Some things never change — like with Van Halen. David Lee Roth says he still doesn’t get along with Eddie and Alex.
Roth says “There were always creative differences. We never got along… You’ve seen cowboy movies where the guys are always sabotaging each other but they’re working to somehow accomplish something. And I think you’ll see that in a lot of popular bands. They may have gotten through it, but I don’t know that we ever really grew up and became gentrified.”
Asked about relations now and if they could have dinner together, Roth says, “Not even close. This is not a golf club. This is a little closer to ‘The Wild Bunch.’ There is a fury and an antagonism, and what comes out of that is, when it’s good — oh, man.”
He even says there was tension on their last tour in 2015. “[We] were at each other all throughout the tour — constant. And then you assign yourself to the producer who will either take Eddie’s side or my side — you’re either a Dave guy or an Eddie guy. We’re all mature enough to understand that we’re all pirates here. Of course you’re gonna betray me.”
So, Dave wasn’t kidding when he mentioned many years ago that he can work with the Van Halen brothers without speaking to them.
“Oh yeah, I have no problem with that. [laughter] Like I said, it’s not a question of ‘Gee, how does the song go?’ [laughter] Nobody’s gonna be interested in hearing us jam. What’s next? We gonna bring the wives and kids on stage and have a little recital? Nobody’s interested. There are so many hits in our collection. I’ve got more hits than the Gambino [crime] family.”
