“When Van Halen’s first record came out, I was so proud of them – it was awesome. But did Eddie Van Halen affect my playing style? No”: Dave Meniketti on turning down Frampton, and how Y&T might’ve been bigger if they’d opened for themselves

Dave Meniketti performs onstage.

“If you opened for us, it was a sure sign you were going to make it,” Dave Meniketti says. As guitarist, singer and all-around main man for the Bay Area hard rock stalwarts Y&T, he saw a lot of up-and-comers breeze by during the late Seventies and into the Eighties. 

“Van Halen opened for us, and so did Metallica. Poison opened shows for us. As a matter of fact, back in 1981, Mötley Crüe played their first gig ever when they opened for us at the Starwood in LA. It’s in their book.”