Korn’s Ray Luzier Says He’d Beg David Lee Roth Not To Play Van Halen Songs

Korn drummer Ray Luzier recently spoke to Drinks With Johnny and stated that he once beseeched David Lee Roth to make the musician play songs from his solo career.

Before rising to prominence as Korn’s drummer, Ray Luzier became known for his tenure with former Van Halen icon David Lee Roth. Between 1997 and 2005, Luzier lent his drum skills to Roth’s band and appeared on two of the singer’s albums; 1998’s ‘DLR Band’ and 2003’s ‘Diamond Dave.’

After Sammy Hagar departed from Van Halen back in 1996, the band continued with Gary Cherone. When Cherone left, fans began to speculate on a reunion with Roth. In 2000, Van Halen reunited with Roth briefly for an album but eventually aborted this plan. Two years later, in 2002, two former leads of the band, Roth and Hagar, teamed up for a tour.

During the Song for Song, the Heavyweight Champs of Rock and Roll tour, Hagar and Roth took to the stage without any opening act and performed in front of a huge crowd. As there was animosity between the two, they stayed separate backstage. However, seeing both on the same stage was a chance too good to miss.

Speaking to Drinks With Johnny, Ray Luzier said he played drums for Dave during that tour. According to the drummer, it was a rare opportunity because fans had a chance to listen to Van Halen’s hits from both Hagar and Roth. However, Luzier argued he would beg Roth to play his solo-era songs, but the rocker would tell him fans would want to hear Van Halen songs instead of his solo efforts.

During the conversation, Ray Luzier said the following:

“We did the Sam & Dave tour in 2002, which was 90 minutes for Sam, and 90 minutes for Dave. So you got what we call ‘the best of both worlds,’ because if you were a Sammy fan with Van Hagar, you got to hear ‘I Can’t Drive 55,’ ‘Mas Tequila,’ ‘Poundcake,’ and all the Van Halen hits that he did. If you were a David Roth-era fan, 80% of our set list was Van Halen.

I would beg Dave because I’m a huge fan of David Lee Roth’s solo era, like, ‘Can we please do ‘Just Like Paradise,’ Just a Gigolo / I Ain’t Got Nobody,’ and all the hits that you made so huge?’ And he’s like [mimics DLR] ‘People don’t want to hear that; they want to hear the Van Halen stuff, Luzier! Do you know what you’re talking about?'”

You can watch the full interview below.