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<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nIn 1973, Sammy Hagar recorded one of the great rock screams of all time on the intro of Montrose\u2019s \u201cRock Candy.\u201d It was only the first of many howls to come from a 26-year-old kid who would go on to a singular career that included hit records as a solo artist and as frontman for bands like Van Halen and Chickenfoot. Four decades later there\u2019s no end in sight\u2014and to commemorate the milestone, he\u2019s released\u00a0Sammy Hagar & Friends<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Working for the first time with producer John Cuniberti, Hagar recorded with such guest stars as Kid Rock, Taj Mahal and Nancy Wilson. \u201cI never considered doing a record like this,\u201d Hagar says. \u201cI\u2019ve been jamming with friends on my birthday at Cabo Wabo [Hagar\u2019s nightclub in Mexico] for 22 years. Suddenly the album started happening and I went, \u2018Oh, this is what I\u2019ve been doing on my birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Hagar, hitting the 40-year career mark is a testament to his spirit. \u201cI\u2019m still a rebellious kid at heart,\u201d he says. \u201cIf somebody tells me I have to do something, I say, \u2018No, I don\u2019t.\u2019 When I got into playing music, I did it for all the right reasons\u2014it\u2019s what I wanted to do. But did I have any idea I\u2019d be doing this 40 years later? In Montrose, we looked at 40 as being, \u2018That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n
Goodbye. When you get fat and lose your hair, you can\u2019t be a rock star anymore.\u2019 I got my hair\u2014sure, I\u2019ve gained a few pounds, but I don\u2019t see any reason to stop doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 65, Hagar\u2019s still screaming with\u00a0the best of them.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What song came together first?<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cGoing Down\u201d with Chad Smith, Mike Anthony and Neal Schon. Every time I\u2019ve ever been in Cabo, and whether Slash, Jerry Cantrell or Stephen Stills was there, that\u2019s the one song we always played. And I got Denny Carmassi and Bill Church [drummer and bassist from Montrose respectively] playing on this song \u201cNot Going Down\u201d that Jay Buchanan wrote, because it sounded like a Montrose tune to me.<\/p>\n
A great vocal performance.<\/b><\/p>\n
The hardest song I sang. Jay wrote that, and he\u2019s a young guy, and he sings in this really high voice. I sing high, but I scream when I sing high, and I didn\u2019t want to scream it. I wanted it to be sensitive. So I tried to do something on that song I haven\u2019t ever done. I tried to do it on the Van Halen song, \u201cTake Me Back (D\u00e9j\u00e0 Vu\u201d). Eddie wrote that in a higher key, and I didn\u2019t want to scream it. I struggled with that. I had the same problem with \u201cNot Going Down.\u201d I can\u2019t say I\u2019m not happy with the vocal but, when I hear it, I hear my struggle.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Was there a musician wish list?<\/b><\/p>\n
It was one guy at a time, because I never had the big picture in mind until the record was nearly done. I just thought, \u201cI\u2019m gonna call Kid Rock for \u2018Knockdown Dragout.\u2019\u201d The same thing for \u201cAll We Need Is an Island\u201d\u2014I thought, \u201cI\u2019m calling Mickey Hart, because I need this Tahitian drums thing.\u201d Looking back, I\u2019m totally jacked because it\u2019s like I\u2019ve got a supergroup on every song. I would never record a solo record again any other way. I\u2019ll be calling all my friends every time. I wasn\u2019t even thinking about duets, but now for my next record there is a wish list.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What was your songwriting process?<\/b><\/p>\n
I always have so many ideas. I built my own studio when I left Van Halen, so I\u2019ve had the convenience of being able to write and go in the studio anytime. I write lyrics all the time, and I\u2019m always playing acoustic guitar. \u201cFather Sun\u201d is my favorite song I\u2019ve written in 100 years\u2014it\u2019s the new Sammy Hagar! It takes in the Montrose and Led Zeppelin influences on the heavy part, and on the other side it\u2019s my island lifestyle with my feet in the sand. It\u2019s who and what I am today.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Were you in the studio with the artists?<\/b><\/p>\n
I recorded with Taj, and I was there with Neal, Mike and Chad. With Kid Rock, I sent it to him and he sent it back. I invited Nancy Wilson because I was going to re-record \u201cAll We Need Is an Island.\u201d I sent her my demo of me just singing with acoustic guitar and Mickey\u2019s drums. I thought she\u2019d come up with some interesting harmonies. But she was kind of embarrassed and went, \u201cI really love working by myself because that way I can do stupid stuff.\u201d I understand that because singing is very weird. What she sent to me is what\u2019s on the record.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And Denny Carmassi and Bill Church?<\/b><\/p>\n
Oh yeah. We did that live as a mutha. It was Vic [Johnson, guitar], Denny and Bill\u2014and I was singing live. Playing with Denny and Bill without Ronnie [Montrose, who died last year] was a double-edged sword. On one side it was, \u201cWow, it\u2019s so much more comfortable,\u201d because Ronnie was never easy to be around\u2014he was always intense, serious and quiet. Yet we missed him bad.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Why choose John Cuniberti?<\/b><\/p>\n
John built my studio, and Chickenfoot recorded parts of both CDs there. I had no idea he was really a producer, I thought he was just a studio-building kind of guy. Then Joe [Satriani] said, \u201cHe did my Surfing With the Alien<\/i> record,\u201d and I said, \u201cThat\u2019s the best record you ever made.\u201d I decided to use him because I wanted somebody who knew my studio, and he built it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Was John excited to do the album?<\/b><\/p>\n
When I asked him, he went, \u201cWell, I\u2019m not sure.\u201d Finally he said, \u201cOK, I\u2019ll work with you for a couple of weeks and we\u2019ll see how it goes.\u201d I thought, \u201cWow, what a stiff prick.\u201d But I came to find out he just didn\u2019t like working with bands because of all the trips and the drugs. We had a great time. He made this thing sound right, because I would have used much heavier guitar sounds and done more of a heavy rock record. He would say, \u201cNah, turn it down. We need a cleaner sound.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How else did he influence you?<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u2019m a Blackstar and Marshall guy, and I crank \u2019em up. But I play differently when I have a different sound. \u201cRamblin\u2019 Gamblin\u2019 Man\u201d was a classic example of playing live in the studio, and I overdubbed the solo. John made me play a Strat. I said, \u201cI can\u2019t play Strats\u2014I\u2019m a Les Paul guy.\u201d So I played a Strat through this little Fender. He stretched me to play with a cleaner sound. When it was done I went, \u201cI never heard myself play like that\u2014I sound like Clapton!\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What was the Four Decades of Rock tour like?<\/b><\/p>\n
I did a 15-city tour, and on one show I had Denny, Bill and Dave Meniketti playing the Montrose stuff. Then I went into my Red <\/i>era with Mona Gnader and Vic, and then Michael Anthony came out and we did the Van Hagar stuff. It was my favorite show I\u2019ve ever done\u2014it felt great.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Plans for another Chickenfoot record?<\/b><\/p>\n
It looks like January\u2019s on the agenda. Joe\u2019s been writing, and I\u2019m writing lyrics at all times. He\u2019s going to start sending me stuff and I\u2019ll send him lyrics, and we\u2019ll walk in with five or six ideas. As for the rest of the songs, we\u2019ll create them on the spot with the four of us in a room.<\/p>\n
\u2013Steven Rosen<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SAMMY HAGAR The Red Rocker marks a milestone with an album full of famous friends \u00a0 In 1973, Sammy Hagar recorded one of the great rock screams of all time on the intro of Montrose\u2019s \u201cRock Candy.\u201d It was only the first of many howls to come from a 26-year-old kid who would go on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23,7],"tags":[7299,970,4196],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11329"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11329"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11332,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11329\/revisions\/11332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}