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
I love Sammy. But, does he get asked in these interviews about VH or does he just solicit these ideas and concepts in the interview? If Micheal Anthony was able to re-join, I would see that in a heart beat.
Sammy is just so cool! He knows what he wants to do, and he does it. He has enough money that he only wants to work on stuff that he loves. How many folks would like to be in a situation like that? Chickenfoot isn’t something he does for money, it is because he likes to play with the other guys in the band. But, he is also honest enough to know that he isn’t sure that he wants to commit to the time it would take to really go into a studio and create another record, what with the other things he has going in his life. I get that, even though I hope that he will eventually put together another record with Chickenfoot. I don’t think the Van Halen thing will ever happen, though. Eddie and Alex just are too petty to get over whatever animus they have with Sammy. It’s too bad, because bringing Sammy and Michael back into the band (and dumping Dave, who’s voice is totally shot) for a reunion tour would be EPIC.
OH YEAH! Just what I need – MAS TEQUILA! 😉 Get your buzz on!! I know it’s only 8 ante meridiem (depending on where you are) but it’s never too early for a good buzz, cheers! 🙂
“One Sip” and you’ll surrender…
Wow we’re still talking about one bday tweet how long ago that Eddie’s handler responded to..?
My thoughts on the possibility of Sammy reuniting with VH:
1. I highly doubt that the Van Halen brothers would be willing and able to toss aside their petty bitterness toward Sammy enough to reunite.
2. I highly doubt that the Van Halen brothers would ever be willing to reunite with Michael again because of his long-time friendship and kinship with Sammy.
3. While my biggest wish is to see the class VH lineup together one more time, there’s no way that Diamond Dave or the VH brothers would be willing to go on tour with Sammy. Dave’s ego is way too big for that, for one thing.
4. If Dave and Sammy toured with Eddie, Alex and Michael, it would probably be kind of a disaster of sorts. I can envision the fans of the Dave years booing while Sammy is on stage singing the tunes from his era in VH. Not sure if that would happen with fans of the Sammy years while Dave is on stage.
5. Sammy is almost 70 years old, and his voice, while still pretty good, is definitely showing signs of wear and tear plus age. Could he really sing the high notes of the VH songs he recorded back in his 30s and 40s anymore?
Interesting points, Boyhowdy
1. 2. And 3. Agreed
4. And 5. Maybe some Dave era hardcores would boo, but it would likely be obvious to anyone who knows good singing that Sammy can far and away outsing Dave, unless Dave sings better than he ever has in his life. It might up Daves game, which would be good for everyone.
BoyHowdy,
I agree with points 1, 2, and 3 of your post wholeheartedly. Point 4 is debatable, but I understand where you are coming from. I know that the fans of the Dave era VH are pretty rabid, but they mostly came to accept Sammy after his first album with VH. I attended most of the tours that Sammy did with VH, and I didn’t see much animus towards Sammy from the crowd. Sammy’s personality makes it really hard to be antagonistic toward him. Not saying that it wouldn’t happen now, but I don’t think it would be enough to cause a disaster. I can’t agree with Point 5, concerning Sammy’s voice. He may have some trouble hitting some of the highest notes from his VH tunes, but I think overall his voice has held up really well. If you listen to both Chickenfoot records, as well as the latest Sammy solo record, I think he sounds really good for his age. He definitely sounds better than Dave does, now. Again, I don’t think this will ever happen. But, if somehow they could make it work, I would attend in a heartbeat!