Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 26, 1992 TAG: 9202250217
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TRACIE FELLERS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
ROCK'S PARTY BOYS ARE GETTING SERIOUS
Eddie and Alex Van Halen, Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony - collectively known as Van Halen - really don't mind being thought of as party boys. After all, it's an image the group has cultivated over its 17-year history.In the mid-to-late '70s and early '80s, the energy, antics and undeniable charisma of former lead singer David Lee Roth helped fuel the band's rock-till-you-drop reputation. But of course, the main reason Van Halen members became known as rock 'n' roll wild men was the music.
From its first single, "You Really Got Me Going," to 1979's "Dance the Night Away," 1984's "Jump," and 1986's "Why Can't This Be Love," the band has made music to move to.
With its latest album, the guitar-driven "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge," Van Halen showed fans that it's still rocking. Three of the album's tracks - "Right Now," "Runaround," and "Top of the World" - have hit No. 1 on Radio & Records magazine's album-oriented rock chart. "Poundcake," the song that opens the album, reached No. 2.
But the 11 songs on "Carnal Knowledge" are more than tongue-in-cheek tunes to party by, drummer Alex Van Halen said in a phone interview. He views the album as social commentary: "But it's done with a sense of humor, " he said, "so if you don't want heavy-handed treatment of things you see in the news anyway, at least you have the option to interpret the song another way."
"I'm not saying that we're not party-party, but there's a balance. There's somewhere in-between [where] you can be a little bit more serious."
Van Halen brings serious rock 'n' roll to the Star City tonight when its world tour makes a stop at the Roanoke Civic Center. Australian rock band Baby Animals opens the 7:30 p.m. show. Tickets are $18.50 in advance, $19.50 at the door.
In the phone interview from Birmingham, Ala., a recent stop on the Van Halen tour, Alex said some listeners miss the socially relevant messages in songs on "Carnal Knowledge."
He talked about "Spanked," the album's third track. "People giggle, giggle, giggle" when they hear it, he said. And when the band played the song for a group of people before the album's release, "the first comment was, `Can I come to the video shoot?' But it goes deeper than [it appears] on the surface. It's a song about censorship.
"Two years ago there was a controversy about stickering records, limiting songs to people over 18 if the government thought there was dangerous material on it. Yet any 4-year-old can pick up a telephone, dial 1-900 and get a spank line. There's something wrong with that picture," Alex said.
"I think what it boils down to is you have to read between the lines. We're not going to hard-sell or give you an opinion you have to abide by. We're not going to force it down your throat.
"There's just a lot of things [on the album] that lyrically touch on different aspects, the more serious aspects of living in today's world."
Alex said the lyrical side of the band's music has matured over the years. "Ten years ago there was really no substance . . . the music was great, but lyrically it was very superficial topics - as long as the words rhymed," they were satisfied, he said.
"That's not to take away anything from the past," he was quick to add. "That's not saying that what Van Halen did then was bad. We've always given 110 percent in everything we did."
The party boys are older and more settled now - all five are married, and the Van Halen brothers have children. But in fundamental ways, Van Halen hasn't changed, Alex said.
"It's something you don't want to mess with. I'm not going to change my behavior or be a certain way because I think it's expected of me. I still cringe when I see people in three-piece suits come up to me. I still don't like anybody telling me what to do. There's a little bit of rebellion.
"That's why you get into rock and roll - that's the whole idea," he said, laughing. Another important thing that remains the same is the band's relationship with its fans. "We don't sell them short. We're not going to do gimmicky things just to keep up with the Joneses. We don't follow fads and trends," Alex said.
"The whole thing about rock and roll is that it's an attitude that goes beyond just the music. It's a hunger for life, and it's always wanting to improve and go beyond what's been done before and hopefully achieve. I think that's what keeps us alive, rather than being in a position where you live off your laurels."