Originally Posted by: dvenetianI stood within 10 feet from Eddie on their Diver Down tour and he seemed to be kinda shy, quiet and relaxed type of person. Completely opposite from the way David Lee Roth jumped all over the place with high energy the entire gig.

Being a guitar player myself, I couldn't get over how easy Eddie made playing look and with complete control over the instrument without missing a beat.

I could tell that he was annoyed by Roth every time Roth jumped over to his side of the Red & White striped stage. You could feel the tension, it was like Eddie hated him and his demeanor changed.
Witnessing that, I believe Roth had a lot to do with Eddie's demise. Like the straw that broke the camel's back syndrome. Then comes the ego's to state who's band Van Halen is.
It's amazing how powerful human psyche can become, here is a band that's debut album is their all time best seller. They get into the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest paid single appearance of a music group, an inebriated $1 Million for a 90 minute set at the Us Festival in 1983.
Then they release their 2nd all time best selling album "1984", but still aren't happy.
People change, sometimes for the worse, no matter what the circumstances are.
It will be interesting to see how long Eddie and Roth will last this time around.
No matter what with the clash in personalities, Eddie Van Halen is one talented and creative SOB in the music industry and it will be near impossible for him to destroy that part of his life.
I'm looking forward to hear what's to come from such a talented union.

You make a good point. I have always found David Lee Roth to be an interesting front man but he makes me cringe to hear him say anything off stage. I just can't figure out EVH. He had the world in his hand and yet he's managed to hit rock bottom over and over and over again. And the constant tussle and moaning about the band and it's various incarnations just leaves me a little empty with the whole band. You're right. They have shown what they are capable of many,many times and yet they just can't keep it together. A battle of monstrous egos. Clash of the Titans I guess. In the end, it's the fans that lose out.