JOE SATRIANI Says It Would Be 'Fun' To Play EDDIE VAN HALEN's Parts On Proposed VAN HALEN All-Star Tribute Tour

Joe Satriani says that it's "terrifying" to think that he might be tasked with reproducing Eddie Van Halen's guitar parts as part of an all-star VAN HALEN tribute project with Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth.

The 65-year-old guitarist addressed the rumor a month after former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted revealed to The Palm Beach Post that he was approached by the VAN HALEN drummer about six months ago about playing bass for the project. Newsted told the Florida newspaper that he agreed to go to California to jam with Alex and Joe and see if it felt right, but he eventually realized that it would be impossible to do justice to VAN HALEN's legacy. "How could you?" Jason 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."

Satriani, who is promoting his newly released solo album "The Elephants Of Mars", was asked about Newsted's comments in a new interview with Andrew Daly of VW Music. He said: "Yeah, it is true. I was contacted by Alex Van Halen and Dave 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."

Satriani once again said that he was surprised to learn that Jason had revealed the project's existence before everything was finalized and an official announcement was made.

"We were not supposed to talk about it, because it may never happen, and obviously, you know, Sammy [Hagar, former VAN HALEN singer] and Mike [Anthony, former VAN HALEN bassist] were contacted, but I don't really know what's going on behind the scenes there," he said. "I can't say I know exactly what's going on. I do know that Jason 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," Joe added. "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 cat's out of the bag, at least I don't have to feel like I'm keeping something from people, you know?"

Regarding how he might approach playing Eddie Van Halen's parts, Joe said: "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."

Last June, Eddie Van Halen's son Wolfgang Van Halen, who joined his father in VAN HALEN for the band's 2007 reunion tour with Roth, replacing Anthony, told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" it would be "great" to eventually organize an Eddie Van Halen tribute show. "It's not in the immediate plans, 'cause that's a lot of moving parts that you've gotta corral to get that to happen. But I definitely think it should happen. Absolutely," he said.

Asked how he envisions the tribute concert taking place in terms of which musicians should be involved, Wolfgang said: "I have no idea. All I know is that the focus should a hundred percent be on Pop. While it could be a celebration of VAN HALEN and the band's history, I think more than anything, it should be focused on him… It's a tall ask and a big thing to figure out. But I do think it should happen at some point."

In November 2020, Wolfgang told Entertainment Tonight that proceeds from any tribute show in honor of his father will go toward Eddie's favorite charity, Mr. Holland's Opus, which helps underprivileged students access musical instruments. Proceeds from the debut solo single from Wolfgang's solo band MAMMOTH WVH, "Distance", are also benefiting Mr. Holland's Opus.

In February 2021, Hagar told Kyle Meredith that he will make every effort to take part in the Eddie Van Halen tribute concert.

"I have nothing to do with the [Eddie Van Halen] legacy," he said. "That's their business — that's Wolfie, Alex Van Halen; they're family members. Whoever wants to call me up and say, 'Here's the date,' I will be there. I don't care where I am. I'll cancel a [solo] show [if I need to]. [Laughs] [That's] something VAN HALEN would never do. I always make that joke — canceling a show was [out of the question with] VAN HALEN. I went out sick without being able to sing, Eddie went out with a crutch, Alex went out with a fucking neck brace — we wouldn't cancel shows. But I will cancel my show for a tribute to Eddieany day."

Eddie died in October 2020 at the age of 65. The legendary VAN HALEN guitarist passed away at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California.

Eddie was diagnosed with mouth cancer in 2000 and had tongue surgery. He later battled lung cancer and had been receiving radiation treatment in Germany. Things took a turn for the worse in early 2019 when Eddie got in a motorcycle accident. He was subsequently diagnosed with a brain tumor, and received gamma knife radiosurgery to treat the illness.

Joe Satriani photo credit: Eduardo Peña Dolhun