ADRIAN VANDENBERG:” playing with STEVE VAI in WHITESNAKE was an interesting challenge”
23-04-2025
Adrian Vandenberg, who was a member of WHITESNAKE from 1987 to 1990, and again from 1994 to 1997, spoke to American Musical Supply about what it was like to share the stage with legendary axeman Steve Vai. Vai joined WHITESNAKE in time for 1989’s “Slip Of The Tongue”, an album co-written by Vandenberg, and although the Dutch guitarist didn’t feature on the album, he rejoined the band for its subsequent touring cycle.
“Playing with Steve was quite a challenge because he’s a virtuoso,” Adrian admitted. “It was an interesting challenge because it really put me on thinking about what is my style? Because I got carried away when I joined WHITESNAKE, the whole fast playing bit that was going on in the States, and I’ve never really been into it, because I was influenced by guys like Brian May and early Leslie West, the blues players and melodic players like (Michael) Schenker. And a lot of people don’t even realize that Eddie Van Halen is actually a really melodic player because it kind of got covered by — he was so flamboyant in his playing, but if you listen to a lot of the solos, they always have a little melody in it that he repeats live as well. And then he does all the flurry stuff in between. So, for me, it’s mainly the right note on the right spot. And so touring with Steve, I thought, ‘Oh, wait a minute. I got carried away a little bit the last couple of years, so I’m gonna focus on what I think I should be doing.’ And that was a really great way for us to work together because we’ve got such different styles. So, yeah, I really enjoyed it. He’s a great guy with a sense of humor. It was a wonderful time.”
Vandenberg was a member of WHITESNAKE for 13 years at the height of the band’s fame, contributing the solo on “Here I Go Again”. He was also part of supergroup MANIC EDEN, and more recently released a number of albums with VANDENBERG’S MOONKINGS.
Vandenberg‘s namesake band released its comeback album, titled “2020”, in May 2020 via Mascot Records/Mascot Label Group. A follow-up LP, “Sin”, arrived in August 2023.
The group’s fifth full-length offering, “Sin”, was produced by Bob Marlette (OZZY OSBOURNE, ALICE COOPER, ROB ZOMBIE).
Recalling his refusal to return to WHITESNAKE when Coverdale resurrected the band in 2002, Vandenberg told “White Line Fever” that the singer “wanted to stop altogether because he was kind of worn out on the road. He didn’t want to do it anymore… When he called me up and said he wanted to start it up again, I couldn’t do it because I had all kinds of obligations for exhibitions for my paintings. And those are always planned a year ahead, because art galleries reserve the space a year ahead because exhibitions usually last three to six months or something. I couldn’t do it but we did keep in touch always. We still do.”
The guitarist added that he and Coverdale became “very good friends over the years, so you never know what might happen… We actually have pretty specific ideas about maybe doing a blues album or an acoustic thing or whatever… Sooner or later it might happen, but right now we’re really involved in other projects. So this is probably not the time. But I wouldn’t be surprised if, sooner or later, we end up doing something together in some kind of format. I was in WHITESNAKE for 13 years, which is quite a long time. I still hold the record, I think.”
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