Van Halen Update 7/13/11
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
The return of Van Halen draws near, but the details are still unclear. The Van Halen News Desk wades through all the rumors on the ‘net so you don’t have to! Here’s this week’s news/rumors on Van Halen:
1) ALBUM & TOUR RUMORS: Melodicrock.com reports that a “known and trusted source close to ground zero” says that Van Halen’s US tour will commence in NOVEMBER and that it is likely that the band will stay on the road thru the next Northern summer (mid-2012) with the tour taking in Asia, South America and Europe (watch for the band to possibly headline some festivals in Europe 2012). They also hear that the album is still being mixed and they are betting on the album dropping in October.
2) AND ANOTHER ONE’S HEARD IT! Morgan from the band Sevendust (who are all huge VH fans) has heard at least some of the unreleased Van Halen album and said, “It’s fucking killer. Eddie hasn’t sounded this good since Balance. Dave’s voice sounds great. Alex is absolutely bombastic.”
3) ENGINEER SAYS VAN HALEN IS ON FIRE: Producer/engineer Ross Hogarth recently spoke to Ultimate-Guitar.com about his work on the new Van Halen album; “The whole VAN HALEN record has been recorded and we’re all excited,” Hogarth said. “We have just started mixing the record. I’m really stoked about it, as it is the original band, Eddie [Van Halen, guitar] and Alex [Van Halen, drums] with Wolf [Eddie's son] playing bass, and David Lee Roth singing, it’s the killing side of VAN HALEN at the top of their game again with Diamond Dave, and the band on fire.”
4) OFFICIAL SITES UPDATED: The official websites for both Van Halen and David Lee Roth have finally been updated, but don’t get too excited–the only change is that they both show nothing but the following graphic promoting the band’s 5 Australia concerts in Sept & Oct:
1) ALBUM & TOUR RUMORS: Melodicrock.com reports that a “known and trusted source close to ground zero” says that Van Halen’s US tour will commence in NOVEMBER and that it is likely that the band will stay on the road thru the next Northern summer (mid-2012) with the tour taking in Asia, South America and Europe (watch for the band to possibly headline some festivals in Europe 2012). They also hear that the album is still being mixed and they are betting on the album dropping in October.
2) AND ANOTHER ONE’S HEARD IT! Morgan from the band Sevendust (who are all huge VH fans) has heard at least some of the unreleased Van Halen album and said, “It’s fucking killer. Eddie hasn’t sounded this good since Balance. Dave’s voice sounds great. Alex is absolutely bombastic.”
3) ENGINEER SAYS VAN HALEN IS ON FIRE: Producer/engineer Ross Hogarth recently spoke to Ultimate-Guitar.com about his work on the new Van Halen album; “The whole VAN HALEN record has been recorded and we’re all excited,” Hogarth said. “We have just started mixing the record. I’m really stoked about it, as it is the original band, Eddie [Van Halen, guitar] and Alex [Van Halen, drums] with Wolf [Eddie's son] playing bass, and David Lee Roth singing, it’s the killing side of VAN HALEN at the top of their game again with Diamond Dave, and the band on fire.”4) OFFICIAL SITES UPDATED: The official websites for both Van Halen and David Lee Roth have finally been updated, but don’t get too excited–the only change is that they both show nothing but the following graphic promoting the band’s 5 Australia concerts in Sept & Oct:
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Richie Sambora turns 52 on July 11. Typical of a guitarist in a band that was 2010’s top grossing live act, Sambora will have to squeeze in any celebrations between Bon Jovi mega-shows in Romania and Germany, halfway through the band’s current Circle tour. “My daily planner is the size of a Bible, man!” he recently quipped. And 1959 wasn’t just the year of Sambora’s birth, it was also the year of his most treasured guitar, a sunburst ’59 Gibson Les Paul. 
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Mississippi-based band 3 Doors Down have come a long way since the band’s 2000 hit “Kryptonite” served as the catalyst to push them headfirst into the mainstream. 
Six chart topping albums as one of the biggest bands in the world (Van Halen), a messy break-up, and a rumored reunion? This is a different story. Today, a look at the paramedic, talk-radio host, and one of the biggest personalities from eighties rock and roll. This is the story of David Lee Roth, the solo artist years.
It was 1988 when David Lee Roth would release his second full length album titled ‘Skyscraper’. Apparently between albums Dave had done a lot of rock climbing and this became either the inspiration for the album, or just an outlet for Roth to showcase his feat. The album (Brett Tuggle joined on keyboards) was more ‘pop’ than his first, including the hit “Just Like Paradise”, a drive-with-the-top-down radio-friendly ditty with a video showing Dave inside a boxing ring as well as flying through the crowd on top of a surfboard. It was already somewhat clear, but for me, this is the album that solidified the circus act Roth’s performances had become. For many, the act characterized as a circus would symbolize a downfall, but for David Lee Roth this was a positive. However Billy Sheehan split and was replaced by Matt Bissonette on bass during the ‘Skyscraper’ tour while Steve Vai left for Whitesnake shortly after.
‘A Little Ain’t Enough’ didn’t generate the sales of his first two albums due to the lack of major ballad (“Sensible Shoes” just didn’t get the ladies wet) and it’s straight-up rock sound, but it did put Roth in that rare group of bands able to put out three consecutive great albums in the glam/hard rock genre. Looking back, ‘Eat’em And Smile’, ‘Skyscraper’, and ‘A Little Ain’t Enough’ hold their own against any three consecutive albums put out by Ozzy Osbourne, Motley Crue and Ratt, and separates from some of the others who were not as consistent with their releases during the late eighties/early nineties.
Between albums David Lee Roth took time out for medical training in order to become a paramedic, was a Vegas lounge singer, wrote an autobiography titled ‘Crazy From The Heat’, was elected (as part of Van Halen) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (he did not show), played with the Boston Pops, hosted a radio show, released some of his paintings and other artwork, and appeared in an episode of The Sopranos where he played in a card game with Tony.
