Alex Van Halen Says David Lee Roth Tanked EVH Tribute Tour

Alex Van Halen confirmed the rumors of a Van Halen tribute tour following the death of Eddie Van Halen in a new Rolling Stone interview — and he placed the blame for its dissolution squarely on singer David Lee Roth.

Rumors of the tour surfaced in April 2022 when former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted said he received an invitation to jam with Alex Van Halen and Joe Satriani, who would have handled guitar duties on the trek. (Original Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony was also reportedly considered for the gig.) But Alex claimed that when he suggested an explicit recognition of his brother during each show, Roth lost his cool.

“The thing that broke the camel’s back, and I can be honest about this now,” Alex told Rolling Stone, “was I said, ‘Dave, at some point, we have to have a very overt — not a bowing — but an acknowledgment of Ed in the gig. If you look at how Queen does it, they show old footage.’ And the moment I said we gotta acknowledge Ed, Dave fuckin’ popped a fuse. … The vitriol that came out was unbelievable.”

Alex, unsurprisingly, didn’t take kindly to Roth’s refusal to acknowledge his brother onstage. “I’m from the street,” he said. “‘You talk to me like that, motherfucker, I’m gonna beat your fucking brains out. You got it?’ And I mean that. And that’s how it ended.”

The drummer said he still keeps in touch with Roth following the blowup, but it left him bewildered. “It’s just, my God. It’s like I didn’t know him anymore,” he added. “I have nothing but the utmost respect for his work ethic and all that. But, Dave, you gotta work as a community, motherfucker. It’s not you alone anymore.”

READ MORE: Hear Alex Van Halen Eulogize Eddie Van Halen in ‘Brothers’ Clip

Alex Van Halen’s Spinal Injury Has Kept Him From Drumming

Ultimately, Alex wouldn’t have been able to take part in the tribute tour anyway, as he suffered a spinal injury during a trip to a shooting range in 2022 that made it difficult for him to move, let alone play drums. “The rifle kicked me on my ass,” he said, “and broke my back, instantly. And then I spent a year on the floor. Just staring at the ceiling. We became best friends.”

In hindsight, Alex said he doesn’t regret missing out on the proposed Van Halen tribute tour. “It’s too bad on one hand, but it’s fine on the other,” he explained. “Because now, in retrospect, playing the old songs is not really paying tribute to anybody. That’s just like a jukebox, in my opinion. … To find a replacement for Ed? It’s just not the same.”

Alex Van Halen’s ‘Brothers’ Memoir Arriving This Month

Alex Van Halen will release his memoir, Brothers, on Oct. 22. Described as a “love letter” to the late Eddie Van Halen, the book will detail Alex’s one-of-a-kind personal and musical relationship with his brother, and the audio version will include previously unreleased music from the duo.

Alex is also clear about which version of Van Halen he considers definitive, writing in his book: “The heart and the soul and the creativity and the magic was Dave, Ed, Mike and me.”