New EVH Interview Discusses How They Came Up With Live Album Idea, etc.

[cowboydan]

Thought you might enjoy some interesting tid bits from Eddie. Watch out for that bus Dave!!

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...erican-rock-n/

Q: Are you excited to get back on the road?

A: Yeah! We are going out in July. We just did Jimmy Kimmel and the Ellen show. All of a sudden, [David Lee Roth] wants to do the live stuff. We said, “OK, great!” He never wanted to do it before.

Q: You just released Van Halen’s first live record with Dave, “Tokyo Dome in Concert.”

A: We were trying to figure out what to do since we didn’t have time to put a studio record together.

[My son Wolfgang] is working on his own project. Dave is off doing his thing. What I originally wanted to do was remix the original 25 song demos. That would have been really cool. But the tapes are lost. They are gone. So that was out the window.

Then we started digging through bootlegs from the club days. We tried our best to make those sound good, but ultimately it wasn’t good enough to put out. The quality of the recording was so bad that we tried to enhance them and make them better. Once we made them better, you lost that fly-on-the-wall aspect of it. It just didn’t jive. So we decided, “How about a live record?”

Q: What was special about that night that made for such a great CD?

A: In the old days, to make a live record, you had to have a mobile truck following you everywhere and all the BS that comes along with it. Not to mention the money it costs. Nowadays, we’ve got a Pro Tools rig out by the console, and we just let it run every night. We have a couple hundred shows archived.

When it came to doing a live record, none of us wanted to sit there and listen to 200 shows to pick the best one. So we left it up to Dave.

[Drummer] Alex [Van Halen], [bassist] Wolfgang [Van Halen] and I were pretty consistent every night, [but] for a singer it’s more difficult. Because if the bus ride is too long, or you slept with the air conditioner on or the heater on and your throat is [messed] up, [it can change his voice].

Dave said, “How about Tokyo Dome?” We said fine. The bonus of that show was we didn’t have an opening act. So we played much longer. It’s about a 2-hour show. We got Bob Clearmountain to mix it. We were pretty involved with the mixing. Once we got the instruments sounding the way we wanted, we just let him go. He would send us mixes, and we would say, “Yeah, it sounds great. As long as you hear all the instruments and the vocals, that’s all you need.”

Q: Last time you toured, Wolfgang assembled the set list. Did he do it this time, and are you playing any songs this time out you didn’t play during the last tour?

A: That is yet to be seen. I’m hoping to play some other songs, but a lot of times that comes down to what Dave will sing and what he won’t. Wolf and I talk all the time and say, “Let’s throw this in. Let’s throw that in.” Ultimately, if Dave doesn’t want to sing them, then we can’t do them. I would love to throw in “Drop Dead Legs” and “Light Up the Sky.” All kinds of stuff. I think it would be a treat for the audience. Maybe we can convince him this time around

Q: How are things between you and David Lee Roth these days?

A: He is always off doing his own thing. Getting tattoos in Japan. He’s got an apartment over there. He’s got an apartment in New York. The relationship has always been the same, really. Just because he quit back in 1985 to pursue a solo career, the press I think made a bigger to-do out of our relationship being sour than we did, you know what I mean?

When [my son] Wolfgang joined the band, he was actually responsible for calling Dave and getting him back in the band.

[unchainedguitars]

Was reading this over at the links, someone had posted it.

How heartbreaking to read what Ed originally had in mind for the "special project."
If only that had come to fruition!

Talks about a new studio album, but i still say they are way too relaxed with a time table.
First a hits tour, then Wolfie's solo album sometime next year...
Maybe Roth can do "raps" instead of vocals.

Cool that he's acknowledging the idea of a new EVH amp that incorporates the tones of his
old Marshall as opposed to the current sound.

[PrideofPasadena]

I just love how important history so often gets "lost"....urgh.

If he's listening to us about his tone maybe he's hearing us when we say we want old shows. Some hope, anyway. And don't even try the " not usable" line with the old shows. They would clean up nice.

[1234over]

So their relationship was never really that bad, and it was just the press blowing it out of proportion....yea.

I remember Andy Johns saying that when Roth was mentioned, the brothers became enraged..."Eddie would start crying...Alex would start smashing things".

I have always believed they were closer than they let on, otherwise the reactions wouldn't be so emotional and charged.

I still haven't heard a good reason why they haven't recorded a new album of material.

Its nice to know that they have worked on older shows and stuff, maybe it will be leaked out someday. That's what bootlegs are all about.

[PrideofPasadena]

I think Wolf in the band has totally helped in regards to "getting along". I think Dave really likes Wolf. All three of them are older and wiser. I'm sure they've made it there mission to mentor Wolf ,and that has helped to keep them friendly. Really, at their age and all they've accomplished....not much to fight about, I would think.

[1234over]

I think Wolf in the band has totally helped in regards to "getting along". I think Dave really likes Wolf. All three of them are older and wiser. I'm sure they've made it there mission to mentor Wolf ,and that has helped to keep them friendly. Really, at their age and all they've accomplished....not much to fight about, I would think.

Yeah, I don't think they fight much, I just don't think they are devoting much time to the band.

I really don't know what to think at this point. I hope some of that "vault" stuff gets out. That is the most intriguing part of this interview!

[PrideofPasadena]

Yeah, I don't think they fight much, I just don't think they are devoting much time to the band.

I really don't know what to think at this point. I hope some of that "vault" stuff gets out. That is the most intriguing part of this interview!

Yeah, not a lot of time together yet. We'll see. But I still think this aint the 80's. There's nothing to prove, anymore. I don't see that much too fight about.

I agree. The mere fact they even thought about releasing goodies is good news. Will it translate into thinking about old shows? Maybe. I still think it won't happen till it's over. But there's hope, at the very least.

[CalFB]

Dave does interact with Wolf a bit on stage and you hear him praise Wolf during I'm The One on the album. Dave is an odd dude, but it appears that differences are now water under the bridge and they are a cohesive unit. There was short VH segment on radio here today, they were doing a legends of rock thing, Zeppelin, Floyd, Queen, VH and others. They hinted that Australia is a possibility after the US tour. Can't wait.

[Incomudro]

That was a nice read, thank you for the post.

Yes, they're older, wiser, and Ed stopped drinking.
Drinking does horrible things in the emotion and drama department.
I'm really happy for the band right now, but Dave sounds horrendous.

[unchainedguitars]

That was a nice read, thank you for the post.

Yes, they're older, wiser, and Ed stopped drinking.
Drinking does horrible things in the emotion and drama department.
I'm really happy for the band right now, but Dave sounds horrendous.

Yeah, it worries me a bit that fans are starting to give Dave a free pass:
He doesn't sound as bad as he did on that other show.
Dave is just being Dave.

What kind of deluded bullshit is that?

We are going to become a laughing stock to music fans, outside of VH.

The guy refuses to make the proper adjustments & thinks just showing up is enough.

Regardless, I'm glad Edward is looking & playing great.
Wolf, also, has really impressed me with his Bass work (he has his own style) and
strong backing vocals.

I say skip Roth post tour, get creative, and do the "Van Halen trio."
Don't call it regular "Van Halen."

We've heard the hits on three tours now.
Love Roth for what he did with these guys, but he needs to do something else.
The other three are a separate entity, altogether.
Let's make some music.