A few days ago, former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted revealed in an interview with The Palm Beach Post that six months ago he’d jammed with drummer Alex Van Halen and guitarist Joe Satriani in advance of a proposed Van Halen tribute tour that he said had “fizzled.”
Then, on an episode of the Rock of Nations with Dave Kinchen on Monday, Satriani admitted that he’d been talking with Alex and David Lee Roth “for about a year about doing…a tour [or] something like that…that was gonna be a true tribute to Eddie [Van Halen] and the Van Halen legacy.”
Now, Roth has shared an exclusive statement with the Van Halen News Desk fan site regarding a possible Van Halen tribute project that reads, “In my mind Van Halen 4K, in the age of COVID is going to require two of us for every position. Satriani and [Toto guitarist Steve] Lukather, [longtime Van Halen bassist Michael] Anthony and Newsted, Al or [Motley Crue drummer] Tommy Lee. Probably the only one who could do my job today would be Pink.”
Satriani, meanwhile, had more to say about the Van Halen tribute during the podcast.
“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,” he explained about being asked to participate. “I was just so honored to take on the challenge.”
He added, “It’s very complicated. And…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.”
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