I found some great photo’s from 1976 at The Whiskey and The Starwood.
I contacted the photographer and bought this one below that I really like. A lot of them I have never seen before.
I started talking to the guy Mervin Rinnig who is a nice guy and he started telling me some great VH stories.
He tried a few years ago to get a VH photo book out with a Publisher but it never happened..He is now thinking to self publish a couple hundred books. Which I think would sell great with these old photo’s and some of theinteresting stories he has from the early club days.

“From the first time I saw VH I knew they had the “X Factor” star power. David Roth had the charisma, jokes and was brilliant. Eddie’s playing was like watching Hendrix. Eddie filled the void after Jimi died in 1970.
It was $2 admission at the Rock Corp on a Friday or Saturday night, during the week it was free. It was there that I struck up conversations with VH if it was an empty club. There were lots of weeknights the club was empty except for me and my girlfriend and maybe 5 or 10 other people. I told them that I wanted to shoot them so whenever they would play the Hollywood clubs, I would call Eddie or David and they would put me on the guest list. Around mid1975, 2 yrs before they got their record deal, I was calling my friends at some different record labels and hyping VH. The record companies weren’t interested. Music was becoming disco and hard rock was going out. I kept trying to get them a record deal. Then I saw Gene Simmons at the Starwood and I knew he would make it happen. The rest is history”

He has some other great VH shots at his website..
http://www.musikfoto.com/rockpics.php?tsk=view&tag=Van Halen

Check them out.

Website link..
http://www.musikfoto.com/

Very cool photos. Thanks for the link!

Some cracking photos in that link. I would love to see a book of them and some fresh new – old stories.

It must of been amazing seeing VH at this time… to think you probably could of hired them to play your party… That blows my mind.

I hope the book happens.

Hey PT,

How did you contact Rinnig? Facebook or Email? I’d like to get in touch with him.

Thanks!

ffoner:
Hey PT,

How did you contact Rinnig? Facebook or Email? I’d like to get in touch with him.

Thanks!

musikfoto@sbcglobal.net

Thanks PT!

Nice pic, Id like to hear more, always wanting more you know..

He’s a great guy and told me a few more stories I’ll post tonight.
He should write a book on his great stories involving the Rock World.

I think what’s extra cool here is the fact that this is pre-tapping EVH… Amazing what he did in a short few years.

Sorry correction in the photographers name it’s Marvin Rinnig…

Here’s a few more things he told me..

” In 1980 I moved to the Sunset Strip, near where the old Tower Records Store was located down at the corner. It’s where in the mid 80′s Axl and Slash both worked before they got their Geffen deal. So when I moved here I noticed a black Mercedes with skull & crossbones on the hood. It was David Roth’s and he lived directly across the street from me in Shoreham Towers (famous high rise condos). I began to see him every day. What a character. I love David. When David went solo, Billy Sheehan moved there. Then when Axl got his record advance money, he moved over there too. Sebastian Bach was living with Axl, then Erin-Axl’s wife. This was a crazy wild area back then.”
“I used to go to the after show Crue parties at their crash pad behind the Whisky A GoGo. I have 4 photos in their book.
I shot Sabbath’s first show in LA at the Whisky 1970. The room was almost empty. The City gave Ozzie one of my framed photos from that show at a big Ozzie tribute 4 yrs ago.
All these old memories, funny…”

A google search of Marvin Rinnig brings up the following stories:

http://www.laweekly.com/2012-12-20/news/hit-and-run-$10000-reward-phony-los-angeles/
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Get-Garcia-Get-Results-Wheres-My-Reward-Money-La-Cienaga-Boulevard-Crime-Police-Tips-Tipster-165543236.html

I am guessing it is the same person as the LA Weekly articles notes Rinnig “has worked as a freelance photographer for more than 30 years”.

I like this one. Kinda like the one at the top of the thread. Ed’s ROCKIN’!

Speaking of photos, I had a fun picture of Dave sitting on one of Alex’s drums during one of the early 2012 shows. I’ve lost the picture and I can’t remember what show it was taken at. Anyone remember which show Dave actually sat on Alex’s kick drum? If I know the show, I can probably find the picture archive online somewhere… Mahalo!

Gilligan:
Speaking of photos, I had a fun picture of Dave sitting on one of Alex’s drums during one of the early 2012 shows.I’ve lost the picture and I can’t remember what show it was taken at.Anyone remember which show Dave actually sat on Alex’s kick drum?

http://www.vhboots.com/15march2012pbelle.html