SAMMY HAGAR DISCUSSES SXSW, CHICKENFOOT, TEQUILA AND VAN HALEN
Gary Graff of Billboard reports:
Sammy Hagar wants it known that he’ll mean business when he attends his first South By Southwest conference this week in Austin, Texas — and not just hawking Chickenfoot’s new album.
“To be honest with you, I want to get re-inspired,” Hagar tells Billboard…”I want to get my finger back on the pulse. I’m a smart enough guy where if I saw something great I could identify it.”
Hagar may even go beyond that. “I may want to grab one of these young bands and say, ‘Hey, I want to sponsor you. I want to help you out. I’m not your manager, but I’ll be your sponsor. I’ll give you enough money to make it.'” Hagar says that scenario could very well play out, as once he has an idea he takes action…
…Aside from hypotheticals, Hagar will definitely be doing work down in Austin. For Rock & Roll Road Trip with Sammy Hagar he’ll take a crew to the city’s streets to film for a future episode. “I’m going to be putting some microphones in people’s faces, some younger artists, asking them what they think about the event and if they think they’re going to get anywhere from it,” Hagar says…
…Naturally, Hagar has his sleeves rolled up in other endeavors, too. Chickenfoot — the all-star band he fronts with Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith, Joe Satriani and Michael Anthony — just released a Best + Live collection with one brand new song, the gritty Divine Termination. It’s the first new Chickenfoot material in five years, but despite fans clamoring for more, Hagar doesn’t think anything is likely soon.
“I love the band. I love those guys,” he says. “But the commitment it takes to go in and make a great record is six months, for me to shut my world down for that is hard, as much as I love it.”
Outside of music, Hagar has also recently launched his latest liquor, Santo Mezquila, in partnership with Maroon 5’s Adam Levine. It’s the first-ever blend of mezcal and tequila, an odd couple much like the two men behind it.
“[Levine] moved to Cabo and we ran into each other, and hit it off like crazy,” says Hagar…
…About the only thing not on Hagar’s plate at the moment is anything with Van Halen. Fans were heartened when he exchanged pleasantries with Eddie Van Halen around the guitarist’s birthday in January, though things never went any further.
“Let’s put it like this — when it came to my birthday, I didn’t get a message,” Hagar notes, “so obviously that camp, him and Al, still have some kind of trip against me. I’m certainly not looking to get back in that band when I’ve got Chickenfoot sitting in my lap and I’m scared to grab the reigns of that one. Van Halen would be twice the nightmare of the workload and the anxieties about getting along or being worried about being stabbed in the back again or something. I don’t want to put myself in that situation, that’s for sure.”
Hagar then adds a quick, “but you never know” and throws out the idea of going on the road with the original Van Halen, including David Lee Roth and Anthony back on bass, with the two singers trading off songs they recorded with the group. “That’s really the only way I would be interested in a Van Halen reunion,” Hagar says.
“Everybody’s saying, ‘Well, what would it take?'” Hagar says. “For me, no money, man. I don’t need money. I would do that for the fans and give the money to food banks or something. I’m not sure anybody else would agree with me, but that would interest me enough to sit down across the table from everybody and work that one out.”
Read more at Billboard.
source: billboard.com
Oh, and Sammy has been singing his best VH stuff the whole time since he left. He can sing.
His voice is WAAAAY better and stronger than Dave’s. BTW, Hagar deserves to be in the RRHOF as a solo artist. Just sayin’.