My Years with Dave Lee Roth - Steve Vai Interview!
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- Опубліковано 6 лип 2023
- Steve Vai, at this point renowned for his work with Frank Zappa, Alcatrazz and his solo album Flex-Able, brought his exceptional guitar skills and unique musical style to the forefront, which made him the perfect fit for Dave Lee Roth's post Van Halen career. Together, they created an album that became a commercial sensation and forever etched their names in rock history.
Our interview delves into the emotions experienced by Steve Vai as the album Eat Em And Smile achieved great commercial success. As the lead guitarist, his ideas played a pivotal role in shaping the sound and direction of Eat Em And Smile and we explore how Steve's love for classic rock growing up, influenced his creative process during this collaboration.
Discover the genuine camaraderie shared between Steve Vai and Dave Lee Roth, fuelled by their shared quirky sense of humour. With complete artistic freedom, Steve was able to push boundaries and experiment, resulting in unforgettable guitar riffs and solos. Interestingly, Steve reveals that he never felt pressured to compete with Eddie Van Halen, allowing him to stay true to his unique style.
Join us as Steve Vai recounts the journey of working with Dave Lee Roth, and the incredible recognition he received and how he adjusted to the level of fame and recognition that came from working with one of rock's great front men!
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Watch the FULL interview with Steve Vai here: ua-cam.com/video/7jZglalGUr0/v-deo.htmlsi=KRSZNModzJBEl2lO
YANKEE ROSE WAS A BADASS SONG AND THE TALKING GUITAR .........................BADASS!!!!!!!!!!! I GOT ALL YOUR MUSIC STEVE!!!!!!
"I love the way Edward played, but I wouldn't want to play like anybody else but me," is exactly what Eddie would encourage anyone to do.
Almost exactly what Eddie said. He didn’t want people doing finger tapping exactly like he did. He said be original. Do something else with it. Steve definitely did it his own way. 2 great giants of guitar and music in general.
Agreed 1,000%.
Absolutely. I remember him being asked way back in the day what he thought of people copying him and he didn’t like it. Not because of his ego but because he’d rather people have their own voice. I think it’s tough having an ego being an introvert
Ive heard you play, id prefer if you played like VAI tbh
Because if they didn't, he would accuse them of "stealing" from him.
Saw them in 1988. Killer show! Steve was soloing and he broke a string. He stops, puts his hands up as if he were saying WTF. He slings his guitar off his shoulder and his tech tossed him another guitar and he rips the solo exactly at the note he left off on! The crowd went bonkers! One of the best guitar hero moments I have ever seen! Much respect to Mr. Vai! You are a legend!
I met him in '86 in New Haven CT. Great guy, excellent musician.
I'm a fan of Vai, but I have to say SRV broke a string during a live performance of 'Look at little sister'. He replaced the guitar and moved his strap from the broken guitar to the new one without missing a beat. These guys are/were epic!
@@letmeplaymystrat To be fair, SRV wasn't playing a Floyd Rose-equipped guitar that goes completely out of tune and is unplayable when a string breaks. Vai was.
@@bradstephens2175 Yes, that is a fair point. Thanks for pointing that out.
They're both incredible players. Two legends
Eat em and smile is a brilliant album. Dave surely picked the best of the best for that album.
After seeing Van Halen a few times on previous tours, I saw Dave's first solo tour and can assure you, Steve, Billy and Greg KILLED IT as his back up band.
Damn straight! Shy boy is a masterpiece musically!
😊
Hello from the u.k.
I’m 66 now,and living an hour from Manchester and Liverpool.
Over the years I’ve seen them all, U.S. and BRIT rock bands
when they toured.
What a band they were!
For me Roth is the best frontman of all time!
We know who the others are, and they don’t come close!
He has a vast musical knowledge,very articulate when interviewed.
Very well read, puts himself outside his comfort zone on purpose
to learn new things.
Was a para medic in N.Y.C.
He’s into martial arts, and paints Japanese style!
A true renaissance man.
Your comment is spot on!
Take care in these stupid times.
Nothing wrong with the album. Great hard rocking tunes. But to me it just sounds like 1984 part 2. Even a synthesizer on it, which Dave was so against.
I remember Cross Roads he was perfect devil guitarist. Loved it.
It was so good it seemed real. Kinda scary good. He never acted. But I believed it. I saw in theatre I walked up to the screen to get the front row. Experience when vai started that scene . Then I saw vai. Do that tour with Dave awesome
He did a great job in the movie.
I want him to be interviewed about his rig that he played through in Crossroads but nobody ever ask. I know there was a Carvin half stack in the video
MIGH-ty fine GIT-ar playah - name a Jack Butlah! 🤘
The Vai/Sheehan team was killer.
Eat 'Em and Smile is a great album.
So much respect for Steve. A class act.
My thoughts exactly. He always comes across like this in interviews. Seems like a great guy.
So true
Agreed. Most people that have worked with Roth off the record will say he was a nightmare to work with.
@@KnownBeing Yeah, now he's a good guy. I met him when he was touring with Whitesnake. He was a bit of a dick. And he admits he had a bit of an attitude back then. Satriani on the other hand was the nicest guy you'd ever meet.
Yankee Rose was flash. Style. Unusual sounds and yet in your face fun hard rock all in one. It truly personified Diamond Dave AND the freshest shredder around. What a time to be a teenager who played guitar- I'm so grateful to have such innovative musicians to learn from.
He is a super talented guitarist who seems remarkably humble. Yankee Rose is incredible, fun, and never gets old.
The older I get the more I realize what we had during the 80's through the mid 90's and that it will never be the same musically for better or worse.
Pro tools and technology ruined music..The 90s were the end of a era of real music.
@@daveyboy8907 I agree!
Steve Vai seems like such a nice guy. Grounded and real.
I love the fact that Steve feels humbled by Edward. Thank you Steve.
He's smart , don't upset van halen fans if you're playing with their ex singer
@@1rustyboy1 he's just being 100% honest. he has massive respect for Eddie. and any guitarist who wasn't blown away by him is lying.
Eddie was The King of Rock guitar playing . Bigger than Randy , I am digressing but really you can not duplicate Eddies guitar playing he never played by the rules ie staying in any scale box ie pentatonic, harmonic minor , major . He just played what sounded good and what he always said was good music is always good music doesn’t matter what box you’re soloing from . He was amazing and still is present today and relevant . RIP Eddie
@@1rustyboy1Nah, he has massive respect for EVH, he is the only one that calls him by hus full name.
Eddie was truly one of a kind, and unmatched in his rhythms, leads, and songwriting.
Lucky to have seen them on the Eat ‘Em And Smile tour. Steve, Greg and Billy were a powerhouse and their talent was off the charts. What a time!
And Cinderella opened on first leg🎉
Dave put one hell of a band together in Steve, Billy and Greg, absolute power house.
Who actually put the band together? Was it Dave or management?.. I don't know...
The fact alone that Vai went into DLR band without any thought of playing similar to Eddie says a lot for him. Eddie in his own right , earned his stripes more than once , and Vai has earned his , Two insanely good guitarist , behind the same very talented front man. You honestly could not go wrong just being yourself. I'm sure Eddie is smiling down on Vai for his accomplishments , as much as Vai is smiling back at him for his. When you get to this level of talent , comradery is out the door , its just sheer respect. All of the greats had that. SRV, BB King , Jimi , Rhoads, EVH , Vai , Satch , Gilbert , Goven , and the list goes on.
Agreed, I never knew that Eddie and Steve were friends who hung out sometimes until Eddie was gone.
I played this album over and over, couldn't get enough of Dave and Steve. Drove my coworkers crazy
Steve is so awesome. I've never heard him talk shit about other guitar players and he's always super humble. Truely someone to emulate.
Yeah, he seems like a genuine humble guy who has class and grace. The total opposite of Dave Roth, lol
@@chrisa1125Roth being Roth made him a lot of money.
He is an all-time great guitarist. I can't stand his music.
@@mr.brenman2132 Oh I agree, I love DLR... he's absolutely hilarious. I wish I had his confidence and outgoing brashness. But I don't think I could be in a band with him for any length of time, lol
Never heard Steve Via ever talk shit about anyone.
Vai is an incredible player. Eat em and smile is a classic, blistering album. Three fantastic players and one of the greatest frontmen ever.
Having Steve jump in "Eddie's driving seat" just made the good times continue. Steve made amazing music with Dave. Eddie did amazing music with Sammy. ++ for humanity's energy!
Steve! OMG, You are such a humble guy. Felt like I just met the real you. You have been amazing for so long yet you give credit to those that helped you along the way. Loved this interview.
Eat ‘em and Smile was a landmark guitar album. And as SV says, great playing from all involved, even my sniffy non-rock-fan bass player friends were impressed by Sheehan.
Your comment echos my sentiments exactly. A fantastic album, fantastic playing, great songs, Eddie was brilliant, very few could impress after him. SV manages brilliantly... Ladies night in buffalo.... What a solo.
And amazing how big the tour was to support the album. Pretty crazy DLR does his first solo album and is a headliner. 5150 for van halen was a big tour for them as well. They actually did more shows than the 1984 tour. Dave and Van Halen were touring at the same time, roughly, and Van Halen only did a handful of shows more than Dave. Eat'em and Smile was a resounding success.
VH I is the greatest landmark album of all time .
Steve is a class act all the way. His humility allows his immense talent to shine all the brighter.
Eat ‘‘em and smile was the perfect follow up to 1984. ❤ 🎸 🎶🎶🎶🎵 🎶🎶🎶🎵
Guitar god/icon so humble...
Steve is a living example of humility meets seif worth. He never takes away from anyone what they don't want him to have. He always pays his way through the muck and mire with an optimistic smile and laugh. Always locking forward having studied what has passed. The humble soundwave servant providing more than we thought we asked.
Steve did an amazing job for an incredibly hard role to fill in the DLR band. Very nice how humble he is about it.
Steve Vai, in my view, was absolutely GENIUS with his work on David Lee Roth's albums. Absolutely epic guitar work and writing. So many fantastic songs and arrangements. Just fantastic stuff. Totally in another dimension. I love it!
It was the perfect musical match for Dave at the height of his game with his crazy and awesome mix of bombast and self-deprecating humor. Steve's 'out there' work with Zappa really paid off here for everyone, a perfect storm never to be repeated!
I agree. The videos are still fun to watch. My God, we were all young once
I got to see these guys live on the Eat em and Smile tour, and they were great. Seeing Vai and bassist Billy Sheehan trading licks on stage was great. Never saw a bassist like Sheehan before this, and going note for note with Steve on a bass was unreal! To bad this lineup didn't last long.
I've been a huge fan of Vai since I was around 16. I always wanted to see him live, but so poor life decisions always kinda kept me from that. Fast forward to now and I finally get to see him live this month and I am so excited!!! Twenty-one years later.
So glad you're finally getting to see him live, have a great time!
I saw him play and he was always amazing...he's one of my favorites
Maybe update us with what you think, now that you got to see him.
Steve is such a class act. I don't remember anybody ever saying anything other than "I can't wait to hear what he does with Dave."
For me, seeing Roth & Vai & Co live on the Eat 'em And Smile tour was absolutely amazing!!!!
Seeing the first David Lee Roth Solo tour in 1986 was probably one of the best concerts I'd ever seen in my life. I witnessed it in Huntington West Virginia in front of 11,500 in a arena for 10,000 was wall to wall people. It was so loud that my ears rang for days afterwards. Actually the little bit of live footage was included in the That's Life video, that's Huntington WV. I remember Dave telling everyone that they were filming that night.
And maybe they were filming but I do know that all those early Van Halen concerts Dave would always say that just to get the crowd roaring when actually there was no filming going on period....no film even in the cameras ....now that's good ....
Bought both albums in '88 and they really lifted me up.Through Steve i got interested in Zappa..so it was a great year
What an awesome down-to-earth Superstar I can't wait to see him this Sunday in Tucson at the Rialto. Steve you're an inspiration and a true Rock icon
I hope to meet him this Sunday night
He’s literally a rock star yet never utters those two words even once.
Except when he says those exact words at 1:28
Congrats you are right!
Eat 'em And Smile remains brilliant and one-of-a-kind from start to finish, one of my favorite albums of all time. A great accomplishment for Steve and all involved! Good interview, thanks for letting him talk.
When someone is so incredibly talented, creatively gifted, and intelligent, but is also this modest and has humility- that is an admirable thing ♠️
When DLR hit, most of us thought that he’d just tried to replace Ed with a clone. We didn’t understand what it meant to have Vai and Sheehan playing with him. I mean, how could we have known?
Absolutely wonderful, Vai is not only the master of electric guitar, an extremely talented writer, a highly creative person, plus he is both spiritually and ethically sound - vegetarian… top man ✊😊
Saw them live on their first tour. Steve’s guitar work was just out of this world, Billy and Gregg delivered a wild rhythm section and on top of it all, Dave. Musicianship, pace and energy was just crazy. We were absolutely stunned. They sure created something unique!
Were you so stunned, that you shat yourself?
Me too, Sydney, Australia - Dave got on a surfboard and rode through the crowd!
saw this tour with the surfboard i think posion and loudness opened our show.
Shreveport, La for me. I remember him playing a double neck with both hands
I think this was the first concert I ever saw. It was at the Ionia County Fair in Michigan. Poison opened for them. They weren't nearly as loud as David Lee Roth, but looking back on it I think it was the better show. I remember David Lee Roth getting on a surfboard on a wire and surfing over the crowd. David had some weird speech about the meaning of Ionia in native american??? and some crack about how skinny Steve Vai was and that Oprah would mistake him for a leg of chicken and eat him???
More than accepted Mr Vai, you literally made history from the Guitar tracks you laid down on “ Eat’em and Smile”!
Such a humble Gentleman, I would easily put Vai as one of the most important players to come out the Post Van Halen era!
I absolutely loved Eat ‘em & Smile and Skyscraper. Played them countless times. They both had such energy and stellar brightness from the first notes to the last that no other rock releases had or have since . Steve’s guitar sound and quirky Zappa influenced style gave a unique melodic timeless sheen to the Roth extravaganza.
As a Queen fan, I always smile when Steve and Nuno always list Queen in the first 3 bands they listened to as youth.
I wish they had gone on to do more. It was a perfect band in my opinion.
Steve is a such a humble guy too. What a great man all around, and the talent is unspeakable.
Dave Roth and Steve Vai together was the best thing that ever happen. Just think of all the songs we lost due to that band breaking up.
What a down to earth guy! How in the hell did he gel with Diamond Dave??? I know...their shared sense of humor. Still, it blows me away how, chill, and real he is. Always liked Steve Vai. Talent, style, and fame never went to his head.
Blows my mind how anyone can talk positively about DLR. what a knob that guy is 2:59
I'm sure he was grateful for the opportunity, was probably in awe of Dave who was a massive star, and who knows what Dave is like behind closed doors?
He's as good a talker as he is player, I could listen to these stories all day... Looking forward to listening to the full interview, great stuff!
It's a fantastically in depth interview, everything from his early Zappa days to Alcatrazz, to whitesnake, to his solo albums, to setting up his own label, to the iconic Jem guitar and more! Heres a link to listen:
open.spotify.com/episode/09x6gFO2qqvL3MTyusssMC?si=WQgV9rOMQ6KkbiofBkEa_w
Agreed, this was a pleasure to watch. I have never heard Steve mutter a discouraging word against anyone. He seems so at peace with everything he does.
Great guitarist humble saw him at Atlantic City Casino git there late and still over 2 and half hour show! At the end he went around the stage and personally looked at everyone in the audience and thanked everyone! Such a great player and person!!!!!!!!
Steve seems cool and humble and yes a hell of a guitar player !
I could listen to Steve talk forever about his experiences, philosophies, guitar technique etc.
Must’ve been singularly the most high-pressured gig for a musician in rock guitar history.
I met Steve in Toronto with my then 16 year old kid. The guy was super- cool and human!
Jake replacing Randy would be the number one, but yeah, but Vai could be number one as well
I used to get so excited back in the MTV days every time I saw either Yankee Rose or Going Crazy Videos come on. I just had to crank the volume and enjoy the show. Even the album alone the off songs like Shy Boy, Bump and Grind, Big Trouble I used to play those songs all the time till I had all the lyrics memorized. Then the songs that they redid like I'm Easy and Tabacco Road and That's Life I thought their versions were even better than the original versions. I Loved that album and still do.
Steve Vai is so amazing, my biggest heart break is that his amp wasn’t as popular as it should have been! That legacy is the best and the only 2 artists besides him that I know used it are metalocolypse and Gran Hechicero and their tones are amazing!
Steve seems like such a well adjusted guy. A musical legend. I liked his acting in the movie 'Crazy', who would have thought Steve Vai playing Hank Williams.
Just like living in paradise was fantastic, I saw that band at Donington Monsters and they played really well.
i lived through all this like a lot of people, and when DLR came back out it was really VH-esque, hitting all the right spots, but I'll say this.... that song damn good times, I'd learn later this was a Steve Vai song, and the addition of that, those elements within an album which really legitimized the whole thing..... and it might've been brief , but it was nothing short of ..... I mean that was some really solid music, and timely.
Love to hear somebody that appreciates the opportunity he was given! You see so many musicians who bad mouth their former band mates. This really sounds like Dave and Steve had a terrific collaboration!
8:25 "Was it great? I don't know" Dude, Vai. Yes!! It was the GREATEST album, video, tour, times of our lives. 10/10/86 in Jersey for Roth's birthday HOLY SHIT when Shyboy blasted off it was indeed truly great
I saw the EEAS tour on one of their very first dates in Huntsville Alabama.
Man they came out for blood. They threw down like it was the last gig any of them would ever play.
Incredible energy and intensity. But with a very lighthearted fun feel.
For one song Steve played bass and Billy played guitar and no surprise they shredded!
My friends and I were tooting coke off our car keys.
Great memories.
Steve Vai is insanely gifted, and it is heart-warming to see him pay tribute to Eddie like he does here. I also really enjoy and appreciate that he was still his own man, not despite the Eddie shadow, but in light of the Eddie shadow, finding his freedom to push himself for himself, which is very Eddie-esque! This is a great, humble interview!!!
The amount of inspiration this man alone had caused over the year’s cannot be counted. His talent his charisma his ability to connect with his fans many times making each one feel they were the only one he was playing for and that can’t ever be taught, you either have it or you don’t. Thank you my friend your hard work will never be forgotten and thank you for all the memories.
Absolutely class act, and he still is. He has brought so many big-ego talented guitartists to his tour G3.... Yngwie, Zakk, Satch... And they were and are happy to tour with him. How many people can say that??!
Eat 'Em and Smile was huge in Sweden, we where woooooow what an amazing record, Billy Sheehan and Steve Vai was totally changing and opening up a brand new way of playing hard rock.
Wow, so humble, considering his amazingly monster chops!
What a down to earth guy. I have so much respect for that. So talented yet so humble.
He's being very humble. When Steve joined Dave and I learned more about him and loved his work, it really got me interested in guys like Satriani, Eric Johnson, and I even bought some old Alcatrazz. I definitely continued on with his career and bought his solo stuff because of how it started with Dave. Love the Polyphia stuff he's on as well!
I hope they get together one more time such a great band and eat em and smile is an amazing album
What a carer his had including playing with Alcatraz/Zappa/Dave Lee Roth/Whitesnake & his own albums including playing in a famous movie. Stevie's done it all.. his had a good run made a lota good music & made a bita coin along the way. & yes Eat m n Smile was a stand out guitar musical master class for me..
We spoke about all those periods of his career and more in the full interview. If you'd be interested you can listen here podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/vintage-rock-pod-classic-rock-interviews/id1533773809 👍👍
I met Steve at an industry event in Vegas back in the day and even emailed back and forth a couple times afterward. He is a prince of a dude and kind to everyone he meets.
It was and still is great. I saw the Eat 'Em and Smile tour in Cincinnati and it remains to this day the most fun concert I've been to. If the entire band wasn't having the the time of their life that night, they deserved an award for best portrayal of four guys having the time of their life.
Got to see him twice in the 80's with DLR and Whitesnake. He puts on a show I'll tell you that. Incredible talent, incredible player and showman. Perfect fit for DLR.
Comes across like a real nice fella. Marvellous.
I was in high school in the mid 80's and a big fan of Eddie and George Lynch at the time. That was about the time
I started seeing Steve Vai appear in guitar magazines and even though I didn't know much about his playing yet, I could tell
just by the pictures and his crazy looking guitars this guy was a freak. Sure enough, I finally hear the Eat Em And Smile album
and my jaw dropped. Instant fan.
You could not beat being a young guitar player in the time of those DLR records with Steve. Freedom was painted with some of the greatest sounds ever…
Hey steve, we have loved you since day one. Thank you for loving Ed. God bless you.
Eat 'em And Smile is a criminally overlooked Classic Album. Love it,still play it.Killer
True humble sweetheart of a guy. Brilliant goes without saying.
Classy interview, Steve. Being the “next guy up” when you joined with Dave could have been intimidating and you did a great job of just being a guitar player. Your humbleness, homage to Edward, but acknowledgement of your opportunities and how they turned you into a great guitar player makes people like you a whole lot. Well done, sir…
‘Hot Dog And A Shake’ - dear God, what a solo!!
Dave and Steve together were synergetic. Steve brought a level of wow, to any band. He shouldn’t judge himself for the shittalkers criticism and comparisons and his playing and stage presence puts him at the very top. That he wasn’t fostered by any one band and was a result of his own abilities and accomplishments stands him even further apart from most.
As an avid Van Halen fan I had my doubts regarding the Roth solo album...until I heard it. Man that album smoked. Steve Vai's playing, along with the rest of the band, was out of this world. It's too bad that the brakes were put on Billy Sheehan for Skyscraper. That band line up should have put out alot more music than it did.
Billy got kicked to the curb. Period. Why? Who knows? Dumb on Roth's part.
Billy plays on Skyscraper. He was kicked afterwards wasn't he?
Yes, you're correct but his playing was drastically throttled back. I saw the Skyscraper tour and Matt Bissonette was playing bass by then.
It was 1988. For some reason in-your-face bass was a no-no (And Justice For All, OU812 etc.) But if you listen closely to Skyscraper you'll hear plenty of tasty Sheehan bass lines.
@@goodquestion1105 As a former bass player (20 years), I played some of EVERYTHING. In rock music, the bass is ALWAYS considered an afterthought. Like those examples you gave. Unlike funk or reggae where the bass is often the star of the music. There's some interviews where Sheehan describes what happened during the Skyscraper sessions. Basically, he was just slowly edged to the curb. Roth blew it. He didn't know what he had. And unfortunately, Vai didn't back up Sheehan. Sheehan was too diplomatic to put it that way, but that's what happened. Vai co-signed Roth, and the rest is history. That band could have changed the rock world. Roth blew it.
Eat ‘‘em and smile is in my top five favourite albums of all times. It is a true masterpiece and I’ve loved listening to it since I was a teenager up until this very day.!
Eat 'Em And Smile is such a great album. Steve, Billy and Greg just tore it up. I saw them that tour and was just stunned at how great it was. It's too bad that Skyscraper was such a disappointment. As a bass player, I was so looking forward to more Steve/Billy antics, but they just weren't there.
Passion and warfare stands as my favorite non vocals album of all time. Steve really is a rock god amongst guitarists.
Excellent interview. The Eat 'Em and Smile LP & tour was excellent. Was at their gig in San Francisco. Cinderella opened that evening. Incredible memorable experience, times during the '80s.
Best gig I have ever seen... brilliant entertainment combine with jaw dropping musical brilliance. You could not take your eyes off it! Thanks Steve for creating awesome music! I am a drummer and met Greg Bissonette a few years ago. He remembers it all just as fondly!
Steve is still playing well, go see him while you can.
Absolutely! He never stops touring too!
Saw him at Lakeland Civic Center on the Eat Em and Smile Tour. Saw Van Halen there 4 yrs prior. Steve has always been a better Player and Showman than Eddie. This from a Guitarist since 1979.
Vai killed it. Bravo 👏
You listen to Vai, Satch, EVH, Jimmy Page, John 5, Rik Emmett or any of these guys...they always seem so humble. I could listen to this guy all day.
I remember when they came to Melbourne Australia it was next level greatness. Every now and again i come across people who were there and everyone says the same thing, best ever.
I think eeas is an all time classic. So fresh so punchy so funny. I already knew Vai for his work with Alcatrazz (great album by the way) but this.... What a wonderful time to be young. Thank you Steve.
Steve Vai's work was great with DLR. I don't think there could have been a better guitar player for DLR solo band. Steve Vai was perfect!
Steve Vai is a monster. His fingers are an entire phalange longer than mine and I don't have short fingers. How do I know this? I met him on the street one day and I asked him to hold his hand up to mine and he graciously obliged. He was with Whitesnake at the time and they were renting the local civic center as a practice hall before starting their tour (I forget what year this was) and he was just walking down the street carrying a small bag of groceries, without a bodyguard or anything, to the nearby hotel, which is a very short walk from the civic center, across the street from the mall. I didn't really feel comfortable coming up to him, I like to respect people's personal space, but I had seen him play live with David Lee Roth before and at the time I felt like I just had to know.
My favorite guitar solo of all time is on Big Trouble!! If you haven’t heard it go listen to it immediately. Thank you, Steve Vai.
Legend! -Thanx for this diamond moment! -
Ill never forget seeing him play with Whitesnake at Monsters of rock, i think 91, even tho we were Covered in Beer & pi££ from 0000s of plastic bottles thrown in the interval at 2 or 3am. To see this man live was like watching an athlete as well as a musician.
I was a MEGA Van Halen fan in the early 80's. When Dave left the band it was was like a slash to my throat. I felt betrayed. I was angry that he destroyed something I loved so much and when Eat'em and Smile came out I wanted to just hate it, ignore it and ignore him. I wanted Van Hagar to just obliterate it. But the reality is...It was AMAZING! Steve Vai did have to win me over and he did. I never listened to VH for Dave, it was Eddie that did it for me. Dave, Mike and Alex certainly had their parts, but Eddie was the star IMO. But Steve Vai stepped up to the plate and took a MASSIVE swing and the DLR band was incredible. I saw them on that tour at the Forum in Los Angeles and sadly, they had a power outage right at the start of the show less that 30 seconds into the performance. They got it worked out in about 15 minutes and I'm sure that just killed Dave. In his home town. But once the engine was firing on all cylinders, that show was F-'n AMAZING. In hindsight, I don't think there was any other guitar player who could have filled those shoes for Dave. Steve did and that Album stands up to this day!
I had a similar experience. I loved VH and was gutted by the breakup. But man that band of all star killers DLR had was hard to resist. I was too young to catch VH in concert, but I did see Dave & Co on the Eat em and smile tour and it was incredible. I have been a Steve Vai fan ever since.
Humility to match his talent. Great artist and possibly an even better human.✌️❤️🎵
That was a trippy time in the 80s. Following the MEgA US FESTIVAL and 1984 ToUR, when the band split is was a hard shot. I always loved Sammy and his own thing of The Red Rocker. DLR got the best for his Eat Em and Smile. Vai and Sheenan was a great combination. I saw that tour and VH 5150 with Sammy. Steve Vai is a true musical genius in his own dimension.
Loved you then, love you now Steve. You're one of the greats.