Wolfgang Van Halen has opened up about the proposed Van Halen tribute concert, saying it “was already not happening” when it was publicly discussed earlier this year.
Earlier this year, Metallica bassist Jason Newsted revealed that he was invited to jam with the band’s Alex Van Halen alongside legendary guitarist Joe Satriani. While Newsted attended the jam session, he ultimately backed out of any potential tribute tour because he “didn’t want it to be viewed as a money grab.”
After being named by Newsted, Satriani had his say. He acknowledged that a tribute tour would be “a real labour of love”. “I was just so honoured to take on the challenge,” he said.
Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth then weighed in on the expanding rumours. In a statement provided to the Van Halen News Desk, he offered a considered response. “In the age of COVID it’s going to require two of us for every position. Satriani and Lukather, Anthony and Newsted, Al or Tommy Lee.”
And in a new interview with Rolling Stone, Wolfgang offered his say. “What I can say is that there was an attempt at doing something,” he said. “But, you know, I don’t like to speak negatively about people, but there are some people that make it very difficult to do anything when it comes to Van Halen.
“There was always some stuff that gets in the way from just making music and having a good time. And, I think, that’s what happened.”
Wolfgang continued: “I know how Van Halen fans get. They are very motivated by which specific people they like in the band. And it’s just not worth it. Just, we made an attempt, and some people can be hard to work with, and made it not happen.”
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The musician explained that he “would really like to do something” in tribute to his late father, but that the route concert plan “never even got off the ground.” And when asked if he would get specific about who exactly was making it difficult to get the tribute concert up and running, he cryptically replied, “I would say do your research on the history of Van Halen, and come to your conclusions.”
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