Sammy Hagar on why Joe Satriani is the perfect player to step into Van Halen’s shoes

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Sammy Hagar’s all-star band got their much-anticipated The Best of All Worlds tour underway over the weekend, and the vocalist has discussed why Joe Satriani understands Eddie Van Halen better than anyone else.

According to Jason Newsted and Michael Anthony, both bass players were in talks for a David Lee Roth-fronted, but ultimately failed, Van Halen tribute in 2022. That tour would have put Satch at the helm, to many the perfect player to step into his enormous shoes – a sentiment Hagar shares.

Hagar has since gone one step further, recruiting Satriani, Michael Anthony, and drummer Jason Bonham for a tour that so far has featured 15 Van Halen songs, from both Roth and Hagar eras of the band.

In a new conversation with Classic Rock, Sammy Hagar hailed Satriani’s attention to detail and pointed out that there’s no-one better for the job.

“I think probably the smartest move I made if I was gonna go out and do this was to get Joe Satriani,” the vocalist says.

“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.

“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.”

That last line is especially interesting – is Hagar hinting that this band could be looking to work on original music together, or is he simply making a point?

The tour setlist – look away if you want to avoid spoilers – includes a raft of Van Halen anthems, from Jump to Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love, as well as lesser-played deep cuts such as Judgment Day and The Seventh Seal. The tour also marks the first time Hagar has performed Panama with his solo band.

Speaking to Guitar World back in November, with the tour an intimidating speck in the distance at that time, Satriani had said he would need to go through some “mental therapy” to get over the fact his playing wasn't going to sound exactly like Eddie's.

He also added that he expected .9 gauge strings “will be part of the secret formula for the Eddie Van Halen sound. Without those, you don't get the expressiveness and the slinkiness.”

It was an early indicator that no stone would be left unturned during his exhaustive tone quest.

Indeed, Satch has felt the pressure of emulating/honoring his idol for the tour. As such, he’s worked with 3rd Power amps for a custom amp to nail Eddie's 1986 guitar tone, built a new pedalboard, and modded several EVH guitars after saying his live rig needed to be "a different animal”.

In fact, so conscious was the guitarist not to let Eddie's influence dull the shine of his personality, he revealed he'd never learned how to play Eddie's music before the tour opportunity came along.

“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,” he said. “So, around ‘88, I consciously decided not to figure it out. I'd put it on and have a good time, but I never looked to figure out what Eddie was doing.

“And then, 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.’ I explained that to them, and maybe every three or four weeks, I'd call them up, saying, 'I'm not doing it. I'm sorry; I'm not your guy.' So many guys were good at it, but they would talk me back into it, saying, 'No, you're the guy.’”

The rest, as they say, is history.