"Music is the best" Frank Zappa
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In the interview, Ozzy talks about:
- Early days of Black Sabbath
- Why Black Sabbath has stayed together, and why other bands break up
- Playing an honest gig
- Does he think about the money he’s making
- If he thinks Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is a different direction than previous Sabbath albums
- Why they didn’t record in LA again like they did with Vol.4
- Whose idea it was to add strings to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
- What the Sab 4 got tired of hearing about
- If he is fulfilled by being in Black Sabbath
- If he’s working on a solo record
- Why and what it was like producing Sabbath Bloody Sabbath by themselves
- If there is more of an emphasis on the lyrics on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
- If Black Sabbath’s songs mirror society
- If he thinks the press is unfair to Black Sabbath
- And much more…
Read Buzz Morison’s 1984 Van Halen book for free.
In the interview, Roth talks about:
- His Uncle Manny
- His mother, Sibyl Roth, and her toughness on him
- Wearing leg braces as a kid
- His early jobs
- Where his youthful drive came from
- What the Roth family expected when they had get-togethers
- When he first realized he had a talent for singing
- Him being in plays as a child
- He tells where he really learned to sing from
- His parents threaten him with going to a foster home
- If “bad” Dave comes from his mother
- How he was taught to sing like the girls
- How many instruments he plays
- The first meeting with the Van Halen brothers
- Why he and the Van Halen brothers were crosstown rivals
- What inspired him to write music
- The near-death experience that chokes him up even today
- And so much more…
The article below originally published in the September 1982 Musician magazine. It was written by J.D. Considine.
David Lee Roth freestyle from 1984
In the interview, Roth talks about:
- How to transcend a mentor
- The rumors about Eddie Van Halen wanting to leave the band
- Was it an ego blow with Van Halen’s album 1984 not hitting #1 on the charts
- Playing Black Sabbath music while watching a football game
- Was having a pop hit with “Jump” harmful to the band?
- About his love life and what his type is
- Who is the real David Lee Roth
- How Roth is a bit of a loner, and his need for attention
- How he’s critical of other bands
- Roth does a freestyle rap. (Not kidding, not A.I.)
- His first and other jobs as a teenager
- Who manages his money
- Where his next adventure will be
- How does he defend the criticism that he’s a bad role model
- What’s next for Van Halen
- What’s the Van Halen groupie scene like
- The Hot For Teacher video
- And More…
In the interview, Hagar talks about:
- A little UFO talk
- Why his new album is not more aggressive after being fired from Van Halen
- Detailed backstory on why it ended with Van Halen and him
- How manager Ray Danniels wanted more than his fair share of money
- All about greed and lack of integrity
- What he thinks Eddie Van Halen lied about
- Why did he still thank Van Halen on his new album
- The support of his fans
- His disappointment in Eddie and Alex Van Halen
- How does he think the upcoming Van Halen record with Gary Cherone will do
- How Eddie Van Halen is a musician, not a songwriter
- How Van Halen hired a 72-year-old to help with lyrics
- All the producers’ Van Halen went through
- And more!
After six albums and millions of concert tickets, David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen split. Did David Lee Roth quit? Was he fired, or neither? The original Van Halen lineup ended, and the band underwent significant changes with Hagar’s arrival, signifying a new chapter in their music career.
In the interview, Van Halen talks about:
- His earliest memories of playing with his brother, Eddie Van Halen, and his dad’s musical career
- Who the Van Halen brothers would try to emulate musically
- Who were his drum gods when he first started playing
- Playing with his dad’s Jazz band and if he took lessons
- If Eddie was part of his dad’s band
- When did he know Eddie Van Halen would be a legend and his own guitar-playing
- Did he know early on how big Van Halen would become, and early days with the LA club scene
- The night Warner Brothers saw them for the first time
- What’s his favorite David Lee Roth Van Halen album is
- The essence and core of Van Halen
- How Sammy Hagar could have replaced Roth back in 1978
- How Van Halen has evolved since Sammy Hagar joined the band.
- How producer Bruce Fairbairn got involved in producing “Balance”
- And More…
In the interview, Van Halen talks about:
- Is there a formula to make hit records?
- Eddie Van Halen enters the conversation
- Is Van Halen more like a family?
- If David Lee Roth is a businessman
- Is OU812 more straightforward?
- How has the age of fans affected the music?
- How Eddie wants to be remembered when he dies
- What separates Eddie from his clones
- Eddie talks about Jimmy Page
- Can Van Halen burn out musically?
- His playing when he first learned to play
- If they think as they get older, they lose certain things
- If they ever go back to the older Van Halen music and why he build 5150
- If Eddie ever becomes too indulgent
- And more…
The 1984 Van Halen tour marked the peak of their mainstream success, with the original lineup inching closer to their downfall. Despite grossing millions in ticket sales, the tour exposed cracks within the band. Read more…and to watch
The article below was originally published in the June 1984 Musician magazine. And was written by Charles M. Young.
In the interview, Roth talks about:
• If he displays himself as the wild man of rock and roll
• Is he different on stage than off?
• What’s Diamond Enterprises
• If he considers himself a dictator
• His street smarts
• If he follows what everyone else is doing
• The work you must put in
• Who is his mentors
• If he’s perceived the way he wants to be
• His two friends
• What drives him
• What crowd he fit in with as a kid
• Where he developed his flamboyant swagger
• If he resented being bussed into minority schools
• How Steve Vai stacks up to Eddie Van Halen
• The toughness to his music and lyrics.
• And more…
Van Halen members went their separate ways after their Diver Down tour. Dave stayed in South America with his travel troupe, the Jungle Studs, while the others returned to the US. In 1982, they were offered $1 million to headline the Heavy Metal Day of the US Festival organized by Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple. The festival aimed to combine technology with rock music. Van Halen accepted the offer, and their contract included a clause to match any higher payment to another artist. Read more…and to watch
Van Halen band members went their separate ways after their Diver Down tour. David Lee Roth formed an outdoor adventure club called the Jungle Studs. The band agreed to headline the 1983 US Festival for a million-dollar offer. Van Halen and David Bowie were the highest-paid performers at the festival. The Clash expressed their discontent with the commercialization of rock and had confrontations with Van Halen during.. Read more..And to watch.
Unraveling Van Halen’s iconic 1984 album, witness a legendary band’s musical brilliance, turmoil, and triumphs in this revealing documentary. And as the band basks in the glory of success, tensions rise, egos clash, and behind-the-scenes drama threatens to tear them apart, ultimately foreshadowing the heart-wrenching events that would eventually lead to Van Halen’s dramatic and tumultuous breakup…Read more..And to watch.
In-depth article
An article that was originally published in the April 1985 Recording Engineer Producer magazine. And was written by 5150 studio designer Howard Weiss. Read it here
Van Halen 1984 Documentary trailer
After seven months of work, my new Van Halen 5-part series is about to be released. (Over 2.5 hours) Lots of newly uncovered information and media never seen by the public. The trailer will be released later this week. Photos by Neil Zlozower
In the interview, Dio talks about:
- The Sacred Heart tour
- His project Hear ‘n Aid and whose playing on it
- How he writes music while watching sports
- What his first instrument was and if he liked it
- His love for classical music and how it relates to guitar players
- Why anyone can like classical music
- What other singers he admires
- How well Sacred Heart is doing sales wise
- If the PMRC has affected him
- If he’s interested in the occult
- His strange mystical experience while recording Rainbow’s “Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll”
- An evil spirit who tried to kill his wife, Wendy Dio
- Filling Ozzy Osbourne’s shoes in his former band Black Sabbath
- What he thinks of Ozzy’s solo music
- If he thinks Heaven and Hell paved the way for a resurgence of heavy metal
- And more…
In the interview, Iommi talks about:
- Ian Gillan joining Black Sabbath
- Playing Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water
- Why Ronnie James Dio left Black Sabbath
- The addition of Bev Bevan from ELO
- If former Sabbath drummer Bill Ward will be back
- The story behind Black Sabbath’s song Disturbing the Priest
- Blowing up Ian Gillian’s boat
- The comparison between Black Sabbath’s debut album and Born Again
- His favorite tracks on the new album
- His thoughts about former bandmate Ozzy Osbourne’s music
- What he thought of Randy Rhoads
- On Ozzy remaking old Black Sabbath songs
- Black Sabbath’s influence on other bands
- What music does he listen to
- A very surprising favorite song of Iommi’s
- Talks about Born Again’s live show.
- And more…
In the interview, Vai talks about:
- The first time David Lee Roth called Vai
- Pete Angelus and the Fabulous Picasso Brothers
- Who was involved with the choreography
- If Aerosmith was involved
- Was the Kim Mitchell song Kids in Action recorded?
- Other possible guitar players
- What Vai has no memory of
- The song Vai thought he wrote, but didn’t
- What Roth’s name for Kids in Action was and why
- Leaking to the press
- Getting a hold of Roth
- Early memories with Roth
- The jock vs Vai story
- The very first Roth concert he played
- How Roth was his final mentor
- If Roth’s movie was originally for Van Halen
- And More
