Official Sammy Hagar/David Lee Roth/Van Halen Thread

[Halo69]

This new album is pretty much VH's Chinese Democracy, so I'll only believe when I have it in my hands. I'm curious to see how will they handle the backing vocals.

I believe we'll see it this year, the question is: is it gonna be any good?

Lets see, Hagar last songs with Van Halen (the ones on best of both worlds) were very crappy. DLR songs on the other greatest hits album, were not so crappy, but weren't anything special.

So the question is: Can they beat that clock that never stops running? can they do something interesting with this new album?

[Dr. Blutarsky]

I pray that this is not a softer Sammy- era style album musicwise with the only difference being DLR vocals on it.

Something that sounds kinda like the 1st 4 albums would be good. They need to bring back the Rock!

[Halo69]

I pray that this is not a softer Sammy- era style album musicwise with the only difference being DLR vocals on it.

Something that sounds kinda like the 1st 4 albums would be good. They need to bring back the Rock!

 + 1! You bet! I mean i don't mind if they do a 1984 kind of album... that ws good, but i don't wanna see van hagar with David Lee. I want an album like the first two!

[overmatik]

This new album is pretty much VH's Chinese Democracy, so I'll only believe when I have it in my hands. I'm curious to see how will they handle the backing vocals.

I believe we'll see it this year, the question is: is it gonna be any good?

Lets see, Hagar last songs with Van Halen (the ones on best of both worlds) were very crappy. DLR songs on the other greatest hits album, were not so crappy, but weren't anything special.

So the question is: Can they beat that clock that never stops running? can they do something interesting with this new album?

Well, Me Wise Magic was just OK, but Can't Get This Stuff No More is an amazing track. It felt so good listening to it for the first time that I almost blew up my stereo!

[FunkyMonkey]

Video of Sammy Hagar on Jimmy Kimmel Live! yesterday.

Interview (he talks about a Van Halen reunion toward the end of the interview):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3Iwr3-YhyU

Alien Encounter Reenactment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDAEhS_aFWQ

[Halo69]

This new album is pretty much VH's Chinese Democracy, so I'll only believe when I have it in my hands. I'm curious to see how will they handle the backing vocals.

I believe we'll see it this year, the question is: is it gonna be any good?

Lets see, Hagar last songs with Van Halen (the ones on best of both worlds) were very crappy. DLR songs on the other greatest hits album, were not so crappy, but weren't anything special.

So the question is: Can they beat that clock that never stops running? can they do something interesting with this new album?

Well, Me Wise Magic was just OK, but Can't Get This Stuff No More is an amazing track. It felt so good listening to it for the first time that I almost blew up my stereo!

Heh i dont dig it, i do like "Me Wise Magic" though, great song! Its so much better than the crap they did with Hagar on best of both worlds

[FunkyMonkey]

May 20, 2011

On VAN HALEN:

Slash: "They're finishing [up their new album right now], actually. I don't wanna speak on their behalf, but one of the guys that works for us works for VAN HALEN in the studio and he told me that they're in the mixing stages."

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=158402

[faldor]

http://www.melodicrock.com/

Monday, July 04, 2011

VAN HALEN - NEW ALBUM RUMOUR ROUND-UP:
Dear rabid Van Halen fans - if you are looking for a factually infallible, dead on, "here are the facts" news update....this ain't it!
But seriously, a news report that does fit that description isn't far away as David Lee Roth tells us to "Get Ready..." (www.davidleeroth.com) and Van Halen actually open up a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/VanHalen). And Alter Bridge/Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti (friend of Wolfgang) starts yakking after sitting in on the trio of Van Halen's playing new songs live in the studio - reporting back that the band used ''old demos for inspiration for new material" (www.vhlinks.com/vbforums/mark-tremonti-new-t52379.html).
Plus the band are also hitting to road for the first time since 2007 with dates in Australia in 10 weeks' time. So we know something's happening right?
Right! But when are we going to really hear something official and when will we hear the first new Van Halen material since 2004 and the first new album with David Lee Roth since 1983? Soon folks....

What we know is that the album is done and mixed...John Shanks finishing production work on it earlier this year (with other producer names likely to appear inside the album credits.) The rumoured album title is VH '11, 2011 (or Two Zero One One to be precise) and all rumours point to a mid/late September release.
A single was again rumoured to hit airwaves this weekend, but failed to happen.
What I have previously stated is that I personally believe the new album will be released in October, after Van Halen return home from Australia and a single could likely appear late this month or in August.

I am hoping to have some more precise information from a source close to official goings on later this week. Stay tuned...


But in the meantime, I was contacted last week by an anonymous source with a summary of rumours and "inside" information they happened to be privy to. Ok....due to the demand from fans wanting to hear about anything Van Halen related to keep them busy while counting down the seconds to hell freezing over (the new album appearing in store), here is a summary of the information I was sent.
This is certainly not being printed as gospel or fact, but merely as yet another in the series of much loved Van Halen Rumor Reports that have been printed over the last decade of this band's colourful history. So with that disclaimer in place....here goes folks....


RUMOUR ROUND UP!

- Eddie Van Halen was apparently prepared to tour again with no new album, reluctant to produce new songs. David Lee Roth and especially Wolfgang Van Halen wanted to record new tracks. Wolfgang Van Halen finally convinced his father that he didn't want to go out on tour to replace Michael Anthony, with no new material and without David Lee Roth's input.

- It is suggested that the music was the main thing in EVH's mind and David Lee Roth was asked only to contribute lyrics.

- Seventeen songs were prepared in demo form. One was an instrumental. Fourteen songs were properly recorded. This includes the instrumental. A couple of tracks are likely to be held over as bonus tracks for various uses. Management are currently negotiating with specialist retailers for a deal to release the album, with these bonus tracks possible to make an appearance if an agreement is reached.
- Because of distributing/promotion matters, the release date of first single is still up in the air, although it will (apparently) 'definitely' happen no later than 2nd week of August. The album is expected to be ready to ship in September. [I still say October...].
- Only two tracks feature keyboards of any type. One is the instrumental which briefly features piano. The other features keyboards in the intro, and 'lightly' in the chorus.

- Although Wolfang Van Halen did not write any of the lyrics to the new album, he had a bass solo he was preparing that he titled "Hurricanes", for which David Lee Roth wrote lyrics with the same working title. It is unclear if this song will be included on the album, but it was recorded in demo-form.

- The album title has not been chosen at this point. Many rumours have surfaced... Two likely working titles may be in the running which are "VH '11" and "Two Zero One One". Rumored titles that have not been officially dismissed by band members however are "Mammoth" and "Play".
This information has surfaced because of proposed artwork for the new album which at this point features a brown circle on a glass table with a silver and red Van Halen logo emblazoned upon it (the circle which looks like an M&M). There is a rumour that the brown circle is supposed to represent both the "Brown Sound" of Van Halen and also the infamous M&M chocolate candy contract rider of years past. The proposed artwork does not show all edges of the circle due to a possible 'infringement' with the candy-maker. Rather the outer edges of the circle are 'cut-off' by the square-edged artwork. The reverse side of the album jacket features all four members standing by a garden like area shot in a sepia tone. This photo and others were taken in May on the grounds of Edward Van Halen's studio, 5150. Inner booklet/lyric sheets photos were also shot in and around 5150. [Not sure about this folks...but I guess we'll know soon enough...]

- Two songs recorded have been selected as singles. One song sounding like an early era Van Halen combination of "Beautiful Girls/Jamie's Crying", and the other song sounding more in the vein of "Unchained"/"Drop Dead Legs" (this one features a very lengthy guitar solo by comparison).

- Although no song titles are 'confirmed' at this point, some of the 'working' song titles were/are: "Hurricanes", "Stop Talking" (which is one of the possible first two singles), "Down This Road", and "Who's Looking Back At You?". Other titles have been mentioned, only these four keep resurfacing.

So what do you think folks? It could be a rather detailed exclusive inside look at what's to come...or...not! It's a fun read at very least and further heightens the anticipation of the album and official information. Information I'll do my best to bring forth ASAP. But until then, enjoy the speculation!

[overmatik]

New pic from Eddie. He is looking great, even letting his hair growing back:



 

[Falcon]

I just finished the Hagar biography, a page turner to say the least.

Even for a non fan like myself, it's really interesting throughout.

The VH stuff is obviously the main course with the Montrose years and his business ventures
providing great reading as well.

[FunkyMonkey]

VAN HALEN - ALBUM & SINGLE STILL COMING; WORLD TOUR BEING BOOKED:

- The new Van Halen studio album has NO release date at this point as it is not yet 100% finished. Yep...they are still working on completing it. John Shanks did his bit and now Ross Hogarth, after working with the band in 2010 is back at 5150 to finish the job. There is a single imminent however, but again a date for that arriving at radio or retail is also not yet firm. I'm told "they" are still working on a final mix for the single.
As for a date for the album - I have said all along my money is on October. I'm sticking to that, but with this info, I'd say late October now. No way will the album drop while the band are in Australia and it is desired to have the album out by November because...
- Van Halen's US tour will commence in NOVEMBER!
- Van Halen's 2011/2012 tour will commence in November and I'm told it is likely that the band will stay on the road thru the next Northern summer (mid-2012) with the tour taking in Asia, South America and Europe (watch for the band to possibly headline some festivals in Europe 2012).

[FunkyMonkey]

Mark Tremonti (Creed, Alter Bridge) has heard the new album:

Rob: You have been in the music news a lot regarding you being one of the few people who heard the new Van Halen CD and now you will be going to do a few dates with them. How did you form a relationship with them?

Mark Tremonti: Yeah, well we first did shows with them back in the Creed days. Eddie actually gave me one of his guitars, and then years went by. It?s funny, at one of those old shows; I think at Madison Square Garden, he ran through a crowd of fans and press just to tell me how to set up the guitar with the springs on the guitar when he had Valerie and Wolfgang with him. And it meant a lot to me that he?d leave his family to come tell the young guitar player what to do.

I remember Wolfgang was six or seven years old then, and now, eleven years later, he has become a fan of Alter Bridge. He came out to some shows, and we?ve become friends. We invited him to Alter Bridge sound checks, and we hang out with him every time we go to LA.

He?s also played with Alter Bridge at the House of Blues the last time I was out there. He brought his dad to our show that was a crazy night. You had Slash and Eddie and Wolfgang Van Halen at the show!

The last time we went to LA, Wolfgang came and hung out with me and my buddy and asked if we wanted to go see practice the next day and I said ?Of course!? so he picked me up and got me into the studios at his dad?s house, where they played every song on the new record for me. It was just amazing.

Rob: Wow. From what I read it sounds like old school Van Halen.

Mark Tremonti: Yeah, it does. I haven?t heard a single vocal on it yet, but it definitely had the juice, it was great.

Rob: Was it like Van Halen 1, Van Halen 2, Fair Warning era?

Mark Tremonti: I think it was a mixture of it all. It wasn?t all edgy and dark like Fair Warning; it was a mixture, somewhere in the middle.

http://guitarinternational.com/2011/08/08/mark-tremonti-interview-alter-bridge-is-finally-getting-out-from-underneath-creeds-shadow/

[Bodhi]

It looks as though the king is about to reclaim his throne....I can't wait.

[FunkyMonkey]

Gibson Exclusive: Sammy Hagar Talks Van Hagar, Chickenfoot and Tequila

Gibson.com caught up with Sammy in the studio, where he openly (and, at times, fondly) spoke about his days in Van Halen, including the fact that he took a pay cut when he joined the band.

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/Sammy-Hagar-0817-2011/

[FunkyMonkey]

Sammy Hagar: Chickenfoot Is No Joke (But Van Halen Is)

August 23, 2011

"I'm so disappointed in those guys," Hagar notes. "I'm not even angry. I'm just disappointed. I really don't like them anymore, and I can't tell you how sad it is to me that what we had as creative guys, and as a friendship, how it just went away. Mike and I had the biggest laugh when they canceled (the Soundwave Festival in) Australia. He was like, 'I thought you told me they had canceled a couple months ago,' and I was, 'No, no, I told you they announced it.' 'Oh, they announced it,' and we just cracked up. They kill me."

http://www.billboard.com/news/sammy-hagar-chickenfoot-is-no-joke-but-van-1005325392.story#/news/sammy-hagar-chickenfoot-is-no-joke-but-van-1005325392.story

[LunsJail]

I see where Sammy is coming from but at some point he needs to stop talking shit. Chickenfoot is really nothing to write home about either.

[faldor]

Sammy seems to take the Steven Adler approach in speaking his mind without any filters.  He slams his ex bandmates one minute, then says he loves them the next.  I guess that's just the way some people operate.  Seems odd to me though.

[Dr. Blutarsky]

It's kinda well known VH is a dysfunctional group, but Sammy calling them a joke is a stretch. VH were not the ones to pull out of the Australian shows, the promoter cancelled the gigs because of poor ticket sales and Aerosmith backing out.

[Malcolm]

VAN HALEN has released a video trailer confirming that it will tour later in the year, with the first tickets scheduled to go on sale on January 10. The two-minute clip (see below) ? which was shot on November 14 at The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California ? apparently features visuals of the VAN HALEN bandmembers performing a brand new song (taken from the yet-to-be-released track's official video) set to the audio of several David Lee Roth-era VAN HALEN classics.

VAN HALEN's new record deal with Interscope was finalized last month and marks the first time the band has recorded away from Warner Bros. Records, which signed the group in 1977.

The new VAN HALEN album, its first with Roth since "1984" was released on the last day of 1983, will reportedly come out in 2012, possibly in February (as the graphic below seems to suggest).

[faldor]

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/van-halen-to-perform-at-new-yorks-cafe-wha-this-thursday-20120102

Van Halen to Perform at New York's Cafe Wha? This Thursday
Band expected to debut new single sometime this month

By Andy Greene
January 2, 2012 7:55 PM ET

Journalists across New York have been invited to a Van Halen concert at the Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village this Thursday.  Though nothing is official, word is the band are going to perform a 45-minute set. The group hasn't played in public since the end of their 2007/'08 reunion tour with original frontman David Lee Roth, though they have been rehearsing for their upcoming world tour at the Roxy in Los Angeles for the past few months. A new album is in the works, and a new image released by the band has the date 2.7.12 on it. A new video and single is expected to hit sometime this month. The tour goes on sale January 10th.

The 250-seat Cafe Wha? may seem like an unlikely place for Van Halen to launch their new tour, but the club has an important family connection to David Lee Roth. His uncle Manny Roth owned and operated the venue, providing a stage to then-up-and-coming acts such as Jimi Hendrix, Bill Cosby, Bob Dylan, Richard Pryor and many others.

While the Van Halen camp has been extremely quiet about the band's plans for 2012, they recently put up a giant billboard in Times Square and teaser footage showing the band rehearsing at the Roxy. They have also given the fansite VHLinks two exclusive videos of the band reminiscing about Eddie Van Halen's old Volvo and judging wet T-shirt contests back in the Seventies. The site also says that a "trusted source" tells them the band has been "busy booking rehearsal space and hotel rooms for the band and their crew for [this] week in NYC."