I loved Van Halen, those first two albums in 1978 and 1979 were fierce. I didn’t see Van Halen until June of 1981, at The Forum. The summer before my senior year in high school. There was a boy at school who did his very best to emulate David to a tee, I can’t remember his name. I think he went to the “continuation” school for trouble makers.
Somehow I always gravitated towards the bad boys and together we went to the concert. Our seats were those ones way up high in the sky and the funny thing is I saw my favorite cousin from across the arena and we waved. I got one of those cool concert souvenir baseball tees and wore it all the time.
When my high school friends and I drove around Hollywood we used to see him in a red sports car with the rooftop down and his long hair blowing in the wind. A couple years after that when I was going to punk clubs I saw him at the Cathay de Grande. How wild seeing David Lee Roth at one of the punkiest of punk clubs circa 82.
Hungry punk kids a few years younger than me (I was 18) would hang outside the entrance, so I used to get them fast food. I saw a lot of cool bands there including The Blasters. Dominatrix’s used to hang out and the sound man for the club was Don Bolles from The Germs, 45 Grave and Celebrity Skin. He was always nice to me and when I started booking bands there from my indie label days I was a regular fixture. One day I was in complete shock when I saw David Lee Roth there…totally out of place but digging the underground scene.
This is pretty bad ass from 1978 “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love” Off their 1st self titled album.
Off the second Van Halen album II “Dance the Night Away” 1979
Props to VanHalen765 for the YouTubes
“Everybody Wants Some” off their third album “Women and Children First” 1980. It’s fucking primal.
Thanks to andrewragford89 YouTube
Ted Templeman former drummer of Harpers Bizarre produced 7 Van Halen albums as well as David’s first two solo albums. This after seeing them at The Starwood in 1977 and convincing Mo Ostin to sign them at Warner Bros. Records.
Fast forward to when I started working at the label. It was around the time he was doing solo records when I had the pleasure of working with him. Artists would do the usual chit chat with us but after Dave completed his work with our team he gave us gifts. A bottle of Dom Perignon and a book of McDonalds gift certificates for each of us.
His third solo album released in 1991
Courtesy of David Lee Roth YouTube
Couple photos of mine from the “A Little Ain’t Enough” release party on the WBR patio. If memory serves me right that is Howard at the podium, he ran the parking lot so he had a lot of stories and knew every musical artist that came to the label for decades. I imagine he was saying some funny shit about David judging by his expression,lol. It was so long ago I don’t recall.
The Dom Perignon and a booklet of McDonalds gift certificates is a hilarious gift. It's as if he was trying to say, live it up, but stay grounded.
I've really come to appreciate Roth more and more over the years. Listening to the interview he did with Rogan, I was transfixed. He's eccentric, but he's such an interesting and seemingly genuine guy that it's hard not to like him.