Eller: In your own words, who is Bart Walsh?

Walsh: Just a regular guy who loves his girlfriend, guitars, friends and his family.

Where did you grow up?

In Winston-Salem, N.C.

Do you have brothers and/or sisters? Are they and/or your parents musically inclined?

I have one brother-My mom sings like a Bird and my great uncle was a famous pioneer of early country music-He taught me how to play.

Are you any relation to Joe Walsh?

Nope-but I LOVE his playing and the Eagles

How long have you been playing guitar?

33 yrs.

Do you play any other instruments?

Bass

At what age did you decide you were going to play music for a living? Were your parents supportive of this decision?

At 16 I was playing out and making more money in a night than I did in a week at my dads business-My pop was cool but mom worried and still does.

Who are your biggest musical influences?

My uncle-Every teacher and student I had- Van Halen, Rhoades, Many blues and country guys and some jazz cats.

Are you married?

Never been married and I have no kids. But now I have the most amazing girlfriend ever.

What would people be most surprised to know about Bart Walsh?

That I donated a Kidney to my brother in 1998

If you couldn't be a musician, what would you want to be?

A producer and A&R person

When you're not playing, practicing, or otherwise  involved with music, what do you like to do in your free time?

Hang with my girl, chill out and NOT listen to music!

How did you meet Scott Patterson?

Scott answered an ad for my band in college and we ended up playing together for 20 yrs-I miss him a lot-best drummer ever

In our interview with him, Scott said he enjoys restoring old muscle cars, and I know that Michael Anthony and several other musicians are also into cars. Do you share in this interest? What do you drive?

I've always dug BMW's and owned several-I drive a 4- runner now and love it!

How did you meet/start working with Ralph Saenz?

I was looking for a singer because my original band had a record out internationally but we had problems with our singer-I swore I would never play in a cover band again but Ralph sounded so good on The VH stuff that we played a few shows and people freaked-Ralph is by far the best rock singer I have ever worked with.

What are some of your other early musical projects/bands?

Many early original and cover bands

• Motherlode-1978-1981-original and covers
• Threshold-w/ Scott Patterson-1982-1985-original band w/ 1 EP
• Driver-1983-1984 w/ Scott Patterson-covers and Originals-
• Britain-1987-1989-Originals
• Lancia-1989-1994-w/Scott Patterson-original-1 record
• Atomic Punks-1994-1999-Covers
• Brett Michaels band-1998-Brett's songs
• David lee Roth band-1999-2001-covers

How did you get the word that David Lee Roth wanted you in his band? Did he call you personally? Were you expecting it, or was it a surprise?

I had sent him a tape and he called me me 3 years later-It thought it was Ralph at first-I was surprised but I had heard they were looking at me as a replacement for John Lowery

Had you met Dave before you were hired?

No- and I never auditioned-it was 2 weeks into rehearsals before I met him

What was the first gig you played with Dave?

Paradiso in Amsterdam

Did Dave talk to you or give you any advice/words of wisdom before that first show?

Lots-he told me what to wear-how to move-where to stand-He gave me musical freedom except for certain songs- He insisted I play Eruption and Spanish Fly which I did not want to do because I KNEW the reaction the fans would have and I was right-Those are too much  signature Ed pieces and some people did not dig it, although a lot did

What was it like working with Dave? Was it what you expected? Discuss...

He was cool most of the time and always knew what he wanted-You always had to be on your toes as there was always a lot of projects going on at once

How did it compare to working with Ralph?

Ralph is way more laid back- The Punks almost never rehearsed-we just learned the songs at home and went and played them

How much did you get to contribute musically when working with Dave? How much influence did you have on the sound?

He let me do alot of the musical direction when he wasn't around and that was cool-If he did not like it when he came in then we simply changed it

What album(s) did you play on with Dave? Talk about your discography-

• Threshold EP 1984-
• Lancia-1993
• Van Halen tribute-- w/ Ralph Saenz -1997
• Van Halen tribute-various artists-1998
• Forever Mod-Rod Stewart tribute-1998
• Most of the tracks on the David lee Roth BBQ video-2001

What's the funniest thing that occurred on tour with Dave?

Every night before a show he would do improv and crack us up

Same question, but with the Atomic Punks?

Probably the success and the long-life of the band-But the band has always been so good through all of it's line-up's it can't be denied the title of the world best VH tribute-Plus Ralph is so dead on and it fill's a void for VH fans

Does Dave ever lose the "Diamond Dave" persona when the cameras aren't around?

Only in airports

Do you still talk to him?

No- but I wish him and the band the best of luck

Does he ever talk about Ed and the boys?  If so what does he say?

He did a little bit, but it was usually about the good times

Have you heard any of the material that Dave and VH worked on in early 2002?

No

If you could interview Eddie Van Halen, what would you ask him?

I have met Ed several times-Once he took me out to his car and played me the balance record before it came out-he is the nicest guy-I asked him mostly about his childhood and what his exact set up was on VH one- That is the holy grail of guitar tone to me and I came pretty close-Brian Young still uses the same rig I designed and built with my tech and Bob Bradshaw-I  sold it to  Dave when I left

Have you met/played with Eddie or any other members of Van Halen?

Met all members-only played with Mikey

What music are you listening to lately? What's in your CD player right now?

Mostly publisher demos-I don't listen to a lot of music really because I write and play so much-It's like eating too much candy-I watch VH1,MTV,CMT and watch the charts to stay current-If I hear something I like, either for production or personal reasons then I go buy it

Throughout your career, you've met/played with a lot of big names. Out of all of them, is there one in particular that you still go "Wow!! I can't believe I actually met/jammed with ________________!" ?

Dave Roth

What have you done since leaving the DLR band? What are you working on now?

I have produced a wide variety of bands from country to nu-metal -I'm writing, doing occasional sessions and recording with my girlfriend who is  an amazingly talented singer.-My full time gig is traveling the world a doing guitar clinics for Gibson guitars.

I understand you've been doing Clinics for Gibson; can you tell us what goes on at one of these clinics?

I play along with backing tracks of instrumental music that I wrote as well as a 12 min. rock medley-I talk and demonstrate the guitars. I go over the history of Gibson and the construction of the instrument with a focus on Les Paul's. Best gig I have ever had. No band, no singer, no hassles!

Have you recorded any original music? If so, where can we hear it?

On my web site when it gets back up and at my clinics-I may do a record sometime in the near future. Also  in TV and Films

What's the next dream/goal in your musical career?

To be a full time A&R person and producer

Where do you see Bart Walsh, 10 years from now?

In A&R and producing

Ok, let's do a little "word association." I'll give  you a word/thought, you tell me the first thing (word/phrase/thought/concept/reaction/etc.) that comes to your mind.

David Lee Roth - Creative Genius

Scott Patterson - One of the best rock drummers ever - Period

Ralph Saenz - Amazing singer

Russ Parrish - Funny as hell and an amazing guitarist

Joe Lester - The Kodiak bear-I had some great times with him

Eddie Van Halen - Changed the course of Rock Guitar

Alex Van Halen - Wild man

Michael Anthony - Nice guy and unbelievable singer

Sammy Hagar - Montrose

Gary Cherone - Extreme

Brian Young - Great Guitar player

Jason Becker - So talented and tragic

Gibson Guitars - The best

Billy Sheehan - Funny guy and super bass God

Ray Luzier - Good drummer

Do you have a favorite song to play?

Nope

We've got several guitar players on our site. Would you tell us about your rig?

Right now I just use a POD for a lot of stuff, then Marshalls, Fenders, Boogies or what ever the situation calls for-As for my rig from the Roth days I used a Peavey 5150 head sent to 2 300-watt Marshall bottoms on stage left and a Custom Audio D.I. -It was sent to a H and H power amp that powered 2 bottoms on stage right-A Bob Bradshaw switcher was used for my phase 90 and flanger - A nanoverb was in the loop of the main head that I used for a little reverb and chorus-There was a wah loop and a back-up system at the flick of a switch

Is there one Concert/Performance/Event/etc. of your career that stands out in your memory?

Reunion Arena in Dallas Tx. 1999-Texas rocks!!!!

Anything else you'd like to add?

Yeah - check for my site to be back up in the future - And just want to thank all the fans of the Atomic Punks and DLR for a great 10 yr run - It was a heck of a ride - OLD VH RULES!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, Bart. It's been great talking with you.

As we complete this Interview, Bart is traveling the country doing clinics for Gibson Guitars. Visit http://www.gibson.com/products/clinics/bartwalsh/clinics.html to see when Bart will be in your area.

Interview Posted 1/04