Zakk Wylde was watching Van Halen from the pit in 2007 when Eddie Van Halen spotted him and came over for a high five. The greeting gave David Lee Roth an opening to roast Wylde from the stage, as Wylde explained in an interview on Go with Elmo Lovano.
Wylde was in the crowd when Eddie noticed him in the pit. The Van Halen guitarist came over to greet him, but the moment caught Roth’s attention and became material for a joke.
“No, I didn’t get up on stage,” Wylde said. “Ed came over ’cause he saw we were down in the pit. So Ed comes over to high-five me.”
Roth used the encounter as a comedic moment. “Dave ended up treating it like, like if you were a comedian and, you know, if you went to go to a comedy club and you sat in the front … you’re going to get destroyed if you’re sitting in the front,” Wylde continued.
Wylde could not recall Roth’s exact words, but he remembered the spirit of the joke. “I think he said, ‘Yeah, if you’re not in showbiz, get off my stage,’ or something like that. Very DLR.”
The moment took place during Van Halen’s 2007 performance, when Roth saw an opportunity to make a joke out of Eddie’s greeting to Wylde in the crowd.
The 2007 tour marked a significant moment for Van Halen. The North American tour launched on September 27, 2007 in Charlotte, North Carolina and was the first time David Lee Roth performed on stage with the band since 1984. The tour included 75 shows that drew 1 million fans and generated over $93 million in ticket sales.
Roth performed alongside guitarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alex Van Halen, and Eddie’s son Wolfgang on bass. The band had not performed or recorded together since their 1984 album 1984 and the subsequent tour. Eddie Van Halen had gone into rehab earlier, which delayed the tour from its originally planned summer dates.
David Lee Roth was known for bringing humor to his stage performances. His flamboyant presence and tongue-in-cheek comedy style left a mark on rock music. The roasting of Wylde from the stage fit with Roth’s comedic approach to entertaining audiences.
Zakk Wylde, the guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Label Society, held deep respect for Eddie Van Halen. The two musicians had a friendship and stayed in touch over the years. Wylde’s presence in the pit during the 2007 show gave Roth the chance to turn Eddie’s friendly gesture into a comedic bit.
