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In a recent interview, guitarist Reb Beach of Whitesnake and Winger discussed the band’s “terrible” last tour and stated that not even David Coverdale’s departure could make him feel better about the disastrous journey, as per UCR.
It was the worst ending that it could have been. It couldn’t have been any worse than it was. It’s just how the cookie crumbled. We had a new management, and we had a terrible soundman, then everyone got sick, and it fell apart like Jenga, like all over the table: ‘Okay, guys, that’s it. We sucked. Goodbye.’ I’m talking about front of house. The whole band’s sound was bad. We had shitty hotels. It was a terrible tour; that last tour. Now that’s going to be the fucking headline!
Even while there were some positive moments during the run, Beach also mentioned his personal health troubles as one of the numerous challenges ailing Whitesnake‘s farewell tour.
I got sick early on during the tour. I was the music director of that tour, and I wasn’t happy with what was going on with some of the sound issues. It had nothing to do with David’s voice or anything. We weren’t the team we used to be. We had some great things on that tour, like Tanya [O’Callaghan], the bass player. She was incredible. We all loved her, like, if you even looked at her wrong, all of us would kill you. We’d gang up on you. She was our sister. That was a beautiful breath of fresh air.
It’s really cool that they got to play with Steve Vai. I missed out on that one. That was super cool. Other than that, we had a whole tour scheduled with Scorpions. David couldn’t do it. He called me and said, ‘Rebel. I’m exhausted.’ He was having some issues at the time, so he told me to leave my equipment at his house in case we record something. That was three years ago. They called and said, ‘We’ve got your equipment. We’re sending it back.’
According to Beach, those who are expecting for a comeback tour shouldn’t hold their breath.
That’s it. Whitesnake is definitely done. It makes me sad, of course. We’d be there in a second if David were up for it, but what the hell? How old is David? Seventy-three? Let him retire. I think it’s lovely that he’s going to retire and go on the beach and just enjoy his later years. That stuff is impossible to sing, let’s face it [sings ‘Still of the Night’]. A 73-year-old guy singing that? Unless you’re a freak of nature like Mickey Thomas [of Jefferson Starship]. There are a couple of guys who can do it; that’s a weird miracle.
Winger, who supposedly stopped touring in 2025, will return to the road this year for a few performances with Beach. The guitarist, however, stated that he is considering his choices for new projects and still wants to perform more often.
I had some choices. It’s like, ‘Okay, do I want to take Reb Beach’s ’80s Guitar Extravaganza on the road?’ Get great musicians and get some other has-been ’80s guys like me [laughs] and go out there and do Whitesnake, Winger, Cinderella songs. People love that! They would love that. It would be great. Is that what I want to do? Play cover songs of the ’80s shit I’ve been playing forever? I’d like to play guitar. I notice when I have my band here, the Reb Beach Project in Pittsburgh, the songs that people like the most are when I play guitar. I love [Jimi Hendrix’s] ‘Red House’ and ‘Voodoo Child’, they sound awesome. So, why don’t I play guitar?
