Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony had already assembled one hell of a band for this summer season’s Best of All Worlds tour, which is able to have a good time their decade-long run collectively in Van Halen.

In addition to their Circle associate Jason Bonham on drums, the duo recruited guitar wizard Joe Satriani – one other former bandmate, this time from Chickenfoot – to deal with Eddie Van Halen’s well-known and difficult guitar components. The tour kicks off this Saturday in West Palm Beach.

But a fifth band member has been current within the social media video previews Hagar’s been posting from tour rehearsals: multi-instrumentalist Rai Thistlethwayte, who’s been part of Satriani’s touring band for a number of years.

For over 20 years, Thistlethwayte has been the lead singer and first songwriter for the Australian pop-rock band Thirsty Merc. He additionally performs solo beneath the title Sun Rai and in jazz bands with all kinds of artists.

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Hagar says Thistlethwayte has been an ideal addition to the group, notably by way of his vocal talents. “I’m so happy to have Rai,” he tells UCR. “He’s playing the parts and singing the background vocals. His voice sounds so good with Mike’s and mine. It sounds so much like the record, the vocals, more than anything. It’s above and beyond what I expected. I thought it was going to be good and we all had high expectations, but it’s chemistry, you know? You never know until you all get in there. Rai has a sense of humor. He’s really funny and he gets along with us. He can take a good punch, because you know, of course, we’re teasing him all of the time.”

Thistlethwayte’s guitar expertise may also free Hagar up to deal with his personal vocal duties extra.  “You know, I hope the fans don’t get pissed. Because a lot of my fans want me to play more guitar,” he continues. “But I don’t have to play more guitar. With him around, it’s like, there’s a couple of songs that I would have had to play guitar on, a couple of Van Halen songs that have two really distinct parts, especially during the solo. ‘Summer Nights’ has a minor 9 chord and it’s a real part of the song. Eddie starts off by playing that and then he overdubbed the solo and kept the rhythm part in there. So it’s really part of the song. Now, Rai’s doing it. If I had to sit there and play that thing, I’d be pissed. [Laughs] I’d be going, “Man, I’m strapped down here. I have to sit here and look at my shoes all night?” You know, Eddie’s guitar parts are not vocal friendly. It’s not easy, in the sense that you can’t play those parts and sing what I sing at the same time. I mean, I’m sorry, Jimi Hendrix would have been saying, ‘No, fuck this!'”

Hagar says the band has rehearsed over 30 songs up to now, with 90% coming from the Van Halen catalog. Hagar says buying and selling pre-recorded tracks for a stay keyboardist has been great: “That’s really awesome. That’s the whole key now, it’s like, ‘Wow, we can play this song, instead of sitting there and playing to a track.’ It’s like people who use teleprompters. You know, I don’t use those, because I don’t like to read the lyrics to the audience. That’s like playing to a track [for me], it’s the same kind of vibe. You have to pay attention, but when everything’s live, we’re just playing together. Man, it’s above my expectations. It’s just really good. We’re kind of taking on a sound of our own. I mean, it sounds like Van Halen. My old stuff sounds like my old stuff, but it’s [all] just got a little bit of a different thing about it. It’s certainly more fun to play this way, I’ll tell you that.”

Fans Can Expect a (Slightly) More Structured Sammy Hagar Show

Still, followers can anticipate a barely much less unfastened ambiance on the exhibits, So Hagar and firm can make the most of their high-tech new stage and lighting setup. “We’ve got a big production. I spent a fortune on a production that we built for this thing,” he explains. “The way the lights and everything are, it’s going to be a lot of automation, so things happen at a certain time to bring the magic. I usually don’t do that. I’ve been partying on stage since I left Van Halen. I haven’t had any structure, I haven’t had a set list, hardly at all. Mike and I just go out and we just fuckin’ party and the audience parties with us. That’s wonderful. We’re still going to do that, but we’re going to have to do a few things consistently, because I spent a lot of money to make magic happen. You’ve got to make sure that lightning strikes at the right time.”