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October 27, 2009
Tales of David Lee Roth From Guitar Man Steve Vai
Guitarist extraordinaire Steve Vai is out with a new live DVD, although it’s doubtful that anything on this new DVD, which is entitled Where the Wild Things Are, can compare with some of the wild experiences Vai had early on in his career when he was touring with David Lee Roth of Van Halen fame.
Roth, along with his band mates in Van Halen where rumored to be a bit on the wild side when they were on tour, to say the least. There were tales of a secret system that the band had worked out for use during shows where members of their crew were given signals from the stage regarding certain females from the audience that they wanted to get to know a bit better.
Although Vai surely has plenty of stories to tell about his days on the road and the wild things he witnessed, he seems to distance himself from certain activities that were orchestrated by Roth and his crew.
“Actually, I was never really wild,” Vai says, as he explains the scene he found himself in as part of Roth’s group. Massive parties with 50 or specifically chosen females from the audience were the norm. Playing arenas where Vai reports that 80% of the crowd consisted of girls in their underwear certainly seems likely to create a mood that might lead to events that may sound like legends from the days of Caligula.
For Vai, it was an atmosphere he seemed content to remain on the outskirts of. He admits to feeling “like a bee sitting on the rim of the cup sipping the honey,” and reports that he “just had a taste now and then.”
Apparently the money flowed as freely as the sex on a David Lee Roth tour, as the normal routine was for them to rent two entire floors of a hotel in order to create a “buffer” floor between them and the rest of the hotel. Something that the other guests would have probably appreciated if they had known about it.
There had to have been little doubt in Vai’s mind what kind of experience he was in for after his first day on tour with “Diamond Dave.”
“I’ll never forget,” he says. “I came out of my room and looked down the hall and saw one of the notorious techs and he’s walking down the hall naked with one of these girls I saw under the sink and she was naked. That was my introduction to day one with David Lee Roth on tour!”
Read more from Steve Vai at Spinner.
July 12, 2008
Diamond Dave And Peanuts Get Along Just Fine
Don’t you love the way crazy stories and rumors about celebrities spread across the net like wildfire? A few days, it was reported here that David Lee Roth of Van Halen was stopped by police in Ontario, Canada for erratic driving and was found to be suffering from a severe allergic reaction to nuts.
Well, it turns out that the guy that was stopped by police up there was not Diamond Dave at all, and may have been an imposter, or perhaps just a nut who also happens to be allergic to nuts.
On the night in question, the real David Lee Roth was working with the band in Madison Square Garden, a substantial distance from Ontario.
Apparently, the cops who stopped the ailing imposter were more concerned with his health emergency than they were with obtaining his ID, which seems understandable under the circumstances.
It is also been reported that the real Diamond Dave is not allergic to nuts, does not drive himself (he has a driver) and does not wear flashy clothing unless he is performing.
The original story was circulated by many major media sources, but the real story is out now and being circulated nearly as quickly as the first one.
July 8, 2008
Diamond Dave’s Brush With Death
Update: It is now being reported that the man that was pulled over was actually an imposter who was claiming to be David Lee Roth.
David Lee Roth, the flamboyant lead singer for Van Halen is probably the kind of guy you might expect to be pulled over by the cops once in a while. Coming off a $93 million dollar tour, Diamond Dave probably rolls in a pretty pricey and very speedy set of wheels.
If Roth’s stage performances reflect his driving habits, one might imagine that — like another Van Halen singer from the past — he might not be able to drive 55. I don’t know much about speed limits in Canada but David Lee Roth found out first hand recently when he was stopped by the police in Ontario.
This time, however, Roth was not speeding for the thrill of an adrenaline rush. It turns out the Van Halen frontman was in the throes of a bona fide medical emergency. Roth is reported to be allergic to nuts and apparently had ingested some or otherwise come in contact with them, which can become quite serious, and even life-threatening. He appeared to be suffering from anaphylactic shock and needed help as quickly as possible.
The Canadian cops, realizing that Roth was genuinely in trouble, called for paramedics and stayed with him until they arrived. One of the cops admitted that he had no idea he had been dealing with a rock star.
I guess there’s a good reason they print things like “This product may contain nuts,” on packages for products that should not have any nuts in them at all. Food allergies can be pretty serious — just ask Diamond Dave.
