A 2019 interview with the Van Halen singer David Lee Roth recently surfaced on The Tapes Archive’s YouTube channel. In the interview, the rocker discussed many topics, including why he left Van Halen, his inspirations, and when he felt sorry for himself while revealing one of his greatest regrets.
When asked about the time he felt sorry, the rocker shared his regret, acknowledging fear and revenge as his main pivots:
“Well, currently, my running comedy line is fear and revenge are my main pivot. Fear and revenge. Revenge on my wristwatch because it’s ten years too fast. Okay?”
He then mentioned one of the two guitarists in Van Halen without naming him and revealed his regret:
“I wasted a lot of f*cking time waiting around for the guitar player, right? So I’m not going to change him, and I sure ain’t changing history in the rearview mirror, even if I turn it. So let’s turn that rearview mirror, see how good we look while we’re getting somewhere. Tell the wristwatch, ‘Fuck you,’ and get ahead of it like Grandma says. Okay, maybe that’s as close as I get to feeling sorry for me.”
He added:
“All right, go beyond that. I’m kind of over crybaby, alcoholic millionaires bouncing on the end of the mattress, taken up folks like your time going, Well, you know what? Feel cheap. I feel sorry for a lot of my fellow man when I reflect that God is just.”
The rocker is known to have a feud with the band, and the late Eddie Van Halen himself as well. After Roth’s proposal to Eddie to score the ‘Crazy From the Heat’ movie, the duo started to have problems. After Eddie declined the offer, Roth allegedly told the band that he wouldn’t work with them anymore to focus on his movie.
When the band clarified that Roth quit ‘to be a movie star,’ Eddie revealed that he was looking for a new singer and that he spent 12 years to ‘put up with his bullsh*t.’
Despite the arguments, Roth bid his farewell after the late guitarist’s passing and stated that working with him was better than any love affair with a woman he ever had.
Below you can listen to the interview.
