Billy Sheehan sat down with Paltrocast and recalled the times he worked with the original Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth. During the chat, he revealed why he never reunited with DLR.
“I love Dave,” the bassist said. “I see little things he does online now and I think they’re fascinating and hilarious. He is quite a renaissance man in so many ways. I learned so much from him like getting a PhD in Showbiz 101, really, just so great.”
“I don’t recall any concrete plans at that time, around 97,” he admitted. “I remember what was going on around that time but I think I did speak with him. if that was the case I probably would have been happy to work with him.”
At the time, Sheehan was a member of DLR’s backing band. During his time, Sheehan performed on the first two DLR studio albums, 1986′ ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile’ and 1988’s ‘Skyscraper.’ The bassist left the band due to creative and musical differences but is still grateful to him.
“[David] is a phenomenon of nature and he’s still my hero and I’m still supremely and forever grateful for the break he gave me,” the bassist said in a 2022 interview with Rocking With Jam Man. “And we had a ride together; we had a wonderful time. He’s a jokester and a comedian… I learned so much from him, it’s unbelievable. It was like getting a PhD in Show Biz 101; he knew it inside and out. And he is on. If he’s not on, he’s probably not there. If he’s not around, he’s probably not on. But if he’s around, he’s on. He’s never not on.”
David Lee Roth’s ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile’-era band almost got a reunion back in 2015 for the album’s 30th anniversary, but was stopped by the fire marshal. Although all the band members — Steve Vai, DLR, Sheehan, and Gregg Bissonette — were there, Vai didn’t want to get in trouble so he convinced DLR not to play. The band eventually performed together again in 2019, but Roth did not join them.
