Jason Newsted Backed Out Of Invitation To Jam With Alex Van Halen Last Year

Alex Van Halen considered putting together a new band last year with former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted and guitarist Joe Satriani, according to Newsted.

In an interview published last week by The Palm Beach Post, Newsted revealed that he was invited to jam with Alex late last fall to rehearse Van Halen music and discuss a possible tour to celebrate the band's legacy.

Newsted says he initially agreed, but then backed out after he gave it more thought.

"How could you?" he said he wondered. "There's nobody that can top it so how do you show it honor? I didn't want it to be viewed as a money grab. And then it kind of just all fizzled."

That seems to be the way things have gone with Van Halen in recent years. The band was rumored to be planning a stadium tour in 2019, but the plans quietly fell through due to Eddie Van Halen's health issues.

After Eddie's death, it was revealed that the Van Halen brothers (at the urging of Eddie's son Wolfgang) were actually considering a tour with David Lee Roth, Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar in '19.

Anthony confirmed that he had been contacted by Van Halen's management about a reunion that year, but after some time, negotiations went quiet and he was never given a reason why.

The Van Halen family began considering some kind of concert tribute to Eddie not long after his death in the fall of 2020. Wolfgang explained at the time, however, that they wouldn't plan anything until the COVID-19 pandemic was under control. It's unclear with Wolfgang had any part in the project Alex was exploring with Newsted and Satriani.

Newsted did not tell The Palm Beach Post whether any singers were being considered for Alex's project.

While Hagar remains busy on tour, Roth announced his retirement last fall, then canceled his final run of shows in December due to COVID concerns. The singer has given no indication that he plans to reschedule.

Alex and Eddie's last concert together was at the Hollywood Bowl in October of 2015. The band's inability to get back on tour after that show has been largely attributed to Eddie's battle with cancer.