In a recent episode of “The Hook Rocks” podcast, Joe Satriani discussed the upcoming summer 2024 tour alongside vocalist Sammy Hagar, bassist Michael Anthony, and drummer Jason Bonham. The tour will primarily highlight the music of VAN HALEN.
When asked about the contrast with the previously proposed VAN HALEN tribute, which involved him, David Lee Roth, and Alex Van Halen over two years ago, Joe offered his insights.
“That’s tough. I didn’t know Eddie [Van Halen] and I don’t know the family and I don’t think I’ll ever really understand David Lee Roth,” he said. “I thought I really understood Alex, and I think I do. I really think I understand his point of view or where he’s coming from.
“I tend to think that the real difference here is that Sammy has a real sort of inclusive way of looking at life and he notices when there’s conflict that is getting in the way of doing something good and he’ll try to fix it. “So as a result, it’s just like he says, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna do ‘Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love’. I know it’s not my song, but that’s cool.’ Now you ask David Lee Roth, ‘Hey, are you gonna do ‘5150’?’ Of course he’s never gonna do it. So there’s a big difference there, is that you have one guy who is very flexible because he’s thinking about the fans, and then you have another guy who, I don’t know why Dave is so inflexible on a couple of subjects — I really don’t, because I don’t know him. I should ask Steve [Vai] about it; I mean, Steve knows [David well]. I can’t say that I really know him.
“I felt that Alex really wanted to do it and his heart was pure in its intention,” Joe continued. “But I don’t know about Dave. I know that Sammy and Mike, their intentions are pure. They really do wanna celebrate the music and they’re willing to mend any fence to make it happen on stage. They’re the original guys. It’s more than just a tour. And you feel that when you’re standing next to Sammy and Mike. There’s just an immense amount of power and love with the two of them and playing those songs. And people, they want to experience it and they should be able to experience it.
“I would hope at some point that [Alex, Eddie‘s son Wolfgang Van Halen and David] figure it out. Basically, Wolfgang is the guy to do it — he’s the guy to do any tribute there is. The rest of us are just gonna be copying the album as close as we can, but it’ll be fodder for the guitar army out there to criticize, like, ‘Well, you should have done it like this,’ and, ‘He could have done it like that,’ and, ‘She should have done it like this,’ because we’re not Eddie, and we’re not Wolfgang.”
“It’s taken a while for me to get a really good perspective on it, but I do think that we should all just kind of leave that alone and let them figure it out,” he added. “It really is up to, I think, Wolfgang and his uncle Alex to figure this out. But in the meantime, this tour with Sam and Mike is really a beautiful thing. And as I’m staring at the immense setlist that’s up on my wall over there, it is daunting for me because I’m gonna be really busy right up until the rehearsal period starts. And so, yeah, I’m a little nervous about it, but I’m doing my homework and I’m gonna be hitting the stage ready to shred.”
