Van Halen Gets Even With Everyone:
Geddy Lee Vs. The Visigoths
By J. Kordosh, Creem, October 1981
David Lee Roth: Do you want to tell a Rush story?
Alex Van Halen: It's our turn!
David Lee Roth: OK, guys, I hope you read this issue!
- True Stuff, July 4,1981
"We gonna go back in time now - back a year's time to Leicester, England. You're gonna have to look that up; it's spelled with an 'ie' or something. We'd just finished playing: great show, everybody's very up it was Michael's (bassist Anthony) birthday. And we'd come back to the bar and Rush was staying at the same hotel. And as it turns out later - they'd rented the bar with all the booze in it. And our guys didn't know that and they came in and said, 'What,free booze?! Whoa!!' And they cleaned the place out, which put their guys on edge a little bit. And Edward was sitting at the table with Geddy Lee and they'd both been drinking a little bit, and Geddy was playing some Rush tapes on a tape recorder. He said something to Ed and Ed's beer got into the tape recorder," Roth laughed, obviously relishing his role as gossip monger. "Well that caused a little friction," he continued. Jump ahead one year - Las Vegas ( not L.A.) 1981. Rush is playing before Van Halen in Las Vegas and word goes out: nobody from Van Halen is allowed into the show at all. Nobody. No road crew, nobody.
"Is it true?" I interrupted. "Just because he spilled his beer?"
Roth considered the question. "Well, the whole beer went went into the tape recorder," he and Van Halen laughed.
"Yeah, but how much could it've cost??"
"Well, the glass, too!" he roared. OK, I get it.
"Anyways: 1981. The word goes out that nobody remotely associated with Van Halen is allowed into the show. As it turns out, a lot of our truckers - we've got five or six trucks, gotta have people to driv'em they know other truckers and they know the guys in Rush. And they say, 'Hey c'mon over, have a beer and a buzz, you're welcome at our show anytime, and so on. And so late word goes out: some Van Halen people - some - will be allowed into the show. And they've got some great guys working for them. So the show goes on and everything" We jump ahead now. After the show, we're sitting in this casino. There's tables filled with Van Halen people - there's 47 or 50 of us on the road now. And Geddy feels one way or another and comes up to say something to Ed, and he puts up his hand to shake hands. Now one of our security guards didn't have the vaguest idea in hell who he was and he came up and bodytackled him. Ha, ha, ha. Threw him out of the table and that's the last I saw of 'em!" He ended with a good - natured laugh.