MR

Just curious who and what they were like. You hear some many things about them being difficult and fighting with each other. I wonder what they are like with their fans.

mike anthony was the most aproachable.
and alex has been very aproachable
sammy was very friendly (A LITTLE RUSHED THE LAST TIME)
eddie is nice when you can get to him.
dave is as tough to get to as eddie.but will sign
ive ran into them on a few occasions and all are friendly.
just depends on the when you meet them.

I had the pleasure of meeting VAN HALEN back in 1977, shortly after they released their first album. It was in Louisville, Kentucky @ Karma Records. They were in town opening that night for Black Sabbath / Blue Oyster Cult. They were young, full of energy, and i bought the album and had all 4 autograph it on their respective pictures. That album got plenty of use over the years. I was a fan from day 1, and have seen every tour with the exception of the Gary Cherone tour, and they will be in Tampa, Florida this coming Monday February 18, and i will be there.

And YES, i still have my autographed copy of VAN HALEN 1...

I was working at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Mi during the Balance tour. I had requested both days off, I did not want to see the stage, hear any sound checks etc. The boss scheduled me anyway. No big deal. I was going about my job; I had to go to the beverage cooler at the end of one of the hallways in the bowels of the arena. I was dragging a pallet with beer kegs and out of the tuning room walks Eddie.

I let go of the pallet and it hit me in the back, I stopped, planted both feet about 2 feet apart, and pointed to him and said "Dude!!!" with this shit eating grin on my face. He smiled and said "Hey, how about bringing me that keg of beer?" "Only if you can get me backstage passes and bitchin' seats" I replied. HE smiled and said "it ain't gonna happen" all the time with a smile on his face. "Then yer not getting the free beer." I said. He smiled and tossed a few guitar picks my way. I scooped them up and went about my job, happy as hell.

Fast forward to the summer and the second part of the tour. This time at Pink Knob. I had to go see the stage manager about using one of the high lows for a few hours. I was to be escorted across the state to the office on stage right. I talked to the guy for about 10 minutes, and walked back across the stage. As I got the last of Eddie's speaker cabs on stage left, Eddie comes around the corner.

I stopped, planted both feet about 2 feet apart, and pointed to him and said "Dude!!!" with this shit eating grin on my face. He smiled and said "I remember you, sort of. Didn't you refuse to give me free beer?" "Yes, you refused to give me tickets and a pass!" "Oh yeah that's right. Did you see the show what did you think?" we then stood on stage for about 10 minutes, probably more like 5, maybe 6 and talked about the show.

I pointed to where I was going to be sitting at that nights show, not that it would have mattered but what the hell. I got yelled at by my boss for talking to him. I told my boss to kiss my ass and quit in the middle of my shift - I'm not going to pass up a chance to talk to anybody like that.

I met him again during the VHIII tour and mentioned our meeting - he had no memory of it. No big deal I will always remember that and look back with a smile.

I met Sammy a couple of years back in Atlantic City. Great guy! Had a few too many adult beverages in me though. It is kind of fuzzy.

Sammy is the coolest motherfucker in the world. I saw him at the HOB in Myrtle Beach in '97. There were over 100 people waiting behind the building after the show, next to his tour bus. He shook everyone's hand, hugged about 20 different people he didn't know, and signed every last autograph request. He even signed the back of my buddy's F.U.C.K. tour shirt, even though it was covered in sweat. One of the great guys in rock.

Ive met all members over the years from Eddie to Gary.

Mikey was the coolest and most friendly.
Depending on his mood,Eddie can be either a dick or a nice guy.
David Lee Roth was funny as all hell and he even invited me and my sister to lunch.
Gary seemed happy to just talk to people that dug VH3.
Sammy was cool and we had a shot.
Alex was cool but seemed pissed off about something during the Balance tour and was kind of quiet.
and Wolfie earned my respect when I said he did a great job playing at Reno and he said thanks.

I remember meeting van halen.
It was at an instore appearance in sydney australia.
The management couldnt believe the line up,He mentioned to me that metallica were doing the same thing about a year ago and he hadnt seen anything like the vh instore.There were so many people there to meet the band,considering they had never been to australia before.It was the vh3 tour.
Anyway i managed to meet the whole band,Gary was quiet and alex appreciated that i had welcomed them to sydney.
Mikey was awesome very friendly.
The best part?Nobody was allowed to take a pic with the band as they were behind this huge desk.I said to Eddie,ive been waiting 15 years to meet you guys.He said well ive waited 20 to get here,lol.
I said mate youd make my day if i could get a pic with you.This huge guy came over and said no pics and Eddie just said that cool,hes ok,and he took a pic with me.What a legend.
Problem was after that everybody wanted a pic with him and he obliged to everybody.
All in all one of the best moments of my life.The gig then kicked ass in sydney and then i managed to see the last show of the tour in Yokohama ,Japan which was mindblowing.
Sorry for the long post.

RockInDetroit wrote:Just curious who and what they were like. You hear some many things about them being difficult and fighting with each other. I wonder what they are like with their fans.

i met Roth in Glasgow in Feb 2004. he was with sum bodyguard who wouldn't let me take a pic with dave, wat an asshole! although i shook daves hand and said it was good to see him back in Scotland! he said ' thank you my friend' awesum

Bobby Van Halen wrote:I remember meeting van halen.
It was at an instore appearance in sydney australia.
The management couldnt believe the line up,He mentioned to me that metallica were doing the same thing about a year ago and he hadnt seen anything like the vh instore.There were so many people there to meet the band,considering they had never been to australia before.It was the vh3 tour.
Anyway i managed to meet the whole band,Gary was quiet and alex appreciated that i had welcomed them to sydney.
Mikey was awesome very friendly.
The best part?Nobody was allowed to take a pic with the band as they were behind this huge desk.I said to Eddie,ive been waiting 15 years to meet you guys.He said well ive waited 20 to get here,lol.
I said mate youd make my day if i could get a pic with you.This huge guy came over and said no pics and Eddie just said that cool,hes ok,and he took a pic with me.What a legend.
Problem was after that everybody wanted a pic with him and he obliged to everybody.
All in all one of the best moments of my life.The gig then kicked ass in sydney and then i managed to see the last show of the tour in Yokohama ,Japan which was mindblowing.
Sorry for the long post.

awesum story m8! my only time seeing VH was in Toronto Canada, although im from Scotland. it was the VHIII tour in 1998. i loved it, 1 of the best concerts ive ever been too! Gary was awesum although ed was obv the man of the night

RockInDetroit wrote:Just curious who and what they were like. You hear some many things about them being difficult and fighting with each other. I wonder what they are like with their fans.

Back in the "old days" when I was in radio and dating someone who worked for VH, I got to spend a good bit of time around them. I thought Dave was a sweetheart and funny as hell, just not quite the party animal that everyone thought he was. Alex was nice, but I didn't spend that much time around him. Edward was always nice too...kind of quiet, and once he was with Valerie, it was all about her. I don't mean that in a bad way...it was very sweet. Even when she wasn't around, her dad or brother usually were. Michael was simply wonderful, kind, warm, sincere...just a great guy.

I saw Edward again a couple of years ago at a Styx show, but he was drunk...it wasn't pretty.