Sammy Hagar - former Van Halen lead and Cabo Wabo Genius

By: Dominick A. Miserandino

Cabo Wabo founder, tequila maker and of course hard rocker opens his heart and tells us about why he loves his fans.

Who is Sammy Hagar and why do fans love this red headed rocker so much? Is Sammy Hagar that guy who was in Van Halen for a while, or a strange tequila maker from Los Cabo? At first, I admit, I didn’t see how much there was to Sammy. What follows is a glimpse into the true nature of Sammy Hagar.

What stood out to me is how multidimensional the man is. At first, I was going to transcribe the entire 20,000-word interview, because a simple 1,000 words wouldn't do it justice. To understand Sammy Hagar is to understand how one event leads to another, like how being "dirt poor and wanting a change" led to his goal to be "rich and famous."

From a snapshot, things might not make much sense. To understand Sammy, you have to understand the entire journey. He’s a self-proclaimed opportunist who took everything life threw at him, and made the best of it.

I’ve included some of the best parts of the interview below. And if all goes well, who knows, he may even ask me to do his autobiography. But until I get hired to do a full 300 page biography, the best I can do with such a diverse personality is give this overview:

DM) You’ve been rather busy lately.

SH) My life really is busy. Honestly, I’m moving to Cabo in August for a year. Everybody wonders what the reason I’m moving down there is. They all say I can spend all the time I want down there. I spent weeks at a time, but the reason I’m doing this is that it’s different going back and forth. I find I slow down a bit while in Cabo. I’m trying to slow things down things overall in my life. I guess I’m trying to get back at a speed I can deal with. I’ve been on a rocky ship for way too long. Not like trying to stop touring. I want to spend more time on the beach and reinvent myself. I want to spend time to figure out what I really want to do instead of all of these other things. Some don’t care about what they are doing. I’m too busy. I can’t make a record, and I have no time to finish an album. That’s the reason I made the one song and released it. [Let Me Take You There]

DM) Isn’t it unusual to do a one-song release?

SH) It is because it doesn’t make financial sense. I don’t make music for money. Things have changed drastically where I don’t do anything for money. I do things because I want to do it.

DM) What made you want to do it in this case?

SH) I built a brand new studio and wanted to try it out. Sometimes if you get tired of the same old guitar, you buy new one and you find yourself playing it more. I didn’t feel like going down into the studio, but when I built a new one and made it more comfortable, bigger, better sounding it really helped to motivate myself. I went in and recorded the song in two days. In fact, there are three others that are almost done. I didn’t write it obviously, but I sort of rewrote it. To me, it rocked that it was a gospel/blues based R&B song. It’s perfect for Sammy Hagar and the Wabos. It’s the epitome of who we are.

DM) So maybe in the future, we might see a slightly Motown influenced album?

SH) (Laughs) Kinda like that. Any kind of ethnic music is great for me. I say, go with the originals. Listen to the old blues guys, listen to the old gospels and soul music. Listen to Wilson Picket, Bob Marley -- they’re real artists. In rock they’ve taken from it. I’ve done it my whole life. I thought it might be interesting to go back and do it. It’s a tribute back to the originals.

DM) It sounds like John Lennon’s “Rock and Roll” from the 70s. A tribute to all of his influences.

SH) I wouldn’t go that far as a full tribute. We always did Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Woman” in concert. [Sings “Everybody Must Get Stoned] My band has taken it to another place. We’d probably record a cover of that. That’s folk, and pure folk, but we do it a lot more bluesy. I like being free in music now and saying I don’t have to make a record that’s a huge hit. It’s cool to say I can make a record that I really want to make. That’s what I love to make. I want the fans to hear it. My record company wants to kill me. They screamed, “You’ve got one of the biggest rock hits in years and you’re not giving a record.” That’s why I paid for everything and promotion and recording. I paid for it all out of my own pocket. Theres no hype, other than that.

DM) When did you first start to feel this sense of freedom?

SH) It happened in Van Halen. I don’t sit around and count my finances. With the Cabo Wabo thing and tequila and the clubs and restaurants. Well it’s crazy and on fire. Its wonderful to have that stream and not have to play music for a living. Because of that I’ve gotten better musically. I’m playing longer shows. I have better production now. I’m not so stressed now if we don’t sell the stadium out. I have no worries about my career being over. I could give a horse’s ass if 50 people show up at my concerts. I’d give the same quality show to 50 people or 50K people.

DM) It’s a shame you didn’t learn the lesson of doing what you want before that David Lee Roth interview.

SH) At that time I thought it would be a great thing. I did it because I wanted to do it. I figured that with Eddy’s cancer there would never be a Van Halen reunion. Michael Anthony hadn’t talk to them in three years. I figured Dave and me would go out and play for the fans. Once the tour started, Dave turned into a different guy. I wanted to do that tour though.

DM) Are three Van Halen songs in concert an avoidance of that period or just a timing issue?

SH) We have ten Van Halen songs that we can do when we’re live. Sometime we play rock candy, and my string of Sammy Hagar hits, plus newer stuff we want to expose them to. “Shock a Doobie” was one of the biggest hits on an album, which was one of the least selling and never was a single. I love playing new the stuff like “Halfway to Memphis” and “Deeper Kind of Love." They weren’t hits, but they’re great songs.

DM) Some musicians find the fans might stay in one point in their career even though they’ve moved on. Have your fans followed you from before Van Halen and after?

SH) I think I have the coolest and most loving fans. Here’s an example. We found out that some fans were sleeping in the street outside of Cabo Wabo to buy tickets for friends they just met. They know that when the new friends get there at 4 p.m. the tickets would be sold out. These people are awesome. They are so giving and do their best to take care of each other. I could care less if I never get one more new fan. I just don’t want to lose ones I got. All I think about is what my fans would love. We have open arms to our friends, but I’m not out there trying to hustle. My premise is to keep these guys happy and keep this going. It's now big enough to do this anywhere any time.

DM) It seems like your fans are now as dedicated as Deadheads, and Jimmy Buffet's Parrotheads.

SH) Absolutely. We live by a few rules. Pursue happiness and treat other people like you want to be treated. Go out and do it. Go out and seek fun. I’m kind of like the leader of the club. I have a wonderful lifestyle where I can fly places and check out spots for them. I go out there and find fun spots and build my places in them. My goal is to make them happy.

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