VAN HALEN rehearsal footage

[michaelomiya]

KTLA news link (http://ktla.feedroom.com/iframeset.jsp?ord=894952)

Cick "music" in the channel box, upper left hand corner.

Then click "Van Halen"

OMG - Eddie looks scary, not musically, physically! What's up w/ the pineapple hairdo?!?!:eek:

[Scott Peterson]

Cool - just to see them out there again is a good thing.

Eddie's hair? Well, I guess it is what it is.... :eek:

[michaelomiya]

Originally posted by Scott Peterson
Cool - just to see them out there again is a good thing.

Eddie's hair? Well, I guess it is what it is.... :eek:

Scott, I couldn't have said it better myself!

[michaelomiya]

more photos from the rehearsal

photos (http://www.ofoto.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?showSlide=true&Uc=hvxudoh.50ef5dm1&Uy=s6ozyd&Upost_signin=BrowsePhotos.jsp%3fshowSlide%3dtrue&Ux=0)

[andersonguy]

Yeah, Eddie is starting to look kinda like Eddie from Iron Maiden!!

LOL!


Who is the other person playing guitar?

AG

[Joel]

That's his son.

[michaelomiya]

Originally posted by andersonguy
Yeah, Eddie is starting to look kinda like Eddie from Iron Maiden!!

LOL!


Who is the other person playing guitar?

AG

yes, that pudgey kid's Wolfgang, who'll be playing during Eddie's solo. Look's like Wolfie's been sitting around the studio a bit too much.:D should be running around outside gettin' some exercise!

[BrianH]

Ouch Michael, a shot at the kid?
Anyway, have you heard about Ed and Fender?

[michaelomiya]

Originally posted by BrianH
Ouch Michael, a shot at the kid?
Anyway, have you heard about Ed and Fender?

Brian, there's A LOT of talk about EVH leaving Peavey for FMIC after the tour. Evidently his personal issues and inability to meet his commitments w/ Peavey, coupled w/ the 2003 NAMM show disaster, drove a wedge in the business relationship. Whatever. It's about time (no reference to the song) that EVH moved on, if keeping w/ his past history is any indication (Kramer, Ernie Ball, etc.). Sad but true. If Charvel/Jackson is EVH's next stop, that's fine. It just proves that EVH has gone the complete circle - back to what worked first and worked best. IMHO, he should never have dissed Wayne or Grover in the first place. Then again, it all started w/ the $$$ anyway, and pissin and moanin about who should be getting credit for "this and that". If it sounds like I'm an Eddie-hater, that couldn't be further from the truth. However, in my old age, I'm just a little more cynical and believe that how you treat other people is more important (in the long run) than how much $$$ you make. I mean really, he supposedly "stole" the D-tuna thing from the original inventor. Ever heard about that? It's after "hearing" all of these stories that a pattern emerges. Dave and Sammy have never liked each other, yet both had the same opinion about why VH broke up in 1996. It's also around this "Dave's back, Dave's out" period that the true EVH began to emerge. Was it the insecurity? Was it the realization that he's aged and needed surgery for his hip? Was it his realization of his own morality and the onset of cancer? YES, YES, and YES, I believe so. But, in the end, it's EVH's character (or lack thereof) and the manner in which he dealt w/ all these issues that lead me to conclude he's in very sad shape (physically and morally).

And now he's rumoured to be jumping ship to FMIC, just because he's pissed at Hartley for investing R&D $ into the XXL and Satriani?!? If you were running Meridian, and your cash cow's no longer out promoting the gear he designed, and your cash flows are beginning to go flat or indicate earnings less than positive slope, you'd look elsewhere too. Now I'm sure Hartley was able to recover his initial equity investment (what with all of those Wolfies and 5150's he's sold), but EVH OWNS the rights and designs. AND EVH will take it to someone who will pay the $$$ (originally I had heard it was Gibson). The fact that EVH has stayed w/ Peavey for 9 years is the surprising part.

Regarding the Wolfgang/son reference, I wasn't trying to be mean, and apologize if it came across that way. It's just that w/ a failing marriage and all of EVH's troubles, it appears as if the 10 year old's been granted A LOT more latitude than other's his age.

Anyway, sorry for the long rant. I've been tracking the EVH story/sponsorship/band relationship history for years now. Again just my observation.

[BrianH]

WOW!
Well put my man. Everything I've been thinking, delivered in one smoking rant. I love it.
The ultimate question of course is; what happened to this guy?
As for the ability to stick with PV for the last 9 years is quite obivious.....the band wasn't doing anything positive. And remember, it took 2 years to actually see the guitar hit the shelves. That was to little to late for some of us retailers.
Ego and the price of fame kill most, and coupled with this mans insecurities, I don't know what to expect.
We'll keep our eyes posted on the Fender deal. And lets hope they can make it through the whole tour, that would help bolster confidence a bit.
As for the kid, I was busting balls and kidding mostly. But I could not agree more on your response (referring to the failed marriage, etc...).
And finally, let us not forget the Namm show debacle. We were both there, and share the same damage to our psyche.

[dpeterson]

but make no mistake... an evh charvel would sell like hotcakes, even still. rabbid fans will eat them up like mad, and all the charvel nuts too.

dave

[Scott Peterson]

Okay, I gotta know. What happened at NAMM. Short version needed only, you guys just have me interested.

[michaelomiya]

Originally posted by Scott Peterson
Okay, I gotta know. What happened at NAMM. Short version needed only, you guys just have me interested.

Scott, it was really no big deal really - as long as you don't mind being stuck together with about 1,000 people on 2,500 square feet of the Anaheim Convention Center floor, wasting 2.5 hours only to get a glimpse of EVH.

On the opening day of NAMM 2003 (thursday) Peavey had announced that EVH would be signing autographs on the Saturday of the show. I mean it was in all of the flyers and NAMM directories as well as the "what's happening at NAMM2003" guides. So on Saturday, at about 11:30am, John Ou, Fuzzyguitars and myself head on over to the Peavey booth and start hanging out. (side bar - before meandering over, I stopped at the Anderson booth, where Brian, Tom, Roy, Laurie, Jessie are talking, and we say we're heading over to Peavey to meet Eddie. Tom, unphased, just smiles and rolls his eyes, Roy, looks at me as if I'm crazy for even trying to get an autograph, and Jessie recalls some of the best annectdotes/personal experiences (good and bad) of meeting icons and idols).

This Anderson booth discussion proved to be a warning that obviously registered w/ John and Fuzzy, both of which bugged out after an hour. The retard that I am, I hung around. What a waste of time. Picture the entire Peavey booth/exhibit w/ wall-to-wall people, and nowhere to move. Evidently EVH was hanging out above (Ibanez/Tama, Peavey and a few other large companies typically maintain a 2 story exhibit to maximize space - the bottom, to display products and the top, to conduct sales meetings. We witnessed Dweezil Zappa, George Lynch, Luke, Blues Saraceno all running up and down the stairs. But NO Eddie! Not even a wave to the crowd. EVH should've taken a page from the book of an 80+ year old, english gentleman, whose musical legacy is every bit robust as EVH, if not more, a man who goes by Jim, and appears without fail and without ego every year - the guv'nor himself, James Marshall!. It was hot, it was miserable and it solidified in my mind that EVH had lost whatever credibility he once had.

And after all of this, I turn around and order a Custom Shop Wolfgang, and then a Charvel Bullseye Reissue this year. What an IDIOT I am!!!:eek:

[michaelomiya]

Originally posted by dpeterson
but make no mistake... an evh charvel would sell like hotcakes, even still. rabbid fans will eat them up like mad, and all the charvel nuts too.

dave

oh yeah. count me in as one of the ridiculously stupid idiots that essentially allow EVH to perpetuate all of the weirdness he's become known for. 2 Wolfgangs, and a Custom Shop order on the way, a 5150 cab, 2 EBMM EVH's, a Kramer Pacer (I was in HS, so don't penalize me on that one), CD's , LP's, blah, blah, blah......

In my own schizophrenic defense, the gear plays well and sounds good. Of course, there will always be those that doubt and criticize. I happen to like the 300W cab and the way an assymetrical, 15" radius, unfinished neck feels/plays.

EVH is to 80's metal guitarists, as Disney is to 3-8 year old kids. He keeps putting out the merchandise, and we keep consuming. I'm just glad I didn't get bitten by the KISS (as in Gene Simmons) addiction!

[BrianH]

I can't believe you left out the worst part. Did you forget what he was wearing and the whole story behind that?

[BrianH]

Originally posted by dpeterson
but make no mistake... an evh charvel would sell like hotcakes, even still. rabbid fans will eat them up like mad, and all the charvel nuts too.

dave I agree whole heartly, a Charvel Eddie would be cool.....but how long of an approval period would we be subjected to. Eddie likes to move slow on these things (I hear).

[michaelomiya]

Originally posted by BrianH
I can't believe you left out the worst part. Did you forget what he was wearing and the whole story behind that?


Brian, it was the heat, the heat, awwww....the room's getting blurry, I'm falling........


Oh yeah. the attire. EVH looks/looked homeless. Tam O'shanter on his head, rocky-style gloves, "wife beater" undershirt, baggy pants, and evidently from those lucky (or not) enough to get close, the smell....as in Lynryd Skynyrd, "That" smell. Eddie was definitely off the proverbial wagon, and getting dragged behind it. The wolfgang/5150 demo was embarassing from most accounts, his playing was off (that's putting it mildly) and he was staggering while trying to stand. Man, Brian, did you have to make me relive all that?!?;)

[BrianH]

Sorry, but it had to come out.
Don't you feel better.

[dpeterson]

http://img61.photobucket.com/albums/v185/charveljunkie/evh%20namm/evh1.jpg


1 word... booze..

dave