Building 5150 Studios | The Van Halen 1984 Documentary Episode 1

[Ozzy Stradlin]

https://youtu.be/YJGSS7Z9tLY

…and episode 2: https://youtu.be/Ullfb2P_R9s

[thechefs2003]

Watched these yesterday. Great stuff. Since we'll never see anything official from these guys this is as good as it's going to get! Well done!

[rockker]

That was much better than I expected it to be. Looking forward to the rest of the episodes

[skinni]

They were both great

[MetalSludgeCEO]

I was at 5150 once... while WildSide was making their album... so, I am guessing in 1991, or early 1992.

It was Jorge and I... and if memory suits me, I believe Brent invited us up.

Of course, way before cell-phones, and we didn't have a camera either... so no pics to speak of.

Andy Johns was not there, nor Eddie, just a few engineer types.

Saw the red, white & black striped Golf-cart outside the studios, and I recall it being VERY messy and filthy for the most part.

Couches full of cigarette burns, beer cans, full ash-trays, garbage, broken guitar strings and parts strewn everywhere.

In a nutshell, I recall us being stoked to go, but as soon as we left, and with the exception of telling a few friends, it was onto the next.

So much stuff happening, so many big firsts, getting signed, recording, making a video, going on tour, being on MTV, meeting and hanging with stars, it became regular life.

In looking back... that is a moment, that I would have loved to have somehow documented... same with us going to Gene's house to write songs... oh well.

We had it all, except for... real money, fancy cars, mansions. gold and platinum records and sold out arenas.... everything else, we lived it.

$tEvil

[Bono Nettencourt]

People actually rented the place out? Huh. I thought it was Eddie's and Eddie's alone.

[MetalSludgeCEO]

Just watched both...

I can't help it... but my true feeling is... Roth is and was beyond cringe...

I guess it's being 50+, but at the same time, I have thought this about him for the last 30+ years.

Is it just Roth. or were much of the 80's in general, just that annoying and dumb?

$tEvil

[BDG135]

Just watched both...

I can't help it... but my true feeling is... Roth is and was beyond cringe...

I guess it's being 50+, but at the same time, I have thought this about him for the last 30+ years.

Is it just Roth. or were much of the 80's in general, just that annoying and dumb?

$tEvil

Roth set the tone for Rockers to act goofy and wacky when they're on camera. It's all over the home videos bands released. I guess 13-year-olds can relate to it better.

[MetalSludgeCEO]

People actually rented the place out? Huh. I thought it was Eddie's and Eddie's alone.

""""""""""""""""""People actually rented the place out? """""""""""""""""""""""

Well... the word is (was), that the studio was NOT supposed to be there, or be known of... etc... hence the raqet-ball court permit.

When WildSide recorded there, the word was Ed was paid in cash under the table from the label.

Also.. Drew Hanna of WildSide said in an interview that he talked to Eddie in person, many years later, after he was married to Janie, and Ed was doing music for some of the Porn stuff that Drew headed up for Flynt... and Drew brought up to Ed, that his band recorded in the studio. and Ed said something like "Nope, that never happened, nobody ever recorded there but Van Halen..."

Drew kinda laughed it off... but ended up doing some business with Ed, and I guess there are some porn clips out there, with Eddie doing the background music. Cray.

Engineer Ricky DeLena talks about it at length here, says they were there with WildSide for 4 months > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgU-a4GvmmY

$tEvil

[Bono Nettencourt]

Didn't watch'em yet, but I don't have to to agree with you... I'm a big fan, but the bigger he got, the more Dave felt that he had to be "always on". I saw a clip of Jamies Cryin from Sao Paulo 83 and he grinned and shucked and jived thru the whole thing, dropping every other line so he could bebop and scat and tapdance out front while Eddie and Mike tried to hold the song structure down... you could see how that would become tiring night after night and why they eventually got sick of him.

[Psychobolia.com]

I saw a clip of Jamies Cryin from Sao Paulo 83 and he grinned and shucked and jived thru the whole thing, dropping every other line...

That must have been a fun tour, I just discovered this clip (Argentina 1983) the other day and it just seems like good times:

https://youtu.be/0htadKEWIsM?t=89

[cowpins]

The was a good interview, Stevie. Offering to sell the 002 guitar to Brent Woods from 2K is crazy.

[chungasrevenge]

This is really good. I can't believe Bowie payed his band $300 per show.

[Bono Nettencourt]

There were kilos and rentboys to be bought.

[MetalSludgeCEO]

This is really good. I can't believe Bowie payed his band $300 per show.

Which is close to a grand in today's money....

And while I get it... this is how it works... and guess what, it works BOTH ways too!

In other words... if the band (Bowie) rehearsed for a month for a tour, bought stage sets, backdrops, etc... and suddenly a tour is cancelled or ends prematurely... guess who eats that cost?

If your answer was David Bowie, you would be correct.

Modern day example... is Skid Row in Australia last week.

All the set up, getting there, planning, the schedule, the crew, flights, rooms, per-diems, and the list goes on... who do you think ate a bunch of cash when their "hired gun" singer got sick?

If you guessed, the band Skid Row (Rachel, Snake and Scotti)... you would have guessed correctly!

Just trying to explain there is more to it than Bowie shorted his players for "that" gig.

$tEvil

[cowpins]

With that said, is it common for hired guns to get end of tour bonuses, etc..., or just fake gold records...aka Blotzer?

[Psychobolia.com]

So in today's dollars, Bowie got $5 million!

Getting a measly $1,000 for that show still had to hurt!

[Bono Nettencourt]

Certainly explains why SRV passed on being his little Let's Dance tour sideshow.

[CrankerBait]

I think most up and coming musicians would be crazy today to turn down $2000 or $3000 per week, on top of hotel and travel costs, to tour as part of a major artist's band. How else could a young guitarist or drummer do better in terms of getting big league concert experience, massive public exposure and making a lot of connections, not to mention traveling the country/world and all kinds of extracurricular fun?

SRV didn't need the Bowie tour. Double Trouble had already been signed by the time Let's Dance was released and the publicity surrounding him walking away from it probably helped him more than hurt him.

[FreddyFender]

I turned it off when the narrator felt the need to go into depth about which were the three prior times Van Halen had used keyboards on their songs, explaining it song-by-song.

What the fuck.

[MetalSludgeCEO]

So in today's dollars, Bowie got $5 million!

Getting a measly $1,000 for that show still had to hurt!

""""""""""So in today's dollars, Bowie got $5 million!""""""""""""""""

Correct.

And dare I ask... what is the NAME of the person, who got that multi-million dollar offer, contract, deal, to play that Festival?

The name of the artist, person, performer, that was the headliner, biggest name on the bill, for that day.

Correct... the name that appeared on the Poster, and who had their music used in the radio and TV commercials, to promote the event.

Say it....

Okay, I will do it for you... the name was DAVID BOWIE, that is who the promoters paid that money for... simple.

Not the drummer, or the bassist, the back-up dancers, or sound-man... no... David Bowie got the pay day and he earned it.


""""""""""""""""""""Getting a measly $1,000 for that show still had to hurt!"""""""""""""""""""""

I don't agree...

Ask yourself this...

If Bowie was on tour... playing 2-4,000 seat theaters, and Bowie was getting $15-20K per gig...and those back-up players got $300.00 a night... would that be fair?

I think we all would agree, it would be right?

So, the band was happy to play in front of thousands, in a theater, while on tour with a known artist, famous English singer... it's all good right?

Okay... so when management calls and says, "Oh, and we're going to fly to California, to play some 1-off odd festival, that is mixing rock, new wave, pop and country... and the word is there are going to be an insane crowd... like 100-150K or more people... do you guys wanna play that gig too?"

Do you think any of them asked... "Are we getting more money?" and I can promise, if they did... there is a good chance they were told to pound sand.

I have been playing with 2-3 hired guns in TuFF for a while now... and only 1 guy ever asked "How much are we getting?" and inquired about merchandise sales more than once... he was politely warned... "It's none of your business..." with that... he didn't last and we haven't used him in a decade.

I can promise you... there are levels to this game... and hired guns have to know their role, and everyone wants to be treated fairly, but I can give you plenty of examples... and in the end, Bowie making a fortune off that 1 show was well earned by him... his manager, his agent, and those who had cut their teeth when he was playing dive bars in the 1970's for next to nothing, and likely along the way... he lost money more than once.

Anyone who can't see the writing on the wall... as to how this business works... will find themselves OUT of the business and fast.

$tEvil

[chungasrevenge]

Let's Dance tour played 96 shows so that's $28,800 per member for the tour. I guess that's not bad for 1983.

This was fun while it lasted. Looks like Alex pulled the plug on it.

[mfgtr]

UUUGH

Van Halen can’t produce a proper tribute to Edward , but they CAN pull fan videos

They must be proud

[BDG135]

Does Wolfie, or Alex, care enough to get a doc like that taken down? Maybe it was WMG.

[woblinweebles]

Let's Dance tour played 96 shows so that's $28,800 per member for the tour. I guess that's not bad for 1983.

They probably got paid for rehearsals, too - plus per diem and most likely, first class accommodations. He had a top tier band with people like Tony Thomspn from Chic, so I'm guessing they were fine with the compensation AND getting to play a fair amount of stadiums on that tour.

[thechefs2003]

Let's Dance tour played 96 shows so that's $28,800 per member for the tour. I guess that's not bad for 1983.

This was fun while it lasted. Looks like Alex pulled the plug on it.

Which is probably $100k or more in today's dollars. I'm not sure there's a musician on this website who wouldn't make that deal to play with Bowie all over the world for a year.

[Brainy Lane]

Does Wolfie, or Alex, care enough to get a doc like that taken down? Maybe it was WMG.

Pathetic. Greatest band with the worst legacy.

[chungasrevenge]

Let's Dance tour played 96 shows so that's $28,800 per member for the tour. I guess that's not bad for 1983.

They probably got paid for rehearsals, too - plus per diem and most likely, first class accommodations. He had a top tier band with people like Tony Thomspn from Chic, so I'm guessing they were fine with the compensation AND getting to play a fair amount of stadiums on that tour.

And Bowie's coke supply. Imagine the parties he was throwing nightly in 1983. Caligula on wheels.

[Thrasherfan17]

Looks like the videos were taken down.

[MetalSludgeCEO]

We just did a INT with Neil "Zloz" Zlozower, that will be up at some point...

And in digging around, found a few cool interviews from the last year or so with Zloz, talking about his new book "ED By ZLOZ"

He talks much about Ed, VH. 5150, etc..

The guy asks him "What do you remember about 5150?" @ 52 min mark!

Zloz without batting an eye-lash said pretty much what I wrote on here... "Honestly, it was a F#@king pigsty!"

"I remember there being dog shit on the floor, you know Eddie wasn't the cleanest person, guys are slobs!"

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBNSRo4nTtU

$tEvil