i saw van hagar at MSG in 1988 and they rocked! i was in 8th grade and my whole band went – a quartet of young, aspiring musicians. more than 2 decades later, all of us are still in music in some capacity, but i’m the only that fully makes a living playing.

VH-I is still my fave – the debut. *unreal*

btw, i just got the ‘baseball paper’ (usa today sports weekly) – Andy & Hughes are on the cover. it says “special delivery – unexpected aces”

1984 is the quintessential DLR-era VH record, but I still love the original self titled and II. Gary Cherone never happened.

DLR is a tribe member! strangely, however, his real name is Anthony Roth. huh.

i should probably also mention, that a few years after this, Joe Satriani (heavily influenced by EVH, obviously) used a portion of this type of groove in his very fun track called “Satch Boogie”. it’s a blast to play that song (i used to teach it at the music college), but i have to give him a demerit for using a drum machine! ; )

I missed out on Van Halen’s prime. My music head was elsewhere at the time. Classic rock, 80′s pop punk etc. I didn’t dislike them, as I said I loved this tune, but Van Halen just wasn’t my thing. I came around to appreciating them more, years later.

movie posters are now on sale

the new cd single will be available for online purchase next week

‘clockwork angels’ will be out spring 2011

there was more, but i’m RUSHing around!!! eh eh eh

first time ever played:

Billy Cobham. 1st track “Quadrant 4″ off his debut solo record “Spectrum” – released Oct. 1st, 1973 (first album i ever bought!)

about 5 years later, i believe, Simon Phillips played it on a Jeff Beck tune – “Space Boogie”

a coupla years after that, Rod Morgenstein – from the Dixie Dregs – played it on a Steve Morse solo album tune. (could be “Stand Up”, maybe. not positive.)

almost a decade after ’1984′, Steve Smith (my favorite drummer), payed tribute to Cobham (one of my biggest influences), and opened up his Vital Information record “Easier Said Than Done” with a tune that has the “Quadrant 4″ groove, called “Snap Out Of It!”

David Lee Roth used this double bass shuffle groove to great effect on his first 3 excellent LP’s, with the fantastic Gregg Bissonette on drums…

match actually started yesterday, suspended, then re-started today ….

and my high school trigonometry teacher was HOT!!!

I also sometimes enjoyed David Lee Roth’s short-lived, critically panned morning radio show a few years ago. He’s a fun, bright, and interesting cat. The show didn’t always work, and he was obviously feeling his way, but he did a pretty good job I thought.

This one’s in the pantheon, both the song and the video . . .