Steel Panther singer Michael Starr shared his admiration for Van Halen’s David Lee Roth. In the newly released premiere episode of Spin’s 100 Greatest Rockstars, Starr talked about the Van Halen singer, referring to him as the blueprint of heavy metal. In the short clip the band shared via Instagram, Starr is seen to state the following about Roth:
“David Lee Roth? One of the greatest heavy metal lead singers of all time. I mean, that guy is the original heavy metal hair band lead singer. Everybody copied David Lee Roth. I remember I went to one of his shows, Van Halen show at the LA sports arena, which is not even there anymore, and they came up on stage, and Dave just looked amazing; he’s doing kicks, flips, jumping off the drum risers, and he’s playing amazing guitar no one’s ever seen before.”
After attending a Van Halen concert and witnessing fans enjoying themselves while wearing Van Halen merch, the rocker had an epiphany. He revealed:
“Dave’s telling jokes to the audience, people are laughing, having a good time, goes to show with booze, people getting high drinking beer and wearing Van Halen shirts, and that was, for me, as a musician and a singer I said, ‘I wanna be that guy, David Lee Roth.’ Damn it, David Lee Roth, man, what can you say about David Lee Roth. He’s the man.”
Earlier, the rocker talked about his early days of being in a Van Halen tribute band and recalled meeting Roth for the first time. The rocker couldn’t believe meeting the Van Halen singer, leaving him feeling like he was in an interview.
In addition, Starr was offered to play on Roth’s original solo band for the ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile’ reunion, only to learn later that the show’s plans had changed and he was no longer needed for the show. Nevertheless, the rocker still managed to meet and chat with Roth for half an hour.
So it’s inevitable to witness Starr’s admiration for both Roth and Van Halen, especially with his tribute band that had been around for more than a decade.
You can see the Instagram post here, and have a look below to see Starr’s Van Halen tribute band Atomic Punks’ reunion show.
