Joe Rogan Experience #1660 - David Lee Roth

Narrator 0:00 (drumbeats) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out. The Joe Rogan Experience. (drumbeats)

David Lee Roth 0:06 Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (rock music plays) David always more than a player. Likewise, Joe.

Joe Rogan 0:17 You, you handle aging better than anybody that I know. You stay yourself through thick and thin. You are yourself.

David Lee Roth 0:24 Please explain self, son. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 0:26 You, you are, you are you. You don't, you know, you have z- you're- you carry zero pretense. You, you are just who you are and you're eccentric, but it is genuine.

David Lee Roth 0:37 I enjoy folks.

Joe Rogan 0:39 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 0:39 I enjoy entertaining folks. I enjoy learning from folks, whether that's in a formatted kind of a thing or whether we're gathered around the campfire or the occasional bong. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 0:51 Yes.

David Lee Roth 0:51 The alleged bong. Um, that's something that most of us I think perhaps we s- were compelled to skip out on that once we leave school. Once we leave the club level in showbiz where we're confronted with all kinds of other neighborhoods of folks-

Joe Rogan 1:08 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 1:09 ... and w- you know, different kinds of shoes and haircuts and music and approaches to the politic and social and th- once you're out of school, you kind of, "Okay, I joined the law firm. Now, I only go out with the law firm folks that joined that country club."

Joe Rogan 1:23 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 1:23 Or you become a permanent below 14th Street downtown and, "Oh, I haven't been u- above 14th Street in, uh, four years." You used to hear that, right?

Joe Rogan 1:32 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 1:33 So when you, when you lose that, uh, it becomes, gee, you wanna become, stay part of that group. You don't wanna start speaking downtown around the law boys.

Joe Rogan 1:45 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 1:46 (laughs) I, myself am a combat hippie. Peace, love, and heavy weapons.

Joe Rogan 1:51 That's a thing about, like, leaving clubs, right? You leave clubs, you kinda leave contact with people, right?

David Lee Roth 1:57 You remember the quad and it's just as important and perhaps more important going boo-

Joe Rogan 2:02 The quad?

David Lee Roth 2:03 Yeah, the quad at school.

Joe Rogan 2:04 What, I don't what that is.

David Lee Roth 2:05 The quad, y- there's a pep-

Joe Rogan 2:06 What's that?

David Lee Roth 2:06 ... rally on the quad.

Joe Rogan 2:07 What is?

David Lee Roth 2:07 At the quadrangle.

Joe Rogan 2:08 Okay.

David Lee Roth 2:09 At the, remember? At the-

Joe Rogan 2:10 Sorry.

David Lee Roth 2:10 ... quadrangle. You know, there's a pep rally on the quad.

Joe Rogan 2:13 Oh.

David Lee Roth 2:13 It means a square place where everybody gath- gathers-

Joe Rogan 2:16 Okay.

David Lee Roth 2:16 ... for a pep rally.

Joe Rogan 2:17 Okay.

David Lee Roth 2:17 And people d- I've been going to music school, going to art school, doesn't matter, folks frequently will come out and, uh, Al Van Halen and I went to music school together, for example. He says, say hello. He's listening currently-

Joe Rogan 2:31 Say hello.

David Lee Roth 2:32 ... as we speak. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 2:34 Hello, Alex.

David Lee Roth 2:34 Alex actually would punch you in the shoulder and go, "Yo." (laughs)

Joe Rogan 2:38 Yo.

David Lee Roth 2:38 He was part of the busing program too. Yo.

Joe Rogan 2:40 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 2:42 (laughs) Yo. Um, uh, however, I'm Jewish so we would say hello. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 2:48 Shalom. What's with the outfit, the painting outfit? I like it.

David Lee Roth 2:51 Um, this is kinda what I wear regular, okay?

Joe Rogan 2:54 Oh.

David Lee Roth 2:55 If you get dressed up, there's made- nothing's gonna make you look older than trying to look young. Nothing's gonna make you look fatter than trying to look skinny.

Joe Rogan 3:02 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 3:02 You wanna see how I am regularly?

Joe Rogan 3:06 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 3:06 I'm f- I'm... Elton John can't go anywhere without purple.

Joe Rogan 3:10 He can't?

David Lee Roth 3:10 He can't, no.

Joe Rogan 3:11 No?

David Lee Roth 3:11 There are folks who can't go out anywhere without a complete hair f- n- n- set up.

Joe Rogan 3:16 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 3:16 And obtaining the character.

Joe Rogan 3:18 That seems exhausting.

David Lee Roth 3:19 It is. I'm not really a character. Most of my high fashion probably comes from a sports store, and probably comes from a surplus place. And on a show like this, you get a better view of who I actually might be. Now, if I was putting on face, I wouldn't have showed up with a missing tooth. I fell off my bike going zero miles an hour. The seat was too high, my leg was too short. It was a deadly combination, Joe.

Joe Rogan 3:48 And you lost a tooth?

David Lee Roth 3:48 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 3:48 When did you lose the tooth?

David Lee Roth 3:49 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 3:50 Oh.

David Lee Roth 3:50 But in the mixed martial arts context, I think it might be fitting. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 3:55 (laughs) Well, again, it fits with your lack of pretense.

David Lee Roth 3:58 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 3:59 Did you, uh, are you gonna get it replaced?

David Lee Roth 4:01 Of course.

Joe Rogan 4:01 Okay.

David Lee Roth 4:02 And I'm glad you asked.

Joe Rogan 4:03 How do they do that? They, like, screw a bolt in there and-

David Lee Roth 4:06 Uh, y- yeah. It's, it, it is, um... In Beverly Hills, I am fortunate enough to have some great dentists who do what I call newscaster teeth.

Joe Rogan 4:16 Oh, nice.

David Lee Roth 4:17 Who sits closer to the camera for sustained periods of time, depend, doesn't matter what news you watch. I know we watch both. And you study them. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 4:27 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 4:28 So their teeth have to be perfect. And I just saw a great show on Netflix called Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. It's the story of Ma Rainey, the blues singer, okay? Played by Viola Davis. And she has teeth look like she made a $15 visit to an uptown dentist in 1926. She got a frame on it, you know? Like a gold frame.

Joe Rogan 4:50 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 4:51 Mike Tyson had these teeth too.

Joe Rogan 4:53 I remember.

David Lee Roth 4:53 And, uh, so it has taken me six months, but I'm getting a blues tooth.

Joe Rogan 4:58 Blues tooth?

David Lee Roth 4:58 Oh, yeah. I'm getting exactly one of those with the frame on it.

Joe Rogan 5:02 Really?

David Lee Roth 5:02 Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan 5:02 Old school?

David Lee Roth 5:03 Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan 5:04 So a gold frame?

David Lee Roth 5:05 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 5:05 Wow.

David Lee Roth 5:05 1926. So that when I look in the mirror in the morning, I'm reminded.

Joe Rogan 5:10 Wow.

David Lee Roth 5:11 Mm-hmm. This is where's-

Joe Rogan 5:12 I've always wanted a gold tooth.

David Lee Roth 5:13 Okay, think about that, right?

Joe Rogan 5:14 Gold tooth, one gold tooth at least, that would be pretty dope.

David Lee Roth 5:16 Come on.

Joe Rogan 5:17 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 5:17 I just saw a picture of Mike Tyson when he was 20 years old.

Joe Rogan 5:21 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 5:21 And he's, yeah, one tooth missing and the whole thing, it really completes the look. But for myself, it is blues. I went to high school, isn't, from 1926. It says so right down on the rock when it was just a trade school up in, uh, uh, Altadena, California. Everything, every Van Halen song has a Motown chorus. I saw to it conscious. Everything that is usable in Van Halen appeals to, oh, geez, every haircut you can imagine. You can go from skinhead to dreadlocks. Doesn't matter if you got a cowboy hat or a mohawk. Doesn't matter if it's Hollywood bouffant, okay? These days it's not just guys, gals, but in the middle as well, (laughs) okay? It translates to all.... you follow?

Joe Rogan 6:10 I do.

David Lee Roth 6:10 And...

Joe Rogan 6:10 Sort of.

David Lee Roth 6:11 And well, it's a combination. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 6:14 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 6:16 This is our 50th year, Alex and I.

Joe Rogan 6:18 That's crazy.

David Lee Roth 6:20 Why is it crazy?

Joe Rogan 6:20 Because this is, uh, amazing, you know? Crazy in a wild and awesome way, you know? The fact that you guys have been doing music for that long. I mean, that's pretty incredible.

David Lee Roth 6:29 We came out of this music three weeks out of high school graduation.

Joe Rogan 6:35 Phew.

David Lee Roth 6:35 Okay? Our parents were very insistent.

Joe Rogan 6:38 I feel like I'm watching a movie.

David Lee Roth 6:39 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 6:39 I'm seeing it all play out right now.

David Lee Roth 6:41 Yeah. Is, uh, the Van Halens, their father, and their moms said, "You're moving out." Okay? They had jobs set up for them at the airport.

Joe Rogan 6:49 (sighs)

David Lee Roth 6:49 No shit, as baggage handlers.

Joe Rogan 6:51 Oof.

David Lee Roth 6:51 Okay? Um, I had been tossed out of my house by mom, (laughs) okay, mostly, halfway through high school, okay? So-

Joe Rogan 7:00 Halfway through high school-

David Lee Roth 7:01 Yeah, later-

Joe Rogan 7:01 ... she said out?

David Lee Roth 7:01 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 7:02 What did you do?

David Lee Roth 7:03 Um, well, I made my way. Ultimately, I moved in with Dad, but I finished high school and-

Joe Rogan 7:08 No, but I mean, what'd you do to make, sh- made her kick you out of the house?

David Lee Roth 7:11 I was a troublesome kid. Okay? I was in and out of the busing program. It was a wild and colorful time, all right? This is the '60s, you follow? And there was constant conflict in terms of where the Van Halens went to school, for example. That's Pasadena High School. It was 90% Caucasian, we'll call it, and other. I went to the schools that were all Black and Spanish-speaking. So when I say, "Órale," I mean it, ese.

Joe Rogan 7:44 You roll your tongue.

David Lee Roth 7:44 (laughs) Al Van Halen owns a 1956 Bel Air Coupe.

Joe Rogan 7:49 Mm.

David Lee Roth 7:49 Okay? With the slicks on the back-

Joe Rogan 7:51 Oh, now you're talking.

David Lee Roth 7:51 ... et cetera. Okay? That's Pasadena High School.

Joe Rogan 7:54 Ah.

David Lee Roth 7:55 I own a lowered '66 Volkswagen with a 383 Chevy engine in the front local. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 8:02 Really?

David Lee Roth 8:03 It's like the balance that made our music colorful. The, my moniker Diamond Dave comes from when I would go over to the Van Halen side, that's like Ridgemont High. I went to, like, Cooley High. All right? And their music was all Led Zeppelin, uh, Stones-

Joe Rogan 8:22 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 8:22 ... the Who, Sabbath, like this. And starting in the seventh grade, um, uh, youth club dance for me, that was all Motown, which, you know, later my record collection was everything from, uh, Rick James and, you know, the funk. I took Eddie Van Halen to his first Black concert at the Forum. And I think it was the only one that he ever went to. It was, uh, Earth, Wind and Fire.

Joe Rogan 8:46 Whoa, you saw Earth, Wind and Fire live?

David Lee Roth 8:48 1976.

Joe Rogan 8:50 Oh, my God.

David Lee Roth 8:50 When all the hits lifted up.

Joe Rogan 8:52 Wow.

David Lee Roth 8:52 Every famous Earth, Wind and Fire like this. Because I was gang signing the whole alphabet from seventh grade on. Come on. We knew where to go get clip-on ties and see-through socks at Amiel's. When Alex Van Halen-

Joe Rogan 9:06 See-through socks?

David Lee Roth 9:06 ... and I made our first lawsuit for 150 bucks on somebody who welshed on a check, we went to Amiel's. And we got clip-on ties, and we got proper socks (laughs) , and we went out and sued them. You follow?

Joe Rogan 9:18 You sued someone for 150 bucks?

David Lee Roth 9:21 Uh, it was the, uh, and I say it with respect, the Mayfield School, the Holy Child of Jesus Incorporated, Joe. And, uh, they said, and this was 1973, they said according to the contract that we had been smoking marijuana.

Joe Rogan 9:36 (gasps) No. That can't-

David Lee Roth 9:37 I know. I came to the right place.

Joe Rogan 9:39 That doesn't sound right.

David Lee Roth 9:40 Save your amens. (laughs) As a fact, we did not. That was not possible because we didn't have enough money for it. We would've, full disclosure.

Joe Rogan 9:50 Full disclosure?

David Lee Roth 9:50 Yep, it was for a 150 bucks. So Al and I, and I know Al is listening right now. We laugh like pirates on the phone. Okay. And, uh, he, uh, uh, he and I went to, um, uh, Amiel's and we got clip-on ties. Okay? And we went and we filed in the small claims division. All right? Um, we stood in there and the, uh, uh, the school showed up. There were two nuns and a family, a father, a mother, and two young daughters. It was quintessential. This is 1973. In these days, like for example, here in Texas with long hair, whoa, you better watch out over your shoulder. It was a very, very different background. Okay? This is, now we, to, any kind of haircut goes these days. But remember, long hair in 1973 in a court of law? (scoffs)

Joe Rogan 10:45 Hmm.

David Lee Roth 10:46 Wow. You were already on your back foot. And we stood up, thought we were fooling the magistrate, you follow? With our long ponytails. Remember what I used to look like, Joe? I used to look like Tarzan who read a few paperbacks. Come on. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 10:59 Right.

David Lee Roth 11:01 I was you, Joe. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 11:05 (Laughs) Look at you.

David Lee Roth 11:07 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 11:07 Look at you in high school.

David Lee Roth 11:07 Exactly. And, you know, cheekbones for days, man. You could sharpen a hunting knife on those cheekbones, huh? (laughs)

Joe Rogan 11:14 Look at those cheeks. Look at those cheeks.

David Lee Roth 11:15 That's right.

Joe Rogan 11:16 What a beautiful man you were.

David Lee Roth 11:17 There we go. I was gorgeous.

Joe Rogan 11:19 Beautiful, man.

David Lee Roth 11:20 Man, I launched a thousand hips. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 11:24 Yeah. (laughs)

David Lee Roth 11:24 When you look back on that life-

Joe Rogan 11:25 You see-

David Lee Roth 11:25 No, I'm not a... No, no. I'm not a sex symbol. You dig? I'm not a sex object. It's, I symbolize it when you guys feel sexy. I'm the emcee. I make other people feel sexy. You come and you listen to Van Halen music, you give me three songs, you're gonna feel young and skinny. You, Joe, will feel invincible, and your old lady will feel (imitates raspy music) eminently desirable. How much is that worth? It's inestimable. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 11:54 You got some good marijuana. I'll tell you that.

David Lee Roth 11:57 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 11:57 When I walked in here, like when, when I got to the studio-

David Lee Roth 12:00 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 12:00 ... it was like the fog was thick in the building as I passed through. I go, I'm like, "Dave must be here."

David Lee Roth 12:05 I'm about... I'm thinking of starting a brand.

Joe Rogan 12:07 Yeah?

David Lee Roth 12:07 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 12:07 A weed brand? You should.

David Lee Roth 12:09 I, I would call it the Shit That Killed Elvis.

Joe Rogan 12:11 Ah.

David Lee Roth 12:12 TSKE. What do you think?

Joe Rogan 12:13 It's a good move.

David Lee Roth 12:14 ... it's a good T-shirt. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 12:16 I like it. I would wear it. I'll wear that T-shirt. If you buy the... If you... You start that brand, I'll wear that T-shirt on the podcast.

David Lee Roth 12:20 Well, if I was gonna do an acoustic guitar... You know, people in my position, they sell guitars, y- for example.

Joe Rogan 12:26 Right.

David Lee Roth 12:27 If it's as a lead singer, what am I gonna sell? An acoustic guitar. It would be... And I thought about this, the loudest acoustic guitar you ever bought-

Joe Rogan 12:36 The loudest?

David Lee Roth 12:36 ... without being bigger.

Joe Rogan 12:37 How can it be louder?

David Lee Roth 12:38 I don't know.

Joe Rogan 12:38 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 12:39 I'm not a te- I'm not an engineer, Joe. I'm an artist. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 12:42 You would just figure out a way to make it louder.

David Lee Roth 12:44 (laughs) But the DLR, the D-Row Special-

Joe Rogan 12:48 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 12:48 ... would somehow be louder without being larger.

Joe Rogan 12:50 We were t-

David Lee Roth 12:50 And if we were making a weed brand... Why don't we just cut to the chase? You know, it's like when we get stuff that makes us look good. Do you really care about wellness? No. Do you really care that it was made from educated fava beans or that it can speak Spanish or make a damn good espresso? No.

Joe Rogan 13:08 No?

David Lee Roth 13:09 This ointment makes me look vaguely, uh, handsome, so I'll put it on, I don't care. And so do Marlboros. They make me look handsome too. Do you have one? (laughs)

Joe Rogan 13:17 Marlboros make you look handsome?

David Lee Roth 13:19 Yeah. That's how Marlboro made its living-

Joe Rogan 13:22 Oh.

David Lee Roth 13:22 ... 'cause I'm a cowboy, baby. You can tell from my cigarette. And I can say that in 182 Marlboro languages.

Joe Rogan 13:31 Do you still smoke cigarettes?

David Lee Roth 13:32 Occasionally, I do.

Joe Rogan 13:33 How often?

David Lee Roth 13:35 Every two days, perhaps.

Joe Rogan 13:36 Every two days?

David Lee Roth 13:37 That's right.

Joe Rogan 13:37 Th- that, that, like, f- flies in the face of the myth that you smoke 'em and you get hooked, right? And then you have to smoke 'em constantly.

David Lee Roth 13:43 I... If anybody catches up with me, um, it'll probably be the Marlboro Man. I can't imagine all of my heroes creating what they did in a smoke-free environment.

Joe Rogan 13:56 Really?

David Lee Roth 13:56 I can't imagine any of my favorite comics, especially the ones from the vinyl records that I grew up worshiping, okay? Um, how do you create that kinda comedy? Whether it was Lenny Bruce or Rich Pryor or anybody in between, how do you create that in a smoke-free environment? How do you create jazz music?

Joe Rogan 14:17 Mm.

David Lee Roth 14:17 Remember all those Blue Note Jazz album covers? And you might not even know what to call 'em, but if I hold it up, you'll go, "Oh, I've seen that a thousand times."

Joe Rogan 14:25 Mm.

David Lee Roth 14:26 And that slow smoke, the s-

Joe Rogan 14:28 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 14:28 Every se... Even the drummer has a cigarette (laughs) in his mouth. And the places in the movies, when I was very, very young, were all black and white, and it was Humphrey Bogart, and I think Ingmar Bergman or whoever it was. I'm not even sure who it was, but she was gorgeous. And I was young, and I was just sorta getting started and tuned in to the way of l- like a, like just basically a teen. And, uh, she, uh, turns to him and... With a cigarette and says, "Got a light?" And along with 20 million other baby boomers, I went, "You bet." (laughs) And then later, when I was 13, we went and saw Goldfinger.

Joe Rogan 15:13 Ah.

David Lee Roth 15:13 He smokes a cigarette named after a Roth.

Joe Rogan 15:16 (singing)

David Lee Roth 15:16 That's Rothman, king size. "You bet I am, Esee." (laughs) And I turned into Bond.

Joe Rogan 15:22 So-

David Lee Roth 15:22 James Bond, Roth-

Joe Rogan 15:23 ... what, what's the benefit of the cigarette? What's the cigarette do?

David Lee Roth 15:26 Well, initially, cigarette's all posture. It's all presentation. It's all showbiz. And especially for someone like myself, who just... The world's a stage, and I'd appreciate some better lighting. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 15:45 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 15:45 It's a video. Why stop now, Joe Rogan? (laughs)

Joe Rogan 15:47 Yes, I get it.

David Lee Roth 15:49 And the cigarette would complete it, because all of my heroes smoked, every cowboy. When you heard the harmonica or whatever it was in Clint Eastwood-

Joe Rogan 15:59 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 15:59 ... he was smoking s- something called a chair root, and I didn't even know what that was, but I knew that I was doomed to actually try one sooner or later.

Joe Rogan 16:07 Yeah, he smoked those dark leaf cigarettes, right?

David Lee Roth 16:09 That's called a chair root.

Joe Rogan 16:10 Chair root?

David Lee Roth 16:11 Yes.

Joe Rogan 16:11 That's what it's called?

David Lee Roth 16:12 Yes.

Joe Rogan 16:12 Mm.

David Lee Roth 16:13 And, uh, that's just your adventure heroes.

Joe Rogan 16:17 Mm.

David Lee Roth 16:17 All my favorite comics smoke cigars. I myself am a very indelicate house blend of a Kurosawa samurai epic and Groucho.

Joe Rogan 16:28 Mm.

David Lee Roth 16:29 And how many times... D- I don't know if you've ever tr... I don't know you well, but any kid in my neighborhood growing up, at some point did this to a pretty girl with your eyebrows.

Joe Rogan 16:40 The Groucho Marx move, yeah.

David Lee Roth 16:42 Yeah, and pretended you-

Joe Rogan 16:43 You bet your life.

David Lee Roth 16:44 ... and pretended you had a cigar.

Joe Rogan 16:45 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 16:46 (laughs) And you all know that you weren't saying it. That was all about subtext at 11 years old. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 16:53 Mm. But... Okay, so there's the presentation of the cigarette, but what about the effects?

David Lee Roth 16:57 Oh, ultimately, certainly, certainly.

Joe Rogan 16:59 What's the positive... What's the positive benefits or the effects of the cigarette?

David Lee Roth 17:01 There are no positive benefit-

Joe Rogan 17:03 But isn't there like-

David Lee Roth 17:05 ... or effects of tobacco.

Joe Rogan 17:05 ... there's a cognitive... There's a cognitive benefit.

David Lee Roth 17:06 Oh, well now you're reaching for the cognitive-

Joe Rogan 17:10 It's like a head rush.

David Lee Roth 17:10 ... instead of the medical.

Joe Rogan 17:12 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 17:12 I can't name you a single author... You know I'm a book man.

Joe Rogan 17:16 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 17:17 All right. Uh, we were talking earlier about my house back in Pasadena. You're welcome to come in and try and steal it. All you're gonna carry out are books. There's probably 2,000 books. I could fill this entire room with books, books, books, books, okay? I don't know any great author who wasn't involved in nicotine. Mark Twain smoked 40 full Cuban cigarettes a day. That's two full boxes a day.

Joe Rogan 17:44 That's insane.

David Lee Roth 17:44 Freud, same thing. Uh-

Joe Rogan 17:47 Bertrand Russell.

David Lee Roth 17:47 Churchill.

Joe Rogan 17:48 Same thing.

David Lee Roth 17:48 Churchill smoked at least a box... That's 30... And, and a Churchill, if you know anything about cigars, that's as fat as a, as a kickstand on a Fat Boy. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 17:58 That's a big cigar.

David Lee Roth 18:00 It's... And the am- and nicotine will do something in your head, okay?

Joe Rogan 18:05 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 18:06 And this comes with full disclaimer of... Kids, don't do this. This is, uh-

Joe Rogan 18:10 Don't do this.

David Lee Roth 18:10 I'm not recommending you do it, but in terms of what do you really think?... I sh- you tell me what you think. I think that, uh, in terms of authorship, where you really have to use your intellective, something like playing chess, or writing a book, or a, a play, or novels, or whatever, that nicotine has a major impact. All of my favorite musicians who are composers, Leonard Bernstein, have you seen the coming attractions for West Side Story? I, myself am not a big Broadway fan, but it's mind-blowing what's going on with what he did with film for West Side Story. And Leonard Bernstein was a chain smoker. Don't tell me that, that, um, nicotine didn't have the same thing to do with what he's doing, that William Burroughs and, uh, Kerouac, the fellas-

Joe Rogan 19:05 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 19:06 ... that, uh, it's just a big part of it. And-

Joe Rogan 19:09 Stephen's, uh, S- Stephen King, Stephen King talked about how when he quit, it, he had a real noticeable effect, like the, when he got off the cigarettes, it was, like, much more difficult to write.

David Lee Roth 19:19 It's hard to adjust to this kind of a thinking sometimes, because we got schnookered or swindled (laughs) as a, we got swindled, Joe.

Joe Rogan 19:29 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 19:30 (laughs) When it came to LSD. And people would start going, "Well, you know, drugs can open up a whole lot." And I know there's, we have a far reach here, your voice has a far reach. And there are some people, you know, named Moonbeam (laughs) or Snow Doggy (laughs) going, "Dude, uh, uh, uh, had a really positive effect on me." Well, when you start to hear that, now you realize that perhaps psychedelia didn't have such a creative value, somewhat perhaps or whatever. But compared to whatever is go fast, I certainly don't recommend any of it. If you-

Joe Rogan 20:06 Go fast?

David Lee Roth 20:07 Anything that makes you go fast.

Joe Rogan 20:08 Go fast.

David Lee Roth 20:09 Nicotine makes you go fast.

Joe Rogan 20:11 You're making me want a cigar.

David Lee Roth 20:12 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 20:13 You want one?

David Lee Roth 20:14 Go ahead, please.

Joe Rogan 20:14 Do you want one?

David Lee Roth 20:15 Uh, I'm fine. But please, uh, enjoy yours. I love the v- you know, aroma of tobacco coming off of a cigar. When you smell that with scotch on the rocks and a women's perfume drifting in on a warm breeze, you tell me that's not Miami? You try to lie to me and I'm gonna stop you right here on the air, Joe Rogan. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 20:35 That's poetic. You're talking poetry.

David Lee Roth 20:37 Right? That's Hemingway, baby.

Joe Rogan 20:38 Women's perfume with the scotch? Oh my god.

David Lee Roth 20:40 Right?

Joe Rogan 20:40 It's like, I'm having a good time.

David Lee Roth 20:41 And the smell of that rich-

Joe Rogan 20:43 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 20:43 ... cigar tobacco smoke, and it's humid, right? You wanna go modern? Off in the distance, (singing) she's got an accent. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 20:57 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 20:57 No, really, you know that it's an aroma.

Joe Rogan 21:00 Right.

David Lee Roth 21:00 It's not a fragrance, it's not a smell.

Joe Rogan 21:03 Right.

David Lee Roth 21:03 It's an aroma.

Joe Rogan 21:04 Aroma.

David Lee Roth 21:04 Like something that comes out of a kitchen when you smell bread being baked in New York City.

Joe Rogan 21:08 Right, sourdough. Yeah.

David Lee Roth 21:10 Oh. You walk past that and, uh, at my age, you get turned on by different things. I was living in Japan and downstairs, they had a whole section of just Wagyu beef. You know, that $50 an ounce kind of red meat?

Joe Rogan 21:25 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 21:25 I called it the porno section. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 21:29 I don't really like that stuff.

David Lee Roth 21:30 Me neither.

Joe Rogan 21:31 I think it's too-

David Lee Roth 21:32 It's bad for you. Porno?

Joe Rogan 21:33 ... it's too fatty. No. No, no, no, no.

David Lee Roth 21:35 (laughs) My god. It's bad for you, but... You wanna change the subject?

Joe Rogan 21:39 No. (laughs)

David Lee Roth 21:41 (laughs) Oh, hell no.

Joe Rogan 21:43 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 21:43 We're in Texas. We talk beef. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 21:46 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 21:49 I'm, I eat red meat regularly. I was raised in, you know, in Indiana coming out of New Castle. You know the little circle picture, your profile picture?

Joe Rogan 21:58 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 21:59 It's a picture of a little kid, that's me when I'm about four years old, learning to tie my shoe. This fella with some bib overalls and these exact kind of boots teaching me to do it in New Castle, Indiana, right down the street. So I grew up with what I fondly s- call white trash (laughs) soul food, baby. Everything was cheese, everything had butter on it. It, oh, there you go, that's me. Careful what you show your kids.

Joe Rogan 22:29 Look at the little cutie. Look at that little cutie. You were adorable.

David Lee Roth 22:32 Pop was in, uh, school til I was about 11, 12 years old-

Joe Rogan 22:36 Oh yeah?

David Lee Roth 22:36 ... over at Indiana U. So, it's all about the outdoors. What do you do when you have no money in the family? You learn to play outdoors, go outdoors. It's raining. Pretend you're on a boat. It's snowing. Now you're an Eskimo, and take your Eskimo sister with you. How many times did, (laughs) did I hear that? It's dusty and hot. Okay, cowboy. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 23:03 How did we get here from beef?

David Lee Roth 23:04 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 23:06 Did you hear, didn't when there something, didn't the beef supply get hijacked? Didn't something happen today where the-

David Lee Roth 23:13 They're was hacked, not hijacked.

Joe Rogan 23:14 Hacked?

David Lee Roth 23:15 Hacked.

Joe Rogan 23:15 How do they hack the beef supply?

Narrator 23:17 Uh, someone's mess- I mean, there's probably some hack, they did the pipeline for the-

Joe Rogan 23:21 Yeah.

Narrator 23:21 ... gas in the other day, like, uh, in the South?

Joe Rogan 23:22 Is that what's gonna happen every now and then now?

Narrator 23:24 I don't wanna see, uh...

Joe Rogan 23:25 They're gonna do it with everything?

David Lee Roth 23:26 It'll, I imagine fully-

Joe Rogan 23:28 Ransomware?

David Lee Roth 23:29 ... sure. Fully sure. (clears throat)

Narrator 23:31 Sometimes cyberattack meat supply, uh, uh-

Joe Rogan 23:33 How did they s-

Narrator 23:33 ... JBS cyberattack shuts down some slaughterhouses.

Joe Rogan 23:37 With, like, their-

Narrator 23:38 Another website.

Joe Rogan 23:38 ... software or something?

Narrator 23:39 Yeah, I don't know. It's just Russia likely behind it, but I don't know.

David Lee Roth 23:42 I have, y- uh, s- everything is software.

Joe Rogan 23:44 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 23:44 Every machine, even the parking meter. What would happen? I mean, I'm, you know, I'm a homemade, uh, SEAL Teamer. I watch a lot of movies on Netflix. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 23:57 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 23:58 Here's the plan.

Joe Rogan 23:59 Okay.

David Lee Roth 23:59 And then, okay, and you'll be the cellos, hit the cellos when I go-

Joe Rogan 24:02 Okay.

David Lee Roth 24:02 ... this may sound crazy, Joe.

Narrator 24:04 Bum bum bum...

David Lee Roth 24:05 (laughs) But crazy's all we got.

Narrator 24:08 Bum bum bum, bum bum bum...

David Lee Roth 24:08 All, I think all we have to do (laughs) all we gotta do-

Narrator 24:13 Bum bum bum...

David Lee Roth 24:13 ... is take that little bar on the parking thing and break it so it don't open. (laughs)

Narrator 24:17 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 24:18 Nobody'll know what to do.... watch what'll happen. If you just jam the thing on the little wooden arm at the parking entrance of any parking lot of a corporate environment-

Joe Rogan 24:29 Right, no one will know what to do.

David Lee Roth 24:30 ... nobody will know what to do.

Joe Rogan 24:31 Right.

David Lee Roth 24:31 They'll all get on their smartphones and get the- the- you'll be able to completely stop up the traffic entirely.

Joe Rogan 24:38 Right.

David Lee Roth 24:38 So, how hard is it for some computer to slow down the machines that are working inside, the mathematics of what your bookkeeping is? Everything, from the lights. And remember, AI knows how to defend itself. It's as simple as you've entered the perimeter.

Joe Rogan 24:57 That's dangerous.

David Lee Roth 24:58 Yes. It'll-

Joe Rogan 24:59 That's the future.

David Lee Roth 25:00 Exactly. You'll teach it to defend itself.

Joe Rogan 25:03 And you teach it to decide that it wants to take over, 'cause it doesn't want you pulling plugs and-

David Lee Roth 25:07 No, it'll-

Joe Rogan 25:07 ... shutting off switches.

David Lee Roth 25:08 Ex- ex- exactly. It will-

Joe Rogan 25:09 "I don't like these humans."

David Lee Roth 25:11 It will- it will say-

Joe Rogan 25:12 Deciding.

David Lee Roth 25:12 ... "I'm simply defending myself."

Joe Rogan 25:14 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 25:14 That's pretty familiar in the news.

Joe Rogan 25:16 You were talk- you were talking about AI before, like when- when we were sitting down out there-

David Lee Roth 25:19 Yes.

Joe Rogan 25:19 ... about, uh, its self-learning.

David Lee Roth 25:21 Go. Yes. AlphaGo. Look this up over there. The AlphaGo project is, Jesus, I think $60 million went into this. It's a familiar ... Go being a super difficult, uh, game. You'll know it from a computer game. I- I'm not, uh, familiar with the name of it. The word Atari-

Joe Rogan 25:39 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 25:40 ... comes from this. You have some pieces. I try to surround yours before-

Joe Rogan 25:44 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 25:44 ... you surround mine.

Joe Rogan 25:46 I don't know the game, but, uh-

David Lee Roth 25:47 A- a child can play it within 30 minutes.

Joe Rogan 25:49 But it's super complicated, right?

David Lee Roth 25:50 And you can take it all the way up to adult level. Instead of the number of stripes, we'll call them, like chess, you have 19 by 19, et cetera.

Joe Rogan 26:00 Look at this. It says, "As simple as the rules may seem, Go is profoundly complex. There is- there is an- there are an astonishing 10 to the power of 170 possible board configurations, more than the number of atoms in the known universe."

David Lee Roth 26:13 Okay, so how do you bundle this in your brain? You can do it, but we have to train your intuition.

Joe Rogan 26:17 This makes the game-

David Lee Roth 26:18 And that's the only way you're gonna beat AI.

Joe Rogan 26:20 Look at this. "This makes the game of Go a google times more complex than chess."

David Lee Roth 26:25 Okay. Now S- ... AI, Go, AlphaGo, the program, they expected it, with no input from human beings, to teach itself. Let's just give it the rules and see if it'll teach itself up to adult level. We think it'll take two and a half, three years. It took two weeks.

Joe Rogan 26:44 Jesus.

David Lee Roth 26:45 All the way up to tournament level. So, just to be wise-asses, and I'm jumping around, but I encourage y'all to dig into this, this is a national sport in Korea. This makes headlines. The Samsung Cup champion's in his late 20s and gets half a million dollars. China launched their champion against AlphaGo, and when the computer started winning, they shut down all national broadcast, okay? It's a national sport. The way, uh, chess might be the national sport of, uh, Jesus, in the '60s, it was America versus Russia. There might be British champions in chess. My point being, AI can defend itself. If we humans know how, then of course, AI ... And it can learn way faster. What you learn from that game is how deeply into your brain you can bundle up, you can deal with millions and millions. There was a time in club days when all I could imagine was $150. Do you follow? (laughs)

Joe Rogan 27:44 That's the- that's the number.

David Lee Roth 27:46 I can't imagine much more, and then somebody said-

Joe Rogan 27:48 That was a good road gig.

David Lee Roth 27:49 Oh, they said, "Hey, you know, you can make $1,500 doing this." "Oh, I can't imagine how do you-"

Joe Rogan 27:53 It's crazy.

David Lee Roth 27:54 So you say-

Joe Rogan 27:54 What do you do with it all?

David Lee Roth 27:55 I'm so used to putting everything in the gas tank. And then you have the musician's menu. I'm sure it's like the, uh, humorist menu. It's this. No matter where you go, here's the menu, and you push the coins around and go, "How much you got, Joe? Okay, we'll have the large." (laughs) Right? Whatever here is left over from not putting it in the gas tank.

Joe Rogan 28:20 Those days are important to connect to, though, right? Don't you think that it's important to stay in touch with the feeling that you had when you were starting out and you were trying to scrap together all that money and scrape together all that money to buy food?

David Lee Roth 28:33 Without that, there is no struggle. Without that struggle, you have to learn fear.

Joe Rogan 28:42 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 28:42 And you have to learn how you adjust to that fear. Okay? I don't care if you're a Spartan knight or the Jamaican bobsled team. And don't laugh at the last one, 'cause they flipped their sled at 100 miles an hour, and they are the champions of the Calgary Olympics. The Jamaican bobsled team operated exactly like the Spartans did. How do you survive fear? That's what should be in your humor. That's what should be in your show. You laugh to win. It can be salty, back-at-you humor. How do you survive barracks life? How do you survive no food for how long when you were just struggling as a comic? Remember when you got through points and you thought, "I don't even know if I can continue this. I really don't." When that dark dog comes up at night and says, "You're gonna fail. You are never gonna make it." How'd you get through that?

Joe Rogan 29:35 I don't know.

David Lee Roth 29:36 You gave them what's called a Texas hanky. "Out this side." (laughs) And that's Spartan humor, homie. Now let's push that sled. Hottest thing on ice. The same thing. Laugh to win, I call it. Laugh to win. You have to develop that through struggle. We played five 45-minute sets a night. Five 45-minute sets a night, sometimes up to nine nights in a row. Al, I know you're listening to this and you are laughing. That's how this one went, too, right? (laughs) And you had to learn to laugh at it. And then you had to learn to laugh at each other and find the resource when you wanted to quit or die or just die, and you c- ... No matter what, you had to learn laugh to win. Now, whether you're a surgeon doing night shift...... you're struggling, whether you're a combat veteran, mixed martial arts, you better learn how to laugh to win. You dig? Because if you start to giggle and come in, "Oh my God, crybaby," well, now you're a politician. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 30:40 (laughs) How do you hold onto that though when you become a big rock star? Like once, once you're already sleeping on satin sheets and, or silk? Yeah.

David Lee Roth 30:51 Slide off of them satin sheets.

Joe Rogan 30:52 Do people sleep-

David Lee Roth 30:52 Now, that's a Johnny Paycheck song when-

Joe Rogan 30:54 Satin sheets?

David Lee Roth 30:54 ... I'm, we're in Austin right now, Joe.

Joe Rogan 30:56 Oh.

David Lee Roth 30:57 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 30:57 I know they, silk sheets is the-

David Lee Roth 30:58 You want me to sing it? << Slide off of them satin sheets >> Yeah, it's on, uh, Take This Job and Shove It, same album.

Joe Rogan 31:06 Oh, okay.

David Lee Roth 31:06 But let's, let's stay focused, Joe.

Narrator 31:07 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 31:07 Why do you, like, how do you keep the, how do you keep that feeling? 'Cause you have to stay grounded, right? And you're very grounded. Like, you, we were talking before the podcast that you ride your bike everywhere.

David Lee Roth 31:18 I do, and I have three different backpacks depending on where I'm gonna go, 'cause I traded it. You know, if I gotta go to the grocery, that's the bigger backpack.

Joe Rogan 31:27 But you do all this stuff yourself, you handle everything yourself. You're very normal in your, your ab- you're not normal, but-

David Lee Roth 31:34 It's not an insult, Joe.

Joe Rogan 31:35 ... you're very, you're like a regular person.

Narrator 31:36 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 31:37 All of it is like a slap in the face.

Narrator 31:39 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 31:39 I don't, I don't mean... I don't mean, you're very, you're very eccentric, so you're not normal.

Narrator 31:42 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 31:42 I mean, try finding another David Lee Roth.

David Lee Roth 31:44 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 31:44 But you are, you do, like, you, you know, you just go out there and go on these little adventures. I'm sure you get baked to the gills and then you go to the grocery store or something.

David Lee Roth 31:55 Okay. Adventure-

Joe Rogan 31:56 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 31:56 ... means the unpredictable finish. Grocery store for me is very predictable. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 32:00 Yeah. Well, depending on how high you are.

David Lee Roth 32:01 Do you hear the Texas accent? It's just sliding right in there.

Joe Rogan 32:04 Yeah.

Narrator 32:06 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 32:07 (laughs) Uh, accents are music. I'm not-

Joe Rogan 32:10 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 32:10 ... nobody is born with an accent.

Joe Rogan 32:12 I know.

David Lee Roth 32:12 << Orale esé, what are you trying to say to me, loco? >> No, you don't have a palatal difference. If I was gonna meet, uh, Prince Harry and, uh, Meghan, I'd be... I'd give 'em some salty humor and I'd go, "Oh, what a wonderful child. I certainly hope he was born with a proper accent." (laughs) Can you imagine if that kid got to be king and he'd sound like a California beach boy from Santa Barbara? "Dude, you are so voked."

Joe Rogan 32:38 Voked?

David Lee Roth 32:39 Revoked. (laughs)

Narrator 32:41 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 32:41 Oh God. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 32:42 Is that the opposite of woke?

David Lee Roth 32:44 Dude, I so hereby voke you.

Joe Rogan 32:47 Wow.

David Lee Roth 32:47 Oh. (laughs) I haven't been to Santa Barbara recently, so clearly-

Joe Rogan 32:51 I think they just have no accent. Santa Barbara, they just talk normal.

David Lee Roth 32:55 No, no. It, there is an accent that you're not familiar with-

Joe Rogan 32:59 I'm not picking it up.

David Lee Roth 33:00 ... 'cause you speak it. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 33:01 It's like, it's like a dog whistle. You know, like you can't hear it, but the dogs can?

David Lee Roth 33:04 You... We grew up around it. We're California enough-

Joe Rogan 33:08 Oh, that you get.

David Lee Roth 33:08 ... that y'all don't hear it. They say something about livestock, same kind and same mind. (laughs)

Narrator 33:14 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 33:14 So if you hear someone, you can say-

David Lee Roth 33:15 Or-

Joe Rogan 33:15 ... "Oh, you're from Santa Barbara?"

David Lee Roth 33:17 No, from California.

Joe Rogan 33:19 Oh yeah, there's like-

David Lee Roth 33:20 There is a California Val speak kind of a-

Joe Rogan 33:22 A little valley speak.

David Lee Roth 33:23 ... beach kinda... Whatever.

Joe Rogan 33:26 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 33:26 Is that, uh... Well, that sounded like Taylor Swift-

Joe Rogan 33:28 There's a little bit of that.

David Lee Roth 33:28 ... who's sounding like Cal speak.

Joe Rogan 33:31 There's a little bit of that going on.

David Lee Roth 33:32 Yeah, and it's something that you learn.

Joe Rogan 33:35 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 33:35 And it's something that we speak. What was our original subject? Don't s-

Joe Rogan 33:38 Who cares?

David Lee Roth 33:39 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 33:41 I think we were talking about the sound of, uh, the rhythm of accents. There's a, it's, it is fascinating that they get grouped up in certain areas.

David Lee Roth 33:49 Hold on a second.

Joe Rogan 33:50 You know?

David Lee Roth 33:50 You wouldn't know that unless you had golden time when you were traveling.

Joe Rogan 33:54 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 33:54 In the clubs, in the bars, and the struggle isn't just to make it, it's to educate yourself and figure out who you are and who you aren't. Today, we use reality series for that.

Joe Rogan 34:09 Yeah, that's not as good. The road is the way, right?

David Lee Roth 34:12 Oh, yeah. And you're gonna figure out from working with all of your other colleagues who you aren't mostly.

Joe Rogan 34:19 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 34:19 'Cause most of it's gonna be, "I'll never do that. Oh God, I'll never wear those shoes. What was he thinking? Oh shit, aren't you embarrassed?" (laughs)

Joe Rogan 34:30 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 34:30 And, and you will decide yourself. The same as when we watch the Kardashians.

Joe Rogan 34:35 The Kardashians?

David Lee Roth 34:36 Oh yeah.

Joe Rogan 34:36 Are they the cousins of the Cardigans?

David Lee Roth 34:36 You figure out who you are. It's not about them.

Joe Rogan 34:39 Oh.

David Lee Roth 34:39 You watch and you go, "Okay, I'd sleep with her, but not her."

Joe Rogan 34:43 There's wisdom in this.

David Lee Roth 34:44 "Okay, but this guy here, he's making a big mistake. He's drinking too much."

Joe Rogan 34:47 Mm.

David Lee Roth 34:48 Ah, that one, that guy is onto a good idea. And you're figuring out who you are, according to-

Joe Rogan 34:54 Right, how, how you would be on that show.

David Lee Roth 34:56 Oh, who you are-

Joe Rogan 34:56 A lot of people do that, right?

David Lee Roth 34:57 ... as a human being. That's a cool haircut. You gotta be crazy to wear that one though. (laughs) And we do this on reality as the decisions show up, you figure out who you are. The hut, the hut, the hut is on fire. Well, I'd go for the extinguisher. And you wait to see what the hero does.

Joe Rogan 35:16 My wife watches that show when she's on the, the StairMaster.

David Lee Roth 35:19 Which one?

Joe Rogan 35:20 The Kardashian show. And I watch it and I'm, I'm, I'm trying to study it like a scientist.

David Lee Roth 35:25 Well, it's a b- it just, it is a essay on what we value-

Joe Rogan 35:29 But it's also-

David Lee Roth 35:30 ... in public, but it's who you are. That's what it's for. We used to use the Bible for that.

Joe Rogan 35:34 What? (laughs)

David Lee Roth 35:34 You would look at different characters in the Bible and you go, "Now, that's me."

Joe Rogan 35:38 The Kardashians of the Bible?

David Lee Roth 35:39 Oh yeah.

Joe Rogan 35:40 Oh.

David Lee Roth 35:40 And you would look at another character in the Kardashians, you go, "Yo dog, y'all gonna be a pillar of salt by morning."

Narrator 35:45 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 35:45 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 35:45 What I think it does, what I think it does is it, it, it locks you into a like a, a watching mindset, because first of all it's brilliantly edited. They, they understand the rhythm of like, uh, your attention span, and they capture the rhythm by constantly changing scenes and constantly changing cameras, and going back and forth, and you just get... You get locked into the drone, and you're just watching these people live their lives. And very few extraordinary things happen, but many above ordinary things happen. Like, they have very nice things, they have beautiful homes, they're very pretty, you know, but they have like petty problems that confuse you.

David Lee Roth 36:23 Hold on, so it's, so it's a question?

Joe Rogan 36:25 Right.

David Lee Roth 36:26 I have a qu- you, you compel a question-

Joe Rogan 36:27 Okay.

David Lee Roth 36:27 ... here, Joe. Is...... we hear a li- it's lifestyles of the rich and famous.

Joe Rogan 36:32 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 36:32 There's an element of that, okay?

Joe Rogan 36:34 Champagne wishes and caviar dreams.

David Lee Roth 36:38 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 36:39 Remember that ad?

David Lee Roth 36:39 Austin, Texas-

Joe Rogan 36:40 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 36:40 ... home of the- (laughs)

Joe Rogan 36:42 (laughs) The lifestyles of the rich and famous.

David Lee Roth 36:45 Okay. Um, so is that going out of style or is that becoming more popular? Is that... Because, you know, we are a very highly valued culture now.

Joe Rogan 36:56 Right.

David Lee Roth 36:57 We, we love to have public... You know, we love to assign ourselves of our values.

Joe Rogan 37:02 Right.

David Lee Roth 37:02 Whether it's social, whether it's political, et cetera. And the idea of even, you know, it's, you make fun of lifestyles of the rich and famous, but I'm gonna wonder if it's even secretly more popular than ever before, it's just not cool to talk about in public.

Joe Rogan 37:17 You mean balling out of control?

David Lee Roth 37:19 Well, in, for example, in the hip-hop world-

Joe Rogan 37:22 It's always been popular.

David Lee Roth 37:22 ... bling brings it.

Joe Rogan 37:24 Yeah. That's it. Hip-hop world's never lost their, their love of, like, beautiful things.

David Lee Roth 37:29 Bingo.

Joe Rogan 37:29 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 37:29 And I see that there is, um, a, a, China Bling or Asian Bling-

Joe Rogan 37:36 Mm.

David Lee Roth 37:36 ... I say with respect, that's in Beverly Hills. This is a reality series, and the folks are primarily Chinese, and it is their version-

Joe Rogan 37:44 There's a show called Asian Bling?

David Lee Roth 37:46 Oh, yeah. And, uh-

Joe Rogan 37:47 You know about that?

David Lee Roth 37:47 L- look that up. They're out of-

Joe Rogan 37:49 Is it like a-

David Lee Roth 37:49 ... Beverly Hills.

Joe Rogan 37:50 ... Crazy Rich Asians-

David Lee Roth 37:51 Yeah, exactly.

Joe Rogan 37:52 ... that kind of vibe?

David Lee Roth 37:52 Uh, the, the main... The pivotal character's a, a billionaire fella, he, he, he's a very sympathetic character from Singapore. And everybody there is in Beverly Hills, you'll recognize all the street corners.

Joe Rogan 38:04 Oh.

David Lee Roth 38:04 And, uh, ice cream store. Bingo. Bling Empire.

Joe Rogan 38:07 Bling Empire.

David Lee Roth 38:07 Bingo.

Joe Rogan 38:07 On Netflix. Okay. "Follow LA's wildly wealthy Asian and Asian American fun seekers as they go-"

David Lee Roth 38:14 Okay.

Joe Rogan 38:14 "... all out-"

David Lee Roth 38:15 All right. "... with fabulous parties-" Now, Joe-

Joe Rogan 38:17 "... glamour and drama-"

David Lee Roth 38:18 Joe, this is like the, this is like when you guys-

Joe Rogan 38:20 "... in this reality series."

David Lee Roth 38:20 ... talk about boxers.

Joe Rogan 38:21 Yeah?

David Lee Roth 38:21 You could flip the channel and it's the same description for every boxer. You know-

Joe Rogan 38:27 Scroll back, scroll back up again.

David Lee Roth 38:27 Mexican boxers are a-

Joe Rogan 38:29 Go up high.

David Lee Roth 38:29 ... fierce and strong and feisty (imitates choking) . You know, Italian boxers are a strong and fei- (imitates choking) . You know, Joe, South Pacific boxers, they're a strong... (laughs) I don't follow you. It's the same resume. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 38:45 Same thing? So the Bling Empire is the same whether it's with rappers, with-

David Lee Roth 38:51 It's identical. And if you're lucky enough to move out of the country for a while, you'll start seeing programs in... When I was in Japan, you'll see Indonesian reality series, you'll see Korean reality series, and y- half the time you're not even aware literally what they're saying, but you can figure it out exactly.

Joe Rogan 39:13 Mm.

David Lee Roth 39:13 And it is a worship of the bling that, uh, I think I'm gonna wonder if America is just learning to hide it or if there's an actual change. What do you think?

Joe Rogan 39:26 I think there's an actual change. I think, I think there's a... I think people are less fascinated by materialism now than they have been in the past. And I think, uh, there's also an over-saturation, over-saturation of, uh, wealthy people posing in front of private jets, you know, that kind of shit. I think p- people are done with that. But not in the rap world.

David Lee Roth 39:45 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 39:46 In the rap world, the rap world knows how to ride. They know how to ride.

David Lee Roth 39:49 Th-

Joe Rogan 39:49 They, they keep it exactly the same.

David Lee Roth 39:51 It is-

Joe Rogan 39:52 It's all about bling-

David Lee Roth 39:53 ... right out front-

Joe Rogan 39:54 ... grills.

David Lee Roth 39:55 ... I subscribe to a couple of boat magazines. I don't own a boat, I own a kayak. I subscribe to Wooden Boat, which is all-

Joe Rogan 40:02 Wooden Boat Magazine?

David Lee Roth 40:03 Yes. And it's all-

Joe Rogan 40:04 Why do you, uh... Do you... Are you thinking about getting a wooden boat or you just like looking at them?

David Lee Roth 40:07 Oh, no. I, I, I grew up in canoes-

Joe Rogan 40:10 Right.

David Lee Roth 40:10 ... and kayaks-

Joe Rogan 40:11 But why do you subscribe to the magazine?

David Lee Roth 40:12 ... and wooden doors and this kind of a thing. And it's also, you know, the culture of it.

Joe Rogan 40:16 Right.

David Lee Roth 40:16 East Coast, Mystic Seaport and et cetera, et cetera.

Joe Rogan 40:19 Got it.

David Lee Roth 40:20 Um, dial this one up. I also subscribe to Boat, B-O-A-T.

Joe Rogan 40:25 Boat.

David Lee Roth 40:25 And there is nothing in there less than 200 feet (laughs)

Joe Rogan 40:30 200-foot boat?

David Lee Roth 40:31 There are boats that are as big as-

Joe Rogan 40:33 (sighs)

David Lee Roth 40:33 ... a football field. They're like-

Joe Rogan 40:35 Bro.

David Lee Roth 40:35 ... floating, uh, floating apartment buildings. And if you wanna know the latest, for example, in onboard digital-

Joe Rogan 40:47 Live the dream.

David Lee Roth 40:48 Well, unfortunately-

Joe Rogan 40:49 A 10-year journey to build the perfect-

David Lee Roth 40:50 ... or fortunately-

Joe Rogan 40:51 ... 106-meter, 106-meter, 300-foot (laughs) talking about.

David Lee Roth 40:54 Can you imagine?

Joe Rogan 40:56 Imagine just... What if you just decided to live in one of them? Like fuck, fuck living in a place.

David Lee Roth 41:00 Wait a minute. Can you imagine parking one? (laughs)

Joe Rogan 41:03 Well, you wouldn't park it. You would hire, you would hire a professional-

David Lee Roth 41:06 I wanna pro- I wanna back one up. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 41:09 No, no, no. You would hire a professional.

David Lee Roth 41:11 Yeah. You see the tender, the little boat that goes with that is two and a half million dollars. It looks like a shoe.

Joe Rogan 41:16 That motherfucker has a helicopter on the top of his boat. That's balling.

David Lee Roth 41:20 However-

Joe Rogan 41:20 You own a helicopter.

David Lee Roth 41:21 ... there's another sa- another side to this. And I'm, I didn't do notes, so I'm kind of sprawling here. For example, the upside of-

Joe Rogan 41:27 Wait a minute. You don't have notes for any of the things you've said so far?

David Lee Roth 41:30 No, I have nothing.

Joe Rogan 41:31 That's crazy.

David Lee Roth 41:32 I who have nothing.

Joe Rogan 41:33 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 41:33 Um, Ray Dalio's son. He's y- I guess in his early 30s, it looks like, somewhere in there. And it's Explorer X. He took a gigantic ship that is now for where Cousteau has left off. And with submersible submarines and full editing facilities for film, and it's all about climate change and save the ocean, oceanexplorer.org, I think it might be. He got his dad aboard. It looks like a billion-dollar ship.

Joe Rogan 42:05 Whoa.

David Lee Roth 42:05 It's as big as, uh, a football field, and it's all about saving the ocean and traveling, et cetera.

Joe Rogan 42:14 Whoa.

David Lee Roth 42:14 There you go. And so this is the upside of-

Joe Rogan 42:19 Wait a minute, that thing goes underwater?

David Lee Roth 42:20 Oh, no, it contains the thing that goes underwater.

Joe Rogan 42:22 Oh. But it looks like it goes underwater.

David Lee Roth 42:23 You wanna do a show from there? You should do a show from there.

Joe Rogan 42:26 Mm, seems like a lot of work.

David Lee Roth 42:26 They have full broadcasting facilities, full editing facilities, full everything. And you can go do a, you can do a submersible.

Joe Rogan 42:34 Jamie, you think we should start doing-

David Lee Roth 42:34 And you can call me on the phone.

Joe Rogan 42:36 Should we start doing yacht shows?

Narrator 42:38 There you go.

David Lee Roth 42:38 There you go, Joe.

Joe Rogan 42:39 Should we?

Narrator 42:39 There's a big bubble you just have to like... (taps fingers)

David Lee Roth 42:41 Joe, that looks... Show- show them the whole boat there, show them the whole... Tell me that doesn't look like mixed martial arts sailing to you?

Joe Rogan 42:47 The boat?

David Lee Roth 42:47 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 42:47 That, that, that looks like a lot of work.

David Lee Roth 42:50 It goes with the shoes, I'm telling you. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 42:52 You must have... It goes with the shoes? That's, that's-

David Lee Roth 42:55 Poetry. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 42:57 So that is a, that's only for conservation, that entire boat is all for work?

David Lee Roth 43:02 That's correct. And, and that's what you'll find in a magazine like BOAT.

Joe Rogan 43:05 Oh, I see. So that's why.

David Lee Roth 43:07 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 43:08 So you... Ocean X?

David Lee Roth 43:09 Yep.

Joe Rogan 43:10 So like SpaceX, but Ocean X. They're gonna be the first to find the aliens, that's what I think.

David Lee Roth 43:14 I wanna be, I wanna be the first, uh, front man to get into one of those submersibles and go down there.

Joe Rogan 43:19 Want to become homies with James Cameron?

David Lee Roth 43:20 I'll give... He's on that boat right now, Eddie.

Joe Rogan 43:22 Just don't tell him you eat meat. Don't tell him you eat meat and get with him.

David Lee Roth 43:26 Where are you at with vegetarian? Are you still eating reindeer?

Joe Rogan 43:31 I still eat reindeer, yeah.

David Lee Roth 43:32 Okay. I don't wanna-

Joe Rogan 43:32 I've never had reindeer, but I've heard it's delicious.

David Lee Roth 43:33 I don't wanna insult Christmas here. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 43:35 I'm more of an elk guy, but I like all wild game.

David Lee Roth 43:38 Okay.

Joe Rogan 43:38 I like healthy animals.

David Lee Roth 43:40 I, uh, I had reindeer, I think-

Joe Rogan 43:42 Caribou.

David Lee Roth 43:42 ... it was in Norway or something and I, I had a religious moment.

Joe Rogan 43:46 It's supposed to be delicious.

David Lee Roth 43:46 Like Santa Claus, Catholic-

Joe Rogan 43:48 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 43:48 ... something. Um, the first time I pulled the trigger on a rifle was in New Castle, Indiana when I was about six years old.

Joe Rogan 43:55 Really?

David Lee Roth 43:55 Yeah, yeah. As soon as you're old enough to carry it, that's when you start. Um, it was a short-lived career of pulling the thing.

Joe Rogan 44:04 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 44:04 My pop said, "You're the son of a doctor. You don't shoot it, learn to cook it." So I've taken a few classes.

Joe Rogan 44:11 In cooking?

David Lee Roth 44:11 (laughs) Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan 44:13 Yeah?

David Lee Roth 44:13 You can go ahead and get it, and I know how to quarter it, and I know how to do camp, uh, cooking and so forth.

Joe Rogan 44:19 Do you? Have you done all that?

David Lee Roth 44:20 You asked me where does Laugh to Win Stay from, not come from-

Joe Rogan 44:23 What is Laugh to Win Stay from?

David Lee Roth 44:25 Where does Laugh to Win? That's the ethic here.

Joe Rogan 44:27 Okay.

David Lee Roth 44:27 How do you, how do you stay-

Joe Rogan 44:29 Right, right, right. How do you-

David Lee Roth 44:31 ... going?

Joe Rogan 44:31 How do you stay hungry?

David Lee Roth 44:32 Yeah. Where does Laugh to Win Stay from? Not come from. It comes from go and try something new. It doesn't have to be epic. For me, it's always been education because I've become friends with my teachers and my instructors and my mentors.

Joe Rogan 44:46 Right, like your kendo training and all of that.

David Lee Roth 44:49 Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan 44:49 And-

David Lee Roth 44:49 'Cause, 'cause from there, you're gonna be hungry.

Joe Rogan 44:52 It's one of my favorite stories, when you moved to Japan just to learn kendo. I'm like, "That's a bad motherfucker. Just decides to go to Japan, brings his dog, learns kendo, and takes kendo four nights a week."

David Lee Roth 45:02 My dog was... M- my dog was the best icebreaker ever. He was a full, uh, Australian, okay?

Joe Rogan 45:09 Shepherd?

David Lee Roth 45:09 Yep. With, uh, a raccoon tail.

Joe Rogan 45:12 Oh.

David Lee Roth 45:12 Okay? So you never see a 50-pound dog in, in Japan or whatever.

Joe Rogan 45:17 You don't?

David Lee Roth 45:17 Like... Oh, no, you see little pocket rackets, you know.

Joe Rogan 45:19 Oh.

David Lee Roth 45:19 You got little, little, uh, you know, ankle biters or what, lots and lots of those. But this looked like a, a wolf. People would ask me, "Is that a wolf?" And I would answer, "No, I am." (laughs)

Joe Rogan 45:30 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 45:30 He's from there. (laughs) Russ, and Russ got along with everybody. He was in-

Joe Rogan 45:36 How long did you live in Japan for?

David Lee Roth 45:37 Two years.

Joe Rogan 45:38 Wow.

David Lee Roth 45:38 I based outta there. I took my dog and my guitar.

Joe Rogan 45:41 And did you-

David Lee Roth 45:41 I did not know a single word of Japanese, I did not-

Joe Rogan 45:44 Yeah. You just went out there, you didn't know anybody or anything, right?

David Lee Roth 45:45 No. I, I didn't know-

Joe Rogan 45:47 I love that.

David Lee Roth 45:47 ... where I was gonna go, and you know where I wounded up? In, um, the Oakwood Garden Apartments.

Joe Rogan 45:53 Oh, they have Oakwoods in Japan?

David Lee Roth 45:55 Yes. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 45:55 Are you joking?

David Lee Roth 45:56 Y- exactly like the first tour, first tour with Van Halen, right? Over on Barham.

Joe Rogan 46:01 You want some coffee?

David Lee Roth 46:02 Uh, please. And, uh, uh, from there, my first day traveling through the lobby, um, this fella sitting there, and I'm not out of line to say-

Joe Rogan 46:15 Cheers. (glasses clinking)

David Lee Roth 46:16 ... "Joe, great to see you again."

Joe Rogan 46:17 Great to see you, sir.

David Lee Roth 46:17 "Thanks for calling."

Joe Rogan 46:18 My pleasure. Very excited when you decided to come here. Last time I saw you, we had dinner together in Vegas. For people who don't know, David Lee Roth doesn't have a phone, he has a handler. You have to contact the handler.

David Lee Roth 46:30 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 46:30 The handler will arrange pickup and drop off of Mr. Roth. If there's any problems, you are to contact the handler, and the handler will take care of everything.

David Lee Roth 46:39 Okay.

Joe Rogan 46:39 Mr. Roth has no email-

David Lee Roth 46:40 How many rock stars does it take to put in a light bulb? One. I hold the bulb and expect the world to revolve around me.

Joe Rogan 46:47 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 46:48 Rock stars don't wear a wristwatch, Joe.

Joe Rogan 46:51 Oh.

David Lee Roth 46:51 We have somebody way smarter than us go, "Ten minutes, Mr. Roth."

Joe Rogan 46:55 Rappers wear some dope wristwatch, though.

David Lee Roth 46:58 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 46:58 Rappers know how to fucking rock a watch.

David Lee Roth 47:00 Hello.

Joe Rogan 47:01 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 47:01 Um, so I'm walking through the lobby in Japan, and I'm not out of line to say there is a huge person sitting in a very special chair that was not in that lobby when I left.

Joe Rogan 47:14 So they brought their own chair?

David Lee Roth 47:15 Uh, they have a special chair for him.

Joe Rogan 47:17 Oh.

David Lee Roth 47:18 And this was the w- most famous, arguably most famous sumotori, rikishi wrestler in the history of sumo-

Joe Rogan 47:26 Oh.

David Lee Roth 47:26 ... who happens to also be Hawaiian.

Joe Rogan 47:28 Oh.

David Lee Roth 47:29 This was Konishiki.

Joe Rogan 47:30 Oh, I know who that guy is, yeah.

David Lee Roth 47:31 Dial him up.

Joe Rogan 47:32 He's enormous.

David Lee Roth 47:32 Konishiki. You pronounce it Konishki.

Joe Rogan 47:34 That guy is enormous.

David Lee Roth 47:34 Konishiki. Um, as I walked through-

Joe Rogan 47:38 He was the man, right?

David Lee Roth 47:38 Huh?

Joe Rogan 47:38 He was the man.

David Lee Roth 47:39 Oh, big. He won 27, uh, national tournaments in a row and caused quite a calamity.

Joe Rogan 47:43 Look at that fella. Jesus Christ, look at that picture. Oh my God, he's huge.

David Lee Roth 47:47 As I walk through, he stops me and he says... He, he puts his hand up, and he's got two handlers. Can you see me if I stand up? Do you have a camera that'll hit me up if I stand up like this? I- I'm on the camera here. He's got two handlers in white jumpsuits who do like this. They're not looking, they're in abeyance, okay?

Joe Rogan 48:08 They're just constantly bowing?

David Lee Roth 48:10 Oh, yeah. Because he can't get up. He's, at that point, was about 350 pounds.

Joe Rogan 48:16 That's it?

David Lee Roth 48:16 So getting up there, he was-

Joe Rogan 48:17 He looks a lot bigger than that.

David Lee Roth 48:18 Well, no, his fighting weight was 600 pounds.

Joe Rogan 48:21 Oh, okay. So he dropped some weight after.

David Lee Roth 48:23 Oh, yeah. And he was retired when I s- when I met him.

Joe Rogan 48:26 650 pounds?

David Lee Roth 48:28 600 pounds.

Joe Rogan 48:29 600?

David Lee Roth 48:29 Yes. I asked him once, "What was it like trying to fight you?" You want me to do it with the Hawaiian accent?

Joe Rogan 48:35 Sure.

David Lee Roth 48:36 "Bro, it was like they were trying to fight a mattress."

Joe Rogan 48:40 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 48:42 (laughs) He was the sweetest, coolest, calmest guy. And he said, "I'll be your senpai. You're gonna need a guide here, bro."

Joe Rogan 48:51 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 48:52 He says, "What? Oh, yeah, yeah. And right away, you're gonna need a veterinarian, right? Y- uh, right away, you're gonna need a doctor for the shoulder, my other shoulder, not the one you have." (laughs)

Joe Rogan 49:02 You got a, a shoulder issue?

David Lee Roth 49:03 "Right in the way, you're gonna y- uh, are you, you're doing kendo and you're doing jujitsu, so you're gonna need a dentist," and he was right. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 49:10 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 49:14 And, "I'll be your guide," and stuff. He took me to the sumo tournaments.

Joe Rogan 49:18 Wow.

David Lee Roth 49:18 And he's like national hero. That was like Springsteen showing up at a bar in Jersey. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 49:24 Wow.

David Lee Roth 49:24 Talk about parting of the ways. And we, we got, uh, I don't know how, I'll, I'll say it, of course, because it's funny sounding. I don't know how many white boys have ever sat in a sumo barracks at the table with all the trainees. Wow, what an honor.

Joe Rogan 49:41 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 49:41 That has n- I just, just clearly is not done.

Joe Rogan 49:44 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 49:45 And coming from a arts background as artist and martial arts-

Joe Rogan 49:51 Right.

David Lee Roth 49:51 ... I'm a lifer. You can tell. And, uh-

Joe Rogan 49:54 But you trained under Benny Urquidez, right?

David Lee Roth 49:56 Yeah, you bet.

Joe Rogan 49:57 Benny the Jet.

David Lee Roth 49:58 And my first real, real time learning the armbar was in, I remember, um, 1983.

Joe Rogan 50:07 Wow.

David Lee Roth 50:08 On the floor of the Jet Center.

Joe Rogan 50:10 Really?

David Lee Roth 50:10 Yeah, I remember, it was-

Joe Rogan 50:11 They were doing arm bars. Look at that, look at this.

David Lee Roth 50:14 Oh, there he is. That is-

Joe Rogan 50:14 You and him, man. That's amazing.

David Lee Roth 50:16 ... and we are at the sumo tournaments right now, okay?

Joe Rogan 50:19 When was, what year? 2013, wow.

David Lee Roth 50:21 And that is the same building where we play rock and roll, but they take out all of the chairs and so forth.

Joe Rogan 50:28 Oh.

David Lee Roth 50:29 And he is a national champion, all right? It's like an ex-president.

Joe Rogan 50:33 This is awesome.

David Lee Roth 50:34 And we started talking, et cetera, and he's the one who explained to me virtually everything that you see here. These guys are doing judo with each other and using the impact, it's like taking the frontline guys, your defensive tackle versus defensive tackle, and let's see if we can do more.

Joe Rogan 50:49 That guy on the left is, uh, s- sorry to interrupt, but that guy on the left is a European, it looks like.

David Lee Roth 50:53 That's right. And-

Joe Rogan 50:54 Look at the size of that motherfucker.

David Lee Roth 50:56 That's-

Joe Rogan 50:56 Jesus Christ.

David Lee Roth 50:56 Don't think of it as a belt. That's a handle. That is there, that if one of those guys watch, they're gonna try and grab that handle, 'cause if he can get a hold of it, you could throw his ass out of that circle.

Joe Rogan 51:07 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 51:08 That's what they're trying to deflect there. One of those 400 pounders gets hold of that belt, see it? See it? Ah, fuck.

Joe Rogan 51:15 Oh, beautiful.

David Lee Roth 51:15 If he grabs that belt, you're done. And there are famous guys who had the left-hand grab.

Joe Rogan 51:22 See, the guy on the left does not look like a regular sumo guy. He looks like a fucking gorilla. He's a tank.

David Lee Roth 51:28 They come in very-

Joe Rogan 51:29 Could we back up a little bit?

David Lee Roth 51:29 They all come in-

Joe Rogan 51:30 Is that, go back up to where that guy was.

David Lee Roth 51:32 That's Konishiki there.

Joe Rogan 51:33 Does, does that guy, that guy looks like, like a wrestler-wrestler.

David Lee Roth 51:37 Okay, Joe.

Joe Rogan 51:38 Doesn't he?

David Lee Roth 51:38 Joe, let's call the fight together.

Joe Rogan 51:40 Okay.

David Lee Roth 51:40 You're looking at big barrel bombs on the right.

Joe Rogan 51:43 Right.

David Lee Roth 51:43 You're talking about the kind of face-changing, (laughs) uh, knuckle to knuckle impact on the right.

Joe Rogan 51:48 Yeah, the guy on the right looks like-

David Lee Roth 51:49 It could crush your memory.

Joe Rogan 51:50 ... your standard-

David Lee Roth 51:50 The one on the left moves like a mosquito on the water. He pivots. He's gonna use judo maneuvers. He's twice as fast. He's three times as quick on his feet. He's sprawling. You know what the sprawl is, Joe?

Joe Rogan 52:02 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 52:02 And the big boy is stymied. He has stalled.

Joe Rogan 52:05 He gets close to the edge.

David Lee Roth 52:05 Stalled. Look how fast he's moving.

Joe Rogan 52:06 Oh.

David Lee Roth 52:07 See ya. See ya.

Joe Rogan 52:09 Amazing.

David Lee Roth 52:09 I'll see you in three endorsements. (laughs) That could be... It's-

Joe Rogan 52:12 I, I always wondered, like, why they have-

David Lee Roth 52:14 See how that's working?

Joe Rogan 52:15 I do.

David Lee Roth 52:16 Okay, now they're allowed to smack each other in the face.

Joe Rogan 52:18 Oh, they are?

David Lee Roth 52:19 With the full hand.

Joe Rogan 52:20 Really?

David Lee Roth 52:20 Okay. Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan 52:21 Like a strike?

David Lee Roth 52:22 Yep. A strike into the throat. They can punch, smack your ears, and they'll spend hundreds of hours working the m- the pole.

Joe Rogan 52:31 Just smacking?

David Lee Roth 52:32 Like this.

Joe Rogan 52:32 Really?

David Lee Roth 52:32 Like this. As long as it's not closed fist. So some guys are gonna work your face.

Joe Rogan 52:37 Oh.

David Lee Roth 52:37 Others are gonna take it in the face in order to grab that belt. See how he's trying to grab that belt?

Joe Rogan 52:42 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 52:42 As soon as he grabs that leverage, you can throw him out like an oil can.

Joe Rogan 52:46 And this is a very old sport, right? Like, how long has sumo been-

David Lee Roth 52:49 2000 years.

Joe Rogan 52:50 Oh, my God.

David Lee Roth 52:51 This is rich guys going, "I have the biggest, baddest front man in the infantry."

Joe Rogan 52:56 Oh, that's what it is.

David Lee Roth 52:57 And, and you go, "No, no, no, no."

Joe Rogan 52:58 I have the biggest baddest guy. Yeah.

David Lee Roth 52:58 "You see my bodyguard out there? He was a cavalry guy until he was too heavy for the horse."

Joe Rogan 53:04 Whoa.

David Lee Roth 53:04 I'll go, "Well, let's see." (laughs) We'll have a banquet, Joe. And you can... (laughs)

Joe Rogan 53:10 And it's always been this way with a raised platform and a circle that they have to get on?

David Lee Roth 53:14 You bet. Just a big mound of dirt, okay?

Joe Rogan 53:16 Hmm.

David Lee Roth 53:16 And the ceremony is the big deal.

Joe Rogan 53:19 Right.

David Lee Roth 53:19 It's all the... You know, the actual happens in four seconds.

Joe Rogan 53:22 Hmm.

David Lee Roth 53:22 So it's all about the prep.

Joe Rogan 53:25 Now, did you go to anything else over there? Did you go to karate tournaments or anything?

David Lee Roth 53:28 Uh, I went to kendo tournaments. I saw a Japanese jujitsu class.

Joe Rogan 53:34 Ah.

David Lee Roth 53:34 Okay? Which is very different than Brazilian jujitsu class. I've taken Brazilian jujitsu class.

Joe Rogan 53:40 What's, what's the big difference?

David Lee Roth 53:41 Um, well-

Joe Rogan 53:43 It's more stand up, right?

David Lee Roth 53:44 Uh, well, no, it's re- conducted a lot more like, uh, it's what we call Shugyo, uh, austere training, manners. Okay? A lot more of the character, a lot more of the dignity. There's the bowing. Everybody is kneeling in order, the way you might in a Taekwondo class.

Joe Rogan 54:02 Right, but what, as far as-

David Lee Roth 54:02 The way, karate is different, as opposed to when I did some... I trained briefly with Matt Serra, for example, or the Silveira brothers down in, uh-

Joe Rogan 54:11 Where'd you train with Matt?

David Lee Roth 54:11 ... Florida. New York.

Joe Rogan 54:13 No shit. You went up to Long Island-

David Lee Roth 54:13 10 million years ago.

Joe Rogan 54:14 ... or, or Renzo's?

David Lee Roth 54:15 Uh, Renzo's.

Joe Rogan 54:17 Oh, no kidding.

David Lee Roth 54:17 Okay?

Joe Rogan 54:17 Wow.

David Lee Roth 54:17 I was there when he got his black belt. Matt, how are you?

Joe Rogan 54:20 You were... Really?

David Lee Roth 54:20 Yeah, yeah. The day he came in, I says, "Hey, what happened to your eyes?" "I got my black belt last night."

Joe Rogan 54:25 Wow.

David Lee Roth 54:25 You know? It was like this a million years ago. We were young.

Joe Rogan 54:28 Wow.

David Lee Roth 54:28 Nothing would have stopped us anyway.

Joe Rogan 54:30 Whoa.

David Lee Roth 54:31 Um, and, uh, uh, that's much more informal and a various street, okay? It's very practical. So we would sit around the edges of the room and take turns, et cetera, as opposed to a traditional Taekwondo or karate class where it's (claps hands) ... and everybody is at attention, et cetera. Um, I find both of great value, okay?

Joe Rogan 54:54 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 54:55 Uh, you don't wanna teach deadly maneuvers if somebody didn't have a little bit of character, a little bit of self-control. You follow?

Joe Rogan 55:03 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 55:03 And you're gonna need that self-control, again, to get through the tough times of, "I really don't feel like training today." First time I ever walked into a karate class was on my birthday in 1966. And I asked him, Ed Parker, this is, uh-

Joe Rogan 55:17 You trained with Ed Parker?

David Lee Roth 55:18 Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan 55:19 Wow.

David Lee Roth 55:19 For years. And, uh-

Joe Rogan 55:21 Did you see Elvis when he was there?

David Lee Roth 55:23 No. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 55:24 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 55:24 That... Almost. No, no.

Joe Rogan 55:25 Really?

David Lee Roth 55:25 You're ab-... You're... It was at that time period.

Joe Rogan 55:27 That's around that time, yeah.

David Lee Roth 55:28 And Ed came... used to come to the shows or whatever. Um, uh-

Joe Rogan 55:32 Ed Parker came to see Van Halen?

David Lee Roth 55:34 Oh, many times.

Joe Rogan 55:35 God.

David Lee Roth 55:35 And you know who he brought many times, who became a teacher of my now departed father, was Judo Gene LeBell.

Joe Rogan 55:41 Oh, I love Gene.

David Lee Roth 55:42 Ol... Judo Gene is part of the laugh to win-

Joe Rogan 55:45 I've had Gene on the podcast.

David Lee Roth 55:46 ... ethic. My spirit of how do you stay, uh, true to your school, Joe-

Joe Rogan 55:50 Yes.

David Lee Roth 55:50 ... is part Judo Gene.

Joe Rogan 55:51 Yes.

David Lee Roth 55:51 It comes from my father, it comes from that whole spirit of... And, uh, if you apply that, you wanna try new things, okay? Whatever it is. Here you are in a new city.

Joe Rogan 56:05 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 56:06 That's how you stay young and skinny and invincible.

Joe Rogan 56:08 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 56:09 You know, other people go-

Joe Rogan 56:10 I do think it's good.

David Lee Roth 56:10 ... "Oh, no, our parents are here. No, you know, I'm r- I'm an Ohioan, infantry for life." Well, my body is a temple, but let's rent it out for parties tonight. (laughs) And, and also, in school, you're not afraid of anything 'cause you have nothing to lose.

Joe Rogan 56:27 Mm.

David Lee Roth 56:27 So, you have no reputation, you have no money, you probably don't mean anything to anybody, at least in music school or the very first steps when you're in, in the clubs, whatever. So you'll try new things. "Hey, let's go try surfing. You wanna try surfing? Might kill you." "Oh, that's attractive. Let's go." (laughs)

Joe Rogan 56:47 (laughs) Look at you. Look at you back then.

David Lee Roth 56:50 There you go.

Joe Rogan 56:51 Wow.

David Lee Roth 56:51 And, uh, that's one of my teachers over on the left. That's Frank Trejo. Okay. Like this. Um-

Joe Rogan 56:58 And over on the right?

David Lee Roth 56:59 Um... I don't-

Joe Rogan 57:03 Ed Parker Jr.

David Lee Roth 57:04 Yeah. There you go. Ed-

Joe Rogan 57:05 So that's Ed Parker's son?

David Lee Roth 57:06 Yes.

Joe Rogan 57:06 And Charles Gonzales.

David Lee Roth 57:08 Yeah. That was when my dad got his black belt.

Joe Rogan 57:10 Look at you, you fucking young handsome bastard with a vest on. Let me see that picture again.

David Lee Roth 57:13 My, my dad got his black belt when he was 66-

Joe Rogan 57:16 Look at that.

David Lee Roth 57:16 ... years old, something like that. 60 years old.

Joe Rogan 57:19 Wow. That's awesome.

David Lee Roth 57:20 All, all of his brothers and everybody showed up, and they thought we were visiting an instructor.

Joe Rogan 57:24 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 57:25 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 57:26 How do you, uh, keep from blowing your joints out at that age?

David Lee Roth 57:32 I've had seven surgeries.

Joe Rogan 57:33 Grown kids. Seven?

David Lee Roth 57:33 I've, I've blown them all out, Joe. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 57:35 What have you... What, what kind of surgeries have you had?

David Lee Roth 57:37 Thanks a pantload for reminding me. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 57:40 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 57:41 Faxed me an Advil, will you, kid? (laughs)

Joe Rogan 57:43 What, uh, what surgeries have you had?

David Lee Roth 57:45 Oh, back. Come on. Shoulder-

Joe Rogan 57:47 You've had your back done?

David Lee Roth 57:48 ... et cetera.

Joe Rogan 57:48 What'd you have done to your back?

David Lee Roth 57:50 Uh, three in the back. You know, the, uh-

Joe Rogan 57:52 Discectomy?

David Lee Roth 57:53 ... scooped out, and I had the, uh, the big bitch-

Joe Rogan 57:56 Bulging discs?

David Lee Roth 57:56 ... recently.

Joe Rogan 57:57 Which have?

David Lee Roth 57:57 You're, six hours on the spit.

Joe Rogan 57:59 Which have?

David Lee Roth 57:59 When the, um, uh, it was-

Joe Rogan 58:01 They put the cage around your spine?

David Lee Roth 58:03 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 58:03 Oh, no.

David Lee Roth 58:04 Dude, finally get it all. But, uh, like I said, I've been bouncing around.

Joe Rogan 58:07 But what are you saying? What, what, what was going on with it?

David Lee Roth 58:09 Oh, just wear and tear. I wore out my break pads and tore it up.

Joe Rogan 58:13 The, the discs?

David Lee Roth 58:13 I've been bouncing around hard since I was a teenager.

Joe Rogan 58:16 Right.

David Lee Roth 58:17 Un... I mean, under instructor level stuff.

Joe Rogan 58:21 You were on, uh... D- how, when, how recently under the knife did you, uh, get your back done?

David Lee Roth 58:26 Most recently, uh, about four years ago.

Joe Rogan 58:28 Yeah?

David Lee Roth 58:29 After the last Van Halen tour.

Joe Rogan 58:32 So you were-

David Lee Roth 58:32 And then-

Joe Rogan 58:32 ... having, like, bulging discs or sciatic pain or that kinda shit?

David Lee Roth 58:35 Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan 58:36 Yeah?

David Lee Roth 58:36 You bet. And that is a constant. How are you gonna get through that kinda of a... you know, when we talk, what is laugh to win?

Joe Rogan 58:42 Right.

David Lee Roth 58:43 That'll test your shit. And I'll tell you how.

Joe Rogan 58:45 How?

David Lee Roth 58:46 You sh-... You share... You learn to laugh at your misery. You learn to laugh at your pain. You learn to... Hold on, I'm gonna explain this-

Joe Rogan 58:52 Okay.

David Lee Roth 58:52 ... how to do that.

Joe Rogan 58:53 Please.

David Lee Roth 58:55 First two, three surgeries, you're gonna have an Indiana pit crew with you.

Joe Rogan 58:59 What?

David Lee Roth 58:59 Indiana pit crew? Yeah, like in Indiana. There's gonna be 15 people with you.

Joe Rogan 59:03 Okay.

David Lee Roth 59:04 Your wife's gonna be there, your daughters. Handler, bodyguard, manager.

Joe Rogan 59:09 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 59:09 For your first grandparents-

Joe Rogan 59:11 She surgeries that we're saying?

David Lee Roth 59:11 First two surgeries.

Joe Rogan 59:12 First two?

David Lee Roth 59:13 Oh, yeah. And then the third one-

Joe Rogan 59:15 They get tired of going?

David Lee Roth 59:16 ... uh, honey, you know the grandparents.

Joe Rogan 59:18 Mm. Right.

David Lee Roth 59:18 They're old and they'd love to be here, but it is a drive. Okay? Your fourth, fifth surgery, maybe one person goes with you, but mostly they send a car-

Joe Rogan 59:28 Mm.

David Lee Roth 59:28 ... and you go your own. And this just actual. I'm gonna describe to this. I was sitting at the 5 o'clock in the morning club, getting ready this last time. And you gotta get there at 5:00. And, uh, right across from me is a little cancer kid. You can tell 'cause he's got a, you know, the tube and whatever, he's got the hat on. He looks to me about nine years old. And, um, you can tell that he's, he's had more than a couple because he's only got his mom with him now. That's very unusual. It means he's been here more than once or twice. It's just the way of things. And we have a look, and I remember looking at him. And I know how to ask these questions. And s-... I looked at the door, and I went like that. It means how many for you? And he held up four fingers like this. He goes like this. And he looks at me, and he goes... Looks at the door. And I looked around conspiratorially. "Seven." And you could see him do the math and break into a big fucking smile (laughs) and look at his mom like, "Shit, I still got some in front of me." You share it.... do you understand? You make fun of your own misery and your own pain, and you can share it and get somebody else up that mountain.

Joe Rogan 1:00:57 Mm.

David Lee Roth 1:00:58 Okay? I've gotten to that space in my life.

Joe Rogan 1:01:03 How's your back now?

David Lee Roth 1:01:04 Fucked, thanks to Diaper Load for reminding me. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:01:07 Is it ... Did the, uh, surgery-

David Lee Roth 1:01:08 No, no.

Joe Rogan 1:01:09 ... help at all?

David Lee Roth 1:01:09 I am a miracle of the Watkins team.

Joe Rogan 1:01:12 The Wackens team?

David Lee Roth 1:01:12 The Watkins team is the-

Joe Rogan 1:01:14 Oh, Watkins team.

David Lee Roth 1:01:14 ... best spinal surgeons ever, ever, ever.

Joe Rogan 1:01:18 Yeah?

David Lee Roth 1:01:19 Their me wall is the biggest you could ever imagine. You know what a me wall is?

Joe Rogan 1:01:24 No.

David Lee Roth 1:01:24 Here's me with the mayor. Here's me with Joe Rogan. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:01:29 Oh. Oh. Got it.

David Lee Roth 1:01:30 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:01:30 Me wall.

David Lee Roth 1:01:30 Here's me. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:01:31 We should get a me wall here.

David Lee Roth 1:01:32 (laughs) Yeah. Here's me with Joe ... (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:01:36 So-

David Lee Roth 1:01:36 Like this, their me wall-

Joe Rogan 1:01:38 Right?

David Lee Roth 1:01:38 ... contains virtually everyone from the Cirque du Soleil, every action hero-

Joe Rogan 1:01:44 Oh, I can only imagine, right?

David Lee Roth 1:01:44 ... you can possibly imagine, without naming, without naming names. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:01:49 It's always backs, right?

David Lee Roth 1:01:50 Every ... Yeah. Every sports hero, every pitcher, every golfer, every, uh, rock and roller-

Joe Rogan 1:01:57 Mm.

David Lee Roth 1:01:57 ... who carries a guitar around with them, et cetera. And, uh, I'm up there three times, three or four times as well, so, um, I'm moving and grooving. I'm feeling better-

Joe Rogan 1:02:08 You good?

David Lee Roth 1:02:08 ... than ever. Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:02:09 And d- what did they do exactly?

David Lee Roth 1:02:11 Uh, I had to, uh, have a, uh, fusion.

Joe Rogan 1:02:14 Oh, where your discs-

David Lee Roth 1:02:15 You know, where you're gonna put a little s- a little bit of wedge in ... Why? Do I seem taller, Joe? (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:02:18 No. Did they use, um, artificial discs?

David Lee Roth 1:02:22 Uh, I have a little bit of a wedge in there.

Joe Rogan 1:02:24 A wedge?

David Lee Roth 1:02:25 Okay? Which means I'm now up. First two surgeries made me a little smaller. I was, like, 5'11", then I was 5'10" and a half, then I was 5'10", and now I'm al- up another quarter inch. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:02:37 Yeah. My friend got a, uh, titanium articulating disc in his lower back, and he gained an inch.

David Lee Roth 1:02:43 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:02:44 But he ... He was fucked for a long time. He was bone on bone for years and years and years, just constantly in a state of inflammation.

David Lee Roth 1:02:50 Yes. And there's a point where all of your yoga and all of the Pilates and so forth w- won't account for it more. But you're gonna play for pay, and the injury rate in rock and roll is just like in gymnastics.

Joe Rogan 1:03:03 Hm.

David Lee Roth 1:03:03 It's 100%.

Joe Rogan 1:03:05 Yeah.

Narrator 1:03:06 Ma-

David Lee Roth 1:03:06 NFL, you know what that stands for? Not for long. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:03:10 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 1:03:11 The injury rate is 100%.

Joe Rogan 1:03:13 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 1:03:13 What's the injury rate in standup? 100%. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:03:17 Not really. Not in standup, no. It's the, ah, it's extracurricular activities.

David Lee Roth 1:03:22 Oh, everybody ends up on their feet, right? (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:03:24 Well, it's extracurricular activities that get you. It's not the standup itself. Like, rock and roll, you're bou- especially you. I mean, you were throwing high kicks, and spinning kicks, and dancing around, and jumping, and ... You were very physically active.

David Lee Roth 1:03:37 It's transportation, and water, and feeding. You know where the best place to go is? Vegas.

Joe Rogan 1:03:43 Vegas?

David Lee Roth 1:03:43 Vegas. You can stabilize everything. Not unusual for us to get on the bus and say, uh, y- Bus driver leans out and goes, "Ten miles to Houston, Dave. 14 ... " Oh, it's, you know, ten hours. "Ten hours to Houston, Dave. Twelve hours to, uh, Lubbock, Dave. Fourteen hours to Iowa." That's how long your bus ride is after the show.

Joe Rogan 1:04:05 Right.

David Lee Roth 1:04:06 And it's Das Boot. No ma- Even though you are slightly sleeping, you're doing this. You're rocking and rolling the whole time.

Joe Rogan 1:04:13 So, how does Vegas st- stabilize you? Because you stay there longer?

David Lee Roth 1:04:16 Well, you're in a s- you're in a specific pl- You're like Seabiscuit.

Joe Rogan 1:04:20 So you would do, like, a residency?

David Lee Roth 1:04:20 You got a special stall with your special food, with your special whatever.

Joe Rogan 1:04:26 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 1:04:26 You follow? And everybody's rested. And that's where you're gonna see the best shows. I don't ... Whether it's me or the Eagles. I don't care if it's Garth Brooks or, uh, uh, Aerosmith, you will see us at our best. Because just like an athlete, like when you're calling the fights, they're better when they're rested. Hey, get, get in country three weeks in advance.

Joe Rogan 1:04:49 Right.

David Lee Roth 1:04:49 And they, it ... Jet lag may have been what kicked Tyson's ass in Japan. What did he get there, two weeks in advance?

Joe Rogan 1:04:56 I don't think that's what did it.

David Lee Roth 1:04:56 Not enough. Not enough.

Joe Rogan 1:04:58 I think it was ... I think it was Buster Douglas, and I think it was also partying. If you ask him.

David Lee Roth 1:05:03 Well, these are allegations. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:05:07 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 1:05:07 But I would, first thing I would say if you said, "Dave, you're coach for a day," I go, "You're fighting in Japan? Get there three months in advance."

Joe Rogan 1:05:14 Three months?

David Lee Roth 1:05:14 Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:05:15 That's crazy.

David Lee Roth 1:05:15 You want that jet lag off. You want your body used to the agua, the water.

Joe Rogan 1:05:19 Mm-hmm, right.

David Lee Roth 1:05:19 (laughs) You want your body used to the humidity, the temperature, 'cause it's all different. This is, this is a, uh, monsoon archipelago, and it's exotic here as it sounds. Enjoy your sushi. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:05:35 (Laughs) So what'd they do to your back again? They, they fused-

David Lee Roth 1:05:40 Joe, does your back hurt?

Joe Rogan 1:05:40 They fused discs. They put wedges.

David Lee Roth 1:05:42 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:05:42 Yeah, I'm worried. I'm worried about the future.

David Lee Roth 1:05:45 Of course. Um-

Joe Rogan 1:05:46 I'm worried about, uh, surgeries.

David Lee Roth 1:05:48 Of course.

Joe Rogan 1:05:48 Back surgeries are tricky. That's why I'm asking.

David Lee Roth 1:05:50 They are. But, uh, uh, right off the bat, you wanna hear a f- This is an ironic story, is, uh, Dr. Watkins Sr.

Joe Rogan 1:05:59 Uh-huh.

David Lee Roth 1:06:00 He's a bit older than me. Um, is world famous. They lecture, they travel, they teach, et cetera. His son was about 14 years old and collected half a dozen of his friends, and Dr. Sr., put them in the back of a pickup truck, in the days when you could just sit in the back, and drove them to the US Festival to watch the mighty Van Halen perform in front of 350,000 people.

Joe Rogan 1:06:27 Jesus.

David Lee Roth 1:06:28 Back in 1983.

Joe Rogan 1:06:30 350,000 people?

David Lee Roth 1:06:30 Mm, close friends. Family, primarily. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:06:34 Phew.

David Lee Roth 1:06:34 350,000 people, and that kid, when he was about 14, 15 years old. He is now fully grown up and his father's assistant, he's a spinal surgeon.

Joe Rogan 1:06:48 Mm.

David Lee Roth 1:06:48 And the two of them are the ones who put me back together after the last Van Halen tour.

Joe Rogan 1:06:54 And so, you said there's a wedge, but there's, uh, there's a cage too?

David Lee Roth 1:06:58 Uh, yeah, but it's, it's-

Joe Rogan 1:06:59 Does he, does he have one of those things around the spine?

David Lee Roth 1:07:00 Okay, um, I'm, I'm... Yeah. Well, then I'd, I imagine that's... You know what? You're gonna be better to look this up academically, okay? But as I understand it, there is a wage that, a wedge that goes in there, and then there are screws that will hold it in place. Now, is that right?

Joe Rogan 1:07:17 And does everything move okay? Like, do you have, like, full movement of your spine? Yeah, you're looking good.

David Lee Roth 1:07:22 Hell yeah. Watch.

Joe Rogan 1:07:24 No pain, no problems?

David Lee Roth 1:07:24 I'm gonna hold a Sharpie between my butt cheeks-

Joe Rogan 1:07:27 Oh.

David Lee Roth 1:07:27 ... and I'll write you a Christmas greeting. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:07:32 Oh. Oh, my goodness. Jesus, man.

David Lee Roth 1:07:38 Put a little star next to it. (laughs) Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:07:43 Die right with his heart.

David Lee Roth 1:07:43 I'm moving and grooving and, and, and whatever. Um, I'm very lucky, but it is a result also of... You know, I don't go for 10 minutes without thinking about it regularly.

Joe Rogan 1:07:54 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 1:07:54 There's n-... At any given time, that is my musical instrument.

Joe Rogan 1:07:58 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 1:07:58 You sing from the toes the same way you throw a punch.

Joe Rogan 1:08:01 Well, you, you're still-

David Lee Roth 1:08:02 You don't just sing from here and-

Joe Rogan 1:08:03 ... super active on stage, even now.

David Lee Roth 1:08:05 (coughs)

Joe Rogan 1:08:05 Like, you move around. You're not sitting still.

David Lee Roth 1:08:08 Yup. And-

Joe Rogan 1:08:08 Remember when, uh, Axl Rose broke his foot and he was singing from a chair?

David Lee Roth 1:08:12 I'm not sure how you would even do that in terms of just the singing.

Joe Rogan 1:08:17 He was doing Sweet Child of Mine from a chair with the, the rock... (singing) You, you ever see it?

David Lee Roth 1:08:22 It d-... I have not. Well, I've seen photos of it.

Joe Rogan 1:08:24 Yeah, he had-

David Lee Roth 1:08:25 I haven't...

Joe Rogan 1:08:25 ... a cast on his foot and he was sitting in a chair, singing.

David Lee Roth 1:08:29 And how did it sound?

Joe Rogan 1:08:30 It was pretty fucking good. I mean, it's still Axl Rose, it's still Guns N' Roses. He's still, you know, he's still doing the thing.

David Lee Roth 1:08:36 Okay, well-

Joe Rogan 1:08:36 He just had a broken foot.

David Lee Roth 1:08:37 Okay. Well, see, I wouldn't have recommended a chair because he's not that terribly active anyway. Yeah, he does the Shape and the Shimmy, but he's not-

Joe Rogan 1:08:44 Right.

David Lee Roth 1:08:44 ... like Mick-

Joe Rogan 1:08:45 Right.

David Lee Roth 1:08:45 ... doing, going from 50-yard line to 50-yard line.

Joe Rogan 1:08:48 Well, he's a guy I'd love to talk to about how active he is, 'cause he's in incredible shape.

David Lee Roth 1:08:52 He... As I know it to be, he is a jogger, a runner.

Joe Rogan 1:08:55 Well, he does-

David Lee Roth 1:08:56 He's routinely around the reservoir as...

Joe Rogan 1:08:59 Is he still running, really? At his age?

David Lee Roth 1:09:01 Oh, oh sure, and that's how you're gonna maintain that kind of cardio, because it's all legs and lungs.

Joe Rogan 1:09:05 Well, he does a lot of things though. He does, like, dance. He does a lot of yoga. He does a lot... Like, g- google it, because there was an article that showed his body at whatever he is now, 70-whatever he is.

David Lee Roth 1:09:17 I can tell you what he's doing. There's no-

Joe Rogan 1:09:18 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 1:09:18 ... magic to it.

Joe Rogan 1:09:19 Three hours a day, six days a week, Mick's, Mick also performs ballet, weight training, Pilates, jogging and dynamic stretching, ensuring he maintains maximum flexibility. But they're... Look at him throwing kicks and shit. Look at that. (yells) Um, at 75, post-heart surgery... Wow, so, that was two years ago, so he's 77. But see if you could find an image of his body, because, uh, there's a photo of him shirtless that was pretty recent. He's fucking shredded.

David Lee Roth 1:09:50 As I know it to be-

Joe Rogan 1:09:52 Po- show that, because this is-

David Lee Roth 1:09:53 ... it's primarily that jogging, huh?

Joe Rogan 1:09:54 Look at this. This is 75 years old, dancing around.

Narrator 1:10:00 I'm so defeated.

Joe Rogan 1:10:02 So, there, but this is the thing, he's practicing.

David Lee Roth 1:10:03 There, but for the grace of God goes us. If he can climb that, then we can too.

Joe Rogan 1:10:07 Yeah. I mean, it's incredible that he's been able to maintain like this.

David Lee Roth 1:10:10 You know what I think, Joe? I think there are artists... I happen to love the Stones.

Joe Rogan 1:10:15 Love them.

David Lee Roth 1:10:15 If you said tomorrow, "They're down the street. Stay over, Dave, let's go," I would-

Joe Rogan 1:10:19 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 1:10:19 ... okay? Without a blink.

Joe Rogan 1:10:21 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 1:10:22 If you said that about Sting... I love Sting (laughs) but I don't know if I-

Joe Rogan 1:10:28 But you're not sticking around the extra night?

David Lee Roth 1:10:29 ... I, I don't know if I would stay the extra night. I'm, I don't know.

Joe Rogan 1:10:33 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 1:10:33 Okay. But it's very important to me-

Joe Rogan 1:10:36 Sting's in great shape too, though.

David Lee Roth 1:10:37 ... that Sting stay in great shape and-

Joe Rogan 1:10:39 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 1:10:39 ... that he continue to make records regularly. I have to know that. He-

Joe Rogan 1:10:43 He's all about yoga.

David Lee Roth 1:10:44 Fran- frankly, same thing for Springsteen, who I love. He is like a hero. You can't beat the Woods. Have I heard the new record? No. Am I planning to? No.

Joe Rogan 1:10:57 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 1:10:58 But it's very important to me-

Joe Rogan 1:10:59 Because-

David Lee Roth 1:10:59 ... that he and the E Street Band make that goddamn record, and I ins- variant if you say to him, "Dave, you have to pay for a price of a ticket even if you don't go," here, that quick. I have to know that, like the church, he's there day after tomorrow because that means I might be too.

Joe Rogan 1:11:16 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 1:11:16 And that means in my quest, in my search, that I might climb a mountain just as high as he's climbing at his age.

Joe Rogan 1:11:23 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 1:11:24 And when you say Mick, same thing. That's-

Joe Rogan 1:11:26 That's the Mick Jagger thing is that, if you can do that at 75 years old, post-heart surgery-

David Lee Roth 1:11:30 Then maybe I can do what I do at 75.

Joe Rogan 1:11:33 How-

David Lee Roth 1:11:33 Says an entire generation-

Joe Rogan 1:11:35 Yes.

David Lee Roth 1:11:35 ... or two or three, and that's the, that's a part that we occupy here. That's part of where we are now-

Joe Rogan 1:11:43 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 1:11:43 ... here, uh, in terms... If you, if, if you just pulled your plug, uh, at, uh, making your fortune, I made mine decades ago. But what you represent becomes... That, that's why classic rock, for example, is more popular than it ever was before, because of the longevity of it.

Joe Rogan 1:12:02 Well, it's... Cr- classic rock has a... There's a feel to it, you know? Like Almond Brothers, like classic Almond Brothers or c-... You know, there's, there's a feel to it. It's like you feel the time in which it was created. It comes through in the music. That's what I like about it the most.

David Lee Roth 1:12:18 Does it remind you of your past? Does it remind-

Joe Rogan 1:12:20 No.

David Lee Roth 1:12:20 ... you of who you were?

Joe Rogan 1:12:21 No, not really. I, I think more about them. Like, if I'm listening to classic Hendrix, I just think about what it must have been like for him to be Jimmy Hendrix in '67.

David Lee Roth 1:12:31 See, some people-

Joe Rogan 1:12:32 You know?

David Lee Roth 1:12:32 ... always say, "Yeah, the music reminds me of when I was young and-"

Joe Rogan 1:12:35 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 1:12:35 I think like you do.

Joe Rogan 1:12:36 No.

David Lee Roth 1:12:36 No, I think about Jimmy.

Joe Rogan 1:12:38 Yeah, I think about Jimmy.

David Lee Roth 1:12:38 I think about what the guy looked like who's singing it.

Joe Rogan 1:12:41 I was listening to Layla last night. I, I haven't listened to that song.

David Lee Roth 1:12:43 And, and you're thinking of Eric playing.

Joe Rogan 1:12:45 (singing)

David Lee Roth 1:12:46 You're not imagining anybody named Layla, right?

Joe Rogan 1:12:48 No, no. I'm thinking of Eric, Eric Clapton.

David Lee Roth 1:12:49 The same thing with a tattoo.

Joe Rogan 1:12:50 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 1:12:51 We always tell the viewer, "No, this represents my, my grandpa who used to drink martinis." In fact-

Joe Rogan 1:12:57 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 1:12:57 But in fact, when I look at my tattoo, I, I think of the guy who gave it to me and where it was.

Joe Rogan 1:13:02 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 1:13:04 (laughs) So, I've gone out of my way to make sure I'm somewhere very cool and representative when I get that tattoo.

Joe Rogan 1:13:12 Yeah.

David Lee Roth 1:13:13 You know I'm covered.

Joe Rogan 1:13:14 Yeah, no, you're- you're full sleeve.

David Lee Roth 1:13:14 I got the full Japanese tuxedo here.

Joe Rogan 1:13:17 No one's ever seen that though, right? You don't, like ... You don't have photos of it anywhere, do you?

David Lee Roth 1:13:20 Well, allegedly. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:13:22 Allegedly? It's not out there online or anything like that.

David Lee Roth 1:13:25 No.

Joe Rogan 1:13:25 You- you had a tap-tap done, right?

David Lee Roth 1:13:27 I got the f-... Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:13:27 You had it old school style.

David Lee Roth 1:13:28 I got the f-... It took me three years-

Joe Rogan 1:13:31 Woo!

David Lee Roth 1:13:31 ... to get it all the way. But I made very sure that when it... 'Cause when you look at your tattoo, for all of you who are just pondering.

Joe Rogan 1:13:40 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 1:13:40 Remember, that you're gonna think of where you got it, and who put it on you, and what the music was that you heard.

Joe Rogan 1:13:46 Right.

David Lee Roth 1:13:47 And who... And then, who you were at the time. So, I went out of my way, and I made sure. I went to Yokohama and had Sting do it. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:13:57 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 1:13:58 So to speak. (laughs) HiDozo on the high desert. No, I had Horiyoshi III doing this.

Joe Rogan 1:14:04 Can you show us some of it?

David Lee Roth 1:14:05 It's like this. Oh, Jesus. I don't know.

Joe Rogan 1:14:08 Show us some of it.

David Lee Roth 1:14:08 Is- is this the right place?

Joe Rogan 1:14:08 I wanna see some of that. Yeah. Fuck yeah.

David Lee Roth 1:14:11 Let me see here.

Joe Rogan 1:14:11 It's absolutely the right place.

David Lee Roth 1:14:13 Um, turns out in- in-

Joe Rogan 1:14:15 It's very hot in Texas.

David Lee Roth 1:14:15 I'm sorry?

Joe Rogan 1:14:16 Yeah, it's very hot in Texas, and you have a jumpsuit and a sweatshirt underneath it. Oh, wow, that's beautiful. Wow, that's nice.

David Lee Roth 1:14:24 I got the, uh ...

Joe Rogan 1:14:26 Pull that shirt off. Show us the whole fucking thing. Whoa, dude! That's wild! Oh, my God, that's incredible. And that was all done tap style?

David Lee Roth 1:14:38 Almost all of it.

Joe Rogan 1:14:39 Wow! Let me see the back again. That's crazy. Where's the head of the dragon?

David Lee Roth 1:14:46 Right in the middle.

Joe Rogan 1:14:47 Oh, shit! There it is.

David Lee Roth 1:14:48 Can you see it?

Joe Rogan 1:14:48 Wow! Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally. It's just there's so much going on. It's hard to, like... That's amazing work. Amazing work. So, one guy did all that?

David Lee Roth 1:14:59 Uh, we had one guy do the back and one guy do all the front.

Joe Rogan 1:15:03 Wow. Is, uh-

David Lee Roth 1:15:04 It was all done in Japan.

Joe Rogan 1:15:05 ... is it tap-tap style more painful? Is it slower?

David Lee Roth 1:15:09 You know what? It's not that it's so much one hurts more. It all hurts the same, and how much can you take?

Joe Rogan 1:15:17 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 1:15:18 Okay? So, the needle hurts a certain amount, and if it's just a little dime-sized thing, ah, your threshold wasn't reached. It's you're gonna work your way up. And the same thing for tapping. That hurts a little bit less than an electric, okay? But that being said, you may reach your threshold within 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how often you're going.

Joe Rogan 1:15:43 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 1:15:43 Now, I'm not gonna kid you. I learned to fear that needle. I had to get ready (laughs) like getting ready for a fistfight, man.

Joe Rogan 1:15:50 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 1:15:50 I had to get on the bike, get my heart rate up with 45 minutes. I had to make sure-

Joe Rogan 1:15:55 Look at you.

David Lee Roth 1:15:56 ... I had to make sure... There you go.

Joe Rogan 1:15:58 In the tattoo studio, rocking out.

David Lee Roth 1:15:59 That's Horiyoshi III, and he's really famous, you know. He's-

Joe Rogan 1:16:02 Is there any video of you getting tap-tap-tapped?

David Lee Roth 1:16:04 Ah, there may be some in there.

Joe Rogan 1:16:06 Yeah, I wanna see it. It's a s-... A bizarre and, uh, beautiful style of, uh, tattooing, the way they do it with that, the stick and the tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap.

David Lee Roth 1:16:15 I pursued a whole art approach there. You know, I paint and draw every day.

Joe Rogan 1:16:21 Do you?

David Lee Roth 1:16:22 Yeah. And on my Instagram, you can see a lot of my artwork and stuff like this. So-

Joe Rogan 1:16:27 I wanna see some.

David Lee Roth 1:16:28 ... when I wasn't doing-

Joe Rogan 1:16:29 One at a time.

David Lee Roth 1:16:30 ... my training, um, uh, I went to, uh, an academy for sumi-e, which is ink painting. I had a sensei for that. I went twice a week, sometimes three times. I was the only Anglo there. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:16:47 (laughs)

David Lee Roth 1:16:47 And, uh, it's a, uh... I cr-... What I did, Joe, is I created a liberal arts education that I never had 'cause I went on the road with Van Halen and never looked back. HiDozo on the high desert.

Joe Rogan 1:17:01 Well-

David Lee Roth 1:17:01 So, I said, "What- what- what would you do if you went to college in the 1500s?" You would learn language, which I learned every morning. You would learn kendo. You would learn Go.

Joe Rogan 1:17:12 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 1:17:12 And you would learn how to handle the end of that paintbrush so that when you handle the end of that sword, and it's surgically sharp, you have that finesse in your hands. Do you follow my reasoning now?

Joe Rogan 1:17:24 Sure.

David Lee Roth 1:17:25 If you can make a perfectly straight line with your breath, you're more liable to be able to manage that surgically sharp five-pound sushi knife that's in your hand here because your eye has been trained-

Joe Rogan 1:17:37 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 1:17:37 ... to where to position a fine point. This is the thinking. Also, how do you develop the, you know, your-

Joe Rogan 1:17:45 What is that?

David Lee Roth 1:17:45 ... the-

Joe Rogan 1:17:45 That's all your art?

David Lee Roth 1:17:46 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:17:47 Oh, wow.

David Lee Roth 1:17:48 So, I went to art class, the way you would in the 1500s, and I spent two years learning how to handle four shades of gray and one shade of black.

Joe Rogan 1:17:58 Wow. Yeah, um, that was, um, one of Miyamoto Musashi's r- rules of life, that you had to be balanced. You had to do everything. You had to learn calligraphy. You had to learn art, painting, poetry. You had to-

David Lee Roth 1:18:11 If you- if you don't have a real fine touch with the brush, the first thing that you're gonna do is you're gonna grip that blade with all of your fingers.

Joe Rogan 1:18:20 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 1:18:20 Okay? And you're gonna end up tearing all your tendons like that. You're gonna get surfer knots, like this, that are right there on top of your, uh, like that. You follow?

Joe Rogan 1:18:32 What's that from?

David Lee Roth 1:18:33 It's from gripping the blade wrong for the first four years (laughs) of training.

Joe Rogan 1:18:39 You have to learn how to relax the hand? What do you-

David Lee Roth 1:18:40 Yep, and you'll use a paintbrush to do that. You'll use a paintbrush so that you only are using that middle finger and that thumb here. If you had a sword-

Joe Rogan 1:18:50 Mm-hmm.

David Lee Roth 1:18:50 ... here, I can balance a, a full blast, uh, you know, live blade, and you only use this. You're not doing this.

Joe Rogan 1:18:57 Right.

David Lee Roth 1:18:57 Not baseball. It's just here. It's a little closer to golf.

Joe Rogan 1:19:01 You... That's that thing you learn-

David Lee Roth 1:19:02 It-

Joe Rogan 1:19:02 ... when you play pool.

David Lee Roth 1:19:03 Yes, it's al-

Joe Rogan 1:19:04 When you play pool, you use these fingers.

David Lee Roth 1:19:05 Bingo.