VIDEO: David Lee Roth wisdom

It's the afternoon. You are probably sitting at your desk and needing a little inspiration. Enter Diamond David Lee Roth. Take a spin through the 80s and 90s with some of his interview gems.

WATCH IT

I couldn't help myself after Monday when I posted Roth's Joan Rivers appearance.

David Lee Roth soundboard

I love soundboards and I love the supposed David Lee Roth raw vocals from Runin' with the Devil released last year! Here is where I posted about those vocals.

Now someone has combined the vocals with a soundboard so you get to control Diamond Dave. Your coworkers and family better watch out and not make you mad now!

PLAY IT

(Thanks davidherrold)

Motley streams, VR, AC/DC, Depeche Mode and more

- MÖTLEY CRÜE: Catalog Available For Streaming
MÖTLEY CRÜE reissued its complete studio catalog on September 30, 2008 on Mötley Records/Eleven Seven Music (RED Distribution). The catalog includes eight chart-topping studio albums originally released between 1981 and 2000.
- Borat director Slams MÖTLEY CRÜE, Studio Over 'The Dirt'
- MÖTLEY CRÜE's TOMMY LEE Celebrates 'Red Hot' Birthday In Guadalajara
- NIKKI SIXX: 'I'm Madly In Love'

Slash: “This Time Around, We’re Not Making Compromises”
[Velvet Revolver] originally wanted to do something really heavy and it took a different turn, especially on the last record. This time around we’re not going to make any compromises.

- AC/DC: New Video Interview With ANGUS YOUNG Available

- KURT COBAIN: New Book Featuring Previously Unseen Photographs, Personal Items Due This Month
- Kurt Cobain's Ashes Not Stolen After All

- Depeche Mode, new album, stadium tour in 2009...

- Daron Malakian Cancels Scars On Broadway Tour, TV Appearance

- Limp Bizkit To Reform

- EDDIE VAN HALEN Is Engaged

VIDEO: Van Halen "Where Have All The Good Times Gone?"

I'm toying with the idea of putting music videos on here everyday at lunch time this week.

Turn this one up loud so everyone in your office can hear.  It's a live version of Van Halen's cover of "Where Have All The Good Times Gone?" from Capital Centre in Largo, Maryland, on 10.12.1982.

WATCH THE VIDEO


This is one of my favorite VH songs and the band does it justice live. David Lee Roth does the high kicks and Eddie pulls out the guitar tricks. Give the kids what they want, right?

Here's my post when I saw Van Halen in Houston this year!

Want more?
- Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love (Largo, '82)
- Velvet Revolver covering ATBL and more

Metallica, Amy Winehouse, Radiohead and a lot more

METALLICA: Pro-Shot Footage Of ROCK AM RING Performance Available
Professionally filmed video footage of METALLICA's June 7 performance at the Rock Am Ring festival in Nürburgring, Germany can be viewed.
- METALLICA's HAMMETT: 'DAVE MUSTAINE Played Fast All The Time. I Play Melodically'
- Metallica force early album review off the Internet?

The Amy Winehouse video
Watch the clip that everyone in Britain is talking about.

Radiohead goes iTunes
You can now get all of Radiohead's stuff pre-In Rainbows on iTunes reports Wired.

DEF LEPPARD Frontman Slams MÖTLEY CRÜE, POISON; Says Most L.A. 'Glam' Bands Had No Substance
During a press conference at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden, DEF LEPPARD singer Joe Elliott was asked how his band managed to avoid getting caught up in the whole "glam-rock" scene of the '80s.

VELVET REVOLVER Singer Rumors
The Pulse of Radio reports: An unconfirmed item at Idolator.com suggests that VELVET REVOLVER may be in talks with an unnamed Australian singer to replace vocalist Scott Weiland.

JUDAS PRIEST: 'Nostradamus' Audio Samples Available
Audio samples of all the tracks that are set to appear on JUDAS PRIEST's forthcoming double-disc concept album, "Nostradamus", are available on Amazon.com.

MORTIFICATION To Release New Album In 2009, 20th-Anniversary CD In 2010
Steve Rowe of the Australian Christian metallers MORTIFICATION has issued the following update.

Former KORN Guitarist BRIAN 'HEAD' WELCH Sets Release Date For Solo Debut
Former KORN guitarist and founding member Brian "Head" Welch will release his debut solo album, entitled "Save Me From Myself", on September 9 via Driven Music Group/H2C Records.

KISS Hanging Out With CONDOLEEZZA RICE In Stockholm; Photos Available
KISS' official web site has uploaded a couple of photos of the four members of KISS hanging out with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Stockholm late last month before KISS played a sold-out concert in the Swedish capital.
- KISS Costumes And Masks Coming In October

Van Halen Tour Grosses More Than 93 Mil
The Van Halen reunion tour ended up a massive success, wrapping June 2 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with a total gross of more than $93 million and close to one million in attendance from 74 shows.

VIDEO: David Lee Roth Goin' Crazy

You can tell this is post Van Halen brothers, because David Lee Roth is Goin' Crazy in this video. Seriously.

This has to be one of his most over the top songs and videos ever.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Let's lay it out real fast:
Open longer than the actual song - CHECK
Roth in a fat suit - CHECK
Roth wearing a horse tail - CHECK
Spandex, spandex, spandex - CHECK, CHECK, CHECK
Steve Vai on guitar - CHECK

We don't call him Diamond Dave for nothing! OK...wait a minute. His Yankee Rose video was pretty over the top too!

Van Halen rocks Houston

I knew it was going to be a wild night as soon as I pulled up to the Houston Toyota Center. As I was driving through the garage, there was a guy in a Motley Crue Girls, Girls, Girls shirt with some kind of bottle wrapped in newspaper. He was already stumbling and it was only around 6:40 pm.

I went to go meet my friend, who was going with me to the concert, in the Hilton lobby. There were a lot of Van Halen fans gathering there, but also folks from the big Mary Kay convention that is in Houston right now. Those two crowds did not mix. Although my friend did hear one of the Mary Kay reps brag to some Van Halen fans that she had seen Night Ranger recently.

Van Halen sold out the Toyota Center, or it sure looked that way. When the band came out on stage, the audience was actually louder than the music. That's different from last week's Houston Foo Fighters show.

The stage was pretty simple. I anticipated something bigger for Van Halen. Like most concerts now, part of the stage came out into the audience. There was a massive HDTV screen above the stage so you could see Eddie Van Halen's playing right up close. You know about 50% of the audience was wondering what he does on the neck of those guitars. He was amazing of course. This was my first time seeing Van Halen, so I have never seen anything like that. WATCH ERUPTION FROM THE HOUSTON SHOW

David Lee Roth had several costume changes including hats. He wore a lot of sparkles because after all he is Diamond Dave. He did a lot of high kicks and flag waving too. He handled vocal duties well. His voice never seemed to go out. It wouldn't be a DLR performance without a few stories and he delivered. In one instance he started crying after a story from his youth. You can read more about those in his biography Crazy from the Heat.

Alex Van Halen had a good drum solo and Wolfgang played the bass just fine. I had heard they were going to pipe in pre-recorded Michael Anthony backup vocals and I believe that is totally true. I could swear I heard him in the mix.

Originally I wasn't sure if I would get to see the band. I figured the tour would fall apart before they got to Houston, but it was really a love fest up on stage. David and Eddie were hugging all night and DLR kept praising EVH.

Through out the show I kept thinking about the time I interviewed David Lee Roth at the studios of Rock 101 KLOL in Houston. What an amazing time. READ MORE HERE

And just for those of you who couldn't make the show, here are some Van Halen song demos:
- Van Halen - Everybody Wants Some!!(Demo Version) 1980- Van Halen - And The Cradle Will Rock (Demo Audio)- Van Halen - House Of Pain (Demo)

Let me know what you thought of the show in the comments below.

RELATED
Van Halen gives, feels the love in Houston

David Lee Roth clean vocals plus STP touring!

I just sent this one out on Twitter and thought I need to put it on the blog too. This clip is all over the Internet at this point and I can't get enough of it. I can listen to it over and over.

It's one of David Lee Roth's clean vocal tracks from the Van Halen song Runin' with the Devil. That's right, there is no music, just him. Some find it to be pure comedy, which it is.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

These vocals do not match up to the album version of the song so I guess these are not the originals.

I can't even imagine the amount of remixes that are about to hit the Web using these David Lee Roth vocals. Some with talent could mash him into oblivion!

And oh yeah, Scott Weiland and the boys from Stone Temple Pilots are having a reunion tour this summer!

Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga

I just finished reading Ian Christie's Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga. This book is so hot of the press, it ends with Christie wondering if David Lee Roth and Van Halen will ever get back together!

As we all should know now, they are on tour together.

Christie writes most of the book from old articles with the band, so while the book wasn't written based of new interviews, at least it was from the band's lips at one time. It also captures the mood and thoughts of the band at that time period the interview was conducted.

I'd recommend the book for any Van Halen fan or for someone who wants to learn more about this ever evolving group. Really, it is hard to imagine Van Halen is Van Hagar.

Find out more about Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga


Read my review on David Lee Roth's autobiography Crazy from the Heat.

(Image courtesy of vanhalenstore.com)

Van Halen must play Texas

Lisa Carrillo commented on one of my previous Van Halen tour posts. That was the one where I mentioned Diamond David Lee Roth is back in the band but they are not coming to Texas...at all. At least not at this writing.

Her comment chronicles an email exchange she had with the Van-Halen.com webmaster:

ME:
The tour doesn't include Houston???? I've seen you three times here before. My sons, aged 16, 15, and 13, are now fans and couldn't wait to finally see Van Halen in person. I'm crushed and so are they.

What's the deal???

Lisa Carrillo
Loyal fan since 1975

THEM:
Hi Lisa, and thanks for your email!

Right now, these are the only VH dates we have. If and when more are
scheduled, we will post them to the tour page at
http://www.van-halen.com/tour.html so keep checking back.

Brad
Webmaster
http://www.van-halen.com

ME:
Just a thought...CANADA before Texas? C'mon. You've got two venues in much smaller states when you've got the choice of Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio? I'll keep checking back, but seriously...ya need to reconsider!

I couldn't agree more. Those Van Halen bastards brothers need to stop erasing Michael Anthony from the band's past and start playing at least a Houston and Dallas show. They should also play San Antonio, Austin and El Paso too. Look into my eyes, Eddie Van Halen, you WILL PLAY HOUSTON.

mikemcguff.com now gets you to the Mike McGuff Blog

After owning both mikemcguff.com and michaelmcguff.com and letting them waste away, I have pointed both urls to this blog.

So now you can access the Mike McGuff Blog with mikemcguff.com or michaelmcguff.com.

Now we know what happened to Van Halen

Eddie Van Halen is now in rehab. Guess that's what helped derail the reunion tour:

I would like Van Halen fans to know how much I truly appreciate each and every one of you. Without you there is no Van Halen. I have always and will always feel a responsibility to give you my best. 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% that I feel I owe you and want to give you.

Some of the issues surrounding the 2007 Van Halen tour are within my ability to change and some are not. 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.

I look forward to seeing you in the future better than ever and I thank you with all my heart.

Love,
Ed

Van Halen tour 'postponed indefinitely'

According to Blabbermouth, it looks like the Van Halen reunion with David Lee Roth was eventually too good to be true:

According to Pollstar.com, the VAN HALEN tour that was never officially announced is now officially postponed indefinitely. The rumored tour took on an air of reality after a trade magazine announced that original singer David Lee Roth was about to sign on the dotted line, and that was soon followed by a press release via Eddie Van Halen's spokeswoman-slash-girlfriend. Unfortunately, the worldwide frenzy of a VH reunion was too good to be true, at least for the present day. However, there was a lot of paper getting inked and Pollstar states that a tour announcement might not have been far off.

Sources also tell Denver's Rocky Mountain News that VAN HALEN's performance at next month's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony may also be in jeopardy too.

What does this picture mean now?

At least we have The Police.

Van Halen's cover on Rolling Stone

It's being called Van Halen 2.0, David Lee Roth is in, Michael Anthony is out, but Wolfgang Van Halen is in.

Check out the new Van Halen's first photo

I'm sure the offices of Rolling Stone are feeling jubilant with the return of a real rock band they can feature.

David Lee Roth signing the dotted line?

According to this, David Lee Roth is signing the contract to put him on tour with Van Halen this summer.

That David Lee Roth/Van Halen rumor getting stronger

I was talking to a friend yesterday about how 2007 could be a really rocking year. We have Guns N' Roses allegedly releasing Chinese Democracy on March, 6, 2007, Velvet Revolver has a new one as well as Metallica (and it's supposed to sound like Master of Puppets for those keeping score at home).

Then there is that rumor that won't go away about David Lee Roth rejoining Van Halen for a tour. More on that is surfacing all of the time.

From the lips of David Lee Roth on TMZ.com via Blabbermouth:

"A VAN HALEN reunion is a lot like NASCAR — are you there to see the winner or the crash?" mused Dave. "In this aspect, we're a lot closer to 'Jerry Springer' meets 'Knots Landing', which, to me, sells T-shirts."

Maybe that doesn't sound optimistic, but at least promising.

Then Rolling Stone is getting in the mix:

Meanwhile, the other former Van Halen vocalist (who isn’t Gary Cherone) showed his support for the project, telling a Cleveland newspaper, “Dave and Ed working together? I don’t see it in a million years . . . You throw Dave in that mix, and I just don’t see it working. Dave’s gonna want it to be all about him. Ed’s gonna want it to be all about him. And that’s a tough one right there. I’ll probably just be sitting over in the corner, cracking up.”

I'll be there. I guess the band will still have a 15-year-old bassist too.