Umoe Mandal has been awarded a contract for three shipsets of composite mast and SCOT Sponsons structures for the UK Royal Navy's Type 26 Global Combat Ships, designed and manufactured by BAE Systems.
The Norwegian company has been selected as the preferred supplier of critical ship structures among a group of contractors interested in the program.
The integrated package of mast and SCOT Sponsons structures will be manufactured at Umoe Mandal's facilities, with first shipset delivery scheduled for fall 2019.
"This contract further strengthens Umoe Mandal's long-standing partnership with BAE Systems, to whom we have delivered close to eighty gun cupolas since 1998," Tom Harald Svennevig, CEO of Umoe Mandal, commented.
Type 26 Global Combat Ship program is headed by UK Ministry of Defence and BAE Systems to develop multi-mission warships for the UK Royal Navy to support anti-submarine warfare, air defense, general purpose and humanitarian assistance operations.
With a displacement of 6,900 tons, the ships will have a length of 149.9 meters, a width of 20.8 meters and will be able to reach a speed of 26+ knots.
The first ship is scheduled to enter service in the 2020s.
Posted on July 20, 2018 with tags BAe Systems, Composites, Royal Navy, Type 26, Umoe Mandal.


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Retro Riffs: SOUNDGARDEN 'Superunknown' Album Review & Stream
Article By: Brett Schacht ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
After the runaway success of 'Badmotorfinger' and its full-on realization of SOUNDGARDEN's unique musical style, the only possible direction for the follow-up was BIGGER.
Much bigger, in fact. The final disc ended up as a 70-minute monster that, unlike many of the CDs of the era that attempted to capitalize on the extended room of the relatively new format and only succeeded in testing the listener's patience, warranted and rewarded the extra run time. Released on March 8, 1994, after 25 years the album 'Superunknown' remains the band's 'Physical Graffiti', an album that took the promise of those early albums and set them loose in every direction, without losing sight of what made their earlier works so compelling.
The band bashes us in the mouth from the outset, "Let Me Drown" full of dropped-D guitar hooks that are heavy as hell, but leaving the listener reaching for the Dramamine with its seasick, lurching grooves. "My Wave" sticks with the watery themes and finds the band charging through an intense barrel of surf and coming out the other end to a psychedelic, dreamy outro.
Angst-ridden and worn down, "Fell On Black Days" was prime downer SOUNDGARDEN, exploring the depression that sadly held its grip on Chris Cornell all the way until the tragic end of the singer's too-short life. But the poetry that Cornell was capable of remains a beautiful thing, forged from heartbreak and ennui as it was. The heaviness quotient is ratcheted up on "Mailman", courtesy of drummer Matt Cameron, while the serpentine riffing of the title track makes for the perfect backdrop for Cornell's questioning, obtuse lyrics.
Quasi-Middle Eastern melodies had always been a hallmark of SOUNDGARDEN's music, stemming largely from the band's affinity for droning low tunings. The Ben Shepherd-penned "Head Down" dives headlong into the deep end with its unusual note choices and quavering vocal performance.
SOUNDGARDEN:
Kim Thayil – Guitars
Ben Shepherd – Bass Guitar, Vocals on "Half"
Chris Cornell – Lead Vocals, Guitar
Matt Cameron – Drums
No one can predict what makes a hit song, but I'm sure even the band were taken aback by the overwhelming response to "Black Hole Sun", a song full of diverse musical inspirations coalescing into a catchy, beautiful, dour mess that fit the post-Kurt Cobain suicide time frame almost too perfectly. Beatles-like harmonies drift hazily over languid guitar arpeggios, Kim Thayil's idiosyncratic guitar lines quack sullenly from the corners, and Cornell delivers a soulful performance, adding up to a remarkable, unexpected gem that shone like a diamond, even among this embarrassment of riches.
Matt Cameron pounds away in the ridiculously groovy "Spoonman", but still has the grace to give up the spotlight to his percussionist brother in arms (and song inspiration) Artis the Spoonman, Seattle sidewalk performer and urban myth personified. The unexpected "spoon solo" in the middle of the song shows the band willing to try anything here and they almost unanimously win at every gamble. Cornell gives as good as he gets, the vocals here reacting to and spurring on the other instruments to ever greater heights. "Limo Wreck" highlights SOUNDGARDEN's unique ability to employ shifting time signatures to great effect without sounding academic, no doubt stemming from the fact that guitarist Kim Thayil and drummer Cameron arrive at the results intuitively, rather than through forced writing.
Ben Shepherd's thick bass tone rumbles out of the wreckage of the droning intro of "The Day I Tried To Live", establishing the infectious verse riff. The chorus, with its subtle lyrical changes on every repeat, is full of magnificent lines highlighting the poetic, but still visceral lyrical choices employed by Cornell. "The day I tried to live / I stole a thousand beggars' change / And gave it to the rich" is ironically provocative and arresting.
The punkish blast of "Kickstand" is a delectable palate cleanser, setting up the stately "Fresh Tendrils", its Led Zeppelin-ish groove and pummeling drum contortions are another highlight that can be lost in the tsunami of stunning moments that populate the album. Dark and foreboding, "4th of July" is SOUNDGARDEN at their sludgiest, a death march through Dante's Inferno, all the way down to its nadir. After that, the bizarre lunacy of "Half", with its Munchkin-land vocals and acid trip lyrics courtesy of Ben Shepherd, seems almost quaint and approachable.
The album ends with the hungover solemnity of "Like Suicide", sadly even more applicable and nearly prophetic given what we know now. Some of Cornell's best lyrics can be found here – "Bit down on the bullet now / Had a taste so sour / Had to think of something sweet / Love's like suicide / Safe outside my gilded cage / With an ounce of pain / I wield a ton of rage / Just like suicide." It's a bitter reminder that if a person is talking about suicide, they've almost surely contemplated it, and Cornell's career was littered with thinly veiled allusions to being done with the pain that accompanied existence.
But despite the heartrending end to his story, Cornell and the rest of Soundgarden left behind a discography full of astonishingly rich and multi-faceted music, capable of moving you to tears and provoking you with its dirty, psychedelic spirit. And 'Superunknown' was one of the largest canvases they ever painted, filling every corner with their artistry. Celebrated from the time of its release, the album is still capable of surprising us with its ambitious sprawl, raw emotion, and unshakable delivery, the band's reach never exceeding its grasp once throughout the entire effort.
The term "grunge" fails to do justice to the music here, the drab hues associated with the word at odds with the kaleidoscopic array of colors SOUNDGARDEN cultivate and allow to run riot here. This was music that refused to be penned in by outside expectations, the only limits the grand imaginations and ambitions of the four musicians involved. On this record, the band allowed its wildest inclinations to bloom to their fullest, and rock music was forever greater for it.
www.soundgardenworld.com
2019, Audio Stream, Chris Cornell, Cover Art, Grunge, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Heavy Rock, Music Review, Retro Riffs, Review, Sludge, Soundgarden, Spotify
Oldschool Sunday: HYDRA VEIN
Exclusive Premiere: JOHN THE VOID "Silent Bearer" Video; New Album 'III – Adversa' Due April 5th

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Posts Tagged 'Hands Like Houses'
Posted: May 28, 2016 in Live
Tags: Hands Like Houses
Hands Like Houses: Dissonants Tour
Manchester Academy 3, Wednesday 25th May 2016.
The first thing I ever hear from this band is the opening to I Am – It opens the set in Manchester and the recent album Dissonants. It has melody and enough frantic guitar and drum stuff for people to go bananas too. The live crowd were bouncing in unison to a song that is seemingly about not putting a band or a singer on a pedestal. The singer sings about singers (and therefore maybe himself) having the power of influence over people through lyrics and how a lot of the time they are empty, hollow and won't make any difference. By the end of the song the singer has convinced me "I am not the same, I won't feed on fame…I will make a change it's by my words and not my name."
There is nothing wrong with demanding more from yourself and your peers, if their opening anthem is meant to engage with those down their watching from the floor, the band will make sure it's genuine. Great opener, and the song that made me sit up and take notice.
Colourblind was next on the night and for some reason in that moment it felt like an old standard of theirs, I had no idea it came off their new album and I couldn't hear any introduction it was given but just from the widespread acceptance in the room and the full on deep knowledge and love for it, I assumed it was an early track from an earlier album. I was wrong, it's track three on their recent LP, so there you go. Musically it's heavier than an angry elephant pissed off and hating its parents because it wasn't allowed to trundle off to the circus. The heaviness might make you think it's an angry song but it's about acceptance and inclusion, no wonder the crowd had taken it as theirs so quickly.
Degrees of Seperation came at the half way point, it's catchy and melodic and it seems to be about loneliness and missing people, something that a band from Australia currently in a cold and rainy Manchester might know plenty about.
The mosh pit at the Academy is by this point in full swing, or full mosh, if you will. My friend leans over to me and tells me that its infact pretty tame as mosh pits go, but as she talks I'm already figuring out a way of getting into it. It doesn't happen though, for the rest of the night I have to be content with bouncing like a maniac by the sound/light desk.
Stillwater grabs me because it's a bit slower than others, it doesn't rise to the frantic blood pressure rising levels of some others but its relatively laid back stance works because you can pick out the singers words. This song seems to be about the innocence of childhood and how everything negative is learned and comes with age. How did we gain the world and lose the moment?
Momentary comes next in the set (and follows on the album too); it's a lyrical high point of the concert for me but there's some really nice guitar work cradling the words and a really good outro too. The words seem to be about how small we are in the grand scheme of things, a spark, a click, an echo, dust… it may come across somewhat bleak but the song is quite beautiful and uplifting; the view in the song is from someone wanting to make a mark and stop floating in the world.
Perspectives is the penultimate song of the live set and it is seemingly a song about not being understood, or not conveying your meaning correctly; All my life I've tried letting you inside, see the world through my eyes and I see is time I've wasted. It's an unapologetic song and the frustration in the singer's words comes across musically.
New Romantics is NOT about Duran Duran or any British 80's band, I think its title comes from the poetry more than the hair bands BUT there is some bass and some keyboards that will grab anyone. On the surface it seems to be another song about someone trying to find themselves in their environment, with all the experience life gives a person. If you are looking for a screamy stompy moshy few minutes, this is the one and it's an awesome choice to end a gig on. The whole crowd agreed.
There were songs from other albums performed too, but I wrote about the tracks from Dissonants because the seven here were the ones that compelled me to buy the studio album. I've not changed a word I wrote immediately after watching them live on a rainy Wednesday night in Manchester but having listened to the album in the two days since the concert I must say Division Symbols is a tune and Glasshouse is a piece of work and I couldn't leave it out. I don't know whether the song is about depression or anxiety but it rings those bells for me in the way the singer sings about storms, tides rolling in, and being trapped in darkness. You don't have to be in the club to love the song, but if you know the feelings this song will speak to you.
All in all there's a lot on Dissonants to pull you in. The album has songs of inclusion, isolation, longing for the past, longing for acceptance, wanting to be heard, being true to yourself and celebrating life. Hands Like Houses manage to present it all in a package that's never too deep and dark, the stories on the album might be about struggles but listening to them is far from that.
If they seem like something that is outside your experience, trust me, they wont be as far as you think. If anything I've written here makes you think, give the songs a listen, they may speak to you. I'll be seeing HLH live again and I look forward to it.
Who has been given to sound…
Bruce Springsteen Bury Music Christian Kane Daystar Elbow E Street Band George Harrison Guy Garvey Hands Like Houses Jake Shears Johnny Marr Katy Perry Manchester Music Mark Owen MTV Unplugged New Kids on the Block Noel Gallagher Puppet Rebellion Queen Scissor Sisters Solo Beatle Music The Dunwells The Script
Categories Select Category …They Broke The Mold A Bit Mind Bendy Better Best Forgotten Bruce Springsteen Elbow Music General Live Local Poptastic Rock of Ages The Hungry And The Hunted


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Joanna Ruocco holds an MFA from Brown and a PhD from the University of Denver. She is the author of The Mothering Coven (Ellipses Press, 2009), Man's Companions (Tarpaulin Sky Press, 2010), A Compendium of Domestic Incidents (which won the 2009 Noemi Press Fiction Chapbook Contest; judged by Rikki Ducornet) and Another Governess / The Least Blacksmith: A Diptych (which won the FC2 Catherine Doctorow Innovative Fiction Prize; judged by Ben Marcus). She also works pseudonymously as Alessandra Shahbaz (Ghazal in the Moonlight, Midnight Flame) and Toni Jones (No Secrets in Spandex). With Brian Conn, Ruocco co-edits the fiction journal Birkensnake.
Joanna Ruocco
"Ruocco has given serious thought to how much she can do with language while still preserving a story's integrity . . . Modernist-style experimentation ain't dead yet. Giddy, intriguing stuff from a writer eager to let words misbehave."
For reviews and coverage, follow us on Twitter or Facebook.
Melba Zuzzo, erstwhile innocent of the male-heavy hamlet of Dan, a town located in the foothills of . . . somewhere? . . . finds herself in a rut. In fact she was probably born into this rut, but today, for some reason, she feels suddenly aware of it. Everything is changing, yet nothing is making sense. The people she might rely upon, the habits she should find comforting—everything is off. It's as if life, which has gone by largely unnoticed up to now, has been silently conspiring against her the whole time.
In Dan, Joanna Ruocco has created a slapstick parable that brings together the restless undercurrents and unabashed campiness of Thomas Pynchon with the meandering imaginative audacity of Raymond Roussel. Either Dan is a state of mind, beyond the reach of any physical map, or else it sits on every map unnoticed, tucked beneath the big red dot that tells us you are here.
You can read excerpts from Dan at The Collagist and Tin House, and a fantastically informative and wondrous interview with Joanna Ruocco at BOMB.
"Joanna Ruocco's Dan is a tiny novel that packs a massive punch." bustle
"Ruocco's work is cutting-edge, pushing the established tropes within contemporary fiction, calling her readers to interpret and examine the nuances of seemingly everyday life." publishers weekly
"Ruocco's sentences send off sparks." kirkus
"Melba is subject to a lot of mansplaining!" full stop
"Ruocco has an ear for sparkling absurdist dialogue and a sense of timing almost unmatched in contemporary American fiction . . . [Dan] is profoundly strange, but as readable and logical as the writing of Lewis Carroll." The Literary Review
"Like a skeleton key Ruocco has found combinations to unlock more doors then we knew we had. If for nothing else, read Dan for the sentences, and the way the words rub up against each other, placed so perfectly that you know they could not have otherwise been arranged." htmlgiant
"This outrageously hilarious book is also a warning against how others will happily use our hope, our empathy, and our imaginations against us . . . even while they are eating our hot pretzels." drunken boat
"Joanna Ruocco is sort of like almost the best writer on planet earth." queen mob's tea house
"Dan is a wonderful addition to Ruocco's already accomplished body of work . . . compelling, artful, and entirely engaging." tupelo quarterly
"Ruocco's amazing sentences in Dan remind me a lot of Flann O'Brien, both in terms of their humor and Ruocco's ability to write the hell out of any and everything." forest gospel
"[Dan tells] the story of the hilarious and frightening town of Dan, a place where children are abducted, women disappear, and coydogs mate near the mountains. Maybe more than anything else, it is the story of sensemaking, the way memory, reality, and identity noodle out from between your fingers. All of this is rendered in Ruocco's electric prose, which has been compared to Donald Barthelme, Lydia Davis, and Thomas Pynchon." heavy feather review
"This is a book I haven't been able to get out of my mind. It's surreal and dream-like, vivid and compelling. Melba Zuzzo pedals her bicycle through the town of Dan, and we get lost in a strange world where we never know quite what will happen." necessary fiction
"This novel is funny and smart but knows how to balance both deftly enough to create a genuine world out of the completely obtuse." askmen
cover art:
lazy river by Christine Shan Shan Hou (6.75 x 10 inches, collage on paper, 2013)
Christine Shan Shan Hou is a poet and artist living in Brooklyn, NY. Publications include the chapbook Food Cuts Short Cuts (The New Megaphone, 2014), C O N C R E T E S O U N D (2011) a collaborative artists' book with artist Audra Wolowiec, and Accumulations (Publication Studio, 2010). See more of her work at her website.
© 2019 Dorothy
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Ctenaulis is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae.

References

Larentiinae

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Did you catch that? Only 19% of Protestants attending church report that they read the Bible daily. We must seek a better way.
To do so, we all need a strategy for studying the Bible. I believe that there are numerous methods of studying the Bible with simple reading being one such way. Other study methods include memorization, public reading in worship, group study, and the list can go on. But, for the moment, let's focus on a few ideas for simple Bible reading.
You need a plan for accountability. Without a plan, we are prone to wander, forget, and/or not hold ourselves accountable. It should have leeway for how God is working in your life but regular reading of the Bible needs to be a priority. A plan will help out.
The plan must be for delight, and not duty. Our plan should be a helpful guide that points us to Christ. The plan is not an end to itself that becomes a burden. After all, we are seeking the Christ who grants freedom, not the false gods that only hand out legalism.
It should stretch your reach. We all have familiar places that we often visit in the pages of scripture. Without a plan, it is normal to reread those books of the Bible. A plan will guide you to read the unfamiliar parts of the Bible.
Give you the whole counsel of God. Continuing the above thought, some reading plans will carry you through the whole Bible. As we believe the Bible is God's self-revelation to us, we need all of it. Even the passages that are difficult to understand. As God's Word is His infallible revelation to us, we need to consume all of it.
Plans can vary your reading for seasons of life. If you are in a season where God is calling you into a new mission, perhaps a reading of Acts or the Old Testament prophets is needed. But, if your stage of life is filled with grief, then time in the Psalms will ease your soul. A Bible reading plan focuses you on how God works in a specific season of life.
We all need accountability. Whether it is a printed out reading plan or a notification that pops up on your smart phone, we need reminders. They prompt us in our priorities when every day will hold at least 3,741 distractions.
Study plans come in all shapes and sizes. I do not think there is a one-size-fits-all plan that works. At times, an entire church will engage in a Bible reading plan and it is healthy to do so. But, as we are all different, we need different plans. You can read the entire Bible in a year if you read three chapters a day. You can read the whole Bible in three months if you read 13 chapters per day. Proverbs can be read in a 31-day month by reading one chapter each day. The four Gospels contain 89 chapters and can easily be read in a month's time with three chapters a day. The Bible can be read in order of books, by types of books, in chronological order, or in a myriad of other ways.
Ultimately, we discipline ourselves to read the Bible because it is the great Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) that God uses to reveal Himself and conform us to the image of Christ. Reading it is the spiritual endeavor to know Him, seek His ways, and understand ourselves better. It is a primary habit for our holiness.


On Saturday, the Texas Rangers' official Twitter account simply tweeted "FireCharlie. #bye."
It was during the Longhorns' blowout loss to TCU and it was referring to head coach Charlie Strong. The team went on to lose 50-7 after being down 30-0 at the end of the first quarter.
According to ESPN, the tweet was only up for a short time. But by then, people had taken screenshots and blogged about the tweet.
In a press release, the Texas Rangers apologized to the University of Texas and head coach Charlie Strong.
They also said the person who wrote the tweet is no longer employed by the Texas Rangers.


Hatters striker James Collins scored his 20th goal of the season for Luton at the weekend.
Here's a look back at just how Town's leading scorer reached his milestone this term.
Collins hadn't scored in Luton's opening nine games, going 14 in total without a goal for the Hatters. However, when Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu's shot hit the past he slotted home to scenes of sheer delight.
After taking so long to get off the mark for the campaign, he made it two in two games at Oxford. When team-mate Harry Cornick hit the bar from two yards out, Collins was there to apply the finishing tough.
Trailing 2-0 at Oakwell, Luton were awarded a penalty when Harry Cornick was tripped in the area and Collins stepped up to convert from the spot.
With time running out and Luton 3-1 behind at Barnsley, sub Kazenga LuaLua's cross came back off the bar, with Collins hammering home a difficult volley, although it proved a consolation.


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Edward Van Halen: a fanboyography
"It's all in the notes," he'd demur when asked about legacy. I expect—as usual—to mimic Eddie's approach in my own struggle for words over the death of my musical hero. Rather than detail the man's technical innovations and well-documented bio (plus the many literal tributes found in recordings on my Music page), I thought we'd instead take a personal lifetime-soundtrack journey. I'm gonna fanboy. Most surprising is how closely my tale mirrors those similarly afflicted. Van Halen inspired obsession and imitation like no other among musos of my generation.
Plinking on my dad's vintage Stratocaster the summer of 1986, I began hearing music from a guitar perspective, and mainlining all I could score. Steve Vai was on MTV trading six-string catcalls with David Lee Roth. Van Halen appeared in a concert cutaway on the VMAs doing it bluesier with Sammy Hagar, who, last I'd heard, took issue with speed limits.
Goosebumps.
Contracted them again rewatching the ceremony in Music Appreciation class. For context, the same day included study of Bruce Hornsby. Not a great era for album rock, but the pop charts featured some choice singles like Run-DMC's "Walk This Way" and Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer." I'd just turned 13, at my hormonal gawkiest and enduring cowtown culture shock following a recent move from the coast.
I couldn't play much yet, had been riffing along to the four-chord AC/DC catalog, of which neighbors were big fans. Imagine my surprise when these virgin ears heard "Highway to Hell," having recently fingered VH's "Best of Both Worlds"! Backwards discovery, yep, sort of the theme here.
With the latest Roth and Halen vinyl in hand, I bought the 5150 sheet-music book, unaware of the existence of tablature (a string-based notation system), so it was the piano version. I'd been button-mashing my little Casio for a year or two already, so Ed's synth tunes came more naturally to me, especially since he favored the white keys. When ramping up on guitar, all those dots clustered together were much trickier to decipher. In "Summer Nights," for example, Eddie transposes the entire guitar's tuning multiple times mid-song using a patented tremolo system. I learned it using my index finger as a capo and the others fretting positions they're not used to, because it's the only way I could jam along with the record. (I would later see this in Eric Johnson's style, except that sadist does it on purpose!)
"5150" – would be nearly as good as an instrumental
"Summer Nights" – who else could fit an Allan Holdsworth-inspired jazz solo into a singalong banger?
"Best of Both Worlds" – this Strat+harmonizer guitar tone is one of my favorites
My first guitar, unfortunately, was not the brand Eddie endorsed. Instead, Dad gifted me a Peavey Nitro-1, which I soon learned was actually more in the spirit of Ed's axe than the entry-level Kramers I coveted at the time on name recognition. Mine had one pickup, one knob always on 10, and one sound. Ed's passion for hardware tinkering never rubbed off on me, because innovators like him solved problems I wasn't even aware of yet, so I could enjoy off-the-shelf gear with minimal part-swapping.
With 5150 still coursing through my veins, I dutifully procured their previous LP, 1984. Wait, you're telling me David Lee Roth used to be in the band?? Dude who was zoobily-bopping through those hilarious gigolo videos I'd seen at friends' apartments who had MTV? The one whose acrobatic new solo band performed with an abandon I'd not heard since … well, the album that was about to drop under my needle: a much different Van Halen than had thrilled me months before. Remember when you learned Dio used to be in Sabbath? Yeah, like that.
Regarding the Sam/Dave debate, I largely abstain. The frontman has been secondary to me. Sammy's vocal range allowed them to explore more mature melodic ideas, while Dave was the hyper-literate master of ceremonies who pushed their genre boundaries and brought the sex appeal. Had it not been for Dave's imaging and persistence, the brothers might've ended up as SoCal's finest deep-cuts band. Or in KISS. Dave's vaudevillian side meshed brilliantly with Van Halen's big rock, but my interest wanes when his solo work strays from guitars. Hagar remained a touring machine, keeping his voice in top shape and leaving little doubt who won the bout when I saw them co-headline sans Halen in 2002. I'll take Dave's clever lyrics every day of the week, though. And his travel advice on Sundays.
1984 was known for creating a rift among band members if not fans, chiefly because—songcraft aside—it didn't take a wizard to perform Eddie's synth parts, unlike his peerless picking. But 1984 contained fewer keyboards than where I'd just come from. As I said, its rawness sounded like the blueprint for Dave's first solo LP after his EP. "Panama" was a yardstick my first few years playing. I figured once I could get through that tune I'd be ready to go public. Otherwise, high school was bedroom woodshedding and basement jamming with a neighborhood drummer and fellow VH superfan. Later, I could hear the tension on this album, and how Dave kind of ghosts the last couple of tracks as Edward takes the wheel (much like on Fair Warning). The metaphor's apt, because performing in a good band is simile to driving an overpowered racecar.
"House of Pain" – listen to the brothers' locked-in syncopation; that drop just before each chorus is so muscular and funky: my favorite moment on any VH album
"Hot for Teacher" – one hook after another from all participants and never a dull moment throughout guitar performance
Other connections began firing in my brain. Turns out I'd known of some previous Van Halen singles, just not their band name. My former opinion of "Jump"—other than how the end of its synth solo sounds like a spaceship landing—had been annoyance over dueling-titled songs occupying simultaneous airwaves, given that DJs spun the Pointer Sisters just as often. Keep in mind, my recent musical diet had included the likes of Phil Collins, Jan Hammer, and LL Cool J. I'd heard Van Halen's cover of "(Oh) Pretty Woman" and surely "Dancing in the Streets." That made it a good time to get Diver Down, their previous album, which itself is a good time.
Its sonics don't hold up to the others, and there's too much filler given Ed's mad-science output during this period, but if someone asked me who Van Halen was in one musical statement, I might reach for this. It's diverse, and they got to immortalize a session with their dad on clarinet.
Diver Down standouts:
"Little Guitars" – solo flamenco intro sounds like a duet, plucky verse riffing is distinct and played on a baby Les Paul!
"Dancing in the Street" – a blast to play on guitar instead of synth, using the same echo settings as "Cathedral," and its solo is among his best, the way he navigates the changes a la "Beat It"
"Hang 'Em High" – smoking guitar track, flubs and all
My teenage walls were papered with VH magazine tear-outs, reading anything that might help unlock Eddie's techniques, some of which remained indistinguishable from magic. I was deep into Ozzy's Randy Rhoads Tribute grimoire as well, adding neoclassical sauce to the mix. Next thing I know, Eddie's on Saturday Night Live in a sketch with his wife and jamming a killer 5150 outtake with the bandleader.
Then I rediscovered some 45 RPM singles bought on my sixth birthday: "I Was Made for Loving You" by KISS, "I Want You to Want Me" by Cheap Trick … and holy shit, Van Halen's "Dance the Night Away"! The Warner Bros logo probably triggered a Looney Tunes association the same way KISS were theme-park superheroes at the time. I didn't know the difference between A-sides and B-sides, so Halen's "Outta Love Again" (and Cheap Trick's "Clock Strikes Ten") got endless spins on merit. Sheer ferocity. I doubt I even identified the sound as being a guitar, but even then I could feel the way Eddie's solo was tugging against the rhythm and melody line, creating and resolving tension. Or those raked grace notes on each each riff attack that would make Jimmy Page proud … all coupled with Roth's beastly whistle-register and jive talking. The A-Side was pretty good, too, which still conjures images of teens roller-skating in knee socks and feathered hair.
Next, I acquired Van Halen's iconic first and second albums, on cassette. In the summer of 1987 before a short Florida vacation, the Walkman and headphones would be my only way to maintain a VH fix on the road. Might've stayed home if given the option, so obsessed was I. "No, Mom, I don't need another virgin daiquiri, but the gift shop's out of Duracells."
On their sophomore album, you could hear more of a band effort. Bass and drums had showcases, and I prefer its warmer overall mix to the debut album, which is a bit bright. That "Somebody Get Me a Doctor" riff jolts you just like its title sounds, often one of the first I'll try when testing a new guitar. The world learned Eddie could play nylon strings, too, on the acoustic "Spanish Fly."
Van Halen II standouts:
"Light Up the Sky" – dynamic Deep Purple-esque scorcher with a drum solo
"Women in Love" – combined multiple styles of beautiful harmonic overtones
"Outta Love Again" – dig how Ed adds the 5th interval on the low string to embiggen power chords and distinguish them between sections
The debut Van Halen album has been well-dissected. When I discovered it, rappers would soon be sampling its riffs as well. It's got the song power, the best of what they'd refined through their nightclub years and demos and producer Ted Templeman's guidance. "Eruption" wasn't a revelation to me, having used Live Without a Net (from the 5150 tour) as my guitar instructional video to that point, but I awed over the recorded performance all the same. Given the production values on late '80s radio, I was starting to appreciate how "live" these early albums were, how four people could raise such sonic hell, and how difficult executing these mini compositions in a single performance truly was. I remember blasting "Ice Cream Man" on the daily in that brief window before school after my parents left for work.
Van Halen standouts:
"I'm the One" – showcase for Eddie's fills, band's power shuffle and backing vox
"Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" – all hail the definitive rock riff!
"On Fire" – angry Van Halen is good Van Halen
Two albums remained to complete my collection, and I bought them on a double-cassette at a Florida mall. Forget the beach, gots to get that rock in my ears!
Women and Children First was my least-favorite listen up to that point (which is like arguing over ice-cream flavors), only to have next year's Fair Warning on Side B drop my jaw once again. Women grew the most on me over the years, especially the opening track, which I'd read had been performed on a dirty Wurlitzer, but it wasn't until playing it that way myself that I appreciated how fun it is to cycle that progression endlessly. "Loss of Control" sounded like a freight train careening off the rails. We even got a sea shanty with some tasty slide-guitar licks.
Had his music not been my teacher, might've been decades before I cared about learning anything in those other styles. But all of a sudden this 14-year-old is thinking about whether he'll want a dobro, or various ways to hide a pick, or who this Beethoven cat was. Of course neither of us mastered all those other genres; we merely borrow seasonings for flavor. I did put a banjo solo on my last album, though.
Women and Children First standouts:
"Romeo Delight" – two-hand tapping into a punk riff into a blues verse
"In a Simple Rhyme" – The Who vibes, a dreamy interlude, and bonus teaser
"And the Cradle Will Rock…" – such a bluesy interlude for a banger
On Fair Warning, Eddie finally just flopped it on the table and opened the proceedings with a funk guitar solo, while Dave drove us through the seedy side of town for half an hour. To my ears, and the cover's colors, this is both the epitome of their famed "brown sound" and the only album before Andy Johns's involvement where we enjoy proper bass levels. I love this mix. Al's snare sounds like a log. This album and 1984 contain my favorite solos, where you can hear a lot of fusion influence that would remain in his repertoire. Edward was becoming a perfectionist and would comp takes together after long hours alone with the engineer. Unhealthy, but hear the result, and I so identify.
My first grandparent died back home while we were in Florida. That meant more frequent flier miles on the Walkman, and Fair Warning's dark tones continuing to underscore the week. I had nearly forgotten about that, so thanks a lot for bringing it up.
Fair Warning standouts:
"Push Comes to Shove" – sounds like ladies night in Tunisia more than The Police
"Unchained" – flanger guitar effect reminds me of a shark jumping out of the water
"Mean Street" – a guitar tour-de-funk, from the slap intro through the verse riffs and another sleazy interlude
To recap thus far, I discovered Van Halen with 5150, then binged their back catalog before the release of OU812, now jacked beyond belief with anticipation as I'm caught up to their timeline. A local radio station aired the entire album, during which I imagined tape decks market-wide engaging in unison recording. I think they did this for all the Sammy-era releases.
The California-sunny songwriting really grabbed me. Sounded like Dave-era material, that classic variety always fresh and unpredictable, but with Sam's voice. Chemistry felt loose, Ed skating all over the fretboard and grinning all the while. By 1988 I was able to keep up with some of the current guitar riffage on offer, getting naturally wired and black and blue and whathaveyou. I would gladly part with twelve bucks for a remix of this album with the effects minimized, especially on the rockers. The singles sound noticeably superior to me.
OU812 standouts:
"Mine All Mine" – reminiscent of "Light Up the Sky" with airy choruses and fierce solo
"Finish What Ya Started" – more dickin' with chicken pickin'
"When It's Love" – anthemic tunesmithing, sweet Clapton-esque solo reminiscent of "I'll Wait"
The ensuing Monsters of Rock tour would be my first opportunity to see the mighty Van Halen live … were I not parentally denied. Duuuude! Whether it was the ticket price or the daylong metallic massacre of Arrowhead Stadium on a 15-year-old, I don't recall, so my first arena-rock show would have to await Cinderella the following spring.
Jonesing for more Van Halen content found me down the bootlegs rabbit-hole, waiting months on end for the mail carrier to deliver from Canada or anydamnwhere. I had seen zero live Dave-era footage to that point, but eventually scored VHS and/or audio cassettes from each tour, way back to the nightclub days. Now such things can be found just a click away on YouTube. Other gems include jams with Brian May, film scorings of various quality, guest spots, TV appearances, production credits, anything. Thrilling as each of these finds were, they also reinforced that Ed's home was in the band bearing his and his brother's name.
A spring 1990 student exchange allowed me to preach the gospel of Van Halen to France. America's chief export, far as I was concerned … erm, handcrafted by foreign labor. My host family pointed to their dusty acoustic and requested a demonstration, s'il vous plaît, so I Spanish-Fly-ed a medley of the types of licks you can imagine. Their gaping jaws had me feeling like Marty McFly at first, then an impostor, quick to disclaim these were others' compositions, not mine. Later I noticed their instrument shops didn't feature gaudy superstrats like those that dominated stateside. I left them with the gift of 5150 on cassette in hopes of a regional outbreak. It would be five more years before I owned an acoustic guitar.
Other influences had taken root by now, such as Dokken, Satriani, Nuno, and Stevie Ray. Spent a minute in a garage band of older kids, bumming rides to practice because I couldn't drive yet. By senior year I was confident enough to perform at some extracurricular functions and try my hands in the school jazz band.
At last, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge coincided with graduation. The album, I mean. This was my jam, y'all. Its sonic departure felt as dramatic as Hagar's addition had two releases prior. Welcome back to the mix, Mikey. Pleasuredome drums of doom. A new guitar tone courtesy of amp prototyping and Eddie's first signature axe, now soloing on its silky neck pickup. I had to have one! Couldn't afford one. Settled for fingering a friend's. And is that a wah pedal I hear now? "Yeah, Dad, I know Clapton used one, too. Already saving paychecks."
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge standouts:
"The Dream is Over" – should've been a single, huge chorus, fiery solo, slide guitar
"Right Now" – acoustic piano, Sam avoids Joe Cocker vibes
"Spanked" – six-string bass for that Spinal Tap big bottom, dark funky groove
Very first week of college, I had to return to Kansas City not to miss our F.U.C.K. tour stop. Goosebumps again. Something I always admired is the band's focus on their latest material. It's what I want to see performed. Sammy and the boys are planning on stopping by your ole fishing hole every summer, so why would you wanna hear the same hits? If I'm not mistaken, they performed every song on the album, clearly as psyched about it as we were. Sam's aversion to the classic catalog never bothered me. It did feel a little presumptuous incorporating his solo numbers, but they chose the right candidates for Van Halenization.
Confession: I'm not a fan of equal solo spots. Just do a break in the context of a song, or extend an intro/outro. An arena show is like Super Bowl commercial airtime, and it's a rare feat that a rock performance is made more compelling by the absence of supporting players. Eddie got a pass early on because of his unique talents, but earned the right to continue those lengthy solos because they'd had the stones to include many such ditties on their albums as published compositions. Unlike most of his peers, this wasn't wanking: Eddie was performing crowd favorites with improvised connective tissue.
Alice in Chains opened that show, which really stamps the date, huh? A changing of the popular-music guard was underway that VH would weather, with Alice being one of the few new bands who could immediately bridge the hard-rock audience. My new roommate had recently introduced me to Nirvana and Nine Inch Nails.
In the spring, a neighbor had an extra GA ticket to that night's Omaha show, so we round-tripped it for the greatest concert experience of my life. First, just being on the floor close enough to see crew doing changeover. Recognizing iconic gear in the shadows, or Eddie's guitar technician, or the striped Makita waiting on the drum riser. Anticipation. Between the dropping of the house lights and the opening revs of "Poundcake" I found myself pressed to the barricade in front of my hero's monitor. The sound pressure levels were so intense I could hardly breathe, body regulated by the kick drum in the kind of fervor people describe under revival tents. Sure, I'll kiss the snake. If music is a religious experience, the baptism had been five years prior. This was more like God embracing me at the gates for having chosen the correct deity. For all I knew it could've been the same exact performance they gave in KC … the difference, as in life, was my perspective. Baby Animals opened, fronted by Nuno Bettencourt's future (now ex-) wife.
Van Halen spent most of my college years on the road, first for Carnal Knowledge, then in support of their first live album, where I saw them again with Vince Neil opening. Mom got me Vince's autograph at the airport, where she worked as a bartender. I'm surprised she didn't try to put him on the phone with me, like she did when LJ from Sevendust was inquiring about school systems and real estate in my area. Anyway, Halen opened with "Mine All Mine" and I felt the flesh tingling again when those background vocals jumped out of the shitty tower speakers on the shed's lawn a mile from its stage. The boys closed with "Rockin' in the Free World" by Neil Young, who was enjoying a boost from bands like Pearl Jam, and my own, also covering it at the time. Eerie. That song's actually why I wasn't crazy about "Humans Being" later: too similar.
Most of the musicians I performed with in college worshipped VH while either playing what was popular at the time or exploring alternative genres. Some of us held on to that core beyond those years, and others continued along new paths. It's hilarious that you get a bunch of alt-rock guys together and what do they wanna jam? Anything from the first three Van Halen albums! What does Van Halen wanna jam? The Who. Here's a peek inside 5150 Studios, where the albums since 1984 had been recorded. Rewind a bit for more indoor fun.
Speaking from experience, home studios can be as restrictive as they are freeing. When you have all the time in the world, you take all the time in the world. I think it's best to just demo at home before having a producer crack the whip during the actual sessions. That's apparently what happened when Bruce Fairbairn stepped in to produce their next album Balance on more of a workmanlike schedule.
There's some smokin' tunes here, new exotic chord progressions, and the band never sounded huger on your stereo, but half of the songs, you can hear them punching in. For work, I mean, not edits. One could argue the lyrics had more substance. Sometimes. The bright and sunny production would've lent itself to summer albums like 1984, 5150, and OU812, however F.U.C.K. and Balance had been autumnal albums in the theater of my mind. Even at their creative low point here, hair-raising moments still abounded throughout, such as in the jurassic thunder of "Baluchitherium": what Eddie said an unnecessary solo album from him might sound like. Also, maybe it's his mix presence, but I felt Alex's drum performances got stronger with each successive release throughout the Hagar era.
Balance standouts:
"Amsterdam" – solo groove could be its own song, like "Drop Dead Legs" outro
"Feelin'" – epic, apparently about Ed's sobriety (also, whenever wide receiver Adam Thielen scores a touchdown, sing his name to this)
"Crossing Over" – B-side tribute to their deceased manager with the demo in the left speaker and final in the right
In 1995 I was on my third college band since the previous VH release, stage and studio experience with covers and originals, now playing The Black Crowes and Stone Temple Pilots while weaving in EVH-inspired phrasing for self-amusement on occasion. When their Balance tour reached the Midwest that summer, I had graduated and moved back to Kansas City, pursuing broadcasting jobs. At the KC VH show, my bandmate had to step away … to help introduce Van Halen on stage. What an asshole! (He jocked for the sponsoring radio station.) I'd been a radio intern the previous summer—for the competition—spending a lot of time backstage here at Sandstone Ampitheater, where my interactions were with bands like Scorpions or Candlebox, or at clubs for Joan Jett or The Smithereens.
Half of my band packed into a van the next day en route to St. Louis for a block-party gig (my last with them) while Mike Anthony had gotten to meet our other half earlier in the day, since VH was performing in STL tonight as well! We staked outside their hotel into the wee hours after our own gig, but not a glimpse. It's still one of my favorite memories, just hanging out and cutting up, brought together by music fandom.
If your attention's waning, go ahead and scroll down to 2012.
They gone? A'ight, let's talk about the lean years. Ed switched guitar manufacturers and introduced a new signature model, the Peavey EVH Wolfgang, named for his son. I had to have one! Still couldn't afford one. Now producing videos full time, I soon acquired a deflowered one for $999, gloss black just like on the Best Of – Vol. I cover, with a contraption that lets you drop-tune the lowest string. It was my first in a long line of arch-top guitars (creating a more comfy picking angle), an absolute workhorse through countless gigs and recording sessions, and remains an arm's length away as I type this 23 years later. I also started assembling bits of gear for a home studio that evolved over time, recording demos and eventually complete albums on my own.
Van Halen releases and info during this period came in teases and batches. The debacle over recording their two-song contribution to the Twister soundtrack. Sammy's first departure. A premature Roth reunion announcement at the VMAs. (Real talk, though: Did you see all those attending celeb faces light up during their standing-o?) A one-disc hits package that divided their audience.
The resulting tracks featured a similar sonic palette—and musical caliber—as Balance … even with Dave at the mic. Like the inverse of how I described OU812 as a Dave album with Sammy's voice. Song lengths were getting out of hand and meander-y. "There's a killer three-minute single in here somewhere," I would've offered if asked. Gripes aside, each contained great hooks and Buddhist riffs and general customer satisfaction, because as Dave said, you "Can't Get This Stuff No More." Like that tornadic solo in "Humans Being" where Eddie sounds like he's ratcheting a crank to its breaking point over eight straight measures (only to have Sammy jack out of the box). Or how 'bout using a talkbox this time? Or those modulating climbs before each "Me Wise Magic" chorus drop (reminiscent of "Summer Nights") that had us all grinning on that same sugar high baked into every new release throughout recorded Halen history.
Everyone from Los Angeles seems to have an Eddie story (see also: Lemmy). Oh, you, too? The guy installing my carpet had just renovated 5150 Studios, chuckling about some Dave-inspired amateur artwork seen on their fridge. Folks might talk about how Ed would show up on their doorstep, or terrify them with his breakneck Canyon driving, or give some fan a unique experience that no one hears about for a decade. Seemed like every musician in his orbit received an EVH gift guitar at some point, right off his back. Not to mention the school music programs he stocked or charity events leveraging his fame, however introverted—even insecure—he remained about it.
In 1998 I visited L.A. for the first time, my old high-school-drummer pal tour-guiding the hallowed Halen haunts near Sunset. Guitar Center showcased Alex's retired drum kit. I think it was the same I later saw on display at Cleveland's Hall of Fame in 2014 while shooting some performances there. Edward's exhibit at Experience Hendrix in Seattle is disappointing, but he's not whom you're there for.
That year's album, Van Halen III, saw Gary Cherone emerge from the public-relations miasma of vocalist candidates (its "circus" artwork is amusing through this lens). It may have surprised or disappointed fans, but didn't faction us into camps like 5150 had. The stakes also felt lower in this musical climate as their appeal perhaps became more selective. Guitarists will tell you III is a dark-horse favorite, occupying similar air as Fair Warning in the canon. For years, we wondered what an Edward Van Halen solo album would sound like, and bootlegs aside, it's the closest we've heard as of this writing. Too bad the records with his biggest fingerprints sold the fewest, but that's commerce, not caliber. I think they missed with their singles here, choosing familiar but bland rockers that were outliers on the album, making it sound to radio and MTV like they were regressing instead of progressing. If that's what they wanted to present, why bump one of its best songs?
Van Halen III has a soul, though. An aesthetic. Bone-dry drums, buzzing amps, controlled feedback. More acoustic and electronic textures, more experimentation. Some of those riffs are absolutely crushing! Take the gnarly drop-tuned funk verses in "Ballot or the Bullet" or its intro "Primary" (performed on electric sitar) continuing the VH instrumental tradition. Edward even takes a duet turn at the mic on the piano ballad "How Many Say I." I would've loved a second album with this lineup and pros behind the console, because it felt like they had the beginnings of a good songwriting partnership that had perhaps just been rushed.
Van Halen III standouts:
"Dirty Water Dog" – new revamp of that SNL "Stompin' 8H" tune, a.k.a. "I Want Some Action" or "Twist the Knife"
"Once" – layers upon layers building intensity, reminds me of my own recordings
"Josephina" – first time I'd seen Eddie play acoustic on stage, also alternate tuning
Imagine having a bandmate leave what you've built together to go sing for your idol instead! That's what Nuno Bettencourt was facing in their former band Extreme when Gary got called up. They're another favorite of mine from day one, whom I've had a chance to meet several times, so I was mortified to hear my own former singer made a drunken ass of himself attempting to compliment Gary backstage. A feeling I knew, trying to play it cool with the Def Leppard gents after a show, sweating booze through my ill-fitting bootleg Union Jack tee. That guy.
In July the Van Halen III tour rolled into town, the final time I'd see them at our shed before the party moved indoors. Had great seats, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd opened, whom I didn't much care for then. Most exciting for us was getting to hear them dust off so many Dave-era favorites that had gone unplayed for 15 years, like "Mean Street," "Romeo Delight," and "Somebody Get Me a Doctor." Gary's timbre and range are similar to Sammy's, so he could handle the entire catalog, yet his ego was more deferential with clear respect for the material, which endeared him to a segment of fans like myself who wanted to see Edward driving the car for a change. As I said, this was a lower-key era of stripped-back everything. No dramatic offstage intro. Ed simply walked out—now tethered to his rig after years of wirelessness—and started riffing "Unchained." Ponder the irony for a moment. It felt like this band might play your house party if you passed the hat around, and I'd hoped this all-about-the-music evolution could work for their longevity, and re-establish a cycle.
Four years later I was back at the ampitheater to see Sam and Dave. Hagar and Roth, that is, in a co-headling tour that probably sounded like a good idea at the time. Not so much for Dave, who did have the superior set list and a hotshot tribute-band guitarist. But Sammy had the pipes, with Mike thumping alongside for the VH numbers, and we all recognize what a big part of their trademark vocal blend he is. Sorry, Ed and Al, but I had to bucket-list that one because I'd never seen Diamond Dave in person. Rumor was he'd done some rehearsing with the brothers the preceding year that didn't yield anything.
Mike working on the side (so to speak) with Sammy caused a rift with the brothers, reducing his role as they were about record three new tracks for another compilation, The Best of Both Worlds. At least this time we got a double-disc affair accurately repping the band. But Sammy got all the new vox. Of these, "Up for Breakfast" was my favorite. I'd actually like to hear what Dave could've done with that one. Eddie fired up that throbbing "Why Can't This Be Love" sequencer again, with the guitars focused on midrange crunch.
Remember, after Balance, really into the III era and beyond, is when the world wide web expanded. Van Halen always enjoyed a certain mystery because of how tight they kept things in the family, and while that remains the case, fans and haters the world over were now connected, sharing their concert experiences, media, and Eddie stories, for better or—increasingly through this period—for worse, as his lifelong battle with alcoholism, coupled with recent ailments, was at its most visible.
In 2004 we were concerned what shape our hero would be in when he and the band hit the stage reunited with Sammy to promote The Best of Both Worlds. At an old arena not played since the 5150 tour, our show unfolded exactly as foretold in the online gossip. The guitarist in me enjoyed watching Eddie try to reinvent each song on the spot with improvised variations. Having seen it all, I always wanted more of that, but careful what you wish for. A bigger part of me thought he was trampling all over his own legacy, and by the time he brought up his son to participate in his climactic solo spot, the thrill I'd gotten from his "outside" playing was replaced with sympathy for the kid having to witness this train wreck night after night. Al's drum solo was a show highlight. Or maybe it was easier to focus on him given the distance between Sam and Ed.
Joining me at that concert were two members of my old college band who would soon own a KC music store together, where old pals like me were eager to join in on any fun. Got to jam with George Lynch, meet Vai, Satch, Petrucci, Vernon Reid, and some others already mentioned. At this time, I was playing weekends in a regional '80s tribute band with new friends, fronted by a young woman. Not much hard rock, but I managed to script Van Halen bits into our instrumedleys, all of us being fans. Our drummer had studied under the guy from Tesla, so we hung with them before an Omaha show. Many other musicians over the years, too, but I'm trying to keep it about the six-string here, and just thought if you're reading this you might enjoy those. Enough name-drops.
Ed seemed to bottom out in the period following that tour, and it hurt my heart to read accounts of his behavior after divorcing Valerie, Mike, Sammy, and Peavey. Earlier I mentioned the hazards of home-studio hermitage. In no time at all, you can find your head up your own ass, chasing tones or looping the same lick until punch-drunk with imperfection. Frustrated that musical partners don't share your dedication to songcraft and production. How could they, not living at the music factory?
Imagine how strange it must feel to have one of your iconic guitars buried with a fan, not to mention one as famous himself as Dimebag Darrell of Pantera. But Ed did just that with his "Bumblebee" axe from 1979. Would Clapton donate his psychedelic Gibson SG to Edward's memorial?
Around this time, Edward launched his own EVH® brand, offering signature gear that he would constantly refine and road-test through his remaining years, even replicas of his famed striped guitars, right down to their cigarette burns. Players always clamored for whatever magic box Eddie must be using (none could replace a decade of bedroom woodshedding), so after a string of awkward, compromising endorsement relationships, he now seemed much more confident as the face of the brand actually bearing his name. This was a welcome evolution, especially during lulls in band news, we could count on Eddie cooking up something new on the workbench.
Changes had to be made, health addressed, habits broken, a housecleaning of certain associates, etc., and these coincided with Ed's remarriage. Soon I'm hearing things are cordial with Roth again, and they're hitting the road as VH with the kid on bass. Say what?! Wolfie having a role in the family biz seemed inevitable, I just didn't imagine so young. Or so live.
If there's one chink in my fan battle armor, it's skipping the 2007 reunion tour, which featured a killer set list. To me, this was all just too soon after having seen Ed at his worst, Dave on stage versus Sammy, and no new material to support. Felt like a cash-grab, and I didn't want my beloved Van Halen to become a heritage act, despite how healthy and smiley everyone looked. I regretted it, of course, fearing I may have missed my last chance. So thanks for sticking it out, Dave, and giving us another few chapters to conclude the saga.
2012 brought the news of a new album, A Different Kind of Truth, prickling up the fur on my arms when I heard how they were going about it. Outside producers: check. Recorded off site: check. Shorter tunes: check. Reworking unused demos from the early days: check. I was hopeful a little nepotism would also elevate the bass in the mix. Check!
They announced with a surprise gig at New York's Cafe Wha? Brilliant, and such a Dave maneuver to pull this off, once again showing there's no smoke and mirrors here: Van Halen can still slay on a skeleton stage just as they had nearly four decades ago. Doing it in NY instead of their home L.A. turf made it even cooler. The online video stream favored Wolfie's side, leaving no question the prodigal was crushing it old-school with both fingers and voice, locked in with his uncle on the drums behind him. Coincidentally, I had recently spent two nights at this club with some coworkers on a video trip, regaling them with its Hendrix and Dylan history, and how Roth's uncle owned the place.
Knowing so much of their unreleased work, I loved dissecting where some of the song elements had come from and been rearranged. Dave reclaimed his status as one of rock's finest lyricists, having rewritten their majority. It really does sound like a continuation of the earliest albums that saved us from disco the first time around. Eddie absolutely blazes throughout, often in unison or counterpoint with his son. No ballads, and hardly a synthesizer within earshot.
A Different Kind of Truth standouts:
"Blood and Fire" – right out of 1984 with stereo Ripley guitar intro
"Stay Frosty" – an "Ice Cream Man" style rave-up
"China Town" – metallic face-melter
I would not miss this tour at our shiny new downtown Sprint Center, for the opposite reasons I stayed home last time. After too many happy-hour beers at the entertainment district across the street, we arrived as Kool & The Gang opened, and I felt a nostalgic twinge for the days when such disparate acts would share a stage … before my time. Most of them probably got booed off, unlike this night where celebration was in effect early.
The irony was not lost on me—given what I said about Sammy-era sets, but now factoring in modern ticket prices—that I wanted them to perform the hits as well as some new cuts, and they delivered, also digging deep for "The Full Bug" from Diver Down, unleashing "And the Cradle Will Rock…" and "Hear About It Later." The vocals were the best I've heard from any involved, backgrounds always spot-on regardless of what terrain Roth was navigating, and it was the most professional and accurate of all Eddie's live performances.
Eddie showed up at a club here later that year to watch his son perform in the Tremonti band, just hanging out like a fan back where my friends used to fly off its mechanical bull. (Don't worry, I've seen everyone from GWAR to Hank Rollins there.) I think Wolfie was dating someone from my neighborhood at the time, so I wonder if that had anything to do with the occasion. I, an idiot, was not there.
Finally we'd get an official live album with David Lee Roth! He chose the Tokyo show, wisely, because it was way lucid by his vocal standards. Maybe it was his personal connection to the culture. It sounds like they left the recording as-is (hahaha), which is exactly as it should be with this band, one of the few of their era who could pull off such a four-man gig. They even performed live with Dave for the first time on American television to promote it.
As fans, we were now in the bonus round. Anything else would be gravy. In the years preceding Edward's death at age 65 from cancer—fuckin' cancer of all things—rumors of vault recordings had resurfaced along with reunions and medical treatments. Hopefully when it's the right time, those will be treated by the family with the same care Edward would have wanted … and my dream-job application will be accepted.
Wolfgang's musical legacy is yet to be written, with his debut solo album expected soon and hopefully starting an interesting journey of his own.
Me, I have no Eddie stories. How many say I?


text:
HomePhiladelphia Baseball
Improved bullpen and some defensive gems propel Phillies to Opening Day win
If this were last year, the outcome might have been different. This year though, with a new and improved bullpen, the Phillies anticipate many more days like Thursday.
The bullpen tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings, backing a solid start from Aaron Nola, to push Thursday's season opener against the Braves to extra innings.
With two outs in the tenth and a runner on third, the Braves intentionally walked Didi Gregorius to face Jean Segura. Segura proceeded to loft the first pitch he saw from Atlanta reliever Nate Jone into left to drive in the winning run.
"He was walking to the plate before I saw them announce Didi was being walked and I think he took it as a challenge," Phillies manager Joe Girardi said.
The Phillies won the contest, 3-2.
Jose Alvarado did his best Mitch Williams impression in the eighth, loading the bases before throwing a 100-mph sinker for a third strike to escape the frame.
Connor Brogdon secured the win, thanks partly to an outstanding throw from centerfield and a textbook block of the plate by J.T. Realmuto on a Marcell Ozuna fly-ball that nailed Ozzie Albies at home.
"Great throw, right on the money," Brogdon said. "I had the best seat in the house for it."
The Phillies carried a 2-0 lead into the seventh before Nola threw a poorly placed 0-2 pitch to Pablo Sandoval. The Panda didn't miss, launching a two-run shot to even the contest. Nola struck out six and walked none.
Though there were multiple outstanding defensive plays, including a pair from Alec Bohm and Gregorius, the story of the day was the bullpen.
"This is a big boost for our club," Girardi said.
"It would have been tough to lose a game like that today, opening day, the first time we had fans. So this is a big boost for us.
"That's an extremely dangerous lineup. To be able to hold them down like that, that's some really good pitching.
"And I'll tell you what, eighty-eight hundred people make a lot of noise in a ballpark that holds forty-four thousand. It was great to see, great to hear and I look forward to Saturday."
Zach Wheeler will start on Saturday for the Phillies. First pitch is 4:05 p.m. EDT.
Tags Philadelphia Baseball Phillies


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Securities Regulation Cotton, James A. Securities Regulation Cases & Materials 5th ed.
Tax Beard, Joseph Taxation of Individual Income - Burke, 8th Ed.
Torts Pollard Sacks, Deana Dobbs, Hayden and Bublick. Torts and Compensation, Personal Accountability and Social Responsibility for Injury 7th ed. ISBN: 9780314278593. West.
Torts Ransom, Elsa Dobbs, Hayden and Bublick. Torts and Compensation, Personal Accountability and Social Responsibility for Injury 7th ed. ISBN: 9780314278593. West.
Torts Weeden, L. Darnell Prosser, Wade and Schwartz, Torts, Cases and Materials, 11th Ed.
Wills and Trusts Hill, Cassandra Gary. Contemporary Trusts and Estates: An Experiential Approach. 9th ed. ISBN 978-1454851424. Wolters Kluwer.


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Goldman Sachs: Here's What's Behind Saudi's Shocking Production Cut Decision
The Saudi decision to cut…
The Pandemic Could Lead To A Major Oil Supply Crunch
A growing number of experts…
Asian Buyers Rush To Secure North Sea Oil After Saudi Surprise Cut
Saudi Arabia's surprise announcement that…
Tsvetana Paraskova
Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews.
Norway's Oil Sector Faces Existential Crisis
By Tsvetana Paraskova - Nov 04, 2017, 3:00 PM CDT
Oil companies have recently focused on frontier exploration drilling in the Barents Sea offshore in Norway, neglecting the powerhouse of the Norwegian oil industry, the North Sea.
Exploration activity in the North Sea—the most mature area of Western Europe's biggest oil producer—is at an 11-year low this year, which is a concern for the industry's regulator, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD).
"That worries me," NPD Director General Bente Nyland told Bloomberg in a recent interview, voicing the industry concern that without new oil discoveries, especially in mature areas with well-connected infrastructure, the decline in Norway's oil production would be even bigger than expected.
Following a continual decline between 2001 and 2013, Norway's crude oil production rose last year for the third year running, but according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), oil production this year would be nearly half the volume from the peak in 2000-2001.
Two huge fields discovered in 2010 and 2011, Johan Sverdrup in the North Sea, and Johan Castberg in the Barents Sea, are expected to start operations in 2019 and 2022, respectively, and will lift Norway's oil production in the early 2020s compared to expected declines in 2018 and 2019.
But after 2025, production and activity are expected to significantly drop off unless there are new discoveries, according to oil major Statoil.
Related: Trump's China Trip To Reap Billions In Energy Deals
Norway's Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, and NPD say:
"Production from new fields that come on stream will compensate for the decline in production from ageing fields. However, in the longer term, the level of production will depend on new discoveries being made, the development of discoveries, and the implementation of improved recovery projects on existing fields."
Encouraged by recently opened areas and potentially huge yet-to-be-discovered resources, oil companies launched a record exploration drilling campaign in Norway's Barents Sea this year. But the drilling campaign was a flop, and even the most promising wildcat yielded no oil.
Companies are vowing to return next year for more exploration in the frontier regions, but they've been neglecting the North Sea—the most mature area where Norway's petroleum history began, and which made the country one of the world's richest.
The North Sea is still the powerhouse of Norway's oil with 62 fields in production as of the end of 2016, compared to 16 fields in production in the Norwegian Sea and two fields—Snøhvit and Goliat—in the Barents Sea.
This year oil companies drilled a record number of wells in the Barents Sea, which is thought to hold 49 percent of Norway's undiscovered resources, while the North Sea has 24 percent of undiscovered oil and gas, and the Norwegian Sea 27 percent.
The North Sea's huge fields have pumped oil and gas for decades and are now maturing. Therefore, Norway needs to add more resources in the North Sea before some of the existing infrastructure, including platforms, is folded and decommissioned, according to NPD's Nyland.
In an overview of the Norwegian Continental Shelf for 2016, Nyland pointed to "a great deal of uncertainty associated with exploration activity going forward."
"It is very important to maintain exploration activity at a high level in order to maintain stable production in the future," she said.
The Barents Sea was a large part of exploration activity this year, but results were underwhelming. Related: Coal Prices Soar As Demand Heats Up
"Exploration drilling in the Barents Sea in 2017 and 2018 will help clarify future opportunities in the Barents Sea and the Norwegian continental shelf," Statoil says, but its chief executive Eldar Saetre also points out that the industry needs to heed what NPD's Nyland has been saying about neglecting the North Sea.
"If we continue to see a trend where we're not making bigger discoveries, we will have to search more in mature areas," Saetre told Bloomberg in an interview. "This is an important issue," he added.
As juicy as it sounds, the Barents Sea holds nearly half of Norway's undiscovered resources, but the North Sea has the developed infrastructure to link new discoveries to existing fields and make even smaller new finds commercially viable when linked to producing areas. So, returning to the old stomping grounds may ultimately pay off.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
BP Boosts The Bullish Case For Oil
The Remarkable Oil Major Recovery
Is This The Cure To Saudi Arabia's Oil Curse?
Can Ukraine Combat Its Natural Gas Crisis?
600,000 Bpd At Risk As Venezuela Delays The Inevitable


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Comeback KC: Our unified, regional approach to beating COVID-19
Thursday, August 20 @ 11:30 am - 1:00 pm • Organized By KC IABC (Kansas City Chapter, International Association of Business Communicators)
Covid-19 isn't going away anytime soon, but KC never quits. If we're down, we come back and win. That's the spirit behind Comeback KC, a group formed earlier this year to help KC make a comeback from COVID-19 the right way – safely and responsibly. We're not just going back to normal, KC will come back better and stronger than ever.
Join Mark and Eric, two of the Comeback KC leaders, at this interactive Zoom meeting, to learn how they're getting the word out about this important initiative. They'll also share the purpose, accomplishments, and challenges ahead for Comeback KC. They're asking everyone to advocate these core principles, amplify their messages, support their team, and connect them to others.
Comeback KC coordinates a unified message across our region's various dividing lines. They are not political. The group works closely with public health authorities and private and non-profit sectors of our community. Public health and science lead our efforts. Nearly 200 regional leaders signed this Open Letter to show their support.
Because COVID-19 is hitting some of us harder than others, Comeback KC works to support community partners who have trusted relationships with those communities. They work to mitigate the health disparities that the pandemic has exposed.
Comeback KC operates under the umbrella of KC Digital Drive, a 501c3 organization. The idea for the campaign originated with a group of business leaders who jumped into the fray early to help the city by purchasing test kits and PPE.
All of us working together will beat COVID-19.
Stacey Dickson
KC IABC (Kansas City Chapter, International Association of Business Communicators)
August 20 @ 11:30 am - 1:00 pm Add to my Calendar


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2017 11/Apr
Turning messages to action: How data and digital is transforming behaviour change.
Posted by administrator / April 11, 2017
The following is an adaption of a presentation to fifty Master of Public Health students at Melbourne University. It includes all slides, videos and a rough transcript. It took around an hour, followed by thirty minutes of questions.
2016 30/Mar
Big brands, big data and big dollars.
Posted by administrator / March 30, 2016
The following is an excerpt from my presentation to the Melbourne University MPH group for their Health Promotion course. It was presented on 30/03/2016. It includes highlighted slides/videos and edited text.
2015 10/Sep
Why every day should be R U OK? day
Posted by administrator / September 10, 2015
September 10 is "R U OK?" day in Australia, an initiative that seeks to encourage people to check up on their friends and family by asking how they are in aid of suicide prevention. It is, without a doubt, a very important and worthy cause and one very close to me, which is why I am conflicted about whether I think it is a positive or negative initiative.
2014 28/Dec
GAYTMs: A fabulous brand gesture from ANZ
Posted by administrator / December 28, 2014
In the lead up to this weekend's Mardi Gras in Sydney, ANZ has commissioned a number of 'GAYTMs' around Sydney. The transformed ATMs include a variety of different designs, colours, patterns and sequins. From unicorns and drag queens to rainbows and tattoos, each GAYTM is a riot of colour and textures to celebrate the festival. But at the heart of this much-publicised brand gesture is an overarching showing of support for diversity.
Volkswagen once again proves that simple ideas are often the most powerful
A recent print campaign by Volkswagen has honed in on the message that it's impossible to focus on the road while texting. The campaign is beautiful in its simplicity of message and continues the VW tradition of incredibly intelligent communications.
Re2pect endears itself to the population of New York with a stirring tribute to Derek Jeter.
Few Australians would be aware of Derek Jeter and his long and illustrious baseball career. But almost all of us would be aware of the New York Yankees, probably the biggest sporting team brand in the world (save for maybe Manchester United). Jeter has been the face of the Yankees for 20 seasons and is set to retire at the end of this one. Nike has paid tribute to the shortstop and in doing so, aligned itself with the population of New York and the wider sports community.
Vancouver provides an innovative and classy response to help the homeless
Earlier this year, Camden Borough Council came under fire for their "Camden Bench", a design inspired to dissuade drug deals, bag theft, skateboarding and littering. But the design was also heavily criticised for stopping homeless people from using the bench as a place to sleep at night.
How Pop Ups are helping brands create experiences for consumers
A growing trend in short-term brand activations is getting traction, not just in Melbourne, but everywhere. "Pop Ups" are becoming a viable way for businesses and brands to utilise spaces in short term experiments, to keep themselves fresh, keep pushing ideas and trial things that may give them a long term edge and leg up.
The humble bottle cap is helping brands turn a necessity into an experience.
Bottled drinks of all varieties are often the topic of conversation, especially in sustainability circles. Whatever your feelings are about our mass consumption and the effects of plastic pollution on the planet, plastic bottles are currently a necessary evil. And at the top of it all is the humble bottle cap (pun absolutely intended). However, brands are starting to think about new ways to utilise the bottle cap to educate us, connect us and give us more reasons to keep reusing their products.
Small advertising budgets do not always equal small market cut-through
A budget airline in the Philippines has recently shown that advertising doesn't always require big bucks to see a big return on investment. Sometimes, all that's needed is a simple idea, executed with intelligence.
Ogilvy Brazil intelligently leverages everyday actions to build awareness of skin cancer
Ogilvy Brazil and Sol de Janeiro are training tattoo artists to spot signs of skin cancer, raise awareness and encourage Brazilians to get checked. The campaign is driven by Ogilvy Brazil and supported by sunscreen brand Sol de Janeiro, and the agency recruited 450 tattoo artists to come to training and lectures by an oncologist.
Drunk at the screen: How alcohol brands maximise social media to reach consumers
A recent University of Queensland study has illustrated just how prevalent alcohol brands are on social media, and how their marketing strategies are reaching consumers in an environment far less regulated than traditional advertising. Using follower insights, brands are able to push messages at times most relevant to viewers inviting them to interact directly with the brand. But are these practices breaking regulations or are they a simple evolution of the advertising landscape?
Pepsi Max hits the streets with this augmented reality brand gesture
Pepsi Max UK recently installed augmented reality bus shelters as a way to engage with people sitting around waiting for public transport. Admittedly, the craftsmanship is stunning, but the question that jumps out is, what's their point?
Don't be a dickhead.
The new Sydney lockouts have been widely reported across the media as a way to curb alcohol and drug related violence. The idea is not new — Melbourne attempted to implement it in 2008, and it was reversed after only three months. The first wave of reports is showing signs that behaviour patterns are not changing, just the timing of incidences. So there is a deeper issue to address; one that can be better communicated as a means of education than simply shutting doors. Just like the 2010 road safety campaign, Kings Cross club owner John Ibrahim has enlisted the help of friends to tell the youth of today: don't be a dickhead.
Celebrities, Charities and Crowd-Sourcing
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have been doing the Internet rounds, as they try to raise money for the East Congo Initiative and Water.org. In a collaborative effort, the two celebrities offer the chance to hang out with them on a 'best friend double date', and tickets started at only 10 dollars each (in essence a donate-to-charity raffle). Similar to crowd-sourcing, the more tickets you buy (the more you spend), the greater reward you get — aside from the opportunity to win the major prize. But what sets this apart is their fantastic campaign video, which does wonders for both the charities and their personal brands.
The decision to remove tobacco products is a bold but applaudable strategy by CVS
Last week, the second largest American drugstore chain, CVS, announced that it was dropping tobacco products from its 7600 nationwide stores. It's the first move by any of the big drugstore chains to stop selling tobacco products, and the effects will likely be far greater than the immediately quantifiable $2Bn initial decrease in annual sales.
Doritos has already won the Superbowl
Today in America, it's Superbowl Sunday — probably the biggest sporting event in the country and one of the top few in the world. Last year the Superbowl was watched by over 108 million viewers in America alone. It's also the single biggest event on the Advertising calendar. It's expensive (4 million dollars for a 30 second spot) and it's competitive. But a win in the Advertising Superbowl is a big win for brands. At the time of writing, the game hasn't even started, and already Doritos has won the Superbowl.
Olympic Advertising with heart
With the Sochi Winter Olympic Games fast approaching, we're starting to see lead up advertising. As a life long skier and winter follower, the Olympics are the highlight of my sport watching calendar (especially since the X-Games doesn't make its way to Australia). Most of the advertising in the lead up is around the network coverage or the event itself. But Procter & Gamble have used it as a platform to deliver an emotionally charged brand message.
How can we effectively communicate an anti- message?
Effective communication in advertising will often result, at best, in a small change in consumer behaviour. While this change often has a product driven focus — buy this, try this, consider us — the predominant message generally doesn't require the audience to drastically change their routine. The task for any anti- communications, however, is much more difficult.
Do marketers tell stories or do they deceive?
Seth Godin is a very highly regarded author in the business and marketing world. His well-known book, All Marketers Are Liars: The Underground Classic That Explains How Marketing Really Works — and Why Authenticity Is the Best Marketing of All often receives rave reviews. Even the title poses an interesting question in my mind: is it acceptable to 'deceive' an audience to prove a point, especially one that leads to a better, socially focused outcome?
The Stay Together Campaign injects genuine emotion into Skype's communication
Earlier this year, Skype launched the Stay Together Campaign: an online call to action for real people to share their stories about how Skype lets them stay in contact. As is always the case with 'real' stories, the emotions runs high, even in the over produced world of made-for-Internet video. Campaigns of this nature frequently run the fine line between emotional resonance and too heavy handed, but Skype's fourth installment packs a punch.
UN Women campaign uses Google data to powerfully illustrate widespread sexism
There is no doubting the influence of Google in everyday society. It is one of the few tech-based words to become a verb and is all pervasive in our daily lives. What Google has in spades and why it is such a powerhouse, is data. Every search term we use, every click we make, what we do and when is tracked by Google to constantly refine our online experience. So while this information is predominantly used to personalise our experience, when one looks at the data en masse, some interesting, hilarious or unfortunately, seriously saddening insights become apparent.
Utilising stunt advertising for market cut through
Over the last few days, the Internet has been abuzz about the stunt-based advertising for Carrie, a Stephen King novel and remake of the 1976 horror movie. The prank is fairly simple in concept: a girl loses it over a spilled coffee and then applies telekinesis to throw a man against a wall and scatter tables and chairs around the coffee shop. The actions are true to the movie — the main character uses telekinesis to terrorise her small town and the prank is elaborately planned and executed. It is a fantastic illustration of intelligent, strategically-driven stunt based advertising.