Sammy Hagar says he is grateful to have the opportunity to speak with Eddie Van Halen one last time before the guitarist passed away earlier this year.
Speaking for Variety from Big Sky, Montana, where he was launching Santo Reposado, the most recent expression in his Santo Tequila line, Hagar says the distance between him and Van Halen was something he regretted and is happy that the two finally managed to find some closure .
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“Poor Eddie, it broke my heart, but thank God we connected before [he died], ”Says Hagar. “I heard that he was in bad shape and wanted to get in touch; Finally he said, ‘I’m just calling him.’
But according to Hagar, trying to reach his former bandmate was difficult, as he no longer had Van Halen’s number. “I was calling his brother, I was calling his manager, I was calling his friends and saying, ‘Hey, tell Ed, give him my phone number. Tell him if he wants to talk to me, I really want to talk about it, help him and see what I can do, ‘”said Hagar. “I [told them], ‘I want to be friends with him, I want to bury the hatchet’, but they never made it. “
In the end, says Hagar, it was George Lopez, of all people, who finally brought the two together. “George is a dear friend and was a friend of Eddie’s and said, ‘Sammy, Eddie is in bad shape, he loves you, brother, you need to reach out.’ I said, ‘Give me his fucking number and I’ll be sure to call him.’ “
When Hagar finally arrived at Van Halen, the singer said there was nothing but love between longtime musical partners. “I said, ‘Why don’t you answer? I’ve been looking, ‘”recalls Hagar,“ and Ed said,’ Why didn’t you call me? Don’t fucking call my brother, call me! And I said, ‘I love you man,’ and it was like, boom, we were fine. It was, ”says Hagar,“ a beautiful thing ”.
Van Halen passed away in October after a long battle with cancer. Hagar confirms that a Van Halen reunion tour was underway before the guitarist’s illness. “Eddie and Al [Alex Van Halen} and Irving Azoff, their manager [and] my dear friend, we were thinking about doing the reunion tour with everyone, which is the way it had to be ”, says Hagar, corroborating reports that the tour would include him and David Lee Roth, whom Hager famously replaced in 1985.“ I’ve been insisting on this for 10 years, ”insists Hager, adding that he was ready to“ put [any differences] the part, aside. Let’s give fans the biggest band in the world, you know what I mean? ” he says. “You don’t get bigger than Van Halen, and the fans deserve to see everything, hear all the songs.”
Although Hagar was successful as a solo singer and with his band, The Circle, he said it was always the Van Halen catalog that fans wanted to hear. “You know, you’ll see me, I’ll sing some of Dave’s songs, but I’d never sing enough,” he says, “and he can’t sing my songs, so they’ve never heard, you know, Van Halen’s hits, the albums # 1 we had. And then it is not fair. You know, there’s always a bitch, ”jokes Hagar. “Every time we have a meeting, whatever it is, it sucks. But yes, that would have been wonderful. “
Although the reunion tour is not taking place, Hagar was on tour with The Circle before the coronavirus pandemic interrupted live shows. The 73-year-old admits it was good to slow down a bit, although he is eager to get back on the road when it is safe to do so. “I’m starting to really miss it now,” he says.
Still, free time has given Hagar a chance to focus on some of his other projects, including Santo, the premium tequila line he co-founded with chef Guy Fieri. Longtime friends held a socially distant launch event at the sophisticated Lone Mountain Ranch in Montana in mid-December to reveal their new Santo Reposado. Barrel-aged 100% agave tequila joins Santo’s Blanco tequila and the brand’s popular tequila-mezcal blend, aptly called Santo Mezquilla, as part of the brand’s offerings.
Hagar, whose Cabo Wabo tequila brand in the 1980s inspired a Van Halen song of the same name, says he also quickly converted his former bandmates into “tequila guys”. “All the band members loved tequila,” says Hagar, adding: “Everyone on the planet loves tequila – it’s just fun. “
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