Showing posts with label David Lee Roth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Lee Roth. Show all posts

The Noel Monk Collection Auction

Van Halen 1978 Tulsa OK
Backstage Auctions, Inc. is proud to present their upcoming auction event which will feature the personal and private collection of Noel Monk, music industry veteran and most notably manager for Van Halen and tour manager for the Sex Pistols. The auction will go live on October 13, 2018 and feature hundreds of pieces of rare music memorabilia, including early day Van Halen, Sex Pistols and Fillmore East collectibles from the personal archives of Noel Monk. A special VIP All Access Preview of the entire online catalog will be available beginning September 26, 2018.
Van Halen 1978 Fully Band Signed Card
Van Halen 1978 Fully Band Signed Card

Noel Monk’s career reads like a storybook – and one that we all wish we could have been part of. His first and formative years took place under the wings of Bill Graham as the production/ stage manager at the Fillmore East in New York. From pouring Southern Comfort for Janis Joplin, fixing Chuck Berry’s broken amp to working the historic 1969 Woodstock Festival, Monk quickly learned the ropes of the music business. The early 1970s brought new experiences for Monk as he continued his career on the road with The Rolling Stones, Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, Tom Waits, David Sanborn, GO, Gasolin, Trapeze and Blue Cheer – to name just a few.


Sex Pistols 1977 - 1978 Crew Itineraries
Sex Pistols 1977-78 Crew Itineraries

Monk’s career took a pivotal turn in 1978 when he took The Sex Pistols on their first U.S. tour. His recollections and experiences were published in 1990 in the critically acclaimed book ‘12 Days on the Road: The Sex Pistols and America’, which is still in print.  Having barely recovered from his Sex Pistols gig, Monk was asked to go back on the road with another newly signed Warner Bros. Records act; Van Halen.


Van Halen 1978 First Tour Itineraries
Van Halen 1978 First Tour Itineraries
Monk took over as the manager for Van Halen in early 1979 and in the span of six years was instrumental in making the band one of the biggest rock acts in the world. Under Monk’s guidance, Van Halen ruled virtually every imaginable chart; from record and merchandise sales to concert attendance and good ol’ rock ‘n roll debauchery. Following brief stints as manager for David Lee Roth, Glenn Hughes and Prophet, Monk eventually retired from the music business in the ‘90s. In 2017 he published the best-selling ‘Runnin’ With The Devil’ memoir of Van Halen.

Backstage Auctions owner Jacques van Gool comments “we could not be more excited and honored to host this event, which is a true reflection of Noel’s impressive career. This once-in-a-lifetime auction offers predominately rare and one-of-a-kind items. Fans and collectors of Van Halen, Sex Pistols, Fillmore and vintage music memorabilia will not want to miss out on this opportunity”.

Van Halen 1978 Debut Album RIAA Record Award
Van Halen RIAA Award Debut Album 1978
Among the many highlights are gold and platinum Van Halen and Sex Pistols RIAA record awards, original artwork, never-before-seen photos, historic documents, personal correspondence and a deep selection of tour specific memorabilia. More than half of the nearly 800 auction lots are related to the Van Halen years and include anything from some of the oldest Van Halen tour t-shirts and backstage passes to signed Christmas cards and an array of prestigious RIAA record awards.  “I don’t believe there has ever been this much original and historic Van Halen memorabilia offered in a single auction”, comments van Gool. “There are itineraries for virtually every single Van Halen tour, molds for Van Halen jewelry, a Vox dressing room amp used by Eddie Van Halen, original photos from Helmut Newton…the list goes on and on and on”.

Glenn Hughes Owned and Used 1981 Bass Guitar
Glenn Hughes Owned/Used 1981 Bass Guitar
Sex Pistols collectors will find gems such as buttons worn by Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious, signed photos, original rooming lists and even Sid’s favorite Reggae cassette tape that he gave to Noel Monk. Fillmore aficionados will be thrilled to find a host of Bill Graham correspondence, BGP Presents posters and an amazing collection of over 100 hand-drawn stage diagrams from concerts the Fillmore East. Other stunning auction lots include a Glenn Hughes owned bass guitar, an one-hour interview cassette with Joe Strummer, vintage Hells Angels mementos, Johnny Cash soundboard tapes, rare Alice Cooper posters and a most impressive collection of Gasolin memorabilia; the biggest band to ever come out of Denmark.

Jeff Beck Owned and Used Guitar Slide Fillmore East 1960s
Jeff Beck Guitar Slide Fillmore East 1960s

The Noel Monk Collection Auction event starts October 13, 2018 and will run through October 21, 2018. A special VIP All Access Preview of the entire auction catalog will be available online beginning September 26, 2018 and is open to fans and collectors worldwide. 



For information and to register for a VIP Auction Pass visitBackstage Auctions

NOEL MONK began his career helping stage-manage Woodstock, served as Bill Graham’s right-hand man at the legendary Fillmore East, and worked with rock musicians including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones, The Sex Pistols and Van Halen. He is also the author of ’12 Days on the Road: The Sex Pistols and America’ and ‘Runnin’ With The Devil’ both are available for purchase directly from Amazon.

BACKSTAGE AUCTIONS is a boutique online auction house specializing in authentic rock memorabilia and exclusively representing legendary musicians and entertainment professionals directly. Every auction event is unique, reflecting the artist's legacy and chronicles their legendary career. Backstage Auctions has represented dozens of notable and very talented musicians, producers and managers in the music industry.

August 29, 2018


Randy Rhoads, Quiet Riot come into focus


Photographer releases new book, DVD on the original Quiet Riot

By Peter Lindblad


Randy Rhoads - The Quiet Riot Years
Red Match Productions
Kevin DuBrow took a liking to Ron Sobol right from the start. The Quiet Riot front man, now deceased, was a Humble Pie fan, and so was Sobol.

They were both budding photographers, although DuBrow would give up the camera for a chance at rock ‘n’ roll glory. Sobol, on the other hand, stuck with it, even going so far as to study film at the University of Southern California.

Before going to USC, though, Sobol was having the time of his life hanging out with Quiet Riot in the 1970s, taking behind-the-scenes photos and live video of the band whenever he had the chance. Randy Rhoads was in the band then, and he was already developing a reputation around Hollywood and Southern California as an unparalleled guitar slinger, an axe man of incredible dexterity, expression and imagination. His only competition: Eddie Van Halen. Yes, that Eddie Van Halen.

Unfortunately for Quiet Riot, it was Van Halen that scored the American record deal they coveted – though they did sign a Japanese deal for CBS/Sony. It wasn’t for lack of trying that Quiet Riot – at least the version featuring Rhoads, DuBrow, Kelly Garni and Drew Forsyth – failed to get that contract. Everyone around Quiet Riot tried to get the labels to notice them. Their management company, the Toby Organization, had connections. Warren Entner, one of the partners, had been in the Grass Roots, who had a number of hits in the 1960s. And the Toby Organization already had Angel, a band on the Casablanca label.

Despite their frustrations, that edition of Quiet Riot had a good time. And Sobol was part of it, serving as the band’s photographer, its lighting director and their friend. Now, Sobol has released a coffee table book that is packed to the rafters with tons of amazing images of the group and its wunderkind guitarist, who resembled Snoopy from the “Peanuts” cartoon. Titled “Randy Rhoads – The Quiet Riot Years,” it takes readers on an incredible journey back in time, providing a colorful pictorial history of that era of Quiet Riot’s existence.

From the early rehearsals to the backstage parties, the electrifying concert performances at clubs like The Starwood, the Troubadour and other Sunset Strips institutions and the photo shoot for Quiet Riot II, Sobol captured it all. The boys liked to have fun. Mischievous and delightfully devious, they enjoyed playing pranks on each other. They were young and energetic, having the time of their lives in Southern California, and they had no idea what life had in store for them. Sobol reveals that side of the band, as well as their more serious issues – such as recollections from those closest to Rhoads and DuBrow, talking about how they felt about those two shooting stars and what it was like when they found out both had die – in this extravagant biography.

Relying less on words than he does on pictures, Sobol presents a fully realized portrait of four ambitious young men who wanted to make it all the way to the top. Real life would get in the way, however, as Rhoads left to join forces with Ozzy Osbourne in one of heavy metal’s most incredible reclamation projects. Hurt by Rhoads’s decision, DuBrow nevertheless carried on, and eventually, he experienced success beyond his wildest dreams when Quiet Riot’s Metal Health hit No. 1. Sobol stuck around for that, too.

In addition to the book – which also includes sketches for the band’s flamboyant stage clothing, various business documents, concert ephemera and newspaper articles – Sobol has also crafted an insightful and revealing documentary film that features more still images as well as his super 8mm films of Quiet Riot tearing it up in concert. Interviews with the likes of Forsyth, fan club president Lori Hollen, Rhoads’s guitar tech Brian Reason, Rhoads’s guitar tech, and the one-time Jodi Raskin, the girlfriend of both Rhoads and DuBrow who also functioned as their stylist, along with clothing designer/artist Laurie MacAdam.

Together, the two releases offer the most exhaustive and lively history of the original Quiet Riot that’s ever been packaged. Sobol talked about the book and the DVD, as well as his experiences with Quiet Riot, in a recent interview.

The amount of photos in the book is unbelievable. Do you have anything left?
Ron Sobol: I’ve probably got a few left, but not much.

Maybe you’ve got another book in mind?
RS: Well, originally, it was going to be a book with all of my rock pictures, and just a little bit of Quiet Riot. But then there was so much Quiet Riot it looked like it would be more interesting as a book about Randy Rhoads, the Quiet Riot years, and so it became that. I used to shoot for Japanese magazines, so I shot Led Zeppelin, I shot Queen, I shot Journey, Aerosmith … a lot of bands. And they ended up in magazines in Japan. So we were going to use a lot of those pictures, but, like I said, we decided to concentrate on Quiet Riot, or Randy with Quiet Riot.

It seems like that’s the story that’s closest to your heart, being so involved with Quiet Riot.
RS: Yeah, it is. I did their lights, and I took their photographs. I took their first promo picture … I did everything. I designed the logo that was on the drum set. It was like the most fun … those 10 years from ’75 to 1985 were the most fun years of my life. And I think I said this in the movie, but I’ll say it to you for the interview: After Randy passed away, that’s when Quiet Riot pretty much broke up, because he left, [and then] Kevin resurrected Quiet Riot, and I was still working with him so I got to go on tour, doing lights for the “Metal Health” tour, and the tour after that, “Condition Critical.”  

What struck me about the book and the movie is that it seemed like there was such a family atmosphere around Quiet Riot and how everybody around Quiet Riot was pulling for this version of the band to make it big. Was that the case?
RS: Yeah, it was exactly what you said. It was all for one and one for all. The record deal was always just around the corner and it never quite happened. They did get to put out two records in Japan, but that was all that happened.

What do you recall about meeting Kevin DuBrow for the first time? You had that shared interest in photography. What did you think of him?
RS: (laughs) He was a character. My brother [Stan Lee, guitarist for the punk band The Dickies] introduced us, because of our mutual interest in Humble Pie. So Kevin said, “Why don’t you come over and bring your stuff, and I’ll show you what I’ve got.” And I went over to his house and he was living – he was 17, I think – with his parents. And he’s living in this tiny little bedroom with his brother. I don’t know how many people might be interested in this, but his brother [Terry] became a plastic surgeon and did this TV show called “The Swan.” And his wife is on the “Real Housewives of Orange County” – sometimes he’s on the show. So anyway, he’s living in this little room with his brother, but basically, it was Kevin’s room, because Kevin’s drum set was in there, the wall was plastered with rock pictures – clippings from magazines. Kevin was really tall. He was 6-foot-4, and so he could be a little intimidating to little ol’ me at 5-foot-7. But he was just a great guy. And actually, after I left his house that day, I never thought I’d necessarily see him again, but he'd called me up and said, “Hey, what are you doing? Let’s hang out.” And we became best friends.

And he was a really good photographer, too. Did he carry on with that at all, or was it something he abandoned when the rock thing took off?
RS: Yeah, once he started with Quiet Riot, he was done taking pictures. He was my biggest critic (laughs). If there was anything slightly out of focus, he’d say, “What’s wrong with you?”

He was like that, too, with Randy I suppose. He really pushed and prodded him to greatness.
RS: He wasn’t going to let anything stand in his way … not that Randy stood in his way. You know, if it wasn’t for Kevin, Randy might still be playing in a garage. Randy needed somebody to push him along. It was his mother that pushed him to go to the Ozzy interview.

You have a favorite picture of Randy in the book that’s kind of a portrait of him. How did that shot come about and why do you like it so much?
RS: Well, there’s a couple … I’m not sure if you’re talking about the one on the inside where I think he’s got a white jacket, and then there’s one on the back of the book. Okay, the one with the white jacket was taken in my parents’ backyard, and if you look closely behind it, there’s the swimming pool.

I think that’s the one …
RS: Okay. And why do I like it? It’s just Randy … here’s the thing about when I took pictures of these guys. Since I’d been taking photos of these guys, just about from the very first rehearsal, they were used to me being around, so their guard was always down and you’d see the real them in the pictures. They weren’t posing for me.

That’s what definitely comes across. They’re all very natural, as if they’re not aware of you at all.
RS: Right, because they were so used to me being there.

Along those lines, behind the scenes, it seemed that Quiet Riot was always cutting up and having a good time. Was that really the way it was?
RS: They were complete practical jokers always looking to get a rise out of someone. I was frequently the butt of their jokes.

Oh, is that right?
RS: However, one time, I was living with Kevin … he actually got me to move out of my parents’ house. He was roommates with – if you remember in the movie – Kim McNair, Randy’s friend. Kim was living with Kevin, and then Kim moved out, and Kevin said, “Why don’t you move in with me?” And I go, “Oh, I’m going to school. Living with my parents is a lot easier when you’re in school. I don’t have to think about paying rent and stuff.” He was relentless in saying, “You’ve got to move out. We’re going to have fun. There’ll be girls,” and as soon as he said that, I go, “All right. Okay.” So Quiet Riot was trying to get signed, and Van Halen was on the scene and they got signed first. And their record came out, and then their second record came out, and Quiet Riot still didn’t have an American record deal. Well, you’ve heard of Tower Records?

Sure.
RS: Tower Records would have all this promo stuff they’d always be giving away. And there was a postcard they were giving away, like the little pictures on the back of the second Van Halen album. You can actually see in the book this picture of David Lee Roth jumping with his legs spread, and I cut it out and stuck it on the head of Kevin’s … well, it was our cat, Larry the Cat. And I stuck it on the cat’s head and took a picture. And so then, I forget who actually started this running little practical joke, but one of us took the David Lee Roth thing and stuck it in the butter tub, underneath the lid so when the person opened the tub of butter, there it was. And it just kept escalating, where if it was my turn, ‘cause I found it, I would take it and … for instance, like I took the toilet paper roll and unrolled it part way, and then stuck it on the toilet paper roll so that when he was going to the bathroom, he’d see it while he was going to the bathroom … stuff like that. But that actually escalated to the shows at the Starwood, and I would tape the picture of Roth to the microphone, and Randy’s roadie, Brian [Reason], would do the same thing with pictures of Eddie Van Halen. Finally, they had enough and they just screamed at us, bloody murder, that “if you ever do that again, you’re fired.” And we stopped (laughed).

What were those early days like as they were gearing up to play clubs? Did they rehearse all the time? I know Randy was so dedicated to his craft, but were they really intent on honing their sound before getting out there?
RS: Well, Randy would teach guitar lessons in the daytime, and then at night, they’d rehearse. And they rehearsed probably four nights a week. They had a place where they could keep their equipment. First, they were rehearsing in the garage of their first manager, Dennis [Wageman], and he actually turned the garage into a rehearsal/recording studio. And after they left him, they got a place in Hollywood, and that was like, you know … that was the place to go. When they played, there were always people watching them rehearse – almost like a total party atmosphere. They could get a lot of work done because people were respectful that they had to rehearse, but afterwards, there would be this big row where people would be drinking and smoking and doing whatever. I think there are actually some pictures in the book of Kevin and some girls, where they’d take their tops off and … you know, more than that went on, but that’s the only documentation you could really put in the book without getting in trouble. And you know, it was total fun, camaraderie. You could just see how Randy was at rehearsal. The producers of [Quiet Riot's first two] records really didn’t capture him, because the difference between what we saw live and in rehearsal was incredible.

And Drew [Forsyth, Quiet Riot’s first drummer] talks about that in the movie, too. He was really disappointed that the producers couldn’t capture their live sound.
RS: I guess they probably needed more money behind the band to hire a producer that could really do the trick, but it just never happened.

Take me back to those days at the Starwood and set the scene for me. What were those shows like? I know [Quiet Riot fan club president] Lori Hollen would bus in fans she knew. The shows must have been electric.
RS: They were pretty much selling the Starwood out, or the Whisky or wherever they were playing. They would get great crowds. One thing we were trying to do was they were trying to bring an arena atmosphere into a club, where we brought our own lights in and our own fog. We brought in strobe lights. There was an intro tape, which in the movie you can hear a little of the intro tape, and I believe there’s a special feature where you hear the whole thing – I haven’t really played the [DVD]. I worked on the thing for two years, so it’s not like I can keep watching it (laughs). But there’s an intro tape with a lot of police lights and then we had police lights, strobe lights, fog … it was a whole big deal to make it a special experience, not just jumping on a stage and start playing. We wanted to create an atmosphere of fun.

It sounds like the crowds really took to the band, too. What was the band like onstage? I know from watching some of the live footage in the movie you get a sense of it, but they just had great charisma and personality.
RS: Yeah, they were all class clowns, and they knew how to put on a good show. If you watch the movie, like during Randy’s solo, you can see on his face how much fun he’s having. And I haven’t seen too many people who could play as well as he did while moving around like he did at the same time.

Going back to how good a time Quiet Riot liked to have, some of the funniest shots in the book – I think it’s in the movie, too – had to do with one particular show when they went backstage after they were done and put on all those dresses.
RS: That was at a show they did … actually, they opened for Van Halen. I believe it was Glendale College … yeah it was the college, because I remember it was backstage of the auditorium, where they store all the clothes for school plays. There were a bunch of dresses. They decided to put them on, and I took pictures of it, and it was one of those fun things they did, and I had great pictures. I took movies of them wearing the clothes; that’s in the movie. Anything that was around that they could use as a prop, they would do.

Talk about shooting the cover for Quiet Riot II.
RS: Okay, well, somehow the concept was thought of – I can’t remember it exactly. Kevin wanted to call the record – it was their second record – 2nd and 10 – 10 songs on their second record. It was a football term. And I said, “Can I shoot it?” Here’s what we’ll do: We’ll have you guys in a locker room, with these football players, and the juxtaposition of you skinny guys with these huge football players might make an interesting picture. Kevin said, “Okay, let’s do it, but it’s on spec. You’ve got to pay for it. If we can’t use it, I’m sorry.” To me, it was worth the expense to try to get it done. So I rented all this equipment, and I paid the football players … I went to this school. I was going to Valley College at the time. It’s a junior college in Van Nuys, Calif. And first, I got permission to use the locker room, and then I asked the football coach if I could use the players. And he said, “Yep, that’s fine with me.” So I offered them $50 to be models. Four of them jumped on it right away. They said, “Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll do it. I’ll do it.” And they were great. They did everything I wanted. And the band was great, too. So, we went to the locker room, and we spent about four hours in there that day shooting pictures. It came out great. And our concept was like the back cover has the baseball cards … football cards or baseball cards. That was our concept, too. Sent a mock-up of the thing to Japan, and it came back where they said, “Yeah, great.” The record comes back, like the finished copy, and it’s called Quiet Riot II. And we were going, “Why did they call it Quiet Riot II?” Well, because they don’t play football in Japan. So, 2nd and 10 meant nothing to them. It’s just one of those things that people don’t think about.

I particularly like the shot of that big lineman carrying Randy around.
RS: Yeah, everybody had a great time that day. It’s just like, hey, I never imagined when I was taking those pictures just for fun that they’d end up in a book. Kevin actually wanted to do a book with me, and he said, “Get your stuff together, we’ll write a book about the Quiet Riot years.” And then he called me back, and he goes, “You know, I found out it’s going to cost X amount of money to make these. I don’t know what we could sell them for. Plus, I have to go out on tour again with Quiet Riot …” You know, they were playing clubs. And so that idea got put by the wayside. And I got all the stuff together, and now it’s almost like Kevin was there with me doing this.

I was going to ask what it was that made you put out the book at this time.
RS: Well, you probably know about that other book [“Randy Rhoads,” by Andrew Klein and Steven Rosen]. I gave those guys pictures, and I called up Andrew Klein one day and asked, “What’s up with that book?” He said, “Oh, it’s done. Do you want to see it?” I said, “Yeah, okay.” So I meet him, and he has it on a computer disc. And I couldn’t believe it. I told him, “This is the best rock book I’ve ever seen.” Have you seen it?

Yeah, yeah. It’s great.
RS: Oh, you have it?

Yep.
RS: Is it one of the best rock books you’ve ever seen?

It was my rock book of 2012.
RS: Okay (laughs). I said, “Can you do that for my stuff? We’ll do ‘Randy Rhoads – The Quiet Riot Years.’” Because I still have more pictures. They thought I gave them all my pictures, but I didn’t. And they said, “Let’s do it.” And I think I already said this to you, we were originally going to do all my stuff. I mentioned that, right?

Yes.
RS: We were just going to do this, because there was so much stuff.

One of the really fun parts of the book and the movie has to do with the protests, where Quiet Riot supporters took to streets and picketed various record companies in an attempt to get them to sign the band. Talk about how that came about and what it was like to shoot that.
RS: The band was really frustrated about not getting a record deal, and they were sitting around saying, “What can we do? What can we do?” And Rudy [Sarzo, who had replaced Garni in Quiet Riot after Garni was kicked out for allegedly pulling a gun on Rhoads during an argument] says, “Well, maybe we can go protest at the record companies and picket the record companies. (laughs)” And Kevin goes, “That’s a great idea.” So we got the fan club president to rally the fans and we made t-shirts. Everybody got a t-shirt, so you can see this in the movie, where there are pictures from Kevin’s apartment where we were … well, it was mine and Kevin’s apartment. We silk-screened Quiet Riot t-shirts, gave ‘em out to all the kids, rented a flat-bed truck – which now we wouldn’t have gotten 10 feet on the street without getting arrested – piled all the kids in the truck, made a schedule to hit all the record companies, called local news to come out. But we kept missing the news, because when we went to Burbank to picket Warner Bros. Records, they said, “You can’t do this without a permit.” So, we had to leave and our whole schedule was off because of that. So, I decided, “Well, look. I’ve been taking pictures of everything else, why don’t I take pictures of this?” So I got those pictures.

Were you ever along for any of the [record label] showcases Quiet Riot played?
RS: Yeah, in the book there are pictures from those showcases. They would do a set, and then the guy would come in, so they would rehearse before they played for the record executive. So I think I had to leave the room. The pictures are from them doing it before the record executive came in, because they wouldn’t need me sitting there taking pictures and being distracting. I would take them before and then leave and find out later whether they got the deal or not. It was like a full dress rehearsal, where they would wear their stage clothes and do the whole show.

The DVD has such great live footage. What was your favorite live segment in the movie and was it difficult to edit that all together?
RS: Was it difficult to edit it all together? I think it was just like we started chronologically from the beginning. I guess it was difficult putting the music to the story – where to put which songs, but there was so much material that it just kind of organically … I kept giving the editor more stuff. Like, we had the interviews and we had the live footage, the Super 8 mm footage, and I had all this other footage. Like, there’s a part in there where Kevin was in a band with my brother, Stan Lee from The Dickies, before The Dickies started. The bass player in that little segment, if you remember in the movie, he was a member of The Dickies, and the drummer, his name was Danny Benair. He was in a band called The Three O’Clock. So, I shot that, and there are actually two movies, but for some reason, I’ve only got one. They were doing “Can’t Explain” [The Who] and then we had the tape of them doing it, and we’d sync it up, because back then there was no videotape – at least affordable videotape. And then they also did “Moonage Daydream,” but I don’t know where that is. So I had that, and I had all my films from when I went to USC film school, so you see a little bit of that. And then I have my “just joking around” films.

Yeah.
RS: For something like this, you need a really good editor, and we had a really good editor. His name is Matt McUsic. And he did a great job.

One of the really cool things I thought from the DVD was when Brian Reason [Randy’s guitar tech] was talking about Randy’s trademark solo. Was that planned or did he just start talking about it and it seemed like that would be a perfect thing for the movie?
RS: No, we wanted him to talk about the solo for the movie. That was definitely planned. We didn’t tell him what to say. We just asked him to describe being the guitar tech during Randy’s solo, and that’s my favorite part of the movie.

I think it’s mine, too. It’s amazing how meticulously thought out it was. Maybe sometimes we as rock fans don’t think about that when we're hearing a guitarist do a solo.
RS: Yeah, I mean he was obviously an improviser in the solo, and it was very night to night. But, you know, that was pretty much what he did – depending on the crowd, as it is with any other artist or musician, they feed off the crowd, but that was just an unbelievably great solo he did. I think it was better than the solo he did … he kind of took parts of it for the Ozzy solo he did, but I think this is way better and I’m pretty sure it’s longer.

I wanted to ask you, too, about Kelly Garni and the incident that happened where the two were arguing and he's alleged to have pulled a gun on Rhoads. Were people pretty willing to talk about that?
RS: Yeah, yeah. Even he talked about it. Kelly is not shy about talking about it.

It’s such a rough part of the movie seeing two childhood friends grow apart. It’s a really tragic part of the movie.
RS: Yeah, well, Kelly … you know, has that little problem, drinking. I would say that as far as Quiet Riot goes, that was his undoing. Stuff happens and people live and learn, and I’m sure he probably somewhere regrets it.

As far as the end of that stage of Quiet Riot’s existence, when Randy left, did you have any inkling that he was going to leave at some point?
RS: We had no clue. I didn’t think he was going to go do that. We couldn’t believe that he left. We couldn’t believe he took the gig because he wasn’t like a Black Sabbath fan or anything. And obviously, at that point, having been kicked out of Black Sabbath, somebody was probably considering him washed up and somebody believed in him, and it worked out great for Randy for him to go play in that band.

What about the day that Randy died? What do you remember about talking to Kevin about it and how he dealt with it?
RS: Well, I was driving in my car listening to the radio, and they played two Ozzy songs in a row, or Blizzard of Ozz songs in a row. Usually when they do that, at least back then, it meant something bad had happened. Nobody played two songs in a row and they said, “That’s dedicated to the late, great Randy Rhoads, who died in a plane crash today.” Well, I hadn’t heard of any airliner going down, so I called Kevin and I said, “What is this?” He goes, “There was a small plane crash. Randy’s dead.” I went over to his house and we were crying and hugging each other and tried to deal with it. I mean, who could believe something like that would happen? I’ve actually been up in a small plane. Now, I would never do it again, but when you’re young, you just do stuff and you don’t think about it. There’s no explanation for it. It’s just one of those crazy, weird life things.

Did you go to the funeral, too?
RS: Yes.

That must have been, as any funeral would be, an unbelievable scene.
RS: There were a lot of people there, and it was just tragic. I still can’t believe that happened.

What is your favorite memory of Randy? You talked about what a generous guy he was in the book, especially with his time in helping young guitarists.
RS: Well, I can give you a couple. One, like you were talking about, has to do with him teaching guitar. He was actually teaching me stuff on the guitar. He taught me my favorite Quiet Riot song, which was “It’s Not So Funny.” He taught me how to play that. And then when he came back from Ozzy, he taught me how to play “Crazy Train.” He was always teaching, like, “Yeah, sure. Here’s how to play that.” I would have to say a special memory was … it was pretty much a few months after I met him and the band had started, I got pneumonia. And I was in the hospital for a week and him and Kevin came to the hospital to cheer me up. I thought that was really special because who wants to go visit somebody in the hospital. So that was kind of a special thing, where it was like, “Yeah, we’re friends.”

During Quiet Riot’s Metal Health days, what was your favorite memory of that time? You got to see that band finally get the exposure that they deserved.
RS: Um, I would say the US Festival was pretty special. When John Cougar Mellencamp dropped out, and Quiet Riot got to fill his spot, they had to fly out special. I think we were in Minnesota or somewhere when they got the call to do it. I can’t remember exactly, but it was somewhere [around] the Mississippi, and they were going to play in the daytime, so they didn’t need me to do lights, ‘cause I was out on tour with them doing lights. But they took me anyways, so I got to go. And what was there – four hundred thousand, five hundred thousand people there watching that show?

One of the cool things about Quiet Riot was their look, too, with their clothes made by I believe Laurie MacAdam?
RS: Lori was designing the clothes, and then Jodi [Raskin, the one-time girlfriend of both DuBrow and Rhoads] would sew clothes.

How was that to work as their lighting director? I mean, they must been such a visually cool band anyway.
RS: Yeah, well, I got to bring in extra spotlights, and we brought in strobe lights and fog, so they let me do whatever I wanted, which was great. I knew the songs … here’s how I started doing the lights for them. What happened was, the lights would always be so dim or poor for photographs. I’m looking at my pictures and I didn’t like to shoot with a flash. I wanted to capture what they really looked like, but the lights were so poor for photographs that I said, “You know what? Let me start doing the lights. I know the songs.” And they said, “Go for it.” So that’s how I started doing the lights, because I knew all the songs anyways, so it was just natural.

What do you want people to glean from this book and the DVD?
RS: You can see what it was like to be an up-and-coming band in the late ‘70s and what it took to either make it or not. And you see the trials and tragedies and then eventual worldwide domination – two guys that had a dream who went their separate ways and got big in two separate ways. They had this one-for-all and all-for-one theme of everybody working together.

You can really get a sense of what it was like being young and living in California at that time.
RS: Yeah, it was great. I mean, that 10 years – I think I said it – were the best 10 years of my life and everything you’ve ever heard, when I got to tour with Quiet Riot during the Metal Health tour, everything you’ve heard about stuff that happens in a rock band happened. 

That’ll be in the next book, huh?
RS: Yeah. That’d be a good one: “Quiet Riot – the Metal Health Years.”

Click Here for Additional Information: Red Match Productions

Van Halen Memorabilia Hits a High Note in The Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction


Few bands in the history of music have enjoyed the success and longevity that has graced Van Halen. Their earliest hits can still be heard on a daily basis on radio stations worldwide, and they still manage to sell out arenas wherever they go! Though they’ve managed to keep an audience of diehard fans throughout the years, hardly anyone will disagree that the early Van Halen years - the late 1970s to early 1980s - were their best in terms of songwriting, concerts and overall sensationalism. With that in mind, we are thrilled about the amazing collection of - predominantly early - Van Halen LPs, posters, concert t-shirts, photos and promotional items available in the Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction! With over 70+ unique Van Halen lots in the auction, we thought it would be nice to highlight a few that will turn some heads.


VAN HALEN 1978 DEBUT ALBUM SIGNED BY ALL 4 MEMBERS
It doesn't get much better than this; Van Halen's debut album from 1978, boldly signed with a silver marker by all four original members; Eddie, Alex, Michael and David. As far as signed Van Halen memorabilia goes, this is one of the premier items to own. The album - which is a promotional copy - shows very light sleeve wear and is overall in EX- condition.


1978 Van Halen Debut Album - Fully Signed by all 4 Members 

VAN HALEN 1979 EDDIE VAN HALEN SIGNED PUBLICITY PHOTO
This 8 x 10" original black and white Eddie Van Halen publicity photo is signed by Eddie with a fine red marker. The photo is in Good overall condition, however, has a stain along the left border and slight discoloration likely from sun exposure.

Eddie Van Halen 1979 Signed Publicity Photo



VAN HALEN DAVID LEE ROTH 1982 L.A. CONCERT WORN T-SHIRT
During their September 10, 1982 show at the L.A. Forum in Inglewood, California, David pulled off this original tour shirt and tossed it in the front rows.....and by sheer miracle, we were able to find an original 3 x 5 inch photo from that show, taken just minutes before the shirt went flying.
The shirt is - as one might expect - all caught up along the neck and sides, with the sleeves complete missing. There's a bit of dirt along the bottom (likely from the ensuing battle for the shirt) but with a historic relic such as this, the condition hardly seems relevant. With practically no stage worn attire of Van Halen ever offered in public, it goes without saying that this is a rare opportunity to own something that actually donned DLR's neck!


1982 David Lee Roth Concert Worn T-Shirt...or what is left of it! 

1982 David Lee Roth Concert Worn T-Shirt - Backside

VAN HALEN 1979 LOS ANGELES FORUM CONCERT USED BEACH BALL
an Halen played the final show of their Van Halen II Tour at the L.A. Forum on October 7, 1979. During the encore, roadies on either side of the stage threw a bunch of beach balls onto the stage, several of which ended up in the front rows. This was the first, last and only time Van Halen ever used these beach balls in concert! Featured here is one of those original beach balls from that concert! This lot is made complete with an original 8 x 10" color photo of David Lee Roth onstage at the concert a midst a pile of beach balls.


1979 Van Halen Concert - DLR with the Beach Balls on Stage

1979 Van Halen Concert Used Beach Ball

VAN HALEN 1977 - 1981 VINTAGE LIVE ALBUM COLLECTION
Featured here is a fine collection of vintage rare Van Halen live albums! Included are:

* 1977 - Atomic Punks - Live at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium 12/20/77 (EX/ EX)
* 1977 - Die Laughing - Pasadena, CA 12/20/77 (VG+/ EX)
* 1977 - Van Halen Live - Pasadena, CA 12/20/77 (VG/ EX)
* 1978 - Suspicious Performance - Pasadena Live Concert (EX/ VG)
* 1979 - Japan Tour (In original shrink wrap, VG+/ EX+)
* 1980 - Special Offer (London Rainbow Ballroom, 2-LP, EX/ VG)
* 1980 - The Good, The Bad & Van Halen (Live at the London Rainbow Ballroom, 2-LP, EX/ VG+)
* 1981 - L.A. Sports Arena (2-LP, clear red vinyl, upper left corner sleeve damage, EX/ Good)
* 1981 - L.A. Sports Arena (2-LP, black vinyl, severe upper left corner damage, EX/ Fair)

Pictured is Van Halen's "The Good, The Bad & Van Halen" 1980 Album

VAN HALEN 1979 VINTAGE & RARE BAND T-SHIRT
This 1979 Van Halen band t-shirt is a Medium that measures 17" from armpit to armpit, 24" from top to bottom and is in VG condition.


Vintage 1979 Rare Van Halen Band T-Shirt

VAN HALEN 1979 LIVE ON TOUR GLITTER SHIRT
This really cool 1979 Van Halen 'Live On Tour' glitter shirt is a 2-sided Large that measures 19" from armpit to armpit, 22" from top to bottom and is in overall VG condition.


Van Halen 1979 Live on Tour Glitter shirt
 VAN HALEN, IRON MAIDEN & SCORPIONS 1982 CONCERT POSTER
This is a rare and unique original 1982 concert poster for the Chicago UIC Pavilion, featuring Loverboy (Grand Opening), Scorpions, Iron Maiden and Van Halen. Measuring 7 1/4 x 14", this small poster bears light corner and surface wear but is in overall Good condition.


1982 Van Halen, Iron Maiden & Scorpions Poster

VAN HALEN RARE MICHAEL ANTHONY & E.V.H. GUITAR PICK LOT
This is a lot of 6 rare Van Halen guitar picks! There is one Eddie Van Halen concert-used guitar pick in the lot, which is white on tortoise and shows several grooves on the left side of the pick from Eddie's pick sliding. !! The remaining picks in the lot are all unused Michael Anthony picks. There is 1 black on orange, 2 white on red and 2 black on off-white Michael Anthony picks.

Super Rare E.V.H. and Michael Anthony Guitar Pick Lot

VAN HALEN / ALEX VAN HALEN 1990s CONCERT USED DRUMSTICKS
Featured here is not a complete pair of used Alex Van Halen drumsticks, rather, 2 different sticks individually concert-used by the legendary rock drummer. Both sticks are Regal Alex Van Halen signature sticks, but different types of sticks. The first is a traditional drumstick that has two very distinct ends - a handgrip end, and the tip. This stick measures roughly 17 1/2" and shows very light use, though it is covered in little dark marks that give the illusion of being more heavily used.
The second stick is a 'butt ends' style of stick, meaning both ends of the stick can be used as the handgrip. This stick measures roughly 15" and shows much heavier use, including wood splintering. Together, these sticks would look great displayed with a nice signed Van Halen photo or LP! Be sure to look at all the rest of our awesome Van Halen lots in this auction! Rock on!





This preview is really just the tip of iceberg! With so many great Van Halen lots in the auction, we’re positive there will be something to catch your eye. Be sure to check out all the Van Halen lots by clicking Van Halen in the Featured Artists section!

The Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction will go live and open for bidding on Saturday, April 21st and come to a close a week later on Sunday, April 29th. For more information visit our Auction Page. Grab your VIP All Access Pass today and get yourself a piece of Metal history!

CD Review: Van Halen - A Different Kind of Truth

CD Review: Van Halen - A Different Kind of Truth
Interscope Records
All Access Review:  A-


When it comes to anything and everything related to Van Halen, the truth is always subjective. The first time around, when David Lee Roth exited stage left, what exactly happened between him and the rest of that band that caused their very public and nasty divorce? Then there was the whole Sammy Hagar debacle. Did he leave of his own volition or was he canned by Eddie and Alex? On the heels of that messy split came the aborted 1996 reunion with Roth and the MTV Music Awards fiasco that led Eddie to say something to the effect of, if Roth ever addressed him in a certain way again, “ … he’d better wear a cup.” If ever anyone was to attempt to write a rock and roll soap opera, they might as well abandon the idea right now, because chances are, no writer could, in his wildest dreams, concoct the kind of drama that has already unfolded within Van Halen.

And so, here we are in 2012, and pigs now evidently can fly. Roth is back in the Van Halen fold and a new album has arrived, the blessed event preceded by the release of an unsatisfying first single, “Tattoo,” that led to much head-scratching and quizzical expressions. Betrayed by a weak, lazy chorus, Eddie’s “going through the motions” solo and a sort of forced attempt to bring back that cheeky fun the boys exuded on smash hits like “Hot For Teacher” and “Jump,” “Tattoo” received mixed reviews – to put it charitably – and torpedoed expectations for A Different Kind of Truth, Van Halen’s first album with Roth since 1984. The bar lowered well below where it was set for Guns ‘N Roses’ Chinese Democracy, it turns out Van Halen was sandbagging us all along. Supposedly working off bits and scraps of material the band had left over from the good old days Van Halen has transformed this pile of ephemera into a powerhouse album engorged with Roth’s circus-barker vocals, Alex’s brawny, wrecking-ball drumming and the kind of molten riffs and high-flying, supersonic solos that made Eddie Van Halen a legend.

A Different Kind of Truth washes out the bad taste of “Tattoo,” the opening track, almost immediately with the rampaging stampede of “She’s The Woman.” As if circling high above a freshly killed carcass, in buzzard-like fashion, Eddie whips up a dazzling, intricate intro to the track that rushes headlong into a prison break of heavy, unbridled riffs and tenderizing rhythms. What should have been the initial single, “You and Your Blues,” is more darkly melodic, chugging tantalizingly ahead before giving way to a deceptively simple, cascading chorus that’s disarming, instantly memorable and becomes even more rewarding with repeated listens. Clearly, Eddie is reinvigorated and out to prove that he’s still the champ, as the dizzying flurry of knockout blows he delivers in the thundering blitzkrieg that is “China Town” – the closest Van Halen has ever come to sounding punk, although the raging, speed-addicted “Bullethead” that crops up two songs later would be a close second – so exquisitely proves, especially with the blindingly fast, Yngwie Malmsteen-like fretwork that turns the ignition on this hard-working engine.

A truly great guitar record, with scorching leads and contorted figures strategically placed throughout its burning landscape like claymore mines and Eddie effortlessly executing the kind of hairpin twists and turns that would cause other guitarists to crash and burn, A Different Kind of Truth gnashes its teeth and wails at a world that had begun to see Van Halen as a joke. It’s no party album; actually, it’s more of a thrill ride, a fast, frenzied rollercoaster that speeds through some of the darker territory Van Halen once traversed in “Runnin’ With the Devil,” “And the Cradle will Rock” and “Mean Streets” – “Honeybabysweetiedoll,” with its mad-dog growl and exotic Middle Eastern overtones, and “As Is” matching, chord for explosive chord, their surging power.

Uncharacteristically, though as slyly charming and as entertaining as ever, Roth seems comfortable taking a backseat to Eddie on A Different Kind of Truth, except on “Outta Space,” the philosophical “The Trouble with Never” and “Stay Frosty.” Roth’s trademark swagger and that comedic charisma he has are in full effect on the bluesy, gleefully entertaining “Stay Frosty,” which carries on the acoustic tradition and vaudevillian soft shoe of “Ice Cream Man” and “Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now).” Propelled by the propulsive, pounding bass lines and Eddie’s stop-start dynamics that drive the humorous “Outta Space” forward, Roth lets it all hang out, singing as if he’s fighting for his career, dipping low and then rising to wrestle with Eddie’s guitar for the spotlight. Every grunt, yelp and excited utterance is emitted in the moment and without preconception, and for the first time in a long while, Roth, though never a great singer, doesn’t come off as self-serving or clownish.

Although there really isn’t a clear radio hit – even “You and Your Blues” is bereft of that mysterious “it” factor that pushes a song up the charts – and it could do with a little more refinement as far as song construction goes, A Different Kind of Truth leaves you breathless by the end, its energy and intensity almost overwhelming. Less generous with those big, juicy hooks of theirs than one would expect and missing those vocal harmonies that Michael Anthony used to supply in spades, A Different Kind of Truth is, nonetheless, a tour de force for Eddie, a chance for him to showcase all the new tricks he’s learned. Despite its clunky title, the album is a sonic whirlwind, and when everybody was asking what kind of response Van Halen had for Chickenfoot, nobody imagined that this was what Eddie and the gang had in mind. In its quest for truth, Van Halen has rediscovered much of what made them great in the first place.

- Peter Lindblad

VH Interview 
(direct from the Van Halen website) 

5150: A Changing of the Guard


Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony reflect on 25th Anniversary of the chart-topping album, Hagar's first with Van Halen after the departure of David Lee Roth. 

By Peter Lindblad

Somebody had to go, and it wasn't going to be Eddie Van Halen. Not with his brother, Alex, on his side and the very name of the band at stake.Whether he left Van Halen of his own volition or was kicked to the curb by the two siblings, David Lee Roth found himself on his own in April of 1985, ready to eat them or anybody else and smile that 1,000-watt smile to the world. However, the future of Van Halen, this hard-partying, hard-rocking juggernaut from California that had vaulted up the pop charts, was in doubt - that is until Eddie made friends with fellow sports car lover Sammy Hagar while his Lamborghini was in the shop. But, at first, Hagar was apprehensive about joining Van Halen.

"My first reaction was, 'I don't want to be in that f**king band,' because Dave's image kind of overshadowed the band. It really did," said Hagar. "The general public, they heard the music on the radio, but me, I was in the industry. And I heard all the tales, and I would go into a building, the same arena where they had just played, and you hear all the horror stories, and I always thought, 'I don't want to be in no f**king band like that.' And so, I said, 'Well, I'll go down and check 'em out.' It's pretty much in the book [Hagar's best-seller "Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock"] about all this, but I thought I would check 'em out and maybe get Eddie to play on one of my records - not to be in the band or nothing, but I thought he was a really talented guitar player, and you know, I'm going to do a new record. I'll get him to play on the record, you know. And I went down and jammed with Ed, Al and Mike, and I went, 'Holy shit. This is f**king good.' And they went, 'Holy shit. This guy can sing.' And it was just magic from that moment on."

Hagar's arrival signaled a change in direction for Van Halen. More emphasis was placed on Eddie's shiny new toy, the synthesizer, and Hagar's sincerity as a songwriter starkly contrasted the "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" sarcasm and unabashed hedonism boasted by Roth's lyrics. It was a marriage that later turned rocky, but in the beginning, the partnership between Hagar and Van Halen would produce the biggest selling album of the band's career, the chart-topping 5150, named after the California police code for a mentally deranged person. 5150 turned 25 years old in 2011, and the switch from Roth to Hagar was as controversial a lineup change as rock music has ever witnessed.

Tensions boil over

 1984, and the high-flying videos for "Jump" and "Panama" - not to mention the titillating "Hot for Teacher" schoolboy fantasy, rolling along on Alex's barreling drums, Anthony's howitzer bass, Roth's lascivious clowning and Eddie's hot-wired guitars  - that were all over MTV, had made the men of Van Halen giants. Only Michael Jackson, with the indomitable Thriller ruling the charts with an iron fist, was bigger. Onstage, every night was a party to end all parties, the greatest rock and roll show on earth. Eddie's dizzying, thermonuclear guitar fretwork dazzled, while Roth's outrageous showmanship, impossible gymnastics, cheeky humor and hairy-chested machismo made him a golden god.

Behind the scenes, however, during the 1984 tour, jealousy and personality clashes, issues that had dogged the band for years, were tearing Van Halen apart. Eddie could no longer stomach Roth's spotlighting-hogging ego, while Roth was becoming increasingly irritated by Eddie's substance abuse and moonlighting without the band's approval. Furthermore, there were creative differences, Roth becoming more insistent upon moving toward more of a pop-oriented sound, as opposed to Eddie's desire for increased musical complexity. There are two sides to every story, says the old saw, and the backbiting and accusations that have flown back and forth regarding Roth's departure are rivaled only by the litigious slings and arrows of the Mark Zuckerberg-versus-the Winklevoss twins Facebook saga.

Little did bassist Michael Anthony know then that a similar drama would play out when Roth's replacement, Sammy Hagar, was booted from Van Halen in 1996, before Anthony himself, in the mid-2000s, was exiled from the band he'd been in since 1974.

"In the latter days of Van Halen, before I was out of the band, you almost start to lose perspective on why we're doing this in the first place, because Van Halen became a pretty well-oiled machine - touring and everything, and of course, it all becomes big business and whatever," said Anthony. "It almost got to the point where we never got into the studio to really jam, like we do in Chickenfoot [the band he's in now with Hagar, Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer Chad Smith and guitarist extraordinaire Joe Satriani]."

Chance of a lifetime

Things weren't always that way with what many refer - sarcastically or affectionately - to as the "Van Hagar" years. When Sammy Hagar entered the picture, stepping in for Roth as Van Halen's singer and rhythm guitarist in 1985, his arrival was a breath of fresh air. Introduced by a mechanic, of all people, sports car lovers Hagger and Eddie initially hit it off. But, before this fortunate happenstance, Van Halen had been foundering in its search for a new lead vocalist. As the story goes, Patty Smyth of Scandal was offered the role, but she nixed the idea. Jimmy Barnes was considered, too, but nothing ever came of it. Haggar, as it turned out, was the ideal replacement, even if news of his enlistment wasn't greeted with cheers and toasts from everyone.

For Haggar, joining Van Halen was the chance of a lifetime. Though he'd had solo hits, including the ubiquitous "I Can't Drive 55" in, of all years, 1984, and AOR staples such as "There's Only One Way to Rock," "Three Lock Box" and 1982's "Your Love is Driving Me Crazy," which rose all the way to #13 on the Hot 100 chart, Van Halen was playing in a different league. And after the trials and tribulations the Red Rocker experienced earlier in his career with Montrose, Haggar was grateful for the reception he received in Van Halen.

"Montrose ... Montrose wasn't that much fun," admits Hagar. "You know, we were fun, but we were poor on our ass and we bombed at practically every show we played. (laughs) We got booed ... oh yes. I mean, we headlined Winterland in San Francisco, and we headlined Paris at the Olympia Theater - the only two cities in the world where Montrose was the headline act. The rest of the time, we were an opening act, and we got booed off whenever we opened for anybody. It was like, 'F**k. Why doesn't anyone like us?' (laughs) And then we went on to sell, over the years, four million albums of that first [Montrose] record and we never even made the Top 200. It was never even on the charts. So, you know, that wasn't that much fun (laughs). It was like being in the f**king infantry, on the front lines the whole time, you know (laughs)."

Hagar, though, had his detractors, even though his technical proficiency on guitar - something Roth never had - expanded Van Halen's capabilities, allowing Eddie more opportunities to play synthesizer live. Many of them would continue to deride Hagar long after 5150, Van Halen's first album with Hagar onboard, had fallen off the charts, but Hagar had the last laugh.

"Oh man, joining the band, having the same old thing that always happens with everything I do - the doubting Thomases [that say], 'Aw, this is never going to work. Sammy's a whole different guy. Nobody can replace Roth,'" recalls Hagar.

As the skeptics lined up to express their misgivings, Van Halen went in the studio with Hagar in November 1985 to bang out 5150 in short order. Wasting little time, the band assumed a bunker mentality during the recording sessions, which would quickly yield fruit.

"Just going in there while we were making the 5150 record, we were on fire," remembers Hagar. "You know, we locked everybody out. No one came in but our manager and our engineers and producer, [Foreigner's] Mick Jones, and so forth. And everybody in that room is going 'this is a fight to the f**king world, here's this.'"

For his part, Anthony wasn't quite sure what to make of Hagar when he first showed up to work. This wasn't the laidback California surfer dude and hippie philosopher Anthony had pictured. Any reservations he had, however, were quickly dismissed.

"I know Sammy was ... I think he was just starting to take a long break [just before he joined Van Halen]," says Anthony. "So, he comes walking into the studio and I was sitting in the control room and he came walking in, and here he is, his hair is all shaved off, pretty much. And I said, 'Whoa, that's Sammy Hagar? This ain't the guy we signed on to come play with us.' But yeah, we had a few ideas that were already written that we were kind of working on, before Sammy came in. One of 'em was 'Good Enough' ... I forget what the other one was, but we had a couple of ideas and we started playing, and Sammy just started singing off the top of his head, you know, just listening to this stuff. And there were a lot of lyrics that he actually ended up using in the songs. That's how well it clicked. I still have the cassette tape somewhere at home of that first time. We all had copies, and we were just blown. I mean, as soon as we started playing, as soon as we started playing ... we actually stopped and said, 'We've got a band.' That's how well it clicked. It was great."
What chemistry, what magic - Hagar couldn't believe how fast the record, released 25 years ago in 1986, and the promotion of it, came together. The salacious "Good Enough" was a powerhouse of an album opener, its rhythmic pistons pumping furiously from start to finish, while the triumphant "Best of Both Worlds" happily marched up a mountain of life-affirming riffs. The bruising "Inside," with its roiling guitars sounding as brutal as a gang initiation, was a cocky middle finger pointed straight at Van Halen's critics, and "Summer Nights" nostalgically pined for those  humid, sweaty evenings of misspent youth, when smoking joints, drinking beer and fouling around in the backseats of cars was all that mattered.

"5150 was actually recorded pretty quickly, because we had a lot of ideas already and then a lot of stuff, obviously, was written once Sammy entered the thing, but I think the band was on such a high at that point," said Anthony. "I mean, we were firing on 16 cylinders at that point, because it was new and fresh and Sammy really brought his own thing into the band full-on. Here was a guy who could vocally sing anything that Ed was coming up with, and he could play guitar. So from that standpoint, he could make suggestions musically and melodically there, and he could also pick up a guitar and jam with us in the studio, too. And I can't remember, but I think ... I can't say for sure, but it seemed like we did that album pretty quick - a month, a couple months."

A pristine palace of sonic grandeur, with its sparkling production, 5150 - that cocoa-buttered muscle man down on one knee holding up the world on the cover indicative of the band's ambition and the pressure they were under - wasn't your typical Van Halen record. For one thing, it had soaring ballads, earnest love songs like "Dreams," "Why Can't This Be Love" and "Love Walks In" that contained nary a hint of Roth's prurient penchant for sly sexual innuendo and bawdy jokes. Different too was the fact that Eddie's guitars, so prominent in the mix on Van Halen classic hard-rock rumbles like "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," "Everybody Wants Some," "Running with the Devil," "And the Cradle Will Rock," "Mean Street" and "Unchained," among others, had taken a step back, quite comfortable on equal footing with keyboards, Anthony's big, booming bass and Alex's thundering herd of drums. And then there was the stunning vocal interaction between Anthony and Hagar, a signature feature of Van Halen's sound with Hagar.

"I'll say one thing, after doing backgrounds to David Lee Roth, because his vocal range is a lot lower, all of a sudden, it was like, 'Whoa,'" says Anthony. "I mean, it really pushed me in the beginning, so I was all of a sudden singing in registers that I hadn't really sung in before. Not that I couldn't do it. But I never did it with Van Halen, and it was cool. And I think it really inspired me and the fact that I could sing those parts, I was really digging it. We really kind of took it to another level vocally with the backgrounds we were doing."
While the public waited with bated breath to hear the results of this unusual union, Hagar and company had every reason to be satisfied with what they had produced. And Warner Bros. was thrilled, too. To think, after Roth had left, the record company, nervous about its cash cow, had pushed the band to abandon the Van Halen name, or even change it, officially that is, to Van Hagar. Not only that, but the suits had put their foot down about allowing Van Halen complete control in the studio. Their ace in the hole, producer Ted Templeton, who captured all the vital energy and punishing intensity of Van Halen's live sound on record in the making of Van Halen I and II, and Fair Warning, Women and Children First and Diver Down, was out of the picture, and they weren't about to let the inmates run the asylum. Don Landee, the engineer on previous Van Halen records, initially assumed production duties, and later, Jones was recruited to provide production assistance.

Still, when all was said and done, Warner Bros. figured it had a monster hit on its hands with 5150. And they couldn't wait to cash that lottery ticket.  "Warner Bros., they shot us right out there on tour," said Anthony. "We didn't even know what happened. The album wasn't even out yet and boom, they had us out on the road. I guess they were all wanting new summer homes and stuff like that (laughs). But you know, for the first two, three albums that Sammy did, we'd tour and then we came right back in the studio and bam, we were going and then we were right back out on the road before we knew it. It was all happening really fast at the time, but like I said, the band ... we were really on a high right then."

Hagar's head was spinning, as well. "So then we go out and play the first show before the album was out, and the place knocked the f**king barricade down in Shreveport, La., and ripped the stage apart," says Hagar. "We damn near had to stop the show in the middle of it, because it was just ... you know, it's those kinds of things: the energy and enthusiasm and the success. The album goes to No. 1 the third week out, it stays there for three weeks. Everybody had their first No. 1 album. It was just one thing after another; it was just success, success, success."

Epilogue

Swept up in all the swirling madness that used to accompany a No. 1 record, Hagar and Van Halen, nevertheless, relished the spoils of their victory. And the backlash that came from longtime Van Halen fans that pledged their allegiance to Roth and gnashed their teeth over the new sound of the band didn't faze Hagar or the other members. Instead, when the 1986 Tour, so named as a not-so-veiled swipe at the doomed 1984 Tour that caused so much tumult within the band, ended and 5150's meteor had fallen to earth, this new Van Halen went back to work.

There was a concert movie, "Live Without A Net." OU812, 5150's follow-up, arrived two years later, and it contained the hits "When It's Love" and the countrified "Finish What Ya Started," with its light "aw shucks" pop manner and incredibly nimble guitar picking. 1991 saw Van Hagar release For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge - the acronym of which produced a certain F-word Hagar is found of using - and it reunited the band with producer Templeton. Unlike the first two albums, which generally received more positive reviews than scathing rebukes, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge was savaged by the critics as being unnecessarily fussy and devoid of fun, and it signaled the end of Van Hagar's first run. Then came 1995's Balance, and the tensions that had simmered between Hagar and the Van Halen brothers, who were breaking down physically with Eddie's hip problem and Alex's neck pain, began boiling over. Still, on a commercial level, everything Van Halen and Hagar touched seemed to turn to gold.

When asked what his favorite memories are of the Van Hagar period, Anthony said, "I think one was just seeing every album go to No. 1, and then enter at No. 1 in the charts with Sammy. It's funny because, it isn't until I can really sit back and look at what's happening, or somebody comes up to me, a friend or something, and says, 'Wow! Do you know how big you guys really are?' We never really realized it, because you're working so hard and you're there, and plus, it's great, you're playing for the big crowds and everything, but you don't have time to sit back and think of what happens. I think it would scare the shit out of me if I did. But, you know, we were just having so much fun doing it, there was a time when it was like, you know ... we called ourselves the four-headed monster. There was no stopping us. And I don't know, I just think ... you know, just the way Sammy entering the band just elevated the whole thing, it was like man, it almost seems like a dream now. You know, every now and then, I'll put on 'Live Without a Net' or see something live that I've got that the band did, and the energy that the band had, it was pretty cool. I sit back and kind of ... whoa, we were happening."

What was happening internally was not so pleasant. Hagar and Van Halen reached the point of no return with the recordings for the "Twister" movie soundtrack, which Hagar was dead-set against, and plans for a compilation album, which Hagar also resisted. And so, like Roth, Hagar exited in a storm of controversy, with Hagar saying he was fired and the Van Halen claiming that he quit. Some reports have said that Hagar did, indeed, quit, but it was because Van Halen was recording with Roth again behind his back.
Since then, of course, Van Halen has churned through a series of singers, chewing up and spitting out Gary Cherone before recycling Roth, not once but twice, and Hagar, whose reunion with the band lasted from 2003-2005. In 2011, Hagar put out an explosive tell-all autobiography that detailed, in no uncertain terms, his strained relationship with the Van Halen brothers and his wild times with the band, as well as hitting on other parts of his musical career.

About the book, Sammy says, "I just figured it was time for people to hear my story. I know it kind of sounds stupid, but I wanted to do it while I still remembered it. All this stuff, my memory is still pretty good, real good actually. It just ... I don't know, it was time, you know. I'm one of those guys who don't make decisions unless it just comes to me, and I think, 'Oh, I'm going to do that.' I'm really a knee-jerk f**ker. I'm kind of like an insect. If I'm cold, I move towards heat. If I'm hot, I move towards cold. If I'm hungry, I eat. If I'm tired, I sleep. So, somebody offers me the book ... I've been offered a book a hundred times, for the last 20 years. I even wrote a book already once and never released it. And I just said, 'Yeah, this is right.' I thought the Van Halen stuff ... I was just getting sick of doing interviews and going down the street and on the radio and people, fans, getting me letters saying, 'Why can't you and Eddie get it together? Why don't you give Eddie a call? Why don't you guys go back in the studio? Why can't you go on tour? Why didn't you guys play my town? How come you ...?' And I'm just going, 'F**k. I've got to tell these people why. It ain't me, damn it. It's not me. I'm not the problem here.' I've made 15 records and probably played a thousand shows since the last time they've shown their faces (laughs). It's not me. I really kind of wanted to get that out. And I feel real good about getting it out."

In some respects, despite their differences, Hagar feels bad for what's become of Van Halen, who, as rumor has it, is working on a new record with ... drum roll please: David Lee Roth.

"I think [Eddie] and Al, as much as I love Al, they over-think everything until it ain't no more, it ain't there no more," said Hagar. "By the time they finished going back and forth and back and forth, wake up in the middle of the night, changing their minds, it's pretty soon that that golden light just went to darkness. And it's no longer there. So, they go, 'Aw, f**k it. Yeah, we shouldn't have done it anyway. Yeah, it's probably better. Okay, next.' It's the way they function, and I don't know what their problem is with that, but you know, there's a lot of abuse going on in that in terms of personal stuff and everything else, and I just ... I feel bad for him. I feel bad for the fans ... Van Halen, one of the biggest, greatest bands in history, in rock history ... you know, we hold a lot of titles. And to just not give anything ... God, it's just such a waste. I couldn't live like that. If I was still in that band, and we had these long hiatuses, I would have just quit. I would have retired from music completely, and just said, 'No, I'm not going to wait seven or eight years,' and then say, 'Okay, let's make a record and go tour. Get the f**k out of here.' It's like an athlete, boxers, Muhammed Ali takes two or three years off from the Army thing that came down on him, and he was never the same fighter ever again, you know. And that's the way all athletes are. You know, musicians, rock musicians, are especially like athletes. You've got to keep your art, your hands and your voices, your body, everything, has to stay in that kind of condition - lubed up and ready to go. Otherwise, you lose it, and I'm sorry, but those guys are crazy."
As for Anthony, he and his Jack Daniels bottle-shaped bass began drifting apart from Van Halen after 1996 as well. Though he stayed on for various projects, despite various reports that he was no longer in the band, Anthony's role steadily diminished, until in 2006 Eddie revealed that Van Halen would carry on with his son Wolfgang replacing Anthony on bass. Since then, Hagar and Anthony have grown closer, having worked together on Planet Us with Satriani and others before touring as a member of the Other Half during part of the Sammy Hagar and the Waboritas tour. And now, Chickenfoot is a thriving enterprise, with two hit records to its credit.

"There was a time when Sammy was out of [Van Halen] that we actually lost touch," says Anthony. "We didn't really communicate too much, and obviously, Eddie and Al, that was my band. So, it was politically incorrect for me to have anything to do with Sammy, which I was kind of bummed out about that because Sammy and I became really good friends during the time he was in the band, and I think it was ... God, it had to have been a few years later, when ... I think I remember getting drunk on New Year's Eve, and I was with some friends, and I said, 'You know, I'm going to call Sammy.' And I called him and got his voicemail, and we actually played phone tag a couple of times like that. He called me back and he happened to be in the L.A. area doing something at one point, and he gave me a call and said, 'Hey, why don't you come on down and we'll hang out.' We actually became better friends the second time around than when he was in the band the first time. I think probably because it wasn't ... well, the first time he was kind of thrown into it: 'Here's your new lead singer,' and it started out like that. Whereas the second time, we just hung out, and really didn't even talk about anything musically or anything like that. It was just, 'What's been happening in your life? What are you doing' and we are better friends than we have been."

Looking back on it all, Hagar has no regrets about the time he spent with Van Halen, even with all the eventual hassle that came with it. We had nine incredible years, two horrible years, and then another reunion nine months of horror beyond horror, and you still look back, and the horror is pretty much the most recent things so I can recall things, thinking, 'I'll never play with that guy again. I would never be in the same room with Eddie Van Halen again, sober or anyway,' because anybody who was in as bad a shape as I saw, sober is still going to be crazy," explained Hagar. "So, I'm not going to deal with it. So, looking back, it's still too fresh from that reunion tour, but at the same time, I had some of the greatest times in the history of rock. For nine years, it was the greatest ride on the planet. I mean, I don't think life could be any better than that for any musician or artist. And then it went bad. But, too bad - the last couple of years ... everything written in my book, I put that in there because it was part of the deal. And everyone wrote about it and brought it up, and exploited it. But the truth of the matter is I had nine of the greatest years of my rock and roll life in Van Halen. It was one of the greatest things I'll ever do. And the only thing that rivals any of it is this Chickenfoot thing."