David Lee Roth: ‘Now It’s Time For Me To Shine’

David Lee Roth says that he waited around enough between Van Halen tours that he needed to make a break and get back onstage. Roth, who's currently on the road opening for Kiss, spoke with Minneapolis' Star Tribune and explained his reasoning for not waiting for the band to gear up again, stating: “We waited five years, and now it’s time (for me) to shine.”

When pressed about Eddie Van Halen's rumored latest bout of cancer issues, Roth said, “You know what I know. Ed, God bless him, may have a fair amount of time ahead of him, but going out on the road is an unforgiving task. It kills people.”

Roth, whose voice has taken a beating from fans online — with some pretty rough and out of tune clips circulating from his recent shows — addressed the issue admitting, “I’ve never had any delusions about my voice. It sounds like four miles of flat road with knobby tires. Mom used to say that; in fact she said it last week.”

He spoke about how both he and Kiss are rock survivors: “I’m a 40,000-hour man now, and I’m guessing the fellas in Kiss are 50,000-hour men now. With all those hours (of work experience) comes confidence, but also a good, healthy fear of what reality can really bring for you, consequently an intense appreciation of being able to do what we do for a living. I know a lot of people who hate what they do for a living.”

When pressed about the circumstances that led him to part ways with Van Halen in 1985, Roth simply said, “That’s passe. I’m past that. It’s like antique battles ringing off my ears. Van Halen reformed since then, and we had ourselves a glorious time, and I wish Ed the best now. As far as old feuds, is (Donald) Trump still fighting with Rosie (O’Donnell)? That was a colorful one. I dug that one.”

Roth went on to speak about the purity in the music Van Halen created during its initial run: “Van Halen was like a sea anemone. It’s born looking exactly the same way it does as it passes into the hereafter. If you listen to tracks from our club days in 1973, Van Halen, once I joined the band, sounded exactly like we did the first day together at Ed’s mom’s house as we did on the first record as we did on 'Jump.'”

A while back, David Lee Roth explained that his endless curiosity and rebellious streak is the ultimate inspiration for the songs he writes: “I like to read. I like to read books, I read comic books. Whenever I used to see the movies, y'know, and go with my pop to the movies when I was very young — I didn't wanna be an actor; I wanted to really go to Arabia. So, now we have the time to do it. If you don't place yourself geographically — if you don't go out there — what are you gonna sing about?”

Kiss with David Lee Roth performs tonight (February 24th) in St. Paul, Minneapolis at Xcel Energy Center.

David Lee Roth's next Las Vegas stand will be a six-show run on March 18th, 20th, 21st, 25th, 27th, and 28th at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino's House of Blues venue.