Van Halen Rising Quotes

“They were like, ‘Wow, look at this guy! Wow, look at that!’ David Lee Roth was the first local guy to open the shirt, show the hairy chest, and say, ‘We’re here to par-tay. I’m here for sex. I’m here to have sex.’ He looked like a complete Neanderthal, and he moved onstage like a fucking Chippendales dancer, like a stripper. David had a new way of doing things. It was unique. Look at Randy Rhoads during that exact period of time. He was very effeminate. Van Halen wasn’t doing that. They’d play some dance and get fucked up on coke and fuck chicks.”
― Greg Renoff, Van Halen Rising: How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal

“when Roth joined, all of Mammoth’s followers “seriously thought [the Van Halen brothers] had ruined Mammoth,” telling Edward, “‘Wow. I can’t believe you did this. This guy sucks.’ Eddie was apologetic, but he’d say to us, ‘Be nice to him. He’s okay.”
― Greg Renoff, Van Halen Rising: How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal

“What was captured on tape sounded apocalyptic. 'Eruption' (first titled 'Guitar Solo,' according to the song’s track sheet), takes flight after a quick drum fill and a power chord. Edward sends notes and harmonics soaring before diving down with some gravity-defying tremolo bar bends. Alex and Michael then fire off a flak burst of three chords. Edward maneuvers again, twisting and turning, strafing and bombing before turning on the jets and heading skyward with a flurry of notes. He recedes again, leaving only a descending low note in his wake. After another pause, he attacks again, faster than ever. He weaves and twists and then unleashes his secret weapon: his two-handed tapping technique that would astound and confound guitarists across the world. Finally, an atomic blast, courtesy of Edward’s Univox echo chamber, concludes this minute and forty-three seconds of open warfare on the guitar world.”
― Greg Renoff, Van Halen Rising: How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal

“Asked later that afternoon about what had delayed their set, the ever-quotable Roth shrugged off the question, telling the reporter with a laugh: “My department is sex, drugs, and rock and roll.”
― Greg Renoff, Van Halen Rising: How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal

“Roth held the audience in the palm of his hand. “He’d stand out front with no shirt on going: Hey motherfuckers! What do ya think of my fuckin’ band? You wanted to hate him, because he was such an arrogant fuck. But you couldn’t, because there were all these hot girls there to see him. They all wanted him.”
― Greg Renoff, Van Halen Rising: How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal

“Roth swung around in his seat. With his voice raised, he said, “Look, don’t think for a second that this is over! This is how it’s gonna be. We are really going to go into recording studios. We really are going to be a big name. You’ll see. Just keep at it!”
― Greg Renoff, Van Halen Rising: How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal

“But the whole group, especially David, was playing the stage as if it was Madison Square Garden. And that’s the sign of greatness. You’ve got to be good in the first place, but when you treat a small, intimate gathering as if it’s a spectacle, you have the makings of a star.”
― Greg Renoff, Van Halen Rising: How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal

“It’s because you play all twenty minutes of ‘I’m So Glad’ by Cream, complete with drum solo, live, note for note, and it’s very impressive, but you can’t dance to it.”[”
― Greg Renoff, Van Halen Rising: How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal