Sammy Hagar on Why Joe Satriani is Perfect for Van Halen Tribute
Sammy Hagar’s all-star band recently kicked off The Best of All Worlds tour, featuring Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony, and Jason Bonham. Hagar explained why Satriani is the ideal guitarist to honor Eddie Van Halen.
“A million guys could’ve done it – well, not a million. But you walk into a music store and you see a 12-year-old kid sitting on an amp with one of Eddie’s guitars and he’s playing Eruption”, Hagar said.
Genius kids
“These genius little kids can do it now, but they don’t necessarily know what he’s doing. You ask him to write a song like that, and he’s going, ‘Ah, I don’t know how.’ You say, ‘Joe, write me a song like that,’ Joe’ll write you a song like that ’cause he knows where it’s coming from.”
Satriani has gone to great lengths to capture Eddie’s sound for the tour, including working with 3rd Power amps and modifying several EVH guitars, writes Clayton Edwards.
Super-fan of Van Halen
He admitted to Classic Rock that he initially hesitated, saying, “After being a super-fan of Van Halen when they first came out, I realized that if I learned how to play this stuff, it would seep into my playing… I got the call from Alex (Van Halen) and Dave (Lee Roth) a couple of years ago, and I realized, ‘Wow, I don’t know how to play any of it.’”
