Friday, March 09, 2007

Eddie Van Halen Enters Rehab

OK, here is a news flash on EVH and part of why the reunion fell apart. Here are some of the most cogent parts from the Reuters news story:

Eddie Van Halen said on Thursday he would enter rehab "to work on myself," a move that appears to rule out a reunion by his troubled band when it is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next week.

The Dutch-born Van Halen, 52, who has long battled alcoholism and survived a bout with tongue cancer, said in an open letter to fans he wanted to do right by them.

"I have always and will always feel a responsibility to give you my best. At the moment I do not feel that I can give you my best. That's why I have decided to enter a rehabilitation facility to work on myself, so that in the future I can deliver the 110 percent that I feel I owe you and want to give you."

He added: "Some of the issues surrounding the 2007 Van Halen tour are within my ability to change and some are not. As far as my rehab is concerned, it is within my ability to change and change for the better."

The letter was released by his spokeswoman and girlfriend, Janie Liszewski, who did not respond to requests for further information.

In a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Eddie Van Halen said he had entered rehab twice. He recalled his only drunken-driving arrest came after he had left an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, appalled by everyone's sob story, and stopped at a bar for a few shots.

"I always got hammered to be able to cope," he told the magazine. "I have zero social skills and I don't know how to act, so I get drunk. And then I make a real ass out of myself."

Let's hope Eddie works out his issues (my words, not the Retuers story).

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