From: The Expositor

Columnist puzzled by impostor
Posted By HEATHER IBBOTSON, EXPOSITOR STAFF

Musician and columnist Glen Silverthorn got more than his share of the
spotlight this month.

Unfortunately, he had to share his 15 minutes of fame with a phony.

Silverthorn was one of many locals — including bar patrons, hospital
staff and police officers — who had a recent brush not with flamboyant
rocker David Lee Roth of the dazzling smile and dizzying hips but instead
with a gap-toothed wannabe from Cambridge. Some people were duped. Others
were not.

“I was suspicious. Maybe it’s my age or something. Why would (Roth) be
here?” said Silverthorn, a veteran local music man who knew late rock
legend Rick Danko and is acquainted with the likes of Robbie Robertson and
Levon Helm.

Silverthorn, fresh from a camping vacation in New York State, said on
Monday that he had doubts about the man who gave his name as David Roth
from the get-go.

The Expositor columnist said he met the man now identified as David Kuntz
on May 24 at the Liquid Lounge while attending the club to see his son’s
band, 40 Daze. Clubgoers were feverish with whispers about a man standing
at the bar who might be David Lee Roth. The man had also been at the club
the night before, on May 23, and had taken the stage with that night’s
band for an impromptu version of Van Halen’s Ice Cream Man.

Silverthorn, who said he recognized the name but really had no idea what
the famous Van Halen frontman looked like, decided to sidle up and
introduce himself. The stranger, dressed in eye-catching black and white,
gave his name as David Roth, Silverthorn said. No “Lee” was mentioned.

“I was playing dumb,” Silverthorn said. “I asked him where he was from and
he said ‘the west coast.’”

Trotting out his personal knowledge of rock greats, Silverthorn asked the
man if he remembered any members of The Band. “Roth” told Silverthorn
that, yes, he used to drink a few beers with Robbie Robertson in Malibu.

After about five minutes of chitchat, the man said he needed to get going
but suggested he might return later with his bodyguard. He was only there
looking for a cellphone he said he lost the night before.

“He was a little fidgety. He wanted to get away and said the crowd was
getting noisy,” Silverthorn said, adding that it was only about 9:30 p. m.
and not any noisier than any other night.

PEOPLE SNAPPING PHOTOS

People were snapping photos of the “celeb” and Silverthorn decided he
might as well get a photograph for posterity as well. The pair went
outside and Silverthorn handed his camera to a woman who took a photo of
him with “Roth” before the mystery man departed.

After, the bar was all hubbub and chatter as patrons clamoured to see
photos of the man and debate the pros and cons of “Was it him?” and “Could
it have been him?”

Silverthorn left on a camping trip to New York on July 10 and was
surprised when a fellow Brantford camper showed up at the rendezvous the
next day with an Expositor in hand featuring the photo of Silverthorn and
“Roth” on the front page.

On the way home, at a gas station east of Buffalo, Silverthorn bumped into
a Paris man he knows. “A guy says you’re hunting for David Lee Roth,” the
jokester said.

Unfortunately, for the believers, the real Roth was performing on stage
with Van Halen at Madison Square Garden in New York City on May 23.

Meanwhile, the Roth imposter has both a hazy reputation and a scarred
past. He’s known for cadging freebies at a Cambridge hair salon. In 1988,
Kuntz’s girlfriend was found not guilty by reason of insanity for the
slaying of another girlfriend.

This May, Kuntz pulled a few legs — including those of provincial police
officers who stopped him for speeding and helped him get to hospital for
treatment of an allergic reaction to peanuts — but most people don’t seem
to hold it against him. “We’ve had a lot of fun with it,” said Liquid
Lounge owner Cheri Welsh on Monday.

“He was a little eccentric but very polite and nice to the people here,”
she said, adding that she wouldn’t know the real David Lee Roth “if I
stepped on him.”

Silverthorn now has another quirky musician story to add to his tale-
telling repertoire but he remains bemused. “I can’t bring to mind why he’d
go to all that trouble to be an imposter because he didn’t seem to be
trying to get anything free at the club,” he said.

Perhaps he just enjoys “fooling people.”

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From the San Francisco Chronicle

Stacy Finz, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, July 4, 2008

It’s been a year since legendary rocker Sammy Hagar sold an 80 percent interest of his Cabo Wabo Tequila company to Gruppo Campari for $80 million. Now, with international distribution and a marketing strategy created by Campari’s San Francisco subsidiary, Skyy Spirits, Hagar and his new partners plan on doubling production and taking his premium Tequila global.

The 60-year-old Mill Valley singer-songwriter and former Van Halen front man says he discovered Tequila during his early days in music. Back then, he says, “it was the rotgut stuff.” But in the early 1980s he took a trip to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, where a friend gave him a drink of 100 percent agave Tequila.

“It changed my life,” remembers Hagar. “I had never had anything like it.”

By 1995, the music man known as the Red Rocker decided to make his own to sell at his Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas. He started small with 37,000 cases produced by agave farmers near the town of Tequila in Jalisco. Just as authentic Champagne and Chablis has to come from those
French regions, Tequila has to be produced in either Tequila or a handful of other municipalities in Mexico, in order to qualify as genuine.

Hagar had planned to keep production of his Cabo Wabo Tequila low-key. But
famed spirits writer Anthony Dias Blue changed that, says the singer. He
had a sip while visiting the bar, naming it “one of the top three Tequilas
in the world.”

“The phone started ringing off the hook,” says Hagar, who realized that
there was more to the Tequila thing than he had originally thought. Before
he knew it, he was exporting Cabo Wabo to the United States.

Recently we talked to the musician about his love for Tequila, his life as
a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and about his lesser-known passion - wine.

Not everyone knows that you’re really into wine. But we understand that
you have quite a collection. How many bottles are in your cellar?

I have 10,000 bottles. And all of them are good wines, nothing cheap.

What got you interested in wine?

I discovered wine in the ’70s, back when I was in the band Montrose
touring in England. My old elementary school teacher, Ms. Osbourne (no
relation to Ozzy), was living in London and looked me up. She and her
husband had me over for dinner. Her husband opened a 1927 Martinez Port
and a 1961 Chateau Latour. It was a big night. I drank the Port with a
Stilton cheese and the Latour with rack of lamb. While the Latour blew my
mind, it was the Port that I fell in love with. It was sweet, like candy.

So were you hooked?

A: Yes. When I came back to Northern California I immediately bought six
bottles of 1973 Mondavi Private Reserve and six bottles of the 1974
vintage to start a collection. It was the beginning of my quest.

Besides the Mondavi, what else did you begin collecting?

A: I started with sweet wines. I was really into Sauternes. But that only
lasted about a year, then my palate started to change. I’ve actually been
considering swapping out some of my Sauternes, but have resisted because
they’re worth a lot of money.

What are some of your favorite wines?

A: After my sweet phase I moved into Bordeaux. I also love Italian wines -
Barolos and Chianti. But my favorite is probably La Tache, from Domaine de
la Romanee-Conti. I’m also into Vega Sicilia.

Those may be your favorites, but what are you drinking most right now?

A: I like Penfolds Grange Hermitage. But they need the age, at least 1990s
and back. They’re hard to come by, though. I do like a good Sauvignon
Blanc over a Chardonnay. I’m particularly fond of Cloudy Bay from New
Zealand. It’s like fresh cut grass. I prefer Chablis over a Montrachet.
It’s the same grape, but they don’t wood them.

If you could share one bottle of wine with David Lee Roth, what would
it be?

Cold Duck. I don’t think he would appreciate fine wine. We don’t get
along with each other. It has nothing to do with Van Halen. I just don’t
like the way he dresses or the way he acts.

What did you drink on the night you were inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame?

Emeril Lagasse, his wife and Kenny Chesney were at my table. We had two
bottles of Cabo Wabo Uno Tequila. I don’t think it had been released yet,
so I brought it with me. Everyone kept coming to the table asking, “What
are you drinking there?” Both Keith Richards and Annie Leibovitz had
tastes.

Did Emeril say “bam?”

Twenty-five to 30 times.

Have your drinking habits changed since the late ’70s and ’80s, back in
your Montrose and Van Halen days?

I drink less now. I’m a little more in control. I don’t like to be
drunk. The last thing I like is having a hangover. I drink now for
pleasure, especially with a meal. There’s nothing better than having a
margarita with Mexican appetizers.

E-mail Stacy Finz at sfinz@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page F - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle

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From The Wall Street Journal.

Aerosmith Stars in Guitar Hero Videogame

Other Rock Groups Are Expected to Follow
As Sales of Traditional CDs Continue to Slump

By NICK WINGFIELD and ETHAN SMITH
July 1, 2008

Guitar-heavy grooves have helped Aerosmith pack concert halls and sell
more than 150 million albums during its nearly four-decade career. Now
they’ve landed Aerosmith and a growing lineup of other rockers a new gig:
headlining videogames.

Last weekend, a new game called Guitar Hero: Aerosmith went on sale, the
latest installment in the hot-selling Activision Inc. franchise and the
first to let players jam along with music centered on a single act. A
version of Guitar Hero featuring the metal band Metallica is due out
within the next year, and Activision is in serious discussions with Van
Halen about showcasing that band in Guitar Hero as well, people familiar
with the matter say.

[...snip...]

The success of Guitar Hero and Rock Band have made them important new
sources of income for bands. Irving Azoff, whose Front Line Management
manages Aerosmith and other major artists, says videogame deals can be
“much more lucrative than anything you can do in the record business.”
Industry executives say bands can receive millions of dollars up front,
plus a generous royalty on sales. A person close to Aerosmith says the
band expects to make more money from the game title than it has from any
of its dozen-plus studio albums.

Since the last versions of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, game companies have
paid artists a royalty on sales of their games in exchange for rights to
use their master recordings in the games. Before that, music games
typically featured covers of famous songs by sound-alike bands.

Mr. Azoff says music videogames can also help his clients by boosting
traditional music sales. Sales of Aerosmith’s “Same Old Song and Dance”
shot up 130% in the week following the release of Guitar Hero 3, which
included the track, Activision says.

Clients including Van Halen, the Eagles, Steely Dan and Guns N’ Roses “all
have deals of varying types in the works with one or the other or both of
these companies,” says Mr. Azoff, referring to the makers of Guitar Hero
and Rock Band.

[...snip...]

******************************************************************************

More rumors of a “Guitar Hero: Van Halen” game in this article from Kotaku.com:

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick: “If we’re [...] creating a whole new group of consumers, six to eleven year old consumers, who are being exposed to Aerosmith for the first time or Van Halen for the first time, whatever that might be we need to capture much more of that upside opportunity.”

Now, Kotick may just be a big fan of Eddie Van Halen, but the profits to be had selling a licensed Kramer 5150 Guitar Hero guitar controller may have just gotten Bobby a bit too excited. Based on what the Activision CEO said, expect more artist-only titles, and consider Van Halen a fairly safe bet.

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Van Halen has just released two fantastic new shirts! Both are in stock & shipping now at Van Halen Store.

Van Halen “Wings Crest” Shirt:

Give yourself the royal treatment with this regal shirt, fit for a king! The heroic “Wings Crest” design features the original Van Halen logo, jazzed up with a royal crown and widespread wings. Very classic, yet modern and contemporary looking.

Van Halen “Space Logo” Shirt:

Step back to the future in this fun sci-fi design! Far above planet earth, among sparkling stars, the awesome Van Halen logo zooms through outer space, going where no band has gone before!

This vintage design was originally used on Van Halen’s 1979 tour shirts, and then again on the 2007-2008 tour. However, this version lists no year in the design, making it timeless.

*****

Both shirts come in sizes Small through XXXL, and are priced at just $19.95 each.

Like all shirts for sale at Van Halen Store, these shirts are high quality, 100% pre-shrunk cotton & regular, standard fit.

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Here’s a Van Halen cover for ya - John Mayer, July 13th, Columbia, MD.

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From Canwest News Service  

Published: Saturday, July 12, 2008

Rock singer David Lee Roth is denying reports that he was saved by a pair of Ontario Provincial Police officers after having a severe allergic reaction while driving near Oakland, Ont., a story widely circulated by entertainment Web sites earlier this week. “I was in Canada only from July first through the fourth for a performance at the Quebec City Summer Festival. I had no encounters or incidents with the police. The only thing I’m allergic to is criticism,” the original lead singer of Van Halen said in a statement. The Internet reports said the singer was pulled over on May 23 about 45 kilometres southwest of Hamilton, after two OPP officers noticed him driving erratically, apparently due to a reaction to peanuts. The story had two officers preventing the singer from going into anaphylactic shock until an ambulance arrived. However, his publicist said Mr. Roth was on stage in New York city that night.

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Tale of Van Halen rock star in area takes bizarre jump

By Graham Rockingham

From The Hamilton Spectator

It’s a story that circulated around the world: Rock star David Lee Roth saved by two OPP officers after suffering a severe allergic reaction to nuts while driving on a country road near Brantford.

This newspaper even had a followup to the original wire service story about how the Van Halen singer, dressed in flashy rock-star duds, strutted into a Brantford bar with two nurses after spending the evening in Brantford General Hospital.

The only problem, the story isn’t true.

The two officers and a lot of other people in the Brantford area appear to be victims of a charming imposter.

“The story is completely false,” David Lee Roth’s personal publicist Elaine Schock said yesterday from her Los Angeles office. “I don’t even understand where that came from. David doesn’t drive himself. He has a driver. And he doesn’t dress flashy unless he’s onstage.”

This, of course, came as a bit of a shock to the two OPP officers who entered the name “David Lee Roth” into their report of the May 23 incident and later described his flashy dress to CTV news.

The officers weren’t the only ones fooled. Club patrons, hospital employees, hair stylists, music producers and performers all thought they had spent some quality time with Diamond Dave.

“I’m actually trying to figure out what’s going on here, myself,” said Constable Larry Plummer, media relations officer for Brant OPP.

“I’ve been researching … I’m finding it hard to believe. The first thing we’re going to have to do is identify who this person might be.”

Later in the day, Plummer confirmed it couldn’t have been Roth whom the two young officers saved.

“On May 23, the day this was supposed to have happened, Roth was performing at Madison Square Garden with Van Halen,” he said.

Plummer said the officers never asked for identification when they stopped the Mystery Dave’s rented car for erratic driving near Oakland, a hamlet south of Brantford.

“They were too concerned with helping a man who was in medical distress,” Plummer added.

After being treated in hospital, Mystery Dave took two nurses to the nearby Liquid Lounge, where he got up and performed with a local band. He even had his picture taken with at least one of them.

Liquid Lounge owner Cheri Welsh was drawn in by the flashy scarves and alligator shoes.

“I can’t understand his motives,” she said yesterday. “It’s not like he was getting free drinks or anything. He was putting money on the table. He offered to buy me one.”

Even Phatstick — the St. Catharines band that jammed out Van Halen’s Ice Cream Man with him at the bar — was impressed.

“We weren’t totally convinced at first because so many people come to shows saying they are someone famous or related to a star,” said drummer Joe Lavergne. “But in Dave’s case, he did pretty well.”

The Mystery Dave also went to the U Are Beautiful salon in Cambridge several times over a two-week period for tanning treatments, hair cuts and dye jobs.

“He always paid in cash,” said Lesley, who asked that her last name not be used. “He even bought gift certificates.”

Lesley said the salon gave him one free treatment when he said he was going on MuchMusic. He gave them a private concert in the salon. Lesley said they were initially suspicious because of a gap in the man’s teeth, but he explained he always wore a cap when he went onstage.

“He had answers for everything,” Lesley said.

And Dean Hajas, a local songwriter and recording engineer, said he’s still certain the man who stayed at his house for three weeks is the real David Lee Roth. Hajas said he met Roth while working in Los Angeles in 1993.

“He just phoned me out of the blue and asked if he could come over and do some work,” Hajas said. “He’s got some of my music … I talked to him on his cellphone yesterday and he said his publicist would be issuing a press release (today) to clear this mess up.”

The real Roth’s publicist admits the bizarre story has helped her keep her client’s name in the news.

“And it’s not like it’s bad press, it’s just odd press,” Schock said, adding: “He doesn’t stay in places like this. Dave is a Four Seasons kind of a guy.”

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