“I wanted to write a Montrose album, and he wanted to write an album more like the Eagles – and I hate the Eagles”: Stevie Salas on being asked to join David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar’s bands – and why he turned them down

(Image credit: Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images; Scott Dudelson/Getty Images; Paul Natkin/Getty Images)

When Stevie Salas calls time on his career, he will not want for high-profile credits. He has played with Rod Stewart, made records with Bootsy Collins and Buddy Miles, guested on records by Michael Hutchence, Glenn Hughes and the Jeff Healey band – and he has had a successful solo career, and worked as musical director and consultant on American Idol.

When we consider all this in sum, we might be able to understand why Salas turned down not one, but two former Van Halen frontmen when they came calling.

Salas is a self-described “Van Halen nut”, so how could he pass this up? Well, technically he did say yes to Hagar. At least, he played with him for a little bit. It just never went any further, as Salas explains in a new interview with Guitar World.

Salas has long said that Montrose’s self-titled debut album is his favorite rock album of all time. But there’s no point in forcing a collaboration if you’re not on the same page. Besides, the timing was all wrong. This was the mid ‘90s and Salas’ solo career was doing well. Back from the Living was “blowing up” in Europe and he was still under contract to the label.

David Lee Roth? That’s a more surreal encounter. Salas knew Roth, met him when he was doing his thing with Rod Stewart. He and Eddie Van Halen were good friends.

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At the time, Roth was in need of some six-string talent. Steve Vai had left his band for Whitesnake, so he gave Salas a call.

“I was a Van Halen nut, but when Roth called me, I was vacuuming, and I thought when he called, somebody was taking the piss,” says Salas. “But it was him. I turned the vacuum cleaner off, and was like, ‘Oh, shit…’ [laughs]”

Roth made him an offer. But all these years later, Salas is not so sure what Roth was looking for. It sure as hell wasn’t Eat ‘Em and Smile Part II.

“He talked to me for about an hour, but he kind of sounded like he was out of his mind,” says Salas. “He was talking about making a blues album, like B.B. King, and I’m thinking, ‘What am I doing?’ I had a recording contract, and I was like, ‘Shit…’ and didn’t like where Dave was going. I didn’t like the Skyscraper album, and I just didn’t think it was what I wanted to do.”

And so he didn’t, and the rest is history. You can read the full interview with Stevie Salas, coming soon to Guitar World.

Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to publications including Guitar World, MusicRadar and Total Guitar. He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halen’s Panama.