Blabbermouth reports that during an appearance on WTF With Marc Maron, David Lee Roth discussed his decision to part ways with Van Halen back in 1985.
The singer said:
“Why did it fracture? ‘Cause all rock bands fracture. It turns into diverse interests. People have the friction of time. And that friction is family; that friction is… sometimes it’s partying, but I don’t know if that’s what really separated Van Halen.
“There were always creative differences. We never got along. It was a beautiful, beautiful pairing of… You’ve seen cowboy movies where the guys are always sabotaging each other but they’re working to somehow accomplish something.
“And I think you’ll see that in a lot of popular bands. They may have gotten through it, but I don’t know that we ever really grew up and became gentrified. Now, that may not be a good thing; a part of me remained 23 years old forever.”
Roth also commented:
“Van Halen’s perfect, and I always sensed that perfect would get back together – perfect in its imperfections. Think of your most ruined jeans that barely are jeans. They’re your favorite because of the holes in ’em…
“Your favorite part of your cowboy boots is the f*cked up part… That kind of imperfection, we value that and we still have it – it’s in the music, and it makes the music more popular than ever.”
Asked if he could sit down with the Van Halen brothers today and have dinner, the singer replied:
“Nope. Not even close. Not even close. This is not a golf club. This is a little closer to ‘The Wild Bunch.’ There is a… fury and an antagonism, and what comes out of that is, when it’s good – oh, man.”