Van Halen To Continue Without Cherone
Van Halen will continue on without recently departed singer Gary
Cherone. In a press release posted on their Web site
(www.van-halen.com), Eddie and the band voiced their regrets about
the singer’s exit but assured fans that the “departure was both
mutual and amicable and they will remain good friends.”| The
rockers took the opportunity to tell fans that they are currently
working on their next album, while Cherone is pursuing new musical
ventures. There was no word when or if they’d hold auditions for a
replacement singer.
Neither is there any word on what precipitated Cherone’s defection,
but friends say that as late as two months ago the singer
enigmatically informed them that he expected to be back in Boston
in November. “There wasn’t any bad blood between them,” said one
friend. “I know Gary and Eddie were close, but both of them knew it
just wasn’t working creatively.” A spokesperson for Warner Bros.
concurs, repeatedly insisting that “no one is mad, everybody is
friendly, it’s all very civilized.”
Cherone, former lead singer for Extreme, said in a statement, “I
had a great time singing with the band and I wish Eddie, Alex, and
Michael all the best. I’ll see them in Boston.”
Eleanore Ramsey, the founder and director of Boston Rock Opera, who
featured Cherone in two mid-Nineties productions of Jesus
Christ Superstar as well as last year’s Another Night at
the Opera, hasn’t spoken to the singer recently, but when she
last did, they bandied the possibility of Cherone reprising his
role in Superstar in the spring for the BRO.