A Van Halen tour featuring drummer Alex Van Halen, guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani and ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted was apparently discussed.
That revelation comes from Newsted himself, who tells The Palm Beach Post that Alex had recruited Satriani to step in for his late brother and band mate, Eddie Van Halen, and had been searching for a bassist.
Newstead says he was approached for the project about six months ago, and traveled to California to jam with the pair before deciding not to continue with the project.
“There’s nobody that can top [Van Halen], so how do you show it honor?” Newsted says. “I didn’t want it to be viewed as a money grab. And then it kind of just all fizzled.”
It’s unclear whether the tour would be considered a tribute to be Van Halen, or whether the band was supposed to be a rebooted version of the iconic “Panama” rockers. It’s also unclear whether Alex and Satriani still plan to pursue the project without Newsted.
Eddie died October 2020. Prior to his passing, a tour potentially featuring the return of bassist Michael Anthony and all of Van Halen’s past vocalists — David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar and Gary Cherone — was discussed, but was ultimately scrapped due to Eddie’s health issues.
Eddie’s son Wolfgang Van Halen, who played bass in Van Halen since 2006 and now fronts the band Mammoth WVH, has repeatedly said that the band is done following his father’s death. “You can’t have Van Halen without Eddie Van Halen,” Wolf told ABC Audio in 2020.
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