“As soon as I heard the news, I turned to my roommate and said, ‘That’s my gig.’ The next day, Dave rings”: Steve Vai on how he joined David Lee Roth’s band – and Roth’s desire to “beat Van Halen”

(Image credit: Clayton Call/Redferns / Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Steve Vai has opened up on his early experiences in David Lee Roth’s band, recalling how he felt destined for the role – and how he navigated inevitable comparisons to the singer’s former guitar foil, Eddie Van Halen.

In 1985, Roth – fresh from leaving Van Halen – went about establishing his solo career. In his new band, an elite electric guitar player who could keep up with the level Roth experienced in Van Halen – and one who could hold down a spot previously held by the era’s greatest guitar player – was a priority.

For Vai’s part, though, he saw the Roth gig as one of the most hallowed spots in contemporary rock at the time, and viewed himself as tailor-made for the job – and it wasn’t long before Roth came calling.

Speaking about his experience in Roth’s band in a new episode of Billy Corgan’s The Magnificent Others podcast, Vai remembers, “When the word was out that David Lee Roth was putting a band together and he was looking for a guitarist, I mean, it was probably the most coveted rock guitar position.

“I was in my little apartment on Fairfax Street in Hollywood, and as soon as I heard that news, I turned to my roommate and I said, ‘That’s my gig.’

“It was just this intuitive, little voice that said, ‘No matter what you do, even if you don’t want it, it’s your gig.’ It’s just one of those things. The next day, the phone rings and it’s Dave.”

Steve Vai | The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan – YouTube

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Playing guitar for Roth, who had been working with Van Halen up until that point, naturally came with added pressure.

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Furthermore, the perception of Roth’s band was one of competition, and although the singer had grand designs for a project that could match up to the might of Van Halen, Corgan ultimately notes, “Dave didn’t do what he set out to do, which was beat Van Halen.”

“I just knew that I could make it work, because I had a rock and roll fire that I loved in me,” Vai elaborates of his experience in the band. “I knew that I wasn’t going to try to sound like Edward or do anything like him, because people are very hip to that.

“We didn’t have the songs. Van Halen had the songs for that kind of success,” Vai adds of the two group’s differing levels of success. “They’re good songs, but Eddie, he’s got his whole ear for writing. That’s the secret. That’s the secret sauce. You can’t replace that.

“We had great music. I love the music, but when I say we didn’t have the songs, I’m talking about those specific things that cross over at radio.”

In the mid-1980s, Vai wasn’t the only guitar player in the mix to join Roth’s band. Recently, Steve Stevens revealed he too was approached for the gig.

Matt is the GuitarWorld.com News Editor, and has been writing and editing for the site for almost five years. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 19 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. During his GW career, he’s interviewed Peter Frampton, Zakk Wylde, Tosin Abasi, Matteo Mancuso and more, and has profiled the CEOs of Guitar Center and Fender.

When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt performs with indie rock duo Esme Emerson, and has previously opened for the likes of Ed Sheeran, Keane, Japanese House and Good Neighbours.