MR

These things are always good for a laugh, and the 2008 Van Halen rider is no exception.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/ye ... alen1.html

I like the stipulation that DLR's dressing room be as far away as possible from the other band members. I think Journey's 2001 Arrival rider is on there somewhere.

fightingilliniJRNY wrote:These things are always good for a laugh, and the 2008 Van Halen rider is no exception.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/ye ... alen1.html

I like the stipulation that DLR's dressing room be as far away as possible from the other band members. I think Journey's 2001 Arrival rider is on there somewhere.

What ever he has to do to keep that band together!

I remember reading that one of the big reasons for Van Halen's outlandish demands in the rider was actually as a spot check to ensure the rider was being upheld. If the silly things like "no peanut M&M's" weren't there, it served as a warning sign to check more serious things.

When they get back to record the new album, will they require separate recording studios?

With the technology these days, they'll be in different countries when/if they record

T-Bone wrote:With the technology these days, they'll be in different countries when/if they record

no kidding .. "ill email you my vocals .. check your email.." etc..

larryfromnextdoor wrote:

T-Bone wrote:With the technology these days, they'll be in different countries when/if they record

no kidding .. "ill email you my vocals .. check your email.." etc..

Then you can Blackberry them back to me along with your guitar solo and drum fills.

T-Bone wrote:

larryfromnextdoor wrote:

T-Bone wrote:With the technology these days, they'll be in different countries when/if they record

no kidding .. "ill email you my vocals .. check your email.." etc..

Then you can Blackberry them back to me along with your guitar solo and drum fills.

Maybe Journey & Perry should explore this.
They'd never have to so much as look at each other.

DracIsBack wrote:I remember reading that one of the big reasons for Van Halen's outlandish demands in the rider was actually as a spot check to ensure the rider was being upheld. If the silly things like "no peanut M&M's" weren't there, it served as a warning sign to check more serious things.

lol.. That's one of those urban legend things, I've heard that applied to several bands over the years. lol.. I'm sure it happened, to some band...but it's funny how some peeps will use a favorite band to tell the spin. I had a friend say the same thing about Journey and Rush. It was "Niel" who wanted the m&ms. lol...

Spin or not, legend or not, Van Halen gets attached to it a lot.


--------
WHAT WAS THE LOGIC BEHIND VAN HALEN'S "BROWN M&M" CONTRACT RIDER?

What was the supposed logic behind rock band Van Halen's indulgent contract rider that required the removal of all brown M&Ms—and only brown—from the candy bowls in members' dressing rooms?

The "brown M&M" line in Van Halen's contract rider was a ploy the band used to determine whether concert venue promoters and managers had actually read every line of the contract. Specifically, one article of the rider read, "There will be no brown M&M's in the backstage area, upon pain of forfeiture of the show, with full compensation."

While this may seem like an extravagant method of gauging a promoter's attention, the band had good reason to go to such trouble. Van Halen was among the first musical groups to take a massive and elaborate stage and lighting apparatus on tour, yet still play so-called secondary and tertiary venues, such as college amphitheatres.

In many cases, the buildings the band was booked to play in simply weren't able to handle the structural demands of the traveling stage. The band's lengthy contract rider clearly spelled out the specifications and safety requirements for the stage, but many of the smaller venue administrators simply didn't bother to delve into this intimidating legal document.

Thus, if Van Halen got to the dressing room and found brown M&Ms in the candy dishes, the band knew that a problem might exist with the stage. In many cases, the problem was worth canceling the show, for safety or liability reasons. From such cancellations sprang the rumor that Van Halen would back out of a concert date simply because the band found brown M&Ms backstage.

In fact, this reputation grew so well known that at one point The Rolling Stones, which was headlining a tour that included Van Halen, wrote into its own contract rider a request for all the brown M&Ms that Van Halen threw out. It's ironic, considering that the brown M&Ms were merely a red herring, but such is the basis for great Geek Trivia.

texafana wrote:

DracIsBack wrote:I remember reading that one of the big reasons for Van Halen's outlandish demands in the rider was actually as a spot check to ensure the rider was being upheld. If the silly things like "no peanut M&M's" weren't there, it served as a warning sign to check more serious things.

lol.. That's one of those urban legend things, I've heard that applied to several bands over the years. lol.. I'm sure it happened, to some band...but it's funny how some peeps will use a favorite band to tell the spin. I had a friend say the same thing about Journey and Rush. It was "Niel" who wanted the m&ms. lol...

well, with respect to vh, there's alot of evidence that the rider did indeed contain a brown m&m clause. So I find it hard to passively dismiss it as urban legend at this point...

plus, read some of the riders present at the smoking gun and tell us again how you think some of this stuff is urban legend....hell, go read the foo fighters one...that one is chock full of whacky shite...