STEVE LUKATHER On EDDIE VAN HALEN Album He Is Working On With ALEX VAN HALEN: 'It's In Its Fetal Stages Right Now'

In a new interview with Joe Rock of Long Island's rock station 102.3 WBAB, TOTO's Steve Lukather once again spoke about the album he is working on with Alex Van Halen, the legendary drummer from VAN HALEN. The LP will reportedly include previously unreleased and unfinished recordings from the VAN HALEN vault. Both Van Halen and Lukather have emphasized that the project is about honoring the legacy of Alex's brother, iconic VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen, who passed away in 2020. Lukather clarified that while he is involved, he will not be playing guitar on the tracks, instead taking on a role similar to a co-producer.

"Yes, I am working with Alex Van Halen on some unreleased, amazing, unfinished tracks, with Alex and Ed, and Ed playing bass, overdubbing once they got a track," Lukather told Joe Rock (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I can't say too much [about it], 'cause I signed a thing, whatever. I'm not gonna say anything that Alex hasn't said. Al's the boss. I was asked to be his kemosabe man, to be his right hand, co-producer, friend, help out. I'm not playing on it, I'm not writing, I'm not singing, there's no TOTO fingerprints."

Dismissing speculation that he would play on the LP, Steve said: "Anybody [who thought] that I was gonna walk in and be Eddie Van Halen must've been high or something like that. I mean, I could think of five guys that are more qualified, including his own son, Wolf. But that's not needed. The point of putting this out is that it's got some incredible Ed solos, playing live on the floor. This is live. Him and Alex playing, and then Ed would overdub the bass, and the idea was to finish it. But these songs were a little bit more complex. Maybe — I hate to use this word, 'cause it doesn't really fit, but for lack of a better adjective — progressive in the sense of out-RUSHing RUSH a little bit… But it's the same sort of thing."

Regarding how far into the production process he and Alex have gotten so far, Steve said: "It's in its fetal stages right now. I have heard some amazing things that need to be finished. Now, it's not going to be a VAN HALEN record in the sense of what people expect, just somebody's gonna be shoved in where [former VAN HALEN singers] David [Lee Roth] or Sammy [Hagar] used to be. That's not the intent. And this is really where Alex is holding the ball. It's his game. And I just wanted to help and be the third ear and maybe offer, if there's vocal production that needs to [be done], I know how to do all that. Sit with him and go, 'I think that's great,' or, 'I think it's enough,' or, 'The mix isn't quite right,' or something. That's my job. The material's written. And the people who are gonna sing it will be involved in writing it, I would think. And I don't know who those people are."

Steve went on to say that is in constant communication with Alex about where to go with the album. "I had lunch with Al yesterday, so we're talking about it," he explained. "But it's a long project, 'cause there's more to it than meets the eye, and that's really all I can say about it at this time. But I don't want anyone to think for one second that I'm trying to put my stamp of anything. I'm there as one of Ed's oldest, dearest friends, someone I adored deeply, outside of music. We lived a lot of life together. And then Al — Al and I have always been friends, but since Ed's passing, I've sort of stepped up to be [Al's] friend... I mean, we talk almost every morning. And I understand what it's all about, and I have a great deal of respect for everybody. I'm friends with everybody. I'm not on anybody's shit list, I hope. I'm Switzerland. I like everybody. I've always gotten along. David Lee Roth is the only guy I don't know. I met him a couple times, and he was, 'Oh, you're Ed's buddy.' That was his thing. He was cool, but I don't know him, so I have no opinion. And I love the [VAN HALEN] records — come on."

Alex discussed the album he is working on with Steve this past February in an interview with Gastão Moreira of Brazil's Kazagastão. The VAN HALEN drummer said: "Ed and I had a lot of stuff that we made, that we made musically that we never let go. Many people have asked, what about releasing unreleased stuff? Well, we're not gonna release it in its embryonic form because it wouldn't make any sense. But I've been fortunate enough to have Steve Lukather, who was a good friend of Ed's, and we're working on putting a record together, but it has to be of the quality and the level of where we left it. Not just to say, 'Hey, here's some music that we made. If you like it, that's great.' No. It has to be the quality that we expect."

Regarding what Lukather's role is in the making of this new album, Alex said: "I call Lukather Luke affectionately. He is the connective tissue. Luke can play anything… But because of this talent that kind of blends in with everything, he doesn't get the recognition that I think he deserves. And I may be wrong. Maybe he is recognized the world over. He should be, because I can't play guitar. And I can work things out on a keyboard, but it takes me too long to figure it out. And by that time, the moment is gone. I went to Steve's house several times and we played a piece of music and he goes, 'Yeah, I got it. That's it. That's all we need.' Then he can do all the connective tissues. He knows where to put the solo, as far as structure and organ and structure and an organization. I have my opinions and he has his, and they are just opinions. So he can facilitate things that would've taken me 10 times as long. And I love the guy. We've known him for years."

Asked if he and Lukather are going to use some old Eddie recordings, Alex said: "Well, these are recordings that were going to be the next [VAN HALEN] record, and that were stopped because [Ed] didn't live that long… The drums are already recorded. The drums, the guitar and the bass are already in there. What we didn't have is a vocalist, and obviously the subtleties and the glue — we call it the glue or the spackle."

As for who is playing bass on these recordings, Alex said: "Most of 'em is Wolf [Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie's son and former VAN HALEN bassist], because these are recordings that were made ready for the next record."

After Moreira brought up "Unfinished", the last piece of music Alex and Eddie wrote together, which is included with the audiobook version of Alex's "Brothers" book, the drummer said: "The feedback for that song was incredible. But there was no vocals on it and it was not completed. And that was the whole point."

He continued: "The lineage of how my brother and I did things was some of the stuff that our dad taught us were very deeply rooted, and one of his favorite songs was the 'Unfinished' by Schubert. And so this song was unfinished, so I figured we'd call it 'Unfinished' and then that's it. We weren't even aware that we were going to make this public at any point. This is just Ed and I working at the studio. Unbridled, unpressured, un-anything. And there are a couple of places, if you heard, where the needle goes right through the machine. [Laughs] I hope we didn't blow up any speakers."

Asked if the plan is to put some vocals on the songs on the album he is working on with Lukather, Alex said: "We originally had plans to — I think I can probably say without talking outta school, one of the singers who we really, really, really wanted to use for the new stuff was Paul Rodgers, and he has a relationship with Luke and we grew up on FREE and all that, but [Paul] can't do it anymore. And it was very difficult for him to bring himself to say, 'No, I can't. Count me out.' I respect that. I'm saddened and disappointed, but you know, that's life… He knows he can't do it — which I think is better than saying, 'Yeah, I can do it,' and then not be able to do it."

As for whether he and Lukather are thinking about inviting another singer sing on the record, Alex said: "Yeah. Luke and I are looking for somebody right now."

Asked if he has any special singers in mind for the project, Alex said: "No, because it depends on who you ask. If you ask record executives, you're gonna get one way of looking at it. If you listen to, I call it the peanut gallery, you're gonna get something else.

"Music is not so much about music as it is about people having a shared experience," Alex explained. "I'm 7[3]. We gotta find somebody in that age group who was exposed to the same musical experience that we have. Otherwise, it doesn't have the depth.

"I can't remember what the expression is, but there's a difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is knowing that a cucumber is a vegetable. Wisdom is knowing where to put it. [Laughs]"

After Moreira suggested LED ZEPPELIN legend Robert Plant as someone who is still very musically active, Alex said: "Robert Plant is brilliant. But if it's meant to be, it's meant to be. And he's out touring, doing his thing. He would've been an ideal choice. But nothing is etched in stone. And I really believe that the universe will work something out to where this project will come out the best it can possibly be. We have no other intent other than to have it come to fruition."

Alex had previously said that there was enough VAN HALEN material in the vaults for another "three or four records". Speaking on an episode of Chris Jericho's "Talk Is Jericho" podcast, Eddie's brother said: "I've talked about it loosely, and I am rather superstitious, but I can say a couple of things that I've mentioned before. We're gonna go through the 'vault' and go through some of the musical ideas that were there."

He added: "There was some good stuff in there. And you have to remember, when in the thick of it, sometimes the really great stuff kind of passes you by. And it's not until you revisit it going, 'Whoa, I forgot about that. This kicks ass.' But that takes time. And you wanna do it right. I wanna do it right."

Eddie Van Halen and Steve Lukather had collaborated on several projects in the past, including Michael Jackson's "Beat It", on which Lukather played the main riff and Van Halen played the solo. Eddie also played bass on Lukather's debut solo album and made a guest appearance on Steve's 2003 Christmas LP "Santamental".

Back in November 2020, a little over a month after Eddie's death, Lukather reflected on his friend's passing, telling Metal Master Kingdom: "It's hard for me, man, 'cause the wound is still very deep. I'm very honored to have been Ed's friend — really a friend; not just a guitar buddy who had a beer with him once. [There is] 40-plus years with him, Al and I.

"I know all the guys [in VAN HALEN]. I love all the guys. I'm Switzerland [when it comes to their relationships with each other]. I was just on Sammy's [Hagar] show. He was beautiful to me. Mike's [Anthony] always nice to me. The brothers [Ed and Al] and I have always stayed very close. I've been in touch with Al more than anybody. And Janie [Eddie's widow] sent me some wonderful pictures of Ed and I when we were younger that she found somewhere. And I've been in touch — I talked to Wolf [Eddie's son] once. I'm gonna leave him alone. He's got his mom.

"This is a hole in my heart that won't go away. He was a real friend of mine, okay? We didn't get together and talk about guitars and stuff unless we wanted to play each other something new or brag about our kids. And really, we spent the last half of our relationship bragging about each other's sons, 'cause they both play. We always had that in common — the sons and the guitar. We have a lot in common off the gig that has nothing to do with [music].

"I loved the man. There's nothing to argue about how great he was as a musician. I don't have to. Who's gonna argue? He was one of the greats to ever pick up rock and roll guitar — he changed everything. And he was my friend. And I miss my friend more than anything. I miss the roar of one of his vehicles scaring the fuck out of my neighbors. And the way he laughed, and the way he fucking hugged me whenever he came by...

"The last thing I have in my phone is just a heart that he sent me.

"It's hard for me to talk about because it's an open wound. But I imagine how his family [feels]. My heart goes out to everybody in the Van Halen family."

Eddie died on October 6, 2020 at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California at the age of 65.

The iconic VAN HALEN axeman died from complications due to cancer, his son confirmed.

VAN HALEN was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked Eddie Van Halen No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.