Steve Vai On The Possibility Of Working With David Lee Roth Ever Again

Steve Vai recently sat down for a conversation with Eddie Trunk and shared his thoughts on a possible re-collaboration with David Lee Roth.

Diamond Dave and Steve Vai spent nearly four years together in the mid-80s music scene. David Lee Roth had left Van Halen to pursue a solo career, while Steve Vai was also nearing the end of his short stint on Alcatrazz at the time. Then, the two crossed paths in the supergroup Roth had founded. Vai’s guitar was featured on the albums ‘Eat ‘Em And Smile’ and ‘Skyscraper.’

After their debut solo LP, ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile,’ Roth and his band spent a significant amount of time touring venues to promote the album. Steve Vai was with Roth for about four years, with two albums and many live performances, and this collaboration is undoubtedly one of the cornerstones of his career. Vai also revealed several times before that this was what had made him famous ‘overnight,’ and he was grateful to Lee.

In a recent interview with Eddie Trunk, he was asked if he would accept if Diamond Dave came along and offered to collaborate with him again. During the conversation, Vai said that Roth has always been very busy. If it is not about making music, Roth will occupy himself with many other pursuits, which Vai finds impressive.

When Eddie Trunk repeated the question, he said that he generally prefers not to think about such things unless there is something concrete. So, his answer was a little evasive. He then concluded by stating that he had recently made this decision to make music he and his audience enjoy. The guitarist intends to do it as long as he can.

Vai’s statements about David Lee Roth:

“One thing about Dave is he always keeps himself busy. If he is not doing it musically, he will do it with some extraordinary thing like climbing a mountain in China or something. Or moving to Japan for two years and learning fluent Japanese and having the masters do it, this giant tattoo on his back and taking pain classes, or six months of blending graves. That’s what he told me; that’s amazing.”

When asked about a possible collaboration with Roth, Vai replied:

“How did I know that you were going to ask that question, Eddie Trunk? It’s one of those things that I don’t really entertain in my mind unless something is actually there. But, you know, Eddie, these days, I’m just really content doing the music; I’ve just kind of come to this inner decision that for the rest of the time I have here, I gotta crank out as much as the weird music that I do for those people that like it.”

The guitarist released his new album ‘Inviolate’ early this year and continues delivering live performances. As for David Lee Roth, he seems to be reminiscing his old days with his recent releases. No one can deny the duo’s onstage harmony, but there are no plans for whether they will collaborate again.