I just found this while digging around on CNN:


NEW YORK (Billboard) -- Eddie Van Halen has brought his 15-year-old son, Wolfgang, into Van Halen as the veteran rock band's new bass player, a spokesperson told Billboard.com.
Father and son, along with Eddie's drummer brother Alex, have been rehearsing for a 2007 tour, but it is unknown who will serve as the band's vocalist. (Wolfgang's substitution for original bass player Michael Anthony was first reported by news Web site TMZ.com a week ago.)
Rumors continue to swirl that original singer David Lee Roth, who was replaced by Sammy Hagar in the mid-1980s, will return to the fold, despite years of enmity. Roth, who has recently worked as a radio DJ and a paramedic, told Billboard.com in May that he saw it "absolutely as an inevitability."
No details have been provided about the departure of Anthony, a fan favorite who generally kept out of the internecine warfare in the band.
As for the musical acumen of Wolfgang, Eddie Van Halen enthused to Howard Stern in September, "If I excel at the speed of sound, he excels at the speed of light. This kid is just a natural."
Van Halen is one of nine acts on the ballot for the 2007 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.


Well, there you have it. I have no ill will what so ever towards Wolfy and I am sure he's a great kid but what a slap in the face to Mike. Another chapter in the wayward VH saga.

Yeah, they should get CVallerie to sing, so they could keep it completely "in the family."

Well, I certainly am not one of the experts around here on the "behind the scene" truth about the inner workings of Van Halen, but it seems like Mike is buds with Sammy and would prefer hanging with him, so I am not too sure how much of this is them saying "screw you" vs. Mike saying "I'm outta here." :dunno: But I agree...when I heard about this yesterday, I thought the same thing about it being a bit of a slap in Mike's face. I never really thought of Mike as being a great bass player (he's not bad, but he's just not outstanding amongst the bass playing world), but the absense of his back-up vocals will certainly be missing from the VH formula. I am kind of tired of bashing VH nay more though (outside of Ed's drinking problem), so I will reserve judgment for now and see how it turns out. :)

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a83/FRETS5150/Vanhalenreunion2001.jpg

How the hell can you replace 30 year veteran bass player with an inexperienced 15 year old kid???? Pathetic!:wtf:

You can't.


IT AINT VAN HALEN WITHOUT MICHAEL ANTHONY!

You can't.


IT AINT VAN HALEN WITHOUT MICHAEL ANTHONY!

I thought your saying was "IT AINT VAN HALEN WITHOUT DAVID LEE ROTH"!

Who the hell is Michael Anthony anyway???








:D
Just Kidding!

How the hell can you replace 30 year veteran bass player with an inexperienced 15 year old kid???? Pathetic!:wtf:
I couldn't have said it better myself, just another big FU from Ed. I will not be puchasing any new material or going to any concerts.

I thought your saying was "IT AINT VAN HALEN WITHOUT DAVID LEE ROTH"!

Who the hell is Michael Anthony anyway???








:D
Just Kidding!

hhahaaa..it is.


this is just another "Control" thing from Ed....


Roth won't last long....if he does it at all.....


I will lose some respect for Roth too....he's always said "its all 4 or not at all"


He would not even jam with Mike when he and Hagar toured in 02.

He didn't want to do anything like that unless it was the whole band.


Now.....


?????

How the hell can you replace 30 year veteran bass player with an inexperienced 15 year old kid???? Pathetic!:wtf:
Hell, Wolfie probably hasn't even TASTED Jack Daniels, let alone drink it through a whole show. :D In that sense, he will never be able to fill Mike's shoes.

I would be curious to find out how Ed handles his "fathering" duties as Wolfie starts taking a bite from the forbidden apple of touring excesses. :boobies:

This is slightly off-topic, but...Janelle, I love Carmine's avatar, Beeyotch. Sunday Dinner must be quite an exciting event at the PG household. :lol:

This is slightly off-topic, but...Janelle, I love Carmine's avatar, Beeyotch. Sunday Dinner must be quite an exciting event at the PG household. :lol:

Actually, she was on the other side of the country when that was taken. She has a lot more fun when we're apart for some reason;) :dunno:

Actually, she was on the other side of the country when that was taken. She has a lot more fun when we're apart for some reason;) :dunno: You just better be a hopin' she ain't doing no laundry when she's over there. :toothless:

You just better be a hopin' she ain't doing no laundry when she's over there. :toothless:

:stick:








:toothless:

Roth speaks on the Michael Anthony thing......could it be true ?

http://madanthonyblog.blogspot.com/

David Lee Roth said...
Hello everyone...this is the one and only David Lee Roth! I just wanted to let you all know things are coming along for the BIG REUNION in 2007. Michael Anthony hasn't been contacted yet because of legal issues I can't explain right now. Just be patient, the ORIGINAL, up to no good, classic Van Halen lineup will be rockin' your home town in no time!

Ok, what the f**k is going on????????? Sounds like Ed and Dave are not on the same page. There's a shocker:rolleyes:

And...if you recall....Mike was "forced" to sign away all of his rights to VH in order to participate in the 2004 tour. He did it as a "paid player". So, he's been "out" of VH since then, right? Could this be what Dave is referring to as "legal issues"???



I'm actually hoping that Roth says no unless Mike is involved....

Let's hope Dave is a man about it and stipulates that he won't do it without Mike. He would get tons of respect from me if he did that.

Let's hope Dave is a man about it and stipulates that he won't do it without Mike. He would get tons of respect from me if he did that.

I AGREE! I read somewhere that Mike was made an offer but refused.. VH bros prolly offered him less than what he made during 2004...treating him like a hired hand.. which is crap!

bottom line.........no mikey.......no VH!

Let's hope Dave is a man about it and stipulates that he won't do it without Mike. He would get tons of respect from me if he did that.


That has been his position for years....

Like I said, I'm hoping that he didn't or doesn't sell out....

That has been his position for years....

Like I said, I'm hoping that he didn't or doesn't sell out....
Well, Dave can only do so much I suppose and if he went along I couldn't totally blame him for Ed's fuck ups. Still, it would be great if he said no Mike, no me and I would bet a large majority of the VH community would completely agree with him. Dave does hold some cards in this, Ed will only get away with fucking people over for so long before he's completely alienated.

Dave does hold some cards in this.

You're right, For the first time in 22 years, Dave is in a position to bargain with some leverage.

Ed wants him this time. After 98 and 04, has Ed finally realized that it MUST be Roth out front in order to save any face here in VH land? I think he has.....


If Dave really wants it to be the original band, in all its glory...he can make it happen.

God, I wish they'd just do it on one hand because time is marching on and I didn't enjoy the last sammy stuff...as they didn't give a flying f-ck and tour the UK, I can't comment on the shows. If they don't do it now, it'll never happen. Or if it does, they'll be too old to match the ferocity of the 1979 and 1980 shows I saw.

God, I wish they'd just do it on one hand because time is marching on and I didn't enjoy the last sammy stuff...as they didn't give a flying f-ck and tour the UK, I can't comment on the shows. If they don't do it now, it'll never happen. Or if it does, they'll be too old to match the ferocity of the 1979 and 1980 shows I saw.
Based on footage from the last tour it appeared (to me anyway) that Ed didn't have near the ferocity of the old days. Possibly because he was drunk in every clip I saw though, it would be nice to see him in his happy go lucky form of the old days, I think he's still very capable of pulling it off.

me too! i think Ed can totally pull it off! Even though i am fond of the DLR era.. I think he really shined on the Balanced tour....looked healthy, played great!.. that was a fun tour!

Seshmeister posted this at Diamonddavidleeroth.com. It's pretty good as far as opinion and information go, so I thought I'd share it here and get all of your comments.





Decision Time for Mr Roth

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So it's now big decision time for Dave Roth.

The insane Wolfie replacement of Mike Anthony seems to be true.

It also seems likely that the call has been made for Roth to come back into the fold. Eddie's spokesperson is not denying it plus it is the logical thing to do. If EVH wants to launch his kid into the world of music he won't want to do that on the back of a failure. If he hates Anthony for playing with Hagar then surely he can’t tour with Hagar. Promoters took a hit from the 2004 tour by having to pay a guaranteed fee which in many places wasn’t justified by poor crowd sizes. Once you throw the RHOF nomination into the equation then a tour with Roth seems even to Eddie to be a no brainer.

Dave is a smart guy but also someone that often makes the wrong choice. A million bucks on the BBQ video?

Over a hundred hours of him on the radio earlier this year gave a good insight into where he is coming from and how he's going to make his mind up.

1) The Van Halen Legacy
This is very important to Roth. Not necessarily for the same reasons as the fans but it comes to the same thing. CVH defines his career and as a single guy with no kids or much else going on his life. I think Roth was quite proud of some of his solo stuff on YFLM but it wasn’t a success. He appears to think that his EEAS and Skyscraper music with Vai is at best no longer relevant. Roth is desperate to be in Van Halen again but on his terms.


2) Money.
I don’t think he is down to his last million yet but it’s relevant to him. He mentioned the huge payday of a reunion a few times on radio and who does corporate gigs if not for the money?

3) His Manager
I need to watch what I say but people I know that have dealt with Matt Scienco aren’t exactly full of glowing tributes about the guy. You may say look at how switched on to the business side of things Roth is in his book but the flipside to that is Rush who are very smart were managed for many many years by Ray Daniels who is Satan on Earth. Flattery and personal relationships go a long way with this. Scienco’s advice will based on
a) 10-20% of millions
b) Not losing his job

In his ideal world Scienco becomes manager of a reformed Van Halen.
In a nearly ideal world he gets a huge payday for a single tour and then goes back to being Daves solo manager.
In a world of misery Dave changes management when he rejoins the band.

4) Selling and selling out.
Dave is smart. If Van Halen had never happened I’m sure he would be a shit hot salesman selling cars or widgets or whatever. The sensible shoes scenario. He knows that if he does go along with this he has to do literally a hundred interviews on TV, radio and press selling the idea that having a 15 year old bass player is a good thing and sacking a nice guy after 30 years is fine. If he goes with it he’ll need to stay up at nights coming up with lunatic one liners to justify it. The first or second question in every interview will be about Wolfie. Eddie will be immune to this. If he even does any press it he has the shield of ‘it’s my kid and I’m giving him a step up into the family business’.

Roth is the guy that has to sell this on Howard Sterns show. He can only do that by saying Wolfie is a child prodigy born of genius. That’s a pretty bitter pill to swallow. Compared to most middle aged salesmen I meet Roth is pretty honest. I don’t think he’ll enjoy that at all. Plus there is all the ego stuff.

5) Eddie Van Halen is Mentally Ill

This may be the clincher. EVH has over the years gone from an introvert dominated by Roth, to a twisted paranoid little man with some serious addictions. It was apparent on the radio and from other places that even though he hasn’t been in the band for over 20 years Roth knows more about what happens in the Van Halen camp than you will read even in here or or at the DLRArmy site. He has spies. On air he probed Brian Young about EVH’s inability to perform live in 2004 but I’m sure that was just a way of broadcasting it. The fact he does take such a close interest shows he wants back though.

6) Alex Van Halen
There are repeated long term rumors of Roth fucking one of Alex’s wives. If you listen to old interviews they often seemed to have been good friends and had a bond you don’t catch between MA and any of the rest of them I’ve never seen any conclusive proof Roth did it but who cares the result is that AVH appears to have a real loathing of Roth and has had for a very long time now whatever the reason.

7) Pride and Prejudice
This site was the only one I think to confirm that Roth was offered the 2004 tour. For various reasons we didn’t make a big thing out of it and so it never went viral like the Melodicrock thing all over the interweb(although to be fair it looks like Andrew was also right this time).

In 2004 Roth was offered a deal on the tour. It was for his band to be support and then for him to maybe appear onstage with the Van Halen’s for a couple of songs at the end of their set. He turned this down.

I think he was right to however there are quite a few folk that disagreed with me on that even in Roth’s band. I like to think it shows some integrity and balls though and I admire that.

Similarly Roth rejected a number of offers from Mike Anthony to play bass with him on a few songs during the Roth Hagar tour. This had nothing to do with Roth’s bass player at the time who was happy for it to happen and goes back I think to Roths purity of the legacy thing. I think he didn’t want to cheapen or endanger any future return by already doing it half assed.

8) Last Call

This surely has to be the last chance for any reunion.

Everything is lined up as best as it can be in the fucked up world of Van Halen. It seems unlikely that Eddie is going to live to 90 years old. Maybe he'll comprimise some of his pride to effectively get more acccess to his kid.

Roth wants a reunion. The Hall of Fame thing is this year. All the stars are aligned apart from the problem that EVH is fucked up and that MA is gone apparently.
Who know’s what decision he’ll make,

It’s a hell of a big decision for Roth though.

I'm not sure what I would do if I was him and I'm not nuts...


Cheers!