The Tapes Archive

Last week, we released an interview with David Lee Roth from 1984. This week, we are releasing another Roth interview, but 35 years later. We go from the height of Roth’s Van Halen career to his twilight years. I believe this interview is one of the most honest and humble interviews he’s ever given; he speaks very candidly on many topics.  At the time of this interview in 2019, Roth was 65 years old and promoting his line of tattoo skin care products called Ink the Orginal. In the interview, Roth talks at great lengths about his parents and growing up, the beginning and ending with Van Halen, why he never got married, why he’s never happy, plus so much more.  The interview was conducted by Debbie Millman and was originally aired on her award-winning awesome podcast Design Matters. We are so grateful that Ms. Millman is allowing us to share one of the most insightful David Lee Roth interviews with you. Please use the link below and subscribe to her podcast. Subscribe to Debbie Millan's Design Matters: https://www.designmattersmedia.com/ 00:00:00 - Intro to David Lee Roth interview 00:01:17 - Debbie Millman intro 00:02:19 - Start of David Lee Roth interview 00:02:47 - His Uncle Manny Roth 00:05:29 - His mother, Sibyl Roth, and her toughness on him 00:07:49 - Wearing leg braces as a kid 00:08:41 - His early jobs 00:09:34 - Where his youthful drive came from 00:11:14 - What the Roth family expected when they had get-togethers 00:12:29 - When he first realized he had a talent for singing 00:15:00 - Him being in plays as a child 00:16:11 - He tells where he really learned to sing from 00:18:59 - His parents threaten him with going to a foster home 00:19:16 - If “bad” Dave comes from his mother 00:21:08 - How he was taught to sing like the girls 00:22:43 - How many instruments he plays 00:23:25 - The first meeting with the Van Halen brothers 00:26:31 - Why he and the Van Halen brothers were crosstown rivals 00:28:26 - What inspired him to write music 00:30:57 - The near-death experience that chokes him up even today 00:34:38 - How much of his Playboy image is a story he was creating 00:37:15 - If he is confident he would make it in show business 00:37:33 - The idea of an album band 00:39:00 - An obscure Dutch radio reference 00:40:14 - Did they write Runnin’ with the Devil in 18 minutes 00:42:25 - Who are the best teachers and coaches 00:45:35 - When he has felt sorry for himself 00:46:45 - Why he hasn’t fallen into a lot of traps, other Rock and Rollers did 00:47:28 - Him stealing books 00:48:31 - What kept him from succumbing to drug abuse 00:49:55 - Where his ability to jump high comes from 00:53:46 - Why did he leave Van Halen in 1985 00:54:38 - Why didn’t he ever get married 00:56:44 - His ability to mimic others 00:58:54 - The teleplay he has been working on for three years 01:00:33 - Why his favorite audience is disbelieving nonbelievers 01:01:29 - Why he isn’t happy 01:02:14 - His window time 01:02:53 - How he’s always solving a catastrophe 01:05:12 - Why he decided to start Ink the Orginal 01:07:43 - Why take his life in this direction 01:09:41 - Tattoos today 01:12:11 - The process of making his product 01:13:53 - How the business is doing 01:14:22 - The difference between having a tattoo today and 30 years ago 01:17:37 - What advice would he give someone who has writer’s block 01:19:28 - Squeezing every single moment out of life

A never-published interview with Van Halen's Diamond David Lee Roth. At the time of this interview in December 1984, Roth was 31 years old, and only months away from no longer being in Van Halen. In the interview, Roth talks about the future of Van Halen, his need for attention, whether he’s a bad role model, and what he wants on his tombstone. And in a Tapes Archive exclusive, Mr. Roth busts into an impromptu freestyle rap.  The interview is conducted by a new Tapes Archive contributor, award-winning legendary entertainment journalist, screenwriter, producer, and author, Ethlie Ann Vare. For decades, Ethlie ruled musical taste and celebrity gossip in newspapers, magazines, and TV. Her Top 10 Syndicated column ROCK ON ran in 1,700 newspapers worldwide. She’s interviewed A-list movie celebrities like Johnny Depp and Nicholas Cage and rock royalty like Ozzy Osbourne and David Lee Roth. She wrote for Billboard, Daily Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter. She also reviewed rock concerts and albums for the New York Times, and discussed rock stars on The Gossip Show. Ms. Vare has more accomplishments than we have time to say here. Below is a link in to her website. We are honored she is allowing us to share some of her unpublished historical interviews with all of you.  Ethlie Ann Vare's website https://ethlieannvare.com/ Watch the captioned version https://youtu.be/QodtYVn7tDQ 00:00 - Intro to David Lee Roth interview 01:46 - Start of the David Lee Roth Interview 02:57 - The rumors about Eddie Van Halen wanting to leave the band 03:58 - Was it an ego blow with Van Halen’s album 1984 not hitting #1 on the charts 05:22 - Playing Black Sabbath music while watching a football game 05:49 - Was having a pop hit with “Jump” harmful to the band? 06:57 - About his love life and what his type is 08:38 - Who is the real David Lee Roth 09:29 - How Roth is a bit of a loner, and his need for attention 10:21 - How he’s critical of other bands 12:03 - Roth does a freestyle rap. (Not kidding, not A.I.) 12:52 - His first and other jobs as a teenager 14:01 - Who manages his money 14:39 - Where his next adventure will be 15:05 - How does he defend the criticism that he’s a bad role model 15:55 - What’s next for Van Halen 16:29 - What’s the Van Halen groupie scene like 17:02 - The Hot For Teacher video 17:42 - The auditions for his music videos 18:42 - What would he want on his tombstone 19:04 - Answering machines 19:44 - What he wants back 19:55 - A scene he likes from the movie Cotton Club 20:41 - His Harley Davidson 21:41 - What type of car he drives 22:11 - His height and weight 22:41 - The movie Amadeus 23:10 - He was just offered a low-budget film 23:57 - Who’s going to remember him in 500 years

A never-published interview with the Red Rocker Sammy Hagar. At the time of this interview in 1997, Hagar was 50 years old, freshly out of Van Halen, and promoting his new album Marching to Mars and his upcoming tour. In the interview, Hagar talks in detail about how he saw the break-up between him and Van Halen, his dislike for manager Ray Daniels, and his new musician best buddy Mickey Hart. 00:00 - Intro to Sammy Hagar interview 01:21 - Why his new album is not more aggressive after being fired from Van Halen 03:38 - Detailed backstory on why it ended with Van Halen and him 05:16 - How manager Ray Danniels wanted more than his fair share of money 07:08 - All about greed and lack of integrity 07:47 - What he thinks Eddie Van Halen lied about 08:43 - Why did he still thank Van Halen on his new album 09:50 - The support of his fans 10:34 - His disappointment in Eddie and Alex Van Halen 11:50 - How does he think the upcoming Van Halen record with Gary Cherone will do 12:55 - How Eddie Van Halen is a musician, not a songwriter 13:38 - How Van Halen hired a 72-year-old to help with lyrics 14:00 - All the producers’ Van Halen went through 14:44 - If Van Halen’s next album fails with Cherone how will Hagar feel 15:43 - How Michael Anthony was mistreated in Van Halen 16:50 - What Los Tres Gusanos is 17:13 - What are the stand-out songs on his new album Marching to Mars 18:28 - How he got together with Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart 19:49 - Mickey Hart as a musician 20:28 - His touring plans 21:37 - The business side of his tour 22:51 - Did he get to talk to David Lee Roth and the difference in their Gary Cherone stories 24:15 - When he finally busted Eddie Van Halen 25:02 - What would he change if he were the overlord of pop music 26:40 - What else does he have going on

A never-published interview with Alex Van Halen. At the time of this interview in 1995, Alex was 42 years old and was promoting an upcoming Van Halen concert in British Columbia, Canada. In the interview, Alex talks about growing up and playing with his brother Eddie Van Halen, "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" producer Bruce Fairbairn, and the best thing about being in Van Halen. The interview is conducted by a Tapes Archive contributor, Canadian music journalist and author Steve Newton. During his four decades as a freelance music writer, he has interviewed everyone from AC/DC to ZZTop. We highly recommend that you head over to his Patreon page patreon.com/earofnewt and check out over 400 of his exclusive interviews. For only $5, you get full access. We are not paid for this endorsement; we truly feel it’s money well spent. Read Newton's article based on this interview: https://bit.ly/3YOyBnI Link to Newton's Patreon page: https://bit.ly/3WQBr9S For zero money, you can head over to Newton’s website, earofnewt.com, where he has posted more than 3,000 of his interviews, album reviews, concert reviews, and horror movie reviews. Link to Newton's website: https://bit.ly/3ij9GIa 00:00 - Intro 01:38 - Start of Alex Van Halen Interview 02:06 - His earliest memories of playing with his brother, Eddie Van Halen, and his dad’s musical career 03:24 - Who the Van Halen brothers would try to emulate musically 03:43 - Who were his drum gods when he first started playing 04:39 - Playing with his dad’s Jazz band and if he took lessons 05:39 - If Eddie was part of his dad’s band 05:52 - When did he know Eddie Van Halen would be a legend and his own guitar-playing 06:31 - Did he know early on how big Van Halen would become, and early days with the LA club scene 07:00 - The night Warner Brothers saw them for the first time 08:43 - What’s his favorite David Lee Roth Van Halen album is 09:29 - The essence and core of Van Halen 10:03 - How Sammy Hagar could have replaced Roth back in 1978 10:57 - How Van Halen has evolved since Sammy Hagar joined the band. 11:58 - How producer Bruce Fairbairn got involved in producing “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” 13:34 - Van Halen’s process in picking a producer 14:38 - Does he have any input into writing Van Halen songs? 15:53 - How much longer does he see Van Halen rocking? 16:26 - What’s the best thing about being in Van Halen 16:41 - Alex talks about Van Halen’s USA Harvest can drive 18:02 - Alex gives the name of the person Steve should talk to to get backstage.