A David Lee Roth band featuring a returning Billy Sheehan and drummer Carmine Appice almost happened in the late 90s? That was a question DLR Book author Darren Paltrowitz recently posed to Sheehan.
Below is the Q&A excerpt from Sheehan’s recent appearance on Paltrowitz’s podcast The Paltrocast.
DP: In ’97, ’98 Dave did this newsletter through a website that’s since been deleted where he said, “…and Billy Sheen is coming back.” In that same era, he teased that Carmine Appice was also joining his band. When I asked [DLR Band bassist] Tom Lilly about playing on two or three songs on the DLR Band album he said, “‘”Yeah, we were waiting for Billy to come around so I just filled in.” Is all this nonsense or did you almost rejoin the band in, like, ’97, ’98?
BS: Quite amazingly this is all pretty new to me, you saying this right here and now. I think there could have been a time…I think I briefly had communicated with Dave around that time but I’m not sure if he took the ball and ran with it without me knowing about it, which I don’t mind. I love Dave. I would have loved to have played with him at any time. I would have advised him strongly, ‘Let’s get the original Eat ’em and Smile band back together instead of bringing in Carmine. I love Carmine. I just did a Cactus tribute record with him, and he’s one of my favorite people, and Vanilla Fudge is one of my most influential bands of my life by far, including his drumming of course. Tim Bogert on bass. But, yeah, I love Dave. I see little things he does online now and I think they’re fascinating and hilarious and he is quite a renaissance man in so many ways. I learned so much from him. It was like getting a PhD in Showbiz 101, really. Just so great but, no, I don’t recall any concrete plans at that time around ’97. I remember what was going on around that time but I think I did speak with him and maybe he…If that was the case, I probably would have been happy to work with him.
Watch “Billy Sheehan Talks Influences”