David Lee Roth had a lot of juice and a lot of expectations in the mid-80s. He decided to leave Van Halen at the peak of the band's popularity. He would need a dynamite band behind him if he were to ever continue his success as a solo artist, and he managed to put one together.
The David Lee Roth Band was never officially credited on Roth's 80s releases, but they helped keep the charismatic frontman on top of the charts. Eddie Martinez and Sid McGinnis took turns being in the band, and there are too many bassists to keep track of. One member who remained a constant during the band's peak, though, was guitarist Steve Vai.
Steve Vai joined Roth's band in 1985
Vai, a session wiz who had played with played with Frank Zappa as a teenager, was the perfect fit for David Lee Roth's aggressive rock. He played guitar on both Eat 'Em and Smile (1986) and Skyscraper (1988), which generated hit singles. He decided to leave the band in 1989, however, and never looked back.
Vai told Classic Rock that he enjoyed his time with the David Lee Roth Band, but found that it got old quick. He wanted to try out different things musically, and felt that band's commercial expectations made that impossible. "It was really fulfilling to be in Dave Roth's band all those years," he said. "But I had the right amount of it."
Vai was creatively dissatisfied by 1989
The irony is that Steve Vai wasn't even Roth's first choice to join the band. Billy Sheehan, the most notable bassist to play for the David Lee Roth Band, told the Ryan Roxie Podcast that Roth actually wanted Steve Stevens to join up. Stevens was best known for his work alongside Billy Idol, and he turned down the offer.
Sheehan, however, countered with the idea of recruiting another Steve, Steve Vai. "When it didn’t work out, I told Dave, ‘I know another Steve,'" Sheehan recalled. "Because I had already spoken with Steve Vai about possibly working with him. So, when Stevens wasn’t available, I had Dave contact [Vai] and he worked out great."
It did, in fact, work out great. Steve Vai is considered by many to be David Lee Roth's best musical partner outside of Eddie Van Halen, which is quite the compliment. Vai has since gone on to release solo albums and collaborate with the likes of Whitesnake, Alice Cooper and Public Image Ltd.