The artists David Lee Roth tried to imitate with Van Halen
Van Halen’s influence is undeniable and pervasive in modern music. Eddie Van Halen’s iconic tapping technique has become ubiquitous among guitarists. Distinctive playing styles and guitar effects can be directly attributed to Van Halen’s innovations. Albums like their self-titled debut and 1984 are regarded as pivotal moments in the evolution of hard rock, firmly establishing their place in rock music history.
They were criticised quite frequently when they first made it big, and they portrayed a rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle that a lot of people didn’t believe, as frequent chants of sex, drugs and partying were seen as insincere. When they would ask for a bowl of M&M’s with the brown ones removed, people saw that as an attempt to mimic the rock music that came before them, and their attitude was a facade. David Lee Roth, however, argues differently.
“I was a surgical tech right out of high school, I sold clothes; I shovelled shit at a horse stable for years. I’ve been rich, and I’ve been poor. Rich is better. Totally better,” he said. “The job we have is a privilege. The Van Halen’s and I have had steady jobs since we were 12 years old. Mine was working before and after school at a horse stable. For them, it was paper routes… Even at your worst moments, there’s a whole lot of Shakespeare going on. How can you not appreciate it? At your lonesomest, most catastrophic, it’s still pretty cinematic. I think the smiles were genuine.”
Following the success of the band, several predecessors came shortly afterwards. Mötley Crüe, Cinderella, Warrant and Poison found their way to the top, using Van Halen’s music, stage presence and overall attitude as a windbreaker. Van Halen managed to welcome in a new age of rock, one that was flamboyant and didn’t take itself too seriously but that did take its music incredibly seriously.
“I don’t know who coined the phrase ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,’” said Roth, “If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then there are a whole lot of dogs out there… At worst, I feel like I’m driving past a traffic accident, and I’m relived no one was killed.”
It’s hardly a surprise that people wanted to be like Van Halen. They had a sound that was so unbelievably unique, and it was used in Back to the Future to show people that time travel existed. The idea that the sound the people in the film were hearing could never have come from their world is the absolute peak of innovation. However, David Lee Roth isn’t so ignorant to ignore the fact that he and the rest of the band also took from their heroes. He says the difference is that they would wear their influences on their sleeve but contort it to make it something new instead of ripping it off completely.
He said: “I can point for you and go: right there we’re imitating Eric Clapton; right there I’m imitating vocally David Bowie; right there is Bruce Springsteen… but this is how you create a signature sound. If you’re lucky to have it, there’s no way around it. I actively imitated everything from the Brothers tap dancing to Mick Jagger going ‘Oooh yeah!’ But because of whatever, it never sounds like anything to you but David Lee.”
