David Lee Roth is 68. Let That Sink In for a Minute.

 It was bad enough that I had to admit to my kids that I was high as a kite when I attended my first Van Halen concert. I wasn't on drugs like you may think, but I was certainly and absolutely flying while under the influence of pain meds. I had just had my four wisdom teeth removed three days prior to the concert, and there I was, driving my friend who was under 16 to the concert. She and I had managed to stand in line about two months beforehand and we got tickets to the show. They weren't bad tickets either. I didn't take into consideration that the date for the show was just a few days after major surgery, but hey, I was 19, absolutely invincible, right? At least I thought so.

    So, the night of the show I'm smart enough not to take the drugs before I drive down to Norman from Oklahoma City, but I wasn't smart enough to not take them somewhere between David jumping off the stage for the first time and then Eddie doing his spinning and turning riff show - - I was truly mesmerized by that time. I had my eyes on Alex for the most part. He was hot. Speaking of being hot, I got hot. The air in the concert hall was really muggy and I decided to remove my sweatshirt. I guess it looked like I was just stripping or something because before I knew it I was being carted off by two armed security guards, literally being dragged out of my seat and back behind the stage. (Not to be confused with being backstage.)

   My friend was really upset about it. I remember laughing. She was cussing and screaming at the security guys, but I was chatting them up and asking them questions like what their names were, how old they were if they were married, you know, things you typically ask a security guard when you're being arrested and/or detained for suspicion of being drugged up and whacked out of your head.  By the time we got back to the area where they detain people in these conditions, I had laughed so hard that my stitches broke and blood ran out of my mouth and all over my sweatshirt. The band had left the stage for Eddie to have his solo and there Alex was just standing about twenty feet from me. I waved.  
    
    I waved at Alex, and he laughed. He came back to where I was and asked if I was OK. I told him I was fine, but I did have to admit that I was on drugs. He said he was too, and it would be OK. I believed him.  He said something else to one of the security guards and I was released to go back to my seat to watch the show.  Just before the encore one of the guards came back to find me. He gave me a Van Halen t-shirt to swap out for the bloody sweatshirt I was wearing and he wanted to know if the meds had worn off. I told him they were better but I wasn't going to chance driving. I thought I would just stay in Norman and walk around the campus for an hour or so.
    
    The guard walked me and my friend backstage this time, not behind it. We were taken to meet the band for real, and I got a chance to thank Alex for being kind enough to release me from the clutches of the guards. He smiled and we hugged. We actually went out that night to a restaurant to eat, I had a car and my friend stayed with the roadies and other friends. I know, I'm the worst friend ever for leaving a 15 year old child with roadies but that was 1981 and she was a blackbelt; so there's that. I drove Alex to O'Conners in Norman, and we ate dinner. He paid for it, and he gave me his real phone number. I told him I didn't call guys, so I gave him my number and I'll be damned...he called.
    
    Earlier I said when I went to my "first Van Halen concert".  Well, that Autumn I went to six more. I went out with Alex each time, and no, we never had sex. I know, I know, my daughter likes to say Alex is her dad, but that would be impossible for a few reasons. She was born 9 years later for one, and again, I read once that you had to have sex to get pregnant.  Maybe Alex will remember that I'm the one person who told him no. He did ask, but I preferred to just hang out with the man. He was adorable. Believe it or not, he has a sharp mind, and a creative style, and he helped me understand more about bands and traveling than anyone I had ever met. I started working for Concerts West that year and mainly because he recommended me to the owner of the promotion company.  Between 1981-1984 I worked over 300 concerts (many artists) CRAZY!!
    
    I met up with Alex and the band in 1983 during the "Jump" video at Hollywood General Studios, and yes, Alex and I went to dinner again. He never asked that time. I may have given in, but I doubt it. Oh, the title of the blog was about David Lee Roth wasn't it?  Well, it's true. I'm older too, but that man is 68!! NO WAY. There is just no freakin' way  - can't happen. Nope. Won't accept it.  At least now when I hear the song "Jump" I am immediately transported back to Hollywood and I seem to have a smile on my face when I arrive.  See, you can have fun without getting naked...it's just that it's probably a lot more fun if you do.  

    It was a good time. Percocet and all. 


Photo Credit: RockSceneAuctions.com