David Lee Roth: ‘I Wouldn’t Hold My Breath’ For Van Halen Reunion

David Lee Roth has just given fans even less hope for a Van Halen comeback, saying he “wouldn't hold (his) breath” for the band to ramp up again. Roth, who drew mixed reviews for his recent run of Las Vegas gigs, will serve as the opening act for Kiss during the band's North American dates.

Blabbermouth transcribed the chat Roth had on the PodKats! Las Vegas Entertainment podcast, in which he spoke about being in touch with Eddie Van Halen: “I just called Ed to find out who the guitar tech I need to talk to is and some of the gear I need. Everybody's fully aware (of the residency). We live in small circles here. We have the same manager, everything. The stuff you sing along with, I wrote. I'm a part-owner. It's in the DNA. Whatever happens with Van Halen, it's not for me to guess. I wouldn't hold my breath.”

Roth went on to explain how his solo band differs from the Van Halen: “I put together a double-guitar, three-guitars approach, because we're not making any effort to replicate Van Halen live. That's guitar, bass, drums, Eddie (Van Halen) — wonderful. No, this is the album. We start the way the album sounds, and man, that's a high hurdle. It requires multiple guitars.”

He went on to add: “I take it very seriously when I get out there in the music department. This is not a tribute band; it's not a backup band. This has taken me about four years to really bring it around. Most acts take six, eight weeks to bring the full production together. We'll have put in eight months in preparation for the music in the same spirit that the original Van Halen was built. The average age in this band now is 25 years old, and they're ready to plug in.”

Greg Renoff, the author of the recent Van Halen biography, Van Halen Rising: How A Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal, ultimately feels that David Lee Roth's solo career dried up due to a drastic dip in material: “The musicians were great, I don't think the songs were good enough. They weren't Eddie Van Halen (laughs)-quality songs. You listen to that record — y'know, 'Yankee Rose' might be catchy and stuff but, I can listen to the second side of (Van Halen's) Fair Warning and be completely swept away in the music, whereas with the second side of Eat 'Em And Smile, you're like 'well. . . ' The songs aren't great, right? You still got Roth, and Roth's personality comes through, but yeah, I don't think the songs were good enough. The other thing, too, was that magic combination of the songwriting team. You can't just split that up.”

David Lee Roth will kick off his opening slot with Kiss on February 1st in Manchester, New Hampshire at SNHU Arena.

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.