Alex Van Halen Says Van Halen Was ‘Not the Same Band’ After One Incident
Alex Van Halen’s “Brothers” book cover – Author: Cat Badra, Book cover via Harper
Alex Van Halen is doing plenty of press ahead of the release of his upcoming memoir, “Brothers,” which is out on October 22. In an interview with Billboard, the drummer talks about the moment he thought Van Halen changed and what was the catalyst for that change. Of course, Van Halen has gone through plenty of ups and down during their career, but Alex points to one major change that had the band moving in a new direction.
Alex Van Halen Discusses What Caused Van Halen to Change Forever
In an October 18 interview with Billboard, Alex says that he believes Van Halen lost their “magic” after David Lee Roth left the band in 1985.
What’s interesting is that in an October 15 interview with Rolling Stone, Alex called out David Lee Roth’s reported refusal to pay tribute to Eddie Van Halen for putting a nix to a reunion tour that was going to pay tribute to the late guitarist. Even with that comment, Alex seems to have deep respect the Van Halen’s first years with David Lee Roth.
“What happened after Dave left is not the same band,” Alex told Billboard. “I’m not saying it was better or worse or any of that. The fact is Ed and I did our best work whenever we played.”
He added, “We always gave it our best shot. But the magic was in the first years, when we didn’t know what we were doing, when we were willing to try anything.”
Alex has been dealing with heath issues related to his spine for the past several years, and speaking with Billboard, he says he didn’t want to take part in Hagar’s “Best of All Worlds” Van Halen-appropriate tour even if he could have in better health.
“I’m not interested,” he said of the tour, which brought together Joe Satriani on guitar, Michael Anthony on bass and Jason Bonham on drums.
Alex went further to say that Hagar’s “Best of All Words” tour is “not doing the band justice. They can do what they want to do. That’s not my business.”
Alex Talks Eddie Van Halen Relationship in ‘Brothers’
Alex’s book is centered largely on his relationship with his brother, Eddie. When discussing why he went that route instead of writing more about the fights and drama he had with his bandmates, Alex says that he’s “not about the dirt.”
“If I start throwing dirt, it’ll never end,” he added. “I think some people would like that; that’s how projects are sold nowadays. I think it divides the audience, and we’re not here to divide.”
Alex’s book doesn’t even mention Hagar. The storyline follows David Lee Roth’s beginnings with the band and then reflects on Eddie Van Halen’s last years before he passed away in 2020.
Alex also said that the “three main components of the band” were himself, Eddie and David Lee Roth.
“I have nothing but the utmost respect for Dave and his work ethic,” he added. “I just think some of his choices were really strange to me, but that’s not my job to figure it out.”
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