Steve Vai once found himself sitting in Eddie Van Halen’s home studio, surrounded by shelves of tapes the guitarist had recorded on his own — a private archive that may soon be heard by the public.
The material, Vai recalls, was extraordinary.
“I was up at Edward’s house once, in his studio,” Vai tells us via Zoom. “He invited me. He had a room filled with tapes, and he was pulling them out and we were listening. He would just sit and record and play.
“And I’m listening to this stuff and, I’ll tell you, nobody plays like they do when they’re sitting in their room alone. It was a whole library of tapes, and it was such great stuff.”
I said, ‘Why don’t you make a solo record?’ But he always felt that Van Halen was his solo records.”
— Steve Vai
The experience prompted Vai to ask Van Halen a question he’d long wondered about.
“I said, ‘Why don’t you make a solo record?’” Vai recalls. “But he always felt that Van Halen was his solo records.”
Now Vai is among those eager to hear what may emerge from Van Halen’s vaults, which his brother Alex Van Halen is currently reviewing with help from Steve Lukather.
“So I’m sure there’s a lot there to play with, and it’ll be great,” Vai says. “And I’m really glad Alex is working with Luke. More than anybody I knew through the years, Luke and Edward were like this.” Vai crosses his fingers. “So that’s the best guy to help with this.”
Alex Van Halen has acknowledged that he and Lukather are going through recordings his brother left behind after his death in 2020 at age 65. No details have been shared about what may be released or when.
Vai, of course, has plenty on his plate to keep him occupied until the Van Halen material becomes available for public consumption. He’s currently on the road with the SatchVai Band, his new endeavor with longtime friend — and former guitar teacher — Joe Satriani. They’ve released three songs so far and have completed a full album, though no release date has been announced. The tour wraps May 30 in Virginia.
I took the gig because I loved the music, and I’m just attracted to virtually impossible challenges — and Robert Fripp guitar parts, that’s a virtually impossible challenge.”
— Steve Vai
Five weeks later, Vai will be in Europe with Beat, the all-star quartet featuring co-guitarist Adrian Belew, bass guitarist Tony Levin and drummer Danny Carey of Tool, performing music from the early-’80s era of King Crimson.
The group launched in 2024, and Vai says its popularity has surpassed all expectations.
“I took the gig because I loved the music, and I’m just attracted to virtually impossible challenges — and Robert Fripp guitar parts, that’s a virtually impossible challenge,” says Vai, who has received both Fripp’s blessing and valuable input along the way.
“The big surprise I discovered when we got out there was this: It’s not the musicians who are the attraction, although there’s some of that. It’s the music. It’s the way the music is supported by those fans. They are fiercely supportive. The music was the boss, and that music is beloved. So the turnout was a surprise and a delight.”
Vai and company have already taken Beat around North America, South America and Japan. The upcoming European run will wrap July 27. A Beat Live album from the tour’s early legs was released in September.
“We’re hoping some more Beat stuff will happen after that,” Vai says — which, of course, raises the prospect of the band creating music of its own, an idea that leaves the guitarist somewhat ambivalent.
In Beat I feel like a dutiful soldier. That’s my role. I’m here to do my best to deliver Robert Fripp’s notes to the fans who love this music.”
— Steve Vai
“Well, that’s an interesting question that comes up,” Vai acknowledges. “It comes up in my mind and everybody’s. And of course it can happen. We could sit and start writing things.
“But I’m not quite sure how I feel about that, because in Beat I feel like a dutiful soldier. That’s my role. I’m here to do my best to deliver Robert Fripp’s notes to the fans who love this music. Of course there are some of my notes in there, but they’re not my songs, and they’re not my musical DNA.
“So I’m trying to figure out: If I start writing for this, how does that square with King Crimson music — and then what is Beat? I don’t know yet, but it’s something to think about, and maybe there’s an answer in there someplace.”
Vai adds that after focusing on SatchVai and Beat, he’ll be eager to return to his own work. On his docket are an acoustic-and-vocal album and, he says, “three or four” albums drawn from sessions with the Metropole Orchestra in the Netherlands and the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra in Finland. He also has a piece to compose that will be performed during the summer of 2027 in The Hague, and he’ll host a Creamsicle Sunset cruise on the Rhine River around the same time.
