Any rumors on Van Halen

[MBreinin]

Re: Any rumors on Van Halen

Well, one thing everyone is overlooking is that we aren't Eddie. We don't know what personal demons he is wrestling with. We don't know WHY the man is a washout and an alcoholic. None of us have, to use a cliche', walked a mile in his shoes. Sure, we all think it would be great to be a rock star that millions of fans look up to and adore...but do we really? I think it would bring an immense pressure to succeed...to continue to live up to that high standard.

Being rich and famous is often not what it is all cracked up to be. Some of the most miserable people in the world are celebrities.

Imagine how many pissed off and bitter guys Ed has had to endure over the years...guys that have sworn they were better than him, couldn't understand why he was driving Lambos and banging Valerie while they practiced 12 hours a day and worked the frytop at Denny's.

Don't be so quick to judge, people. When it all comes down to it...none of us knows shit about Eddie Van Halen.

Mike

[MBreinin]

Re: Any rumors on Van Halen

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Mike, Ed didn't work any harder than most of us did who wanted to make it in the business. I gigged, practiced, toured and recorded from the day I graduated high school in 1979 until 1988. Heck.. Ted Nugent came to me in a dream and told me to quit college after 6 months and I followed his advise and did!
The difference is that he was one of the lucky ones. Maybe if my dad was a musician and had connections it would have been different. You know... alot of famous metal dudes back in the 80's had more than luck. I am sure it didn't hurt Pearcy to have a blood relative named Uncle Milty.

Bottom line is many of us that chose music as our careers worked just as hard if not harder than that "legends" did.
Oh yea... and another thing, Ed owed it to the fans and himself to get better as a musician. Usually, the industry demands it. Occasionally, a musician makes such an incredible impact on the business that they no longer have to prove anything. Well, to the normal fan thats fine. For me... a fellow shredder guitarist... that doesn't cut it.

I guess this post is getting pretty interesting now.

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Of course, there is always luck and connections involved in life....you are 100% correct. It is another cliche', but it is not what you know, but who you know. Millions of guys try to make it in this business, and most fail. When I was 7, I wanted to be Ace Frehely. My parents wanted me to be a lawyer.

Guess what I am? [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] I'll give you a hint, I don't wear makeup and strap on a guitar for a living.............

Mike

[toejam]

Re: Any rumors on Van Halen

Yeah, I could imagine being rich and famous is real stressful. [img]/images/graemlins/bs.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/sleep.gif[/img]

[jgcable]

Re: Any rumors on Van Halen

Its more stressful to have the talent to make it but you never did.
Hey, I was a child prodigy pianist at 10. I played 21 pages of Bethoven's Moonlight Sonata at Lincoln Center in NYC at 10 years old. I was supposed to be a pro musician from the time I was 3. Music was my life, my career. Everything took the backburner to music. EVERYTHING. I think about it all the time while I am on the fuckin train to my 12 hour per day office job. Thats stress bro.

[toejam]

Re: Any rumors on Van Halen

No doubt.

[noodlesatf]

Re: Any rumors on Van Halen

Thanks for bringing up Ace Freely, Mike, since he is a perfect arguement for making it with no talent. The guy sounds like he practiced for about five minutes before joining Kiss.

[toejam]

Re: Any rumors on Van Halen

[ QUOTE ]
My parents wanted me to be a lawyer.

Guess what I am? [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] I'll give you a hint, I don't wear makeup and strap on a guitar for a living.............

Mike

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LOL I've been a court reporter for over 10 years. Most of the lawyers I've worked with are idiots who give me stress! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[MBreinin]

Re: Any rumors on Van Halen

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Yeah, I could imagine being rich and famous is real stressful. [img]/images/graemlins/bs.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/sleep.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, I think you can look over time at how many celebs have voluntarily ruined their lives and you can step back and really analyze that response further.

Or you can take a look at how serious some fans of these celebs consider their hero's conduct to be. That is also a large part of the pressure. Millions of people wanting you to do the thing they want most...rejoin a band, make a certain movie, fall in love with them...whatever.

Often it doesn't get beyond innocent bitching, but sometimes it does. Sometimes you get a Dimebag incident or a Dunne incident....

Mike

[MBreinin]

Re: Any rumors on Van Halen

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for bringing up Ace Freely, Mike, since he is a perfect arguement for making it with no talent. The guy sounds like he practiced for about five minutes before joining Kiss.

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Well, when you are seven you don't know that. I don't think much of Ace as a guitar player now. However, according to the other Kiss guys, Ace was always a serious musician who would practice for hours and was always trying to hone his musical skills.

I would like to hear Ace play with a more modern tone. I think that dry LP jacked into a Marshall tone just didn't work for him. I sure as hell know it doesn't work for me, I hate it.

Mike

[pro-fusion]

Re: Any rumors on Van Halen

Eddie doesn't owe us anything. But he owes something to his son and to himself. Right now, I wouldn't give the guy five more years. That's a damned shame, too, because he has so much to live for, so many things he could do with his life--it really sickens me to see someone throw it all away like that.

He was never a favorite of mine or a big influence on me, but I have immense respect for what he has accomplished. As such, it seems to hit me a little harder that he's destroying himself, than it does when other celebrities do the same thing.

I hope he proves me wrong and snaps out of it. I'm another one who was absolutely blown away by the recent Judas Priest tour--and I'd love to see Eddie come out and slay the audience like that. I would like to see Eddie pull his shit together and start making music again because he wants to. I don't care whether he ever steps onstage with Roth again--how about just stepping onstage with a killer attitude and a desire to be great.

[Tetsuo]

Re: Any rumors on Van Halen

EVH truly doesn't owe us anything I agree... I also agree that I don't owe him respect if he chooses (yes it still is a choice albiet a tough one) to continue to live his life as he is.

[jgcable]

Re: Any rumors on Van Halen

I think that we have a license to voice our opinions considering that many of us are "in the business".

[atomic charvel guy]

Re: Any rumors on Van Halen

i'm nauseous. all this eddie bagging is making me puke. the guy still gave rock and roll a much needed shot in the arm at the time and made thousands of people want to learn how to play. and not just how to play, how to play his stuff. hands down, first came chuck berry, then jimi,(along with jimmy page, jeff beck)then eddie. who's had a bigger impact on rock and roll guitar? it's not somebody who can do 4 trillion sweeping arpeggios in 1.7 seconds, it's a guy who's riffs make you feel taller, fired up, thirsty for a brew and some hot box along with that. go ahead and hang me now-lol evh although temporarily out of order, is gonna come back with dave and make the best music around like they used too, just one more album please!!!!

[noodlesatf]

Re: Any rumors on Van Halen

Next thing you know, Atmoic is going to stand up for Metallica. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Just kidding, buddy...

[atomic charvel guy]

Re: Any rumors on Van Halen

i'm a fukkin' whacko noodles, but not even i will do that.