SAMMY HAGAR has given an new interview to RollingStone, who posted the interview overnight.
The star vocalist touches on his new live band line-up, dubbed “Circle” as well as Chickenfoot and Van Halen.
Highlights include:
His new live lineup Circle: “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.”
New music with Chickenfoot: “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.”
Van Halen: “I would play with anybody that loves me and that I love. That would include Van Halen, but the love's not there right now. I do love those guys. We really bumped heads on the last tour [in 2004.] Anyone that saw that last tour or read my book knows that I'm not gonna take any blame 'cause there's no blame to give me. I went out and did my job probably better than anyone else in that band. Anyone that saw the show, I think, would agree with me.
That tour was just a mess and I would never go into a mess like that again. I'm too happy as a human being to be that miserable ever again. I was miserable for the last 40 shows. The first 40 shows I was thinking, "Well, maybe Eddie will straighten out" or "Maybe this can come together." But that didn't happen, and by the last 40 I was miserable. I would, however, be in the original band that we started. That was a love fest full of creativity.”
The 2004 Van Halen Reunion: “I made it through a reunion tour that was just about the most dysfunctional thing I've ever done in my adult life, times 10. But I made it through. There's something funny about a concert. They can work for dysfunctional bands. You can get into a fistfight backstage. You can get into a fistfight the night before. You can be trashed, lying on the ground, feeling like you're dying. But when you drag your ass on the stage and 15,000 people are screaming with their hands in the air, you get revitalized. Then you look at the guy next to you, the guy whose neck you want to break, and you think, "This is good. I can tolerate this." When the show is over, you go back to fighting. And then there's the money. But, look, a lot of bands are in that situation.”
