Van Halen Tribute Tour Plan Leak Shocked Satriani

Keavin Wiggins | 05-10-2022

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Guitar icon Joe Satriani says that it was shocking when former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted revealed in an interview that there were talks to launch an Eddie Van Halen tribute tour.

Satriani recently spoke to VW Music about his new album, "The Elephants Of Mars, and during the interview he was asked the leaked plans for a Van Halen tour that would feature him replacing Eddie Van Halen.

Joe was asked about the rumors and he responded, "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."

Satriani went on to discuss the challenges of stepping in to the shoes of the guitar icon and he shares one thing that he feels people do not fully appreciate about Eddie. Read the full interview here.