Joe Satriani has revealed that David Lee Roth approached him in the mid-’90s about forming a band to perform Van Halen songs.
Satriani explained that Roth’s pitch came at a time when Eddie Van Halen was still actively recording and touring. He found the proposal difficult to justify.
“In the mid ’90s, David Lee Roth called me; he wanted to put together a band to do Van Halen songs,” Satriani said. “He went on and on about how we were the only guys who could really do it right, and he had all these crazy plans.”
Satriani pushed back on the idea, pointing out that imitating a living, working artist made little sense to him.
“I said, ‘But Dave, Ed’s still alive! He’s still making amazing records. He’s still on tour. What guitar player would ever try to imitate him while he’s still working? It makes no sense,'” he continued. “Of course, I said, ‘Look, I’m not the guy.'”
Satriani also noted that the conversation took on a different tone years later, following Eddie Van Halen’s passing in 2020. He still had reservations about stepping into the role.
“When he and Alex called me after Ed had passed away, it made a little bit more sense,” Satriani said. “Even though I tried to convince them I was not the person who could do it justice.”
Rather than simply declining, Satriani repeatedly pointed Roth and Alex toward two other names he felt were more fitting choices: his former student Steve Vai and Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme. Both guitarists had deep roots in the hard rock world and were widely regarded as among the few players capable of honoring Eddie’s style with credibility.
Satriani maintained that Eddie Van Halen’s playing was so singular that no outside guitarist could genuinely replicate it. Attempting to do so, he argued, would fall short of what fans deserved.
Despite the renewed interest from Roth and Alex Van Halen following Eddie’s passing in October 2020, the proposed tribute project never came together. The effort descended into dysfunction, with no lineup ever finalized and the concept quietly abandoned.
The failed project underscores the broader challenge of carrying on the Van Halen name without its founding guitar voice. Eddie Van Halen died at 65 after a long battle with cancer. He left behind a body of work widely considered untouchable — a reality that even the most accomplished players in rock have been reluctant to take on.
