Legendary guitarist and Van Halen founding member/songwriter Eddie Van Halen passed away after a long battle with cancer on October 6, 2020. The internet was flooded with tributes to Eddie from a wide spectrum of artists. Country artists, rock artists, pop artists, and of course hard rock/metal artists were very candid while paying tribute to the late guitar legend.
In the wake of the countless tributes to Van Halen, right now it seems that the internet is all a-buzz about legendary folk rock icon David Crosby for saying something negative about Eddie Van Halen. The 79 year old Crosby (known by Croz affectionately to his fans) is no stranger to speaking his mind and getting backlash for it. From pissing off right-wing politicians to his bandmates Graham Nash, Stepen Stills, and Neil Young, Croz has always been a “tell it like it is” person and this situation is no different than any other.
First off, let’s take a few steps back before you’re all like, “Yeah. Fuck that old guy” or “He knows nothing. He’s the Jon Snow of Music!!11.” This whole debacle started when a fan Tweeted Croz asking his thoughts on Eddie Van Halen as a musician. Croz replied with “meh” as you can see below.
Croz was asked about his opinion about Eddie Van Halen and if he is anything like a normal human being, he probably assumed that he was being asked about his opinion on him as a musician. This is where shit started to get ugly.
Ok, so it looks like the first one up to bat was failed hard rock guitarist Tracii Guns. First off, this is probably the most press this idiot has gotten since 1990 so I’m sure he’s ecstatic that 10 more LA Guns albums might sell. Ok, now I’m being the old cranky fuck here. Anyways, who the fuck is ANYONE to ANYONE that their opinion is wrong? If I asked you what you thought of Iron Maiden and you said, “meh”, I would just say, “Ok. That’s cool. That’s your deal.” I may want to debate it but I sure as hell wouldn’t call them wrong for having an opinion. Another prime example would be Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Garcia passed on August 9th of 1995. I’ve asked MANY people their opinion about Garcia as a player and I’ve heard everythign from “That shit sucks” to “I can’t stand the Grateful Dead. Definitely not for me.” Do you see anything different said by Croz regarding EVH? As far as being rude and disrespectful, the guy said, “meh.” It’s not like he went off on him and saying shit like he was glad he was dead. Croz followed up this Tweet with a couple of replies:
Do you REALLY see anything wrong with any of these statements? Again, they are his opinions and he was asked to share them. Is this Covid pandemic really getting to people this much? Is this what you all have to bitch about? A 79 year old folk singer speaking his mind when asked to do so? Didn’t Jane’s Addiction once sing “Everybody has their own opinion?” Isn’t there also an age old saying that says, “Opinions are like assholes. Everybody’s got one?” Croz never goes on the defensive and he’s a man that stands by the things he says. 90% of the time Croz is honest to a fault and that is something I can relate to and even look to him as inspiration in candid, unabridged honesty. I’ve been called everything from an asshole with an agenda to a music writer suffering from Tourette’s syndrome all because I have over the years given my opinion of certain artists.
Maybe its because EVH’s death is still fresh in people’s minds and they are still tender and emotional regarding the guitar legend but come on people. The man was asked about what he thought of Eddie Van Halen, he said he was nice guy but that he wasn’t a fan and now all of a sudden he’s public enemy #1. Personally, I am a huge fan of Eddie Van Halen’s musicianship. I always have been. Did I love all of the band’s output? Not at all. Do I personally believe that there are better guitarists out there than him? Absolutely but hey, that is MY opinion. If I asked someone to give me his/her opinion on MY band Collins Drive’s music, I am damn well prepared for the best or the worst and regardless, I’m fine with that because again, opinions.
Dee Snider even found an opportunity to chime in saying, “I’ve always hated David Crosby AND his mustache.” Ok, so this guy who pretty much made a career of telling his listeners to stand up to bullies pulled the bully card himself. Also, both Snider and Tracii Guns whipped back as Croz with statements that mirrored and were even worse than what he had to say. This is without a doubt a display of irony at it’s finest. In a nutshell, people who were pissed that Croz said he wasn’t a fan of EVH fired back at him with insults because they were pissed that they felt he insulted EVH. Ok, I think we’re pretty much done here.
Yes, I am a Croz fan. Do I always agree with everything the man says? Definitely not but Croz isn’t one to just sit on Twitter spouting out hateful shit just to do it. He is very interactive with his fans and when asked his opinion about everything from music to politics, one should expect a reply that they will either agree with or completely disagree with. If you are worried or concerned that someone’s opinion will possibly be a negative one, either don’t ask or be prepared to take it because after all, you asked.
As for Dee Snider and Tracii Guns, congrats on getting some press for being a couple of assholes.
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