Joe Satriani admitted he needed assistance in mastering Eddie Van Halen’s distinct guitar riffs.
In 2024 and into 2025, Satriani has teamed up with Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony for a series of shows called “Best of All Worlds,” focusing on Van Halen’s catalog. During a recent appearance on the “Wong Notes” podcast, Satriani discussed the unique challenge of playing Eddie Van Halen’s work.
“This is a gig that I turned down multiple times,” Satriani said. “I was thinking, ‘Oh man, I can’t do this.’ There are so many people who’ve studied Eddie’s technique and nailed it. I’m not one of those guys. I’m over here being Joe all the time. We don’t play the same.”
Satriani noted that Van Halen approached songs with “an orchestra on his fretboard.” He said, “When you get into learning the parts, you realize, ‘Oh my God, everything is beautiful. Everything’s impeccable. Everything is perfect.’”
Joe Satriani Questioned If He Was the Right Fit
As Satriani learned the parts, he found some elements he couldn’t replicate. “My hand doesn’t do that,” he said. “I just can’t do that. And suddenly you realize, okay, this is going to be embarrassing when that part comes and I can’t do it.”
His solution was to create “workarounds” to emulate Van Halen’s sound. Despite this, Satriani questioned whether he was the right man for the job, prompting a call to another Van Halen veteran: Alex Van Halen.
“Early on, when I came up with one too many workarounds, I remember calling Alex and saying, ‘Hey, Alex. I got this list of workarounds. It’s kind of embarrassing. You sure you don’t want to call Nuno [Bettencourt] or someone who nails this stuff in their sleep?’”
Though Satriani didn’t detail his conversation with Alex, he suggested it helped him become more comfortable with the material.
“Eventually I warmed up to the idea of channeling myself through the composition,” he explained. “What helped me a lot was trying to understand the song and what Ed was trying to accomplish, not worrying so much about whether I could pick as fast or tap with my middle finger or this finger while holding the pick this way, which I can’t do.”
The “Best of All Worlds” Las Vegas residency concluded on May 17. Satriani will next focus on his “Surfing With the Hydra” tour with Steve Vai, beginning June 13 in the UK.