This Wednesday night (November 25), Steve Vai, Billy Sheehan and drummer Gregg Bissonette will reunite at Lucky Strike Live in Hollywood, California, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of David Lee Roth's Eat 'Em and Smile album with a one-time-only show.
They'll be joined by guest vocalist Ralph Saenz, also known as Steel Panther's Michael Starr.
The show is free, and it'll kick off 8:30 p.m. It will mark the first time in 30 years that Vai, Sheehan and Bissonette have played together. They'll be recreating music from the 1986 album and tour.
Eat 'Em and Smile was the first of two Roth albums to feature Vai and Sheehan.
"As 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," Vai told GuitarWorld.com earlier this month. "At the time, that was the most coveted gig for a guitar player. I had opportunities to audition for other big rock bands, but none of them really felt right.
"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. That’s going to be my gig!' I can’t explain it. There was just never any doubt. As soon as Billy said it, that was the pull and it took me about one second to think about it and say yes.
"It was alluring because I loved Van Halen. Dave was the quintessential rock star and I loved the idea of being on the side. It was an amazing situation to be in at the time, and we played our asses off. Everything was about playing as good, hard and crazy as you possibly could while still being a showman. Looking back at the Eighties, I was so lucky to be a part of that."
This show is part of "Ultimate Jam Night," a series of free performances that take place Wednesdays at Lucky Strike Live. This particular "Ultimate Jam Night" certainly lives up to its name.
