Sammy Hagar to Alex Van Halen: ‘Just Leave Me Alone. I’ll Leave You Alone’

[quote] I think I have a pretty good idea why Alex doesn’t want to talk to you.

Why?

[quote] He’s an extremely private guy, especially when it comes to his family. Your memoir went pretty deep into the worst period of Eddie’s life. That surely didn’t sit well with him. Also, you talk about the band a lot in public. You speak your mind. He’s the complete opposite. I imagine he sees you as a loudmouth that refuses to shut up.

No. I don’t think that’s it. And I’ve had this conversation with a few people, including [former VH manager] Irving Azoff. I’ve asked him, “What’s the problem?” And some people have said to me, “Oh, Cabo Wabo. At one time, Van Halen, when you built it, you guys were all partners in that. And then they didn’t want it anymore when it was losing money, and they gave it to you, and you turned it around and made hundreds of millions of dollars on it. And they’re angry. Alex is angry about that.”

To that I said, “How the fuck could they be angry about that? They gave me the damn thing, they walked out on me, left me with it. And they made me indemnify them in case I got sued and lost everything. They made me sign off big time.” And I’m going, “I hope it’s not that.”

The book has been brought up. The book was honest. It was well documented that Eddie was a mess on that tour. But I don’t want to drag Eddie through no coals now. That’s just water under the bridge.

I think Al’s angry because I’m out doing it, and Mike and I are out doing it, and he can’t. He’s not a singer. He’s not a guitar player. He is not really a band leader. And he seems like he doesn’t want to play drums or can’t play drums anymore, and he can’t go write a new record. Alex wasn’t the songwriter in the band. He was the drummer. Eddie and I wrote the songs. Dave and Eddie wrote the songs, and so we can go out and do them. And I think that really bothers him that Mike and I are still out there doing it. I would feel bad. If I put myself in his shoes, I would feel terrible if I couldn’t do it anymore.

But I’m the happiest guy out of all of them. That pisses people off in itself. Being too happy, people don’t like that.

[quote] He’s had real health issues. Obviously, his brother died. None of this has been easy for him. He has reasons to feel bitter.

Yeah, I’d say so. And I’m OK with it. Al, you’re fine. Just leave me alone. I’ll leave you alone. Everything’s good. I’m making you money, by the way, Al. I’m out there selling Van Halen records and keeping the name alive, keeping the music alive.

[quote] Are you going to take this show back on the road after Vegas? Maybe go to Europe?

My man, if I were 60 years old, I would take this band and this show all over the world. I wouldn’t miss one place. I would tour for three or four years, whatever it took. But I can’t do that. At my age, I know I’ll break down. I know something will go wrong. I won’t be able to sing. I won’t be able to fuckin’ walk, or something’s going to prevent me from going on, and I don’t want to do that to the fans.

I just don’t know what to do about that. All things must end. I’m waiting, fingers crossed that it doesn’t happen, for the time when I walk up to the microphone and it just ain’t there. Or just walk out onstage and it isn’t there. It’s got to be physical, mental, and spiritual. It’s a three-lock box. And so right now, I’ve still got my three-lock box. Everything’s good. I can sing, I can jump around, I can physically do the whole show, but the travel kills me.

What I’m getting to is that I would never ever announce retirement. I would just go away. But if I had 50 more shows left in me … I believe if I went to Vegas and did residences without all the travel, the packing and the unpacking, the bad food, the bad beds, the bad hotel rooms, all the crap that beats the shit out of you on tour, I might be able to do 75 shows instead of 50.

I don’t know how many shows I got left in me, and I want to milk it as long as I can because I love this shit.

Ugh, Sammy Hagar is terrible. Van Hagar is terrible.

Team DLR all the way.

[quote] So, David Lee Roth is unretiring this summer and playing some shows.

Hagar literally falls off his chair, roaring with laughter, out of the frame of the camera

[quote] Why are you laughing so hard?

It ain’t over until it’s over. Listen, he may not … Let’s see if he makes the shows. Who knows what Dave is up to?

[quote] Imagine if some promoter called you up and proposed another Sam and Dave tour or even just one show. Would you consider ever sharing the bill with him again?

The circumstances would have to be right. Dave always wants too much. He always tries to upstage. He tried to pull stuff on the Sam and Dave tour of 2002. The nights when he was opening, when we flip-flopped … which I would never do again. I would never bother. But look, I’m not an opening act for anybody.

On those nights, he would call in and say that the bus broke down, 10 minutes before he was supposed to go on. And because I care about my fans, I would go on. And I did that about four times. I wanted to break the guy’s fuckin’ neck.

And the stupidest thing is, he did the worst when he headlined. He couldn’t follow me with a band of kids playing Eddie’s guitar solo note for note and playing “Eruption” and shit. He did his whole Van Halen show from 1983, and I’m going, “What an idiot!” He should have represented himself a little more like who he was as a solo artist.

I’m so fortunate that I had a solo career before I joined Van Halen, because even Mick Jagger and people will tell you, being in the biggest rock band in the world and then trying to go solo ain’t the easiest.

[quote] Mick tried really hard a few times. It didn’t really go anywhere.

Exactly. This is Mick fuckin’ Jagger! And so I’m saying, I’m a very fortunate guy, and I have my own music and my own image.

[quote] You also have your voice. Dave, on the other hand … he really doesn’t.

No, he doesn’t. But there’s a lot of guys out there that don’t. He can join that club. That’s sad. That’s what I’m talking about when I say all that about retirement. Not retirement, but just quitting.

If I can’t sing the songs, I ain’t going to sing the songs. And fortunately, I got a lot of songs. I got about 600 songs I’ve written in my life between all my bands and my solo career where I can pick enough songs where I could probably do a show that are low enough to where if I can’t hit the high notes. But I don’t even want to do that. I don’t want people out there screaming for “Dreams.” And I can’t do it.

[quote] Biopics are the rage right now. Can you ever imagine a Van Halen biopic?

Oh, I would love it if it was done right. But Van Halen is so dysfunctional, as you well know. Because it’s Sam and Dave, and then Al. There’s no Ed now … There’s just no way we would all agree on anything. Dave wants it to be all about him. Al wants it to be all about him and Ed, nobody else matters. Just a bunch of singers in the band. It is all about him and Ed. It’s really all about Eddie, to be honest with you, and his co-writers, David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar. That’s what the music’s about.

[quote] You should all just let a great filmmaker make a documentary.

A hundred percent. I’ll tell you some dirt. I’ve received offers all the time to make a documentary about me. They did one on a couple of different channels. And every time I try to put anything about Van Halen in there, Alex jumps in and calls his lawyers and they stop me from using it. He stops the use of any Van Halen music. It’s like, “I wrote these songs. You played drums, OK? Your brother and I wrote this song. I sang it. You didn’t sing it. You played drums. Come on, dude.” But because Eddie’s not there, and he has the Van Halen power, and it just … Yeah, I’m over it.

[quote] It would be in his interest to green light a documentary about the band.

I don’t think there’s a director on the planet that wouldn’t do it. Martin Scorsese would do it.

[quote] It could be a three-part, six-hour Netflix documentary.

It should be. It should be the early times, my times, and then where everybody’s at in their life now. What a wonderful documentary, and what a beautiful story. And I’m in. [He raises his hand high into the air.] OK, see, I raised my hand. I say, let’s do it. I’ll do it for free. I don’t want any money. Alex can have all my money that resonates from it. I’ll just say OK for it to be done, and let me have approval on my parts.

Van Hagar was huge at the time sure, but it’s very much a product of its time. The classic VH with Dave is timeless and the VH brothers realized this

I don't think Sammy Hagar is a bad guy but it's also ok if Alex VH doesn't want to talk to him anymore. They probably don't have a lot to talk about at this point.

Love the VH/EVH/VB threads popping up here lately.

I think Sammy deep down knows that if he was never invited to join VH, he’d be considered a Rick Springfield or Eddie Money. I think he has a giant ego (not that Eddie and David didn’t) and can’t take the heat when it comes to pre-1985 VH being the definitive lineup.

Eddie was probably a genius, but was very difficult to be around, very temperamental. All of their self medicating didn’t help. I read the book by Alex, but you could tell he was hiding a lot, or just didn’t remember in the first place.

I saw Van Halen live outdoors back around 1989/90. Sammy Hagar was the lead singer. Alice in Chains opened up for them. I like Sammy Hagar's songs better than David's.

I read Brother and I didn’t notice he never mentioned Sammy! Ed and Alex seemed very hard to deal with anyway.

Who's the guy on the far right?

Sammy Hagar doesn't mention him.

That’s Michael Anthony, bass guitarist , r11

Sammy Hagar is a douchebag.

Thanks, R12!

I have to say, David Lee Roth looks so beautiful in the photo at R11.

And a bit "gay," too. Are there any rumors about him hooking up with guys?

I know that being a flamboyant rocker was "a thing" back in the 1980s, but DLR seems like he wasn't completely acting.

R14 totally agree. DLR to me pings to high heaven, especially now that he's older.

David Lee roth is gay

Who’s fat son plays with Van Halen?

[quote] Who’s fat son plays with Van Halen?

That's Wolfgang (Wolfie) Van Halen.

He's the son of Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli.

He’s not fat. He’s big boned.

BUT WAIT!!!! HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO ME!!! Where am I in this story!

DLR was hot. Sammy was not.

I’ve always been really creeped out by David Lee Roth. My parents were big Van Halen fans and I remember finding his antics in their videos unsettling. I don’t know if it’s based on him but Dr Rockso from Metalocalypse reminds me of him

r22, I have said on here before but I am utterly CONVINCED that Ted Levine based Buffalo Bill on DLR