Andy Greene of Rolling Stone spoke with singer Sammy Hagar. Key quotes from the interview appear below.
On performing some shows with drummer Jason Bonham and whether or not there will be more of them:
“Absolutely. As far as I’m concerned, that’s my new house band. It’s me, Jason Bonham, Michael Anthony and Vic Johnson. We call ourselves the Circle because this band has kinda taken me full circle in my career. I can play from every era, from Montrose to Van Halen to solo, Chickenfoot and some Led Zeppelin. In Chickenfoot, we didn’t play songs by the Chili Peppers or Van Halen, but the Circle plays my whole world and everyone else’s world that’s in the band. It’s been really special so far.”
Discussing if Chickenfoot will be making another record:
“Joe [Satriani] is my favorite writer to work with since Eddie [Van Halen.] I’d rather write a record with him than anyone else, but I don’t see any reason to make a new record. Going through the whole experience with a record label, and then going out and doing 150 interviews, a big tour and waking up at 4:00 a.m. to go on Howard Stern all to sell 35,000 CDs…It starts to feel like, ‘Hmmmm. Is this pay for play?’ I mean, I love making music. But doing it on Chickenfoot’s level means spending a half million on a record. We write and record for six months. It’s a lot of work, and then to not sell many records. It’s disappointing. I don’t like being disappointed. I like winning.”
Talking about the fan’s dream of a Van Halen reunion tour featuring both Hagar and Roth along side Michael Anthony:
“You mean that Sam and Dave tour with Van Halen as the backup band? Yeah, that would be a dream scenario for me too, but it would be the same old thing. On the reunion tour, we traveled on separate planes. You check into the hotel at different times so you don’t even see them in the lobby. You don’t really see them until the gig. I could deal with Dave on that level. [Huge laugh.] But he’d have to be cool.
A tour like that would be the coolest thing for the fans ever. I would do it for the fans. I wouldn’t do it just for the money. Everybody would have to be cool and have their hearts in it. I hate to give out bad news, but I just doubt it’ll ever happen. I would like to just see Mike back in the band with Dave. If that works, all right, I’ll come in next.”
Read more at Rolling Stone.
source: rollingstone.com
42 Responses
This guy is a clown….Go away Spammy!
I respectfully disagree fully. What other band has a HUGE catalog of hit songs that are totally ignored because the current singer can’t sing them? Just saying. Love both eras. Sad neither era doing anything
Van Hagar !!
Eddie – Not only is DLR unable to sing Hagar-era material but he probably wouldn’t do it anyways, and I’m sure EVH is still so anti-Sammy that he only wants to stick with the classic material too. A “Best of Both Worlds” tour would be the biggest-selling tour for many years (possibly EVER) but that’s just way too many clashing egos. I do agree it’s a shame that the Hagar hits are being ignored, but I’d hate to hear DLR butcher those songs anyways. Sammy obviously cares about what the fans want first because he was just talking about how much he loves The Circle but he’d be willing to give Mike up because he knows how huge that would be for VH’s fans.
Eddie, first Dave clearly doesn’t like the van hager era stuff. He has stated it countless times in interviews on radio and in print, you have to have read it or heard it.. Clearly, Hagar has a bigger vocal range. So do a lot of other vocalists!!!! But who cares, Dave’s voice is cooler. Bluesy, raunchy and the perfect fit for the band. Record sales show that the Classic line up has outsold the second era twice over. The second era was great, but it wasn’t the bomb. Lastly, Dave and Eddie both at different times have stated that they will be putting out a new disc every 3-4 years. Dave said it was on a James Bond movie time frame…. They have recently said that they are working on something now, to be announced soon. So that’s good…
Why? Hagar is one of the best frontmen ever, and still kicks major ass…you’re the clown.
Lmao…thanks for the humor!
Sam’s dream of a “Van Halen Revue, featuring Sam & Dave” is a pipe dream. The current Van Halen lineup has no incentive to do it. Hell, they don’t even seem to have the incentive to make an album with the current lineup.
Uh, he comments on it because he is asked constantly about it. Sammy seems to be up for anything. Van Halen? Who knows. It does seem like the last VH album was a one off deal. I know Dave has a whole solo album in the can with John 5 on guitar, so who knows?
Frankly, I’d rather see VH with Sammy and Michael, and Roth with Vai, Sheehan and Bissonette, but then it’s not the late 80’s anymore.
“…to go on Howard Stern all to sell 35,000 CDs…It starts to feel like, ‘Hmmmm. Is this pay for play?’”
Here’s my thought on that, and take into consideration I was a teen in the 80’s. What I don’t see anymore is that excitement when an artist makes new music, especially with the kids. It’s almost like they are expecting a product and the artist is the factory. That thrill of cutting open a new tape, CD or whatever is replaced with an instantaneous digital download of a few digital files, usually not even the whole album, just a few tracks. I think that if people want to see the next EVH, or Hendrix, or Plant, Beatles, or Nirvana, they need to get back to buying complete albums and digesting them slowly, instead of the instant gratification of digital. We’ve cultivated the era of the instant pop star via Youtube, American Idol, The Voice, Etc… No room for bands, anymore. That’s really a huge hit to music. When we talk about rock being “dead”, that’s one of the big nails in the coffin.
That being said, Taylor Swift is selling a shit ton of music right now. Why? Pop and country have eclipsed rock as the dominant music in the States.
I’d love to see Sammy and VH again. I like the new Dave era material, but all of it was really old riffs. It was a strong CD, really strong, and a lot heavier than I expected, but it felt hollow. Here’s the deal, no disrespect of Ed’s son, Wolfgang (an excellent musician), you can have VH with either Sammy or Dave, but you can’t without Michael, that’s just how I feel.
In regards to Chickenfoot, I thought the first CD was much stronger than the second, but I don’t think anybody expected it to last that long. Joe is still really successful with his solo gigs, the Chili Peppers are the Chili Peppers, and Michael Anthony will always be Van Halen’s bassist. Sammy has done great with just about everything, with some stinkers in there for sure.
I’m not dissing my Pennsylvania home girl and I don’t even pay attention to country music, but there is an astonishing amount of money being spent to promote Taylor Swift. And, she gets crossover exposure from Procter and Gamble. I saw that Katie Perry had a $1.5 million studio promotion budget for ONE SONG. With budgets like that, they could get a hit record by just farting into a microphone. John Lennon discovered that he could move 200,000 units just by letting his wife scream into a microphone. Lucky John. They’re going to scream anyways, might as well make a buck. Would you buy a record of Taylor Swift farting into a microphone? Think about it, and then tell me if you still have a soul.
Taylor Swift is sexy. I would rather buy a cd of her farting in a microphone than listening to her sing. You might be on to something here. Instead of a show called “The Voice,” there could be a show called “The Butt” with the new generation of “artists” farting into a microphone.
Oh, and I don’t have a soul.
You are disgusting. Everything you say is disgusting and NOT AT ALL FUNNY. Taylor Swift and Katy Perry are marketed towards young people and that’s the name of the game.
Hagar, Roth, (talk about the “Best Of Both Worlds”) Mad Anthony, Ed, Al, how many other people would love to see a Van Halen reunion with 2 of the best front men of all time? I know I would! Half a set with Roth, half with Hagar, and then maybe end the show with an all out jam with both! I know it would take a miracle, but if that’s ever going to happen, it has to happen soon, nobody’s getting any younger. Mas Tequila! Everybody Wants Some, I want some too! Cheers! 🙂
Don’t hold your breath my old friend, just seeing Roth or Hagar with anybody is good enough now. Sammy doing ZEPPLIN sounds fun. STAIRWAY TO TEQUILLA.
Richman II? O.K., not holding my breath, just saying a Van Halen/Van Hagar reunion would be awesome, that’s all! I know the odds are slim, but hey, you never know, anything can happen in the crazy world of Rock & Roll! 🙂
Eddie has his rear end up in an eighty tour case looking for those lines he put to cassette at the Atlanta Hilton to put to try for the ’16 album. Sad.
Huh?????????????????