Book Log 2022 #23: Runnin' With the Devil by Noel Monk

Monk, who served as tour manager and then personal manager for Van Halen, tells the story of his time with the bank in this book, which roughly covers the band's beginnings to the departure of David Lee Roth. 

Most of the behind the scenes stuff is what you'd expect - they trashed a number of hotel rooms and had a fondness for cocaine - but there were some more revelatory aspects to the story as well.  Alex and Eddie Van Halen's home life when they were growing is presented as deeply dysfunctional, making it easy to draw a line to issues in their adulthood (Eddie is depicted as emotionally needy, while Alex is shown as having more issues with being part Indonesian). The Van Halens and Roth were also depicted as not treating bassist Michael Anthony as an equal member of the band, and he does kind of come off as being a bit apart from the others (though Monk always describes him positively).

I also hadn't really known what an overnight success the band was, probably as they became popular right when I first started noticing bands and listening to the radio. They're one of those bands that, to my mind, has always been there.

I did enjoy the book quite a bit, it's not the most penetrating analysis of the band but the stories are good and it fills in a lot of history for those of us who might not be aware. One suggestion I came across online was to read this and Van Halen Rising, as that book covers the period up to their signing with Warner, with this book adding on the history up to Roth's leaving. Seems like a good suggestion.