Van Halen icon, David Lee Roth was interviewed on recent edition of Scott Lipps’ podcast, Lipp Service. Here, the former Van Halen frontman shares his thoughts on what is harder – running a business or a band like Van Halen as well as making a heroin remark. Alternative Nation transcribed Roth and Lipps’ comments.
Lipps: Do you think it’s harder running a business or running a band?
Roth: Oh easily running a band because that’s undependable. You’re on rockstar savings time. Which is hours fucking later than you ever fucking thought any human could be.
[Laughter]
Roth: Just start doing things like: “Wednesday in the Mickey Mouse Club is anything can happen day” then as your band starts kicking, Wednesday becomes the first day of the weekend. Then if your band becomes really, really popular, they are tearing all the paint off the right-hand side, even in the first turn then Wednesday becomes the middle of the weekend.
[Laughter]
Roth: Then all the Dr. Drew’s and Dr. Phil’s on the tube, it would be like trying to pry a manhole cover up with a tongue depressor, trying to go: “You know you should quit”. *silence, crickets* “Quit what?” It really is that kind of undependability that makes for great music – collision, collision, conflict and conflict. It’s a whole lot of Shakespeare going on.
Lipps: The Glimmer twins, right? Jagger and Richards…
Roth: Oh yeah and then you introduce the third fighter in the ring, when you watch two boxers it’s not just two boxers but the time, clock and they get em’ both. You follow? If you have a guitar player and a singer, maybe heroin, maybe that’s the time-frame. You’re on heroin time now. Can you fucking survive that because that’s high-altitude shit baby. Don’t look down.
