David Lee Roth Says Van Halen is ‘Finished’
David Lee Roth has been dropping a lot of hints about the future of Van Halen while he promotes his upcoming Las Vegas residency, but this hint seems very matter-of-fact.
Roth appeared on Talkin’ Rock with Meltdown when he was asked whether he was bummed he didn’t get a chance to embark on that highly-rumored Van Halen summer tour, and DLR had this to say:
“Well, that’s been canceled a number of times, and I think Van Halen’s finished, and I think this is the next phase. I’ve been hearing in the band ‘de facto,’ whatever that means. I think it means, ‘You’ve inherited it. Carry this proudly.’ Van Halen isn’t going to be coming back in the fashion that you know, and that being said, Eddie [Van Halen’s] got his own story to tell. [It’s] not mine to tell it.”
Roth would continue and allude to how his upcoming residency is basically what Van Halen is now. He said:
“But want to hear the classics? Want to hear the Van Halen catalog…and “Just A Gigolo” played religiously? This is not a representation. I’m not a tribute band. This is not a gainful, sort of ironic ‘Remember how anything was.’ This is how it’s going to be. And that kind of belligerent enthusiasm is perfect for Vegas.”
Roth first touched on issues pertaining to the future of Van Halen earlier this month in an interview where he said, “…I’m the face of Van Halen from this point on, most likely. I’m not sure what’s happening with Ed, but [he’s] probably not gonna answer the bell this time. It’s not my place to guess…I’ve got some 25-year-olds [for my backing band.] We carry the torch here.”
Eddie Van Halen has yet to comment on any of these statements from Roth.
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