— David Lee Roth (@DavidLeeRoth) June 22, 2020
David Lee Roth has shared another piece of original artwork which was inspired by the COVID-19 crisis and protests over George Floyd 's death. The latest piece contains a tongue-in-cheek announcement of sorts, with the VAN HALEN frontman claiming to be changing his name.
According to Roth, his decision to change his name to David L. Roth or simply El Roth was influenced by Grammy -winning musical group LADY ANTEBELLUM, which is now going by LADY A as a way of acknowledging Black Americans' cultural sensitivity to reminders of a bitter past. "Antebellum" is used very often to describe the pre-Civil War, pro-slavery South. The band has said the name was meant to evoke the grand style of 19th-century architecture.
On his newest piece of artwork, Roth wrote: "David 'Lee' Roth changes name! Diamond Dave, following LADY ANTEBELLUM 's (now 'LADY A ') example, will be dropping the 'Lee.' From now on, he wants us all to call him "David L. Roth ' or simply 'El Roth..'"
For the past two months, David has been posting paintings on his Twitter account that reflect the times and channel the mass anxiety around the novel coronavirus.
This is not the first time Roth has shared some of his visual art with the public. Back in 2009, Roth released dozens of his own drawings and artwork, which he called at the time "authentic originals and incompetent imitations." He offered them up as "an official answer to the question 'what do you do in your spare time?'"
According to the Van Halen News Desk, the VAN HALEN frontman always been into art. Throughout his whole life, while touring the world, you could find him doodling on just about anything — setlists, tour riders, female body parts, etc. He was always a major part of the visual side of VAN HALEN, and always tried to make the stage show "look like the music sounds." He designed stage clothes, orchestrated photo shoots, came up with the stage choreography, etc. He also had a hand in designing VAN HALEN's early tourbooks and a few of their t-shirts.
This past March, Roth postponed the final six shows of his Las Vegas residency due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Roth performed as the opening act for the February/March North American leg of KISS's "End Of The Road" farewell tour.
Roth's Vegas residency isn't be the first time he has set up shop in Sin City. Back in 1995, Roth completed a Las Vegas engagement at Bally's Hotel and Casino and another short run at MGM Grand.
VAN HALEN has been inactive since it finished its U.S. tour in October 2015 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California.
Back in September, Roth said that there were no plans for VAN HALEN to do anything for the foreseeable future. "I think VAN HALEN's finished and this is the next phase," he said, referring to his solo project.
