Home Featured JOE SATRIANI Confirms He’s Spoken To ALEX VAN HALEN and DAVID LEE ROTH About A New VAN HALEN Tour

JOE SATRIANI Confirms He’s Spoken To ALEX VAN HALEN and DAVID LEE ROTH About A New VAN HALEN Tour

joe satriani van halen, JOE SATRIANI Confirms He’s Spoken To ALEX VAN HALEN and DAVID LEE ROTH About A New VAN HALEN Tour

Guitarist Joe Satriani has confirmed that he has had talks with Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth about participating in a live VAN HALEN tribute project.

Satriani discussed the rumors just days after former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted said that he had spoken to Alex about playing bass for the project around six months ago and even flew out to California to jam with the guys. Newsted eventually passed on the gig feeling it just wasn’t right, saying: “There’s nobody that can top it, so how do you show it honor? I didn’t want it to be viewed as a money grab. And then it kind of just all fizzled.”

Satriani, who is currently promoting his new solo album “The Elephants Of Mars”, addressed Newsted’s comments in a new talk with the “Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen” show.

Joe said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I’ve been talking with Alex and Dave for about a year about doing something — a tour, something like that — that was gonna be a true tribute to [late VAN HALEN guitarist] Eddie [Van Halen] and the VAN HALEN legacy.

“For me, it was a terrifying prospect of doing something like that, but I realized that it was something that would be a real labor of love for me. I was just so honored to take on the challenge.

“It’s very complicated,” Satriani continued. “And all I can really say about it is that if it does happen, I know we’ll make it the greatest thing ever for the fans and we’ll all celebrate together not only the great Eddie Van Halen but the legacy that that band created, the amazing amount of music and the goodwill and good vibes they created as a band.

“These things are always happening in the music industry, and you’re supposed to keep very quiet about it [laughs], because sometimes they don’t work out. There’s usually about 10 crazy ideas that float around and musicians are always, like, ‘Okay, I won’t say anything about this ’cause it may not work out. I don’t wanna hurt this person’s feelings or disrupt any other business plans.’

“So, yeah, we were all pretty shocked that Jason wanted to go public with it ’cause we were all sworn to silence. [Laughs]”

Satriani also spoke about being in contact with Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth, while planning the project, saying: “I have to say that just getting to know Alex has been really wonderful. He’s a great human being, and, obviously, I can’t imagine losing a brother that way, so soon. And they were really close; their relationship was really quite unique.

“I don’t know Dave that well. I think I’ve only met him once — maybe when Steve [Vai] invited us to see the David Lee Roth tour. I was in Australia with Mick Jagger at the time, so we all went; it was quite an experience. But, yeah, I’ve only spoken to Dave on the phone a number of times over the last — I don’t know — 25 years or so. But he’s David Lee Roth; they’re VAN HALEN. It’s a big deal.

“Like I said before, if it ever does happen, it will be a great honor and a terrifying challenge,” Satriani said. “Eddie, you can’t reproduce what he did — you can’t. You can learn the notes and you can be taught all the fingerings and get the gear and everything, but there was only one Eddie and he was the epitome of an original genius. But if it does happen, I know that Alex will make sure that it’s the right way to do it.”

Eddie Van Halen died back in October 2020 at the age of 65 after a tedious battle with cancer.