Any Van Halen fan will tell you it’s been a roller coaster ride since about 1995.  While I applauded the bands recent reunion tour with Diamond David Lee Roth, I wasn’t really happy to see Michael Anthony ousted by Eddie Van Halen for mysterious reasons.  Strange stuff ensued with Eddie and Valerie Bertinelli’s 16 year old son, Wolfgang, strapping on the bass for the tour.

Everyone knows Eddie’s had issues with alcohol and substances over the past twenty years but things really took a turn for the worse towards the end of the Sammy Hagar reunion tour in 2004.  EVH had reportedly relapsed while on tour and was drinking heavily and playing erratically night after night after night.   Hagar has publicly confirmed such which comes as no surprise.  The 2007-2008 tour was originally delayed due to another rehab stint for Eddie.  The rehab stint coincided with Van Halen’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which saw only Hagar and Michael Anthony attend and accept the reward on behalf of the entire band.

Positive news lately is that Eddie Van Halen is clean and sober and Van Halen with Roth still in tow appear to have settled back into being a real band.  Reports circulate that the band will record their first disc of new material in over 10 years and the first new material with Diamond Dave since ‘Me Wise Magic’ and ‘Can’t Get This Stuff No More’ back in 1996 for the 1st Greatest Hits album.  What’s not so positive is the eerie silence from David Lee Roth.  Dave has never been one to shy from interviews or soundbite opportunities so something must have been signed up front back in 2007 or even late 2006 which required Roth to remain muzzled.

Time will tell if Dave is allowed to open up again; let’s hope so.   For those who miss hearing Dave, check this out for laughs!

Here’s Van Halen in 2008 with a unique performance of Ice Cream Man: