Joe Satriani recalls David Lee Roth’s “crazy” attempt to recruit him for a Van Halen cover band in the ‘90s: “I said, ‘But Dave, Ed’s still alive!’”
Joe Satriani has opened up about the time David Lee Roth tried to recruit him for a Van Halen cover band – while Eddie Van Halen was still very much active.
Speaking to Thinking About Guitar in a recent interview, Satriani reveals how Roth had called him sometime around 1995 or 1996 with an ambitious plan to perform Van Halen material outside the group.
“I remember in the mid ‘90s, David Lee Roth called me, and he wanted to put together a band to do Van Halen songs,” says the guitarist. “He went on and on about how we were the only guys who could really do it right, and he had all these crazy plans.”
READ MORE: “After I learned the song, I’d spend an hour or two on YouTube”: How the online guitar community helped Joe Satriani nail Eddie Van Halen’s riffs
Satriani, however, couldn’t get past one obvious issue.
“I said, ‘But Dave, Ed’s still alive! He’s still making amazing records. He’s still on tour. What guitar player would ever try to imitate him while he’s still working?’ I said, ‘It makes no sense.’ And, of course, I said, ‘Look, I’m not the guy.’”
While the proposal never got off the ground, it wasn’t the last time Satriani’s name would be linked to Van Halen. Following Eddie Van Halen’s death in 2020, the guitarist was approached again – this time by Roth and drummer Alex Van Halen – regarding the latter’s long-rumoured tribute project.
Even then, Satriani remained unconvinced he was the right person for the job.
“Dave has a lot of creative ideas, and every once in a while, he’ll reach out, and you just have to listen to him. I mean, he really is a brilliant performer and musician, and I kind of expect it, you know,” says Satch.
“When he and Alex called me after Ed had passed away, it made a little bit more sense, even though I tried to convince them I was not the person who could do it justice, because I said I’ve tried to avoid playing like Ed for so long that now I really can’t.”
Instead, Satriani suggested other players he felt were better suited to the role, including Nuno Bettencourt and Steve Vai. Ultimately though, the project never materialised.
Ironically, Satriani would eventually find himself playing Van Halen songs onstage anyway. In 2024, he joined Sammy Hagar for the Best of All Worlds tour, celebrating the singer’s tenure with the band.
Looking back, Satriani also admits he was somewhat relieved when Alex Van Halen’s tribute plans fell apart, largely because they appeared set to overlook a significant chapter of the band’s history.
“When it fell apart, I was kind of relieved because I was really concerned about how we were going to do it justice as a show, top to bottom, and not reflect Sammy’s period in the band, which was huge,” he says.
“I think they got more number one records and sold more records in general than the Roth era. So it was confusing to me that they wouldn’t want to reflect that at all. But that’s a whole other story. It’s not my place to get into.”
The post Joe Satriani recalls David Lee Roth’s “crazy” attempt to recruit him for a Van Halen cover band in the ‘90s: “I said, ‘But Dave, Ed’s still alive!’” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
