've always gotten the impression that Alex is protective of Edward in some ways, which would be natural since he's the older brother. And I also have to believe that Alex has an equal say with Edward as to what's happening with the band - I just don't see him as the "doormat" some people do, acquiescing to anything Edward says.

That tight connection between Ed and Alex is part of what makes =VH= so special to me. Musically speaking, the only other time I've sensed that sort of intuition was when I saw that concert by the remaining members of the Grateful Dead a couple summers ago....not my kind of music at all (it was a birthday present for my friend), but Wow! they were amazing. Alex and Ed have that same "I know where you're going before you go there" link, and it enables them to mess with each other during breakdowns and solos, which makes musical magic in my book.

[DefLeppardVanHalen]

Alex just listens to what Ed says and nods in agreement. I recall him saying that CVH was like the pre-form of the real Van Halen that was Van Hagar, though obviously, I can't remember exactly what he said.

I believe what Alex said was along the lines of CVH was a test-drive version, and the real deal was with Sammy.

Now you got to admit, after Dave left, Van Halen did consistently well, with 4 studio albums debuting at #1, their live album peaked at #5, the highest a live album had ever charted, and their first Greatest Hits album debuted at #1.

Now if 1984 wasn't released around the same time Thriller was at its commercial peak, 1984 would've been the band's very first #1 album. It was just the timing, despite having a #1 single in "Jump."

I truly believe with either Dave or Sammy on the mic and Michael Anthony on bass, Van Halen will always swim upstream as far as albums, singles, and tours go. Their only failure was with Gary Cherone.

[ravennaloveseddie]

......Their only failure was with Gary Cherone.

Which is sad, because I think Gary Cherone has a waaay better voice than Sammy Hagar. Nobody's a better frontman for the band than Dave, that's a no brainer. But Gary's voice, even though it's good, just didn't fit.

[DefLeppardVanHalen]

Which is sad, because I think Gary Cherone has a waaay better voice than Sammy Hagar. Nobody's a better frontman for the band than Dave, that's a no brainer. But Gary's voice, even though it's good, just didn't fit.

I always thought the Gary Cherone/Van Halen collaboration reminds of the Dave Navarro/Red Hot Chili Peppers collaboration. It sounds good on paper, but it just doesn't sound right.