During a recent appearance on Masters of Shred, Darren Housholder revealed that David Lee Roth preferred not to have family men in his band.
How Housholder Almost Became Part Of Roth’s Band
He recalled a time when John 5 joined Marilyn Manson and the band was searching for a new guitar player. “Well yeah, so that’s when John [5] joined Marilyn Manson and they were looking for a guitar player,” Housholder said when the host asked about his audition with Roth. “I think Ray [Luzier] threw my name in the hat and so I would write some things I thought Dave would like.”
Housholder continued, “And his courier named Steve Martin would come pick up the cassette tape. David called and I drove over to his house in Pasadena and we would hang out, just he and I. It was cool. So, I did that twice, and then the second time leaving, he sees me. I got the car seat. I had my son Dorian who was just like a year old.”
The Factors Behind The Rejection
Housholder shared more details: “I just started brand new energy, my distribution company. This was like somewhere around 98 and he just sort of said, ‘How’s your family?'” He replied, “Oh, great.”
He added, “And then I drove away and I kind of thought to myself that was him saying, ‘Hey you know, go ahead.’ And he did me a favor basically. It would have been… It was better that I didn’t get that gig at that time.”
Previously, Housholder had discussed almost getting the Roth gig in 1999 after John 5 left. “I sent over a tape, and he liked it, and I went over to Dave’s house. Just me and him. … And I wrote some more music and he liked it. And I went back to his house again.”
He then explained, “Then he walks me to my truck, and I’ve got a kid and I just started my business, and he sort of looks at me and asks ‘How’s the family doing?’ And I say ‘We’re doing well, thanks, Dave.’ And that’s the last I heard from him. Two things happened. 1 – he wants all his band to be bachelors. 2 – Bart Walsh had gotten through to him,” Housholder noted.
Throughout his career, Housholder has worked with various bands and musicians, releasing three albums with Shrapnel in the 90s, collaborating with Love/Hate, briefly joining Jeff Pilson’s War & Peace, and playing with W.A.S.P and Enuff Z’nuff.
