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David Lee Roth tells Earth about album

David Lee Roth speaks Martian with his shotgun then goes out on tour to tell Earthlings about his new album

By MICHAEL ZITZ

Date published: 5/15/2003

THE FREE LANCE-STAR

David Lee Roth says his shotgun speaks Martian and 81 other languages.

Maybe that kind of communication will help him sell his upcoming album of cover songs, "Diamond Dave," to the people of Earth.

The former frontman for Van Halen, who plays the 9:30 Club on May 27, was hailed as a hero by some after detaining an intruder on the grounds of his Pasadena home early on April 26.

He talked about the incident on his cell phone while pacing in circles in his back yard during a manic interview at the ungodly hour of 7 a.m. California time.

"This fella came over the back wall here, which is 15 feet tall, at 3 in the morning," Roth said Monday. "I heard him come running around the side of the house. When I yelled out to him, he started speaking in Martian and took off and came around the side of the house. I was waiting there [on a balcony] with my trusty old shotgun."

Roth said he fired into the air. "Firing a shotgun can say, in 82 languages, 'Hey, what ya doin'?'" he said.

Police were called initially when neighbors allegedly saw 47-year-old Charles Cooley, who lives next door to Roth, throwing rocks at the windows of his own home.

Cooley then allegedly scaled the wall of Roth's property to hide from police, who arrested him and charged him with possession of methamphetamines.

But Pasadena police department spokeswoman Janet Pope said there was nothing in the police report about Roth capturing Cooley with a shotgun.

Roth said that's because he put the gun away before police arrived.

A British tabloid called him a "super hero."

Roth has always taken pride in being able to take care of himself.

"My life is pretty clearly defined in two departments," he said, "the fine arts and the martial arts."

He said that if he had not hooked up with Van Halen, he might have gone into the military.

The band continues to be a part of Roth's life.

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Date published: 5/15/2003