"Sorry about the mix-up with the time, it's like a twilight zone here," he says in a rapid-fire voice most would associate with too much caffeine, nicotine or nervous energy. "Hey, hold on a second while I sign for this room service."
Yesterday, it was Scotland. Today, Australia. And soon, it will be Houston, where the band opens its American tour in support of the recently released Van Halen III, the first VH outing featuring former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone. Cherone's live debut in itself would be enough to stir interest, but the veteran group (which still includes bassist Michael Anthony and drummer Alex Van Halen) is also out to prove that Van Halen is still vital, more than 20 years down the line.
"We've only got seven shows under our belt, and everyone, including my wife [actress Valerie Bertinelli], is saying that it seems like we've been together for years. It fits like a glove, and it feels like family," Van Halen spews. "Gary has the same passion for music that I do, and there's no bullshit, no attitude and no ego. I saw a long-lost brother. I mean, he looks more like Alex than I do. And who knows? My father was a traveling musician."
Lest you think this ardent affection is contrived, consider that Cherone's permanent home address is now the guest house on Eddie's property. (Rest assured, though, that Cherone's got a bit more talent than Kato Kaelin.)
As for this round of live shows, expect plenty of material from III. But that doesn't mean Cherone hasn't been willing and eager to tackle older VH material. "We just did 'Dance the Night Away' for the first time the other night, and it went great," says Van Halen. "He wanted to do 'I'm the One,' off the first record, and I had to go back and learn the part, because we hadn't played it in 20 years."
Cherone's addition has worked in the group's favor in other ways, as well. While making III, Eddie says, he found himself writing music in a different fashion than for any other VH release: "Never have lyrics inspired me before, and half this record, I wrote the music just by looking at Gary's words."
The guitarist also makes an unintentional singing debut after 20 years on "How Many Say I," sounding like a fragile Roger Waters on what was originally only a demo for Cherone to rerecord.
"We haven't performed it live yet, because I didn't want to bring my Steinway piano all the way over here, so Houston will be the first night that I sing it," he chuckles. "I hope I don't screw up."
The oft-told Van Halen story begins in Holland, where Eddie and older brother Alex lived before moving to Pasadena, California, in 1968; the first four English words Eddie learned, incidentally, were "yes," "no," "motorcycle" and "accident." Trained in classical music, the siblings VH quickly settled into rock and roll, though with Eddie on drums at first. ("The Dave Clark Five made me want to play drums," he recalls.) When Alex proved more competent behind the set, Eddie got a cheap Marshall amplifier, a Les Paul guitar and all the Cream releases he could get his hands on. He tackled his first Cream tunes at a meticulously slow pace, painfully trying to emulate Clapton's riffs. Anthony and David Lee Roth, meanwhile, were playing in rival bands before the four eventually gravitated toward each other in the mid-'70s.
Initially, their distinctive hard-rock sound -- along with Eddie's hammer-on fret work and Roth's showy stage presence -- led to a series of packed club dates. Gene Simmons of KISS heard about the group and helped finance a demo tape, talking them up to Warner Bros., which released the group's self-titled debut in 1978. Then, in reasonably quick succession, came Van Halen II, Women and Children First, Fair Warning and Diver Down, all of which quickly became required listening for back-of-the-bus stoner bull sessions. Simply put, VH were the ultimate '80s hard-rock party band. Inevitable mainstream success came with 1984, which yielded the number one hit "Jump." While older fans bemoaned the increasing use of synthesizers and inescapable video mugging on MTV, Van Halen was now being piped into suburban living rooms across the country.
Some time after 1984 cooled, in one of the most stunningly bonehead career moves in rock history, Roth quit the band, mistaking the size of his ego and a pair of novelty hits for a measure of his talent. Most acts never recover from the departure of their lead singer, but VH proved the exception, hiring ex-Montrose vocalist/solo artist Sammy Hagar. A more gifted singer than Roth (though far less visually exciting), Hagar also brought an extra pair of guitar hands to the party. Van Halen's successes continued with 5150, OU812 and For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. Somewhat disturbingly, the hits from those releases tilted toward power ballads and less fierce material ("When It's Love," "Right Now," "Dreams," "Why Can't This Be Love?"). Three years ago, Balance found the group at a contemplative crossroads: Hagar -- who was either fired or quit, depending on who you ask -- exited the following year, just before the founding three's unlikely reunion with Roth to record two new tracks for a greatest-hits package. When the foursome appeared together on the MTV Video Awards, it looked as if the original lineup might be back together again. But Roth, newly reacquainted with the spotlight, proved an embarrassment, blabbering out of control before the cameras.
