Mike Post recently made an appearance on ‘The Hustle’ podcast and discussed the production process of 1998’s ‘Van Halen III.’ Speaking about how he persuaded Alex Van Halen to step aside during the album’s creation, Post said:
“So, really early on, Al came in, you know, and we started to… And he just wasn’t Al. He just wasn’t… He wasn’t playing like Al. So, you know, Ed [said], ‘I don’t know what to do. It’s my brother. It’s my brother.’ And I said, ‘Well, what do you want to do?’”
Regarding Eddie Van Halen’s concerns about Alex’s performance, Post mentioned:
“He said, ‘Well, I want him to think about himself and his family and to get straight and figure things out and get his divorce finished, but I don’t, you know, I oughtta play drums.’ I said, ‘Okay, no problem. I’ll get it done.’ He goes, ‘Hey, you gotta be careful,’ you know, ‘Al’s, he’s no pushover.’ I said, ‘Oh, I know.’ I said, ‘No problem… no problem. So far, we’ve had a very good relationship.’”
Explaining his approach in convincing Alex to step aside temporarily, Post said:
“I said, ‘Al, you’re in the middle of a divorce. You’re really f*cked up and you’re not playing like Alex. I mean, you are not playing like you. And my job is to get your little brother to do a record sober and to facilitate that. So, you gotta sit down and concentrate on yourself and concentrate on your divorce and concentrate on getting rid of all the substance abuse.’”
Sharing the outcome of their discussion, Post recalled:
“And he went, ‘Okay, you’re right.’ And I said, ‘God, you’re just a stud, man. You’re a f*cking stud.’”