In a recently published interview with The Palm Beach Post from earlier this year, former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted dropped quite a juicy piece of info, revealing that he was approached to participate in a Van Halen tour. The offer was done by none other than Van Halen drummer and Eddie’s brother Alex Van Halen and the lineup, according to Newsted, was supposed to feature Joe Satriani on guitar.
Although initially agreeing to go to California for a jam session, the former Metallica bassist ultimately declined. As he explained:
“How could you? 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.”
Other than that, he didn’t go into too many details. However, during a chat with Rock of Nations With Dave Kinchen, Joe Satriani was asked about the matter and whether there was an actual plan to do a tour under the Van Halen moniker. Well, it turns out that it was all true as Satriani confirmed that there was something in the works. As Satch explained (transcript via Blabbermouth):
“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.”
“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.”
However, as he further explains, no definitive plans have been made yet. He continued:
“It’s very complicated. 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 also said that musicians always have “crazy ideas that float around” and added (with a laugh) that “we were all pretty shocked that Jason wanted to go public with it ’cause we were all sworn to silence.”
After all the media ruckus, David Lee Roth spoke up on the matter in an e-mail shared with Van Halen News Desk. The statement, however, doesn’t really clear anything up as it is an obviously comedic answer. He wrote (yes, with caps lock):
“IN MY MIND VAN HALEN 4r, IN THE AGE OF COVID IS GOING TO REQUIRE TWO OF US FOR EVERY POSITION. SATRIANI AND LUKATHER, ANTHONY AND NEWSTED, AL OR TOMMY LEE. PROBABLY THE ONLY ONE WHO COULD DO MY JOB TODAY WOULD BE PINK..”
Make of it what you will.
PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons
