rushforgot

Good or bad, he's no Howard Stern

AK NAHAS
Give him credit for not being a Howard Stern clone.

Landing on terrestrial radio last Tuesday, David Lee Roth sounded more
like a mix of Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura and Pittsburgh's own Jim Quinn.

The Roth show, heard locally on WRKZ-FM (93.7), debuted dismally, but
by Friday the former Van Halen singer hit a groove that made his show
fairly entertaining, or at least worth a few more listens.

Focusing on listener phone calls and his own rapid-fire riffing, Roth
wisely has left the strippers, drunken dwarves and crazy cabbies to
his predecessor, Stern, whose Sirius Satellite Radio show premieres
Monday.

The bigger risk by the 51-year-old Roth is his refusal to load his
show with celebrity guests. Roth explained he doesn't want to
interview Hollywood stars because then he'd have to pretend he saw
their latest movie.

That's a refreshing attitude, but it backfired during Roth's most
crucial hour - the 8 to 9 a.m. drive time slot on his debut show -
when he spent the entire time interviewing his Uncle Manny, a World
War II veteran and 1950s Greenwich Village club owner.

With his stories about bombing Berlin and booking Peter, Paul & Mary,
Manny was the perfect radio guest ... for an AM nostalgia station like
WJAS (1320.)

Things hadn't improved much by Wednesday for listeners who tuned in to
hear an emergency medical technician discussing the importance of 911.
Just what gridlock-weary commuters need - a boring lecture. Roth has
undergone extensive training as a New York City EMT, something he
talked about at great length last week.

The Roth show improved Thursday and Friday when the host fielded phone
calls and dispensed advice on relationships and parenting. Though his
show is heard throughout eastern and Midwestern markets, most of those
callers had Brooklyn accents that "Saturday Night Fever's" Tony Manero
would have struggled to comprehend.

At times, his conversations with listeners turned political, allowing
Roth to get on a soapbox on issues such as gun control (he's opposed,
though he says hunters should only be allowed in the woods after
receiving extensive gun training).

With his bold opinions, quick wit and colorful use of language, Roth
showed ample potential. He fired off some funny one-liners ("The
problem with Cuban coffee," he said, "is that a week later I'm drowsy
again.") and displayed a proper mix of defiance and humor in dealing
with the inevitable crank-calling Stern fans.

But with no provocative guests to grill, Roth's shtick sometimes grew
tiresome. To maintain a verbal flow, Roth surrounded himself in the
studio with several underlings, none of whom contributed much in the
way of humor or insight, though in fairness we should give them time
to see if there's a Stern-styled Stuttering John or Baba Booey in the
bunch.

Roth, too, deserves a few more weeks to fine-tune his show.

Though, if he doesn't soon find someone more interesting than Uncle
Manny to talk to, WRKZ officials might want to start figuring out a
backup plan.

sandman89@webtv.net

i think roth would probably benefit from having a strong sidekick to
bounce ideas and conversation back and forth with and to keep him on his
toes and focused. most decent talk radio type shows have a solid
sidekick to support the main guy.

"I am not a tough guy. I'm a tough negotiator. But outside of that, I'm
a patsy."
-Sumner Redstone, CEO of Viacom

rodney

You think he should revive the Picasso Bros?

....or how about Freddie Frempleton?

tb

Heh, howsabout Iggy Pop or Johnny Lyndon? I don't think there's a room big
enough for the ego and hot air . It'd br fun to listen to, though.

T.B.

sandman89@webtv.net

rodney@nospam.com (Rodney)

You think he should revive the Picasso Bros?

***not a bad idea- that was him and his former manager, pete, right?


...or how about Freddie Frempleton?

***who??

"I am not a tough guy. I'm a tough negotiator. But outside of that, I'm
a patsy."
-Sumner Redstone, CEO of Viacom

rodney

Actually it was Freddie Frempleman. You remember Freddie Frempleman?

sandman89@webtv.net

rodney@nospam.com (Rodney)

Actually it was Freddie Frempleman. You remember Freddie Frempleman?


***huh? is that a character ted templeman played?? i thought the other
guy was dave's manager, pete angelus (sp??). never heard the freddie
frempleman thing before.

"I am not a tough guy. I'm a tough negotiator. But outside of that, I'm
a patsy."
-Sumner Redstone, CEO of Viacom

rodney

Yes, Pete Angelus was "Pedro Picasso". Angelus also did all the cover
concepts for Dave/VH from WACF to ALAE. The Picasso Bros also did the
Panama, Hot for Teacher and most of Dave's early videos.

In what I remember to be called the Memorial Dave Weekend on MTV in
1985, Dave did a bunch of skits, some would end up in his retail
video. The skits are like early No Holds Barbeque Video bits, filmed
at Dave's pool, at his house etc.

In the skits appears who he calls "Famous producer Fred Frempleton",
along with his black attorney "Julius", "Pedro Picasso, yours truly
Dave Picasso, together, we are the Picasso Brothers!" and tons of
models.

Interviewer: Who was the genius behind the California Girls video?
Picasso Bros: (In unison) I was!
Interviewer: And the Gigolo video?
Picasso Bros: (In unison) I was!
Interviewer: I was reading in a magazine there were budgetary problems
on both those videos. Who was responsible for that?
Picasso Bros: (In unison) He was!


I thought they were a good team.

Interesting Pete Angelus story, don't know if it's VH folklore or not:

Pete used to bartend at the Whiskey, and Van Halen was playing to a
crowd of 11 people, but they were playing like they were in front of a
sold-out crowd at the Forum. Anyhow, after the last set, Dave yells
into the mic, "Y'all come back tomorrow night!" and then Pete yells
out from the bar, "We have to Dave, we work here!" and became Dave's
assistant from that point on.

Ok, Im done....

sandman89@webtv.net

so, whatever happened to pete angelus? are he and dave still tight? from
what i recall from the black crowes' 'behind the music', pete was their
manager at some point. dunno if he still is, tho. did he manage any
other acts?

and when was the last time templeman produced an album?

"I am not a tough guy. I'm a tough negotiator. But outside of that, I'm
a patsy."
-Sumner Redstone, CEO of Viacom

rodney

Last I heard he was the Black Crowes manager. He and Roth had some
kind of falling out between ALAE and YFLM. I don't think Roth even
mentions him in his book.

From what I read, he no longer actively produces, but concentrates on
his old catalogs.