Dave was the quintessential rock star and I loved the idea of being on the side. The reason it was alluring was because I loved Van Halen. What was it that attracted you to the gig? As soon as Billy said it, that was the pull and it took me about one second to think about it and say yes.
That’s going to be my gig!” I can’t explain it. But then I got call from Billy Sheehan, who said, “Dave Roth is looking for a guitar player and I hipped him to you.” I don’t know what it was but as soon as Billy said those words I was like, “Yep. I had opportunities to audition for other big rock bands but none of them really felt right. At the time, that was the most coveted gig for a guitar player. How did that come about?Īs a teenager, I was really into Frank Zappa and composition, but I had also always fantasized about being on the big rock stage and jumping around like crazy and playing to thousands of people. Thirty years ago, you, Billy Sheehan and Gregg Bissonette got together to form the nucleus of David Lee Roth’s band after he acrimoniously left Van Halen. I asked him if he could play some more and that’s when he said, “Which one? I know them all.”. After he had finished, I said, “What the heck was that?” He told me it was a Chopin etude. Just like an accomplished concert pianist with tremendous accuracy and emotional investment. But when I go around the corner there’s Tony playing this Chopin etude absolutely flawlessly. At first, I thought it was a concert pianist that had somehow been left over from the night before. When we were on tour, we were at a venue where they had a piano set up in the back room, and I remember hearing this piano playing from around the corner. Was there anything you didn’t already know about Tony that surprised you? There’s a tragedy in it, but there’s also the divine shining through from all the love and support he’s getting from everyone he’s worked with and who’s supported him. It’s since snowballed into what's going to be an absolutely incredible event to raise money to help Tony. So when Mike Mesker called me about the benefit, I was completely on board. Some people are just naturally gifted, and Tony’s one of them. Tony’s a lovely guy and it was such a pleasure to tour with him. It worked out great and we had so much fun. I also knew having someone like Tony in the band would bring everything to a whole different level. I was putting a band together and needed a guitar player who could also play keyboards, and I had heard that Tony could play some keyboards. So I had always known of him, but it wasn’t until years later that we actually met. He made some excellent records that really showcased his tremendous guitar finesse and virtuosity. Tony was a part of that movement in a big way. GUITAR WORLD: Tell me about your relationship with Tony MacAlpine and how you guys met.īack in the Eighties when there was this emergence of virtuoso-style guitar players, there was this handful of guys that had extraordinary chops and were always raising the bar. I recently spoke to Vai about the event-dubbed the Benefit Concert for Tony MacAlpine-and a lot more in this exclusive interview. For fans who are unable to make the show but still want to contribute, a GoFundMe campaign has been set up for MacAlpine.
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