Since the departure of The Keepers as managers of the DLRML and webmasters of Dave's official web site , the list has lost its "official" status, but has continued to thrive under the control of Dave's die-hard fans.

A few months ago I decided to take a step back and just "lurk" on the DLRML for a while. During that time it has been interesting watching the growing negativity towards Dave from his most die-hard group of fans.

Over the years I was flamed on many occasions and called a "non-fan" because I dared not to applaud everything Dave did. Some would say that to be a true fan you should agree with everything your idol does and endorse every decision he makes. I say that's a load of bullshit.

Everyone on the DLRML knows my opinion on Dave's web-only release "Look At All The People Here Tonight". I think I said at the time that it was "a steaming pile of dog shit". I was heavily criticized for daring to say that on the list when it was released. At the time I thought there was no way Dave would have been involved in the recording, but given the material that he's putting out of late, it's undeniable that he played a big part in it.

Since the sneak previews of Dave's DVD have started emerging in recent months, it seems that even Dave's biggest fans are starting to wonder if he has lost the plot. Gone are the days when it was taboo to say anything bad about Dave. It's fair to say that sentiment towards Dave on the DLRML, from his most dedicated of fans, has been more negative than ever.

In many fans' eyes (including this one), Dave needs plenty of good publicity in the next few months if he wants to get his career back on track. Some would say any publicity is good publicity, but let's face it, it's not 1985 any more. The only publicity Dave seems to get nowadays is when he's being sued or is sueing one of his fans/tour managers/webmasters. His most recent publicity was a scathing review of his DVD which hasn't even been released yet.

Nothing seems to be going right for our Dave. His 2nd attempt to reunite with Van Halen in 2000 seems to have ended up with them saying "don't call us, we'll call you".

Thankfully, Dave still seems keen to get out there and tour, but why can't he play his solo stuff? DLR Band was a "balls to the wall" rocking album, but one song was played live.

Let's look at this situation from the outside, ie. from a non-fan's point of view. Dave goes out on tour but only plays pre-1984 Van Halen material except for one song, Tobacco Road. This song of course is from his 1986 solo album and is a cover anyway!

What's up with this proposed Dave and Sammy tour? Has the world gone completely mad? How is it that Van Halen and Dave can't work things out, but Sammy and Dave can go on tour together?

Of course this is all my opinion and I know I'll probably be flamed for it. That said, I feel I need to get it off my chest because I hate seeing Dave's career continuing to go in the wrong direction.

When Dave released DLR Band in 1998 I was confident he was getting back on track after 1994's disappointing Your Filthy Little Mouth and the aborted 1996 reunion with Van Halen. However, I think he dropped the ball when he waited a full year after the release to go on tour. We can blame guitarist John Lowery's ill-timed departure, but when you consider that Slam Dunk was the only new song played (and only during the first few shows), it's makes you wonder why Dave didn't capitalize on the good press generated by the album and get out on the road straight away. Instead it took him one year before he poached the guitar player from the country's finest Van Halen tribute band and played 66 shows full of Van Halen covers during the second half of 1999.

Where does Dave go from here? I don't know. Right now a Van Halen reunion is looking as unlikely as ever. No tour dates have been set for his tour with Sammy Hagar, but many will be interested to see how this most unlikely of tours pans out.

If Sammy and Dave can put aside their egos, I'm sure the tour will be a success. Personally I can't see either of these guys agreeing to open for the other, so the tour may not even happen.

Jun 22, 2001 - Notice
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