Jason Newsted and Joe Satriani on a possible Van Halen tour

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/van-halen-tribute-tour-joe-satriani-questions-we-have-1339686/

April 19, 2022 11:00AM ET
The Rumored Van Halen Tribute Tour: 7 Questions We Have

The idea of a Van Halen tribute tour with Alex Van Halen and Joe Satriani is quite intriguing, but we have some serious questions about how it might go down
By Andy Greene

Guitarist Joe Satriani says he’s been in talks with Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth about a possible Van Halen tribute tour.

Jason Newsted sent minor shockwaves through the hard-rock community late last week when he told the The Palm Beach Post that he’d been invited to jam with Alex Van Halen and Joe Satriani six months ago as part of a possible Van Halen tribute tour. The former Metallica bassist said he eventually realized the idea of finding any guitarist to play Eddie Van Halen’s parts was unlikely to work. “How could you?” he said. “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.”

That seemed like the last we’d hear about this wild idea of a Van Halen tour featuring Alex Van Halen and Joe Satriani, but then Satriani went on record with the Rock off Nations With Dave Kinchen podcast where he confirmed Newsted’s report and added in a lot more detail, including the possible participation of David Lee Roth.

“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 Eddie [Van Halen] and the Van Halen legacy,” he said, according to comments transcribed by Blabbermouth. “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.”

Satriani’s statements solved some of the mysteries around this project, but we still have several big questions about the whole thing. Here are seven of them.

1. Who will play bass?
Jason Newsted is an incredibly gifted bassist, and we mean him no disrespect, but there are two former Van Halen bassists who would be much better choices. Alex’s nephew Wolfgang played with the group from 2007 to 2015, but he’s just getting going with his solo career and probably wouldn’t be eager to do this. The obvious choice for the role, then, is Michael Anthony. He’s not only a founding member who played on every album besides 2012′s A Different Kind of Truth, but his background vocals are a key part of the signature Van Halen sound. This project would have a lot more credibility if he were a part of it.

2. Is there a role for Sammy Hagar?
When David Lee Roth came back to Van Halen in 2007, they basically purged the entire Sammy Hagar era out of existence. The group didn’t play a note of the music they made with him at any of the shows with Roth. But Satriani said this possible tribute tour would be “representing all the eras of Van Halen.” The problem is that Roth simply won’t sing songs like “Right Now” or “Poundcake.” Isn’t the obvious move to just bring in Hagar, in the spirit of the Sam and Dave Van Halen stadium tour that nearly happened in 2019 before Eddie’s health made it impossible?

3. Isn’t David Lee Roth retired?
Roth briefly re-launched his solo career in early 2020 with a Las Vegas residency and an opening slot on the Kiss farewell tour. Fans and critics weren’t super impressed with the state of his voice, and even Gene Simmons compared him to “bloated, naked Elvis.” (He later apologized for those comments.) Roth announced a series of Las Vegas shows late last year that were supposed to be his final live appearances, but they were canceled with little explanation. Did he pull them because he was in touch with Alex Van Halen about this tour? We have no idea.

4. Would Hagar and Roth be down to do this together?
Back in 2002, when they were both on the outs from Van Halen, Hagar and Roth hit the amphitheater circuit with their solo bands on a co-headlining bill. The shows were a lot of fun, but there was so much tension that a backstage wall was erected at some gigs to make sure they’d never even have to see each other. They were never onstage at the same time, and they walked away from the experience disliking each other more than ever. Have things calmed down enough in the last 20 years that they’d be willing to do this to honor Eddie? Once again, we can only guess.

5. Remember Chickenfoot?
This isn’t Joe Satriani’s first time entering the Van Halen universe. In 2008, he joined the supergroup Chickenfoot with Hagar, Anthony, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. They cut two albums and toured in 2009 and 2012, but they never played a single Van Halen song in concert. “We really do not want to dilute this band and become a Van Halen cover band, or become a Sammy Hagar cover band or a Joe Satriani cover band,” Hagar said in 2012. “The idea is that we are Chickenfoot, and we will stay that.” But if Hagar and Anthony join this tour, it’ll basically be Chickenfoot with Alex Van Halen subbing for Chad Smith. That would be a little weird, but also pretty awesome. (And it’s not like Chad Smith would mind. He’s a little busy this year with a tour of his own.)

6. Is there a space on this tour for Wolfgang?
Since the death of his father in October 2020, Wolfgang has made it clear that his focus is firmly on his solo career and his original music. “I honor my dad by existing and doing what I do everyday,” he told an online fan in 2021 who urged him to add his dad’s music into his show. “I’m not fuckin’ playing ‘Panama’ for you guys.” He’d certainly be “fuckin’ playing ‘Panama’” if he played bass on this tour, but couldn’t he open up with his solo band? It would expose his music to a huge audience and add credibility to the tour by having another Van Halen on the bill.

7. Could this really work?
A Van Halen tour minus Eddie Van Halen might be a hard sell for a lot of fans, but the presence of Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth would certainly help move a lot of tickets. Joe Satriani is also one of the few guitarists alive with the stature and chops to credibly play Eddie’s parts. If you add in Michael Anthony, you have the novelty of him sharing the stage with Roth for the first time since 1984. And if you throw in Hagar, you basically have the single best Van Halen tour possible these days. If the tour winds up being just Alex Van Halen, Joe Satriani, a famous bassist like Jason Newsted, and a ringer frontman, it would probably struggle. But add in the other Van Halen alumni, despite all the problems that would present, and the result would be something really special that would indeed honor Eddie’s legacy. Let’s just see if all the parties can somehow come together and make it happen.

I think it is disrespectful to call this thing “VAN HALEN”, “VAN HALEN 4K”, etc.

Whether it would be a one off show or a tour, calling it

“A TRIBUTE TO EDWARD VAN HALEN featuring …..” would be the decent thing to do.

Waiting to hear from Wolf, Mike, Sam or Gary & their thoughts on the matter.

This whole thing was blown out of proportion, IMHO. I can’t see how this could even be marketed as “Van Halen” and to try to put Jason and Satch in place of Mikey and Edward is absolutely ridiculous. This sounds like it was a, “Hey, what would you think about this?” sort of thing and then it went no where. It feels like the reporter added a lot more speculation to it. I had mentioned to a buddy of mine that I thought it would be cool to do something similar to the Freddy tribute. Gather a dozen or so bands and artists that were influenced by Eddie and Van Halen and have them come out and do their versions of their favorite VH songs, but just a one off stadium show and be done with it. Don’t take it on the road. Al, Mike, Sam, Gary and Wolf could all be a part of it here and there as well.

I also read somewhere and now I can’t remember where I read it, but someone commented on this story and said that he knew someone in Dave’s management who told him no way this would happen with his involvement, due to the current state of Dave’s health. Take that with a grain of salt.

Roth’s recent comments kinda fueled this more than what Jason said.

https://vwmusicrocks.com/an-interview-with-joe-satriani/

An Interview with Joe Satriani
Andrew Daly
May 5, 2022

I’ve always said that with some guitarists, all you need to hear is one note, and you’ll know exactly who is wielding the pick. To that end, Joe Satriani needs no introduction.

Satriani burst on the scene with his 1986 debut record, Not of This Earth. At the time, instrumental guitar music was a bustling scene, loaded with shredders from across the globe, all trying to make a name for themselves, but it was Satriani who stood out.

Never one to compromise his vision, style, or aesthetic, the six-stringer continued his run to glory through a successive wave of increasingly mind-blowing and commercially successful records in Surfing with the Alien (1987), Flying in a Blue Dream (1989), and The Extremist (1992), before a two-year detour with Deep Purple into the mid-90s, culminating in Satriani being asked to join the veteran outfit, and the guitarist politely declining.

In the ensuing years, Satriani has released fourteen more solo records leading up to his most recent effort, The Elephants from Mars, which serves as a stout followup to 2020′s Shapeshifting. The album also posts notice to the guitar community that Satriani not only has his sights set on continued personal and artistic growth but that he’s taking the genre along with him.

I recently sat down with the veteran axe-slinger to touch on his latest music, his approach to songwriting, as well as the ever-present Van Halen rumors swirling around him.

[...]

Andrew:
On the subject of elephants, many fans were surprised to hear that you may or may not be in conversations to play with the remaining members of Van Halen. Can you give us the rundown as to what’s happening there?

Joe:
Yeah, it is true. I was contacted by Alex Van Halen, and Dave [Lee Roth] and had some conversations a little less than a year ago about putting together a full tour to celebrate Eddie and the Van Halen legacy. And yeah, it’s terrifying. I mean, I literally heard myself saying, “Yes,” and then the other part of my brain said, “Did you just say yes? Are you nuts?” I think I remember telling them that any sane guitar player would just turn around and start running away as fast as possible because you can’t measure up to Eddie. It’s like one of those jobs where you just try because you know it’s important to you, and a labor of love, but still, people are always going say, “It doesn’t sound like Eddie,” no matter what you do. I took on the challenge that way, and I did say, “Okay, I’ll agree to keep talking about this to see what happens.” But I’m not in the family, and I’ve never worked with Dave before. I’m just a guy that they called, and started the ball rolling. We were not supposed to talk about it, because it may never happen, and obviously, you know, Sammy [Hagar] and Mike [Anthony] were contacted, but I don’t really know what’s going on behind the scenes there. I can’t say I know exactly what’s going on. I do know that Jason [Newsted] was called at one point, and he was told — like I was — to not talk about it, because it may never happen. And so we were all shocked when he went public because he certainly wasn’t supposed to. And it’s only caused grief in the family, which is not nice, you know? So, yeah, that’s all I can really say about it. I don’t know much more today to tell you the truth. I do know that for the next year and a half I’m probably on tour starting in September, just doing The Elephants of Mars/Shapeshifting combo tour. So, whatever comes with this, it’s sometime in the future. I mean, in a way, now that the cats out of the bag, at least I don’t have to feel like I’m keeping something from people, you know?

Andrew:
In a hypothetical world, if it was to happen, would you play Eddie’s licks straight, or put your own spin on them?

Joe:
I had a similar experience when I was touring with Deep Purple back in ’93 and ’94, and I was confronted with the same thing. I’d been comfortably doing my own stuff for years, and all of a sudden, I had to think about that very question, “Do I put my own spin on Ritchie Blackmore? Or do I pay my respects by just trying to nail what he did?” I had to pick and choose because there’s always something idiomatic about a player that will hit you like a brick wall. It’ll be one goofy little technique that only they can do, and even they don’t know why. It’s just something that they developed, and they leaned on it a lot, and it might be the one thing that you’re weak at. It’s one of those funny things, like, if you had to replace Ian Gillan, how would you do those screams? How would you sing “Child In Time?” You might be a great singer, but you may not have that high scream. It’s the same thing with Sammy Hagar, those high vocals, and there are plenty of amazing singers out there, but very few can do what Sammy was really great at. How do you work around that? With Eddie, there are a couple of things that came naturally to him that doesn’t come naturally to other players.

So, I just looked at the whole catalog at the time where we had started these conversations, and I knew right away, “Okay, I can nail 90% of this stuff because it’s almost the way I play.” But then there are these other things that he did that I thought, “That is so awkward. How do I even approach it?” And when you started looking at it, you realize that there’s a community of guitar players out there who work on this very issue. Which is like, for some reason, Eddie held his right hand over here, and he held his pick like that, and with most people, it hurts their hand, but with Eddie, it didn’t. It comes down to me thinking, “How am I going to do that really funny stuff?” I mean, it’s just nitpicking, nerdy guitar stuff, but once you get in the room with a bunch of guitar players, they can talk about it for hours about how they do the workaround to try to get the same sounds. In the end, I think that the spirit is the most important part.

I will say this in regards to Eddie, I think that the other biggest thing that people sometimes miss when they bring up Eddie Van Halen is that his writing was really the biggest expression of his talent. When you start to learn the songs, you start to see the genius of the compositions and the arrangements. Of course, there’s the solo or the intro that blows your mind, but it wouldn’t be there unless he had written the song. Whether it’s “Hot For Teacher, “Jump, or something, it’s the actual song that then forced him to whip out some crazy solo. The average person is gonna love those songs, whether it was Dave or Sammy singing. It’s all in the writing, you know? That’s what makes it so much fun and attractive. I guess that’s what attracted me to the gig, just the thought that I could go from playing “Atomic Punk,” to “Unchained” in one show. It’s just so much fun. The songs are just fun to play.

[...]