The Skinny: Run, runaround …

http://www.heraldextra.com/entertainment/the-skinny-run-runaround/article_8d68ce75-aea9-5303-a61e-a3a73d7e1cf8.html

The Skinny: Run, runaround …
7 hours ago
Doug Fox Daily Herald

Run, runaround: For Van Halen fans, it’s the moment that got away.

Fans of the Los Angeles quartet are easily some of the most long-suffering in rock ‘n’ roll history. There’s been a roller coaster ride through multiple lead singer changes (David Lee Roth to Sammy Hagar to Gary Cherone to Sammy Hagar and back to David Lee Roth) and the ouster of popular bassist Michael Anthony in favor of Wolfgang Van Halen, son of otherworldly guitarist Eddie Van Halen.

In between all those key lineup changes there were sometimes years of inactivity. It was in the middle of one of those gaps that fans had cause for momentary jubilation in the form of the band’s selection to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. But even that prestigious honor turned into a mostly wasted opportunity. As it turned out, the only two people who turned up for the honor were Hagar and Anthony, neither one being a member of the band at the time.

To make matters worse, the actual induction was handled by Velvet Revolver, a new supergroup of sorts featuring ex-Guns N’ Roses alumni Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum, along with Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland. Many induction speeches come off like polished works of art, where it is obvious that every word was crafted with much deliberation. But Velvet Revolver’s disjointed ramblings seemed more like they were scribbled on cocktail napkins as band members made their way to the microphone after having too much to drink.

And don’t even get me started on Velvet Revolver’s completely indecipherable live rendition of Van Halen’s hit “Runaround.” Suffice to say that, for fans anyway, the whole thing was a letdown of major proportions.

OK, so why am I writing about this now? Well, Scott Weiland and his new band, The Wildabouts, performed a pair of energetic sets in Park City during the Sundance Film Festival last month, and I had the opportunity for a relatively brief post-show interview. While band members filtered in, drummer Danny Thompson actually jump-started the conversation by noting how much he liked my shirt — which was, not coincidentally, one from my extensive Van Halen collection. Thompson and I spoke briefly about his admiration for fellow drummer Alex Van Halen and it was during our pre-interview chat that I decided it might be fun to hit Weiland up about what he remembered most about the 2007 induction ceremonies.

I ended up doing just that and his humorous replies were captured on video. You can check it out at: http://provodh.com/ijfta.