SOBER EDDIE VAN HALEN PLAYING HIS ASS OFF ON TOUR

Van Halen are putting together one of the hottest tours of the year and a sober Eddie Van Halen is a major reason why!

Van Halen have been selling out arenas coast to coast and putting together one of the hottest tours of 2007 and one of the major reasons why is a sober Eddie Van Halen. The tour, which was initially postponed so Eddie could attend rehab and get his life and health back in order, marks the first time the band has toured with lead vocalist David Lee Roth in over twenty years. But it’s not only the addition of Roth and Eddie Van Halen’s guitar prowess that have been turning heads, this tour also features Eddie’s 16 year old son Wolfgang Van Halen on Bass and backing vocals. Eddie Van Halen was asked at the press conference announcing the tour if he thought his guitar playing had changed with his sobriety.

Eddie Van Halen was asked at the press conference announcing the tour if he thought his guitar playing had changed with his sobriety.

“It’s always changing. You’ll just have to come by and check it out. (Roth) Again, usually when you talk about sobriety everything kind of slows down into mental age. (Van Halen) All I know is I’m playing my ass off. (Roth) Yeah, and we usually have to adopt words like tolerant and forgiveness and that is not the case here. The bar is set unbelievably high. We know what your expectations are. Are you prepared for it to better than it ever was?”

One of the shining moments on the tour has been the reemergence of David Lee Roth as a bona fide front man with his never ending stamina and athleticism, which showcased countless round house kicks and martial arts moves. Roth was also asked about his athleticism making the music more visual.

“The athleticism, I’m a life time martial artist. I started on my birthday when I was twelve years old. It makes the music visual. It makes it look like it sounds. That’s part of it. You don’t have to speak English to understand the lyrics of what’s going on here. You don’t even have to enjoy rock n roll to have your mind roasted by what’s going on on this stage.”

Van Halen have announced another North American leg of their immensely successful tour. 2008 dates kick off January 22nd in Oklahoma City and extend until April 4th in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band will be hitting such cities as Duluth, Des Moines, Little Rock and Hershey to name just a few. For those keeping score at home, Van Halen have been tearing through a multitude of hits with setlists more or less consisting of You Really Got Me, I’m The One, Runnin’ With The Devil, Romeo Delight, Somebody Get Me A Doctor, Beautiful Girls, Dance The Night Away, Atomic Punk, Everybody Wants Some, So This Is Love?, Mean Street, (Oh) Pretty Woman, Drum Solo, Unchained, I’ll Wait, And The Cradle Will Rock, Hot For Teacher, Little Dreamer, Little Guitars, Jamie’s Cryin’, Ice Cream Man, Panama, Guitar Solo (316, Eruption, Cathedral), Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love and Jump. Photograhper Brian Miller captured Van Halen December 18th, 2007 in Anaheim, California.