Steve Vai Recalls How David Lee Roth Reacted When Their Show Was Canceled By Fire Marshals

The guitar virtuoso Steve Vai talked about the reunion rumor with David Lee Roth and how it got canceled during a recent appearance on Cassius Morris Show.

In the conversation, Steve confirmed that he decided to reunite with David Lee Roth in 2015 and said that they grouped up with Billy Sheehan, Greg Bissonette, and Steel Panther’s Michael Starr.

However, he wanted to reach out to David Lee Roth before making it to the stage and he got a positive answer from him. Afterward, they were getting ready to play their first song on the stage, Yankee Rose, but it never happened.

Steve stated that the owner of the place came up before they start playing and informed them that they could not play because fire marshals didn’t allow them to do so. After he told David about the situation, David was pretty disappointed according to Steve Vai.

The interviewer on Steve Vai and David Lee Roth reunion:

“We got a lot of questions about the supposed David Lee Roth reunion that almost happened at the Lucky Strike in Hollywood, which was shut down by fire marshals [in 2015]. People wanted to know if that’s a true story and if that could potentially ever happen again.”

Here is what Steve Vai said:

“Well, that’s a very true story. Myself, Billy, and Greg were going to perform at this place Lucky Strike with another singer from Steel Panther because he does Roth really well. So he said sure, but then I reached out to Dave and I said, ‘Hey, you want to do this?’ ‘Yeah, man!’

So we planned it and when we got down there, the place held 350 people, they stuffed 1,700 people in it. And the line went out the street all around the corner, around the whole building. And the stage had a curtain, and we’re going to start with ‘Yankee Rose.’

And Dave’s in the back and he’s waiting for me to start it, and the curtain is right there, and I’m right in front of the curtain, and everybody’s waiting for me to hit that first chord and the curtain was going to open. I wind up and I’m just about to hit this chord, and the owner comes up and goes, ‘Steve, don’t play, don’t play!'”

He continued:

“‘Why?’ ‘Because the fire marshals are here, they said you can’t play, they’re gonna fine you!’ And I said, ‘Fine me? OK, cool, I don’t care. What is it going to cost?’ ‘It’d be like $5,000.’ ‘Fine, I’m playing! Here goes! Ready!’ ‘No, no, no, Steve, don’t! Let me make sure that that’s OK!’

So I wait, he comes back, goes, ‘No, you can’t play. If you play, you’re going to jail.’ And I’m like, ‘OK. Hey, that’s cool, I’m ready!’ And he goes, ‘But then they’ll close the place down.’ And then I’m thinking, ‘Ah, OK…’

I had to tell Dave we can’t do it, he was so disappointed. I came really close to just doing it but it would have really screwed up the club owners, and I didn’t want to do that. We talked about doing it again at some point but it’s one of those things. Either it was going to happen then or I don’t know.”

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