In a new interview with The Palm Beach Post, former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted reveals that he almost joined an all-star VAN HALEN tribute project six months ago.
According to Newsted, VAN HALEN drummer Alex Van Halen already recruited Joe Satriani to play guitar, and the two were searching for a bass player for a possible VAN HALEN tour.
Newsted said he agreed to go to California to jam with the guys 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.”
Legendary VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen died on October 6 at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California. Guitarist died from complications due to cancer, his son confirmed.
During last year’s interview on SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk,” Eddie Van Halen‘s son Wolfgang Van Halen said that 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.
Eddie and Alex formed VAN HALEN in 1974 in Pasadena, California, with David Lee Roth on lead vocals and Michael Anthony on bass. Credited with “restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene,” VAN HALEN was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosic talent of its prodigy lead-guitarist, Eddie Van Halen. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
