He accurately predicted that dance music was going to come in. So unfortunately, he fell between the cracks, but in a way he was right. So in a way, he was right, but the problem with doin' a switch like that when you're a rocker guy is that the rockers are going to hate you because you've turned on them and the dance guys are going to hate you because you were once a rock guy. And then they get eight to twelve people to do aerobics next to them and that's ninety percent of the music that you see on TV now. It's basically people doing karaoke because they're singers who don't really sing on their records and just get pitch-corrected. So I was gone, but in a way he was right because dance music did become the next giant thing and now that's pretty much all there is. I just couldn't get up there and do that kind of thing. He was like, 'We need to be more dance-orientated.' And I was like, 'That's great', but it just wasn't me. In a way, he was right because he wanted to mix dance beats into the music. He decided to try a new direction with the music. I don't miss him.ī: What ultimately led you to your decision to no longer work with David Lee Roth following the release of (1988's) "Skyscraper"? Was there the proverbial "creative differences," or was it something on a more personal level?īilly: "Dave took a chance. He did a dumb thing and he's still paying for it. Not a 16 year old kid who grew up on Van Halen and Eat 'em and Smile. You can't fool a 16 year old kid with cheesed out crap. I've never felt an ounce of sympathy for him since that day. He deserves the black hole he steered his career into. He could have really taken rock to new heights. We put it away and it resides in my collection unplayed since that day.ĭave came out with guns a-blazin' with Eat 'em and Smile. Half way thru the record, we started just skipping along and dropping the needle somewhere else every 30 seconds. We put it on the turntable, dropped the needle, looked at each other with a "this song sucks. We went out and bought Skyscraper the day it came out. My brother is a bass player and idolized Sheehan at the time. Billy was largely mixed out and didn't do the tour. Ther were a lot of keyboards on Skyscraper and most of the basslines were programmed and sequenced. Even though I like "Skyscraper," what was called for at that time was a slight update of the EEAS sound, not a wholesale reinvention after only one album. I think Dave let Vai loose with the overdubs in a way that perhaps he shouldn't have. Sonically, the album sounds a lot like Steve Vai's subsequent "Passion and Warfare" album. But even it is blessed with a superb Steve Vai solo. "Stand Up" is the only overtly dance-like tune on the album. "Knucklebones" is the straight ahead rock/pop anthem that "Just Like Paradise" wishes it could be. "Two Fools a Minute" updates the CFTHeat vibe but with original music. "Damn Good" is a beautiful song, should've been a hit. The title track is almost like prog rock, really interesting. Think "Skyscraper" didn't rock? Listen again to "The Bottom Line," "Hot Dog & a Shake," or "Hina." I do think it was a mistake to use Brett Tuggle on every track instead of here and there as needed. I adore the whole album, with the notable exceptions of "Just Like Paradise" (lame middle of the road crap) and "Perfect Timing" (just not any good). The guy could barely keep a website up without being sued over it.Ĭlick to expand.That's interesting. I'd been saying for years that I really needed to managed Dave's career as I thought he had been mismanaged up until he rejoined VH (several examples listed above), but it probably would have been shortlived. Then we end up with all the dance-out versions of stuff on Diamond Dave, some of which was left over from that BBQ video he did. People were so desperate for some VH-flavored rock, that he could have literally done like 10 follow-ups to Diver Down - mixing a few high-energy covers with a few originals - and it would have been great. I think that's what he was shooting for with the ill-conceived Diamond Dave album. It should also be added that in one of the interviews I read about the 1996 VH reunion collapse with Michael Anthony, Roth was pushing the VH brothers to go in more of a "Chemical Brothers" direction. Click to expand.There's a 12" remix of "Stand Up" from that album.
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