David Lee Roth is currently out on the road in his element serving as the opening act for Kiss. During a chat with The Lexington Herald-Leader, “Diamond Dave” slipped in a brief update on Eddie Van Halen, telling the paper, “What I do can be derailed by a whole lot of things. My closest, dearest colleague Edward has run up against the wall on turn three. He’s not doing well. I’ve heard only what you’ve heard. I have not seen him in some time.”
The legendary Van Halen lead singer moved on, describing himself in terms that far exceed a simple rock frontman, explaining, “David Lee Roth is not a rock band. David Lee Roth is an attitude. David Lee Roth is an answer. 'What would Dave do?' And that’s not always so funny. I’ve seen young people join the Marines based on that. I know a couple Marines who didn’t come back. I know what their parents think. I know people who got married based on that. And I know a few who got divorced based on that. There are a lot of considerations bittersweet. There’s a little sea salt in the caramel and I take it all seriously. It has always been way more transcendent than simply music.”
Roth went on to sing the praises of the band who hired him to warm up their audiences: “Kiss has transcended the bias of music the way Cirque de Soleil or Blue Man Group has. I, myself, would recommend to them if that, in fact, this is the final tour, perhaps go Blue Man Group. Why couldn’t there be six variations of Kiss traveling on the continent because it includes so much more than the music. It begins with the music, but it extends into theatre and, I’ll say with respect, circus.”
The 65-year-old Roth went on to say, “For myself, I’m calling this 'The Last Tour Unless It Isn’t.' Once I throw in the shoes, though, I’m thinking of going Lassie. There will be five of me touring and, allegedly, one of them will be a girl. You’re going to have to come and see the shows. Several times.”
David Lee Roth told us that these days bands just don't make their bones playing out the way the pre-fame Van Halen did in the first half of the 1970's: “Used to be, you would play in clubs five, six, seven 45-minute sets a night. The mighty classic Van Halen, when I was quarterback, must have learned 400 songs by other people, ranging from KC & The Sunshine Band, doing four-part harmony on 'Get Down Tonight.' We played Led Zeppelin, and we played Ohio Players, and we played ZZ Top. Somewhere in between, you had a balancing act there.”
Kiss with David Lee Roth performs tonight (February 13th) at Lexington, Kentucky's Rupp Arena.
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.