Sammy Hagar, Las Vegas Sun, Aug. 22, 1997

Sammy Hagar goes solo Lisa Ferguson Friday, Aug. 22, 1997 | 9:22 a.m. Sammy Hagar is convinced there's only one way to rock: Alone. Especially since his much-publicized departure from the rock band Van Halen last year. Hagar, 49, who had replaced former frontman David Lee Roth in 1985, spent more than a decade composing and crooning the band's multiple hit songs ("Right Now," "Feels So Good," "Dreams") with legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen, his brother, drummer Alex Van Halen, and bassist Michael Anthony. "The songwriting team of Eddie Van Halen and Sammy Hagar was pretty sophisticated," he says. "We just became so versatile." But plans for a greatest hits album last summer sparked feuding among the guys. When Roth was, at least temporarily, brought back on board, Hagar hit the road. (Or was he booted out? Hagar recently told the Toledo Blade that he received a phone call from Eddie Van Halen telling him " '... we got David Lee Roth back. We're going to go on tour. You can go back to being a solo artist.' ") While Van Halen's camp contends the divorce was all Hagar's idea, he cites irreconcilable differences. "Eddie and I just wanted to go different directions and that's all there was to it," he says. "Eddie wanted to be more of an instrumentalist and I wanted to be more of a singer-songwriter." Within two months of the split, Hagar -- formerly a member of the band Montrose who had enjoyed moderate success as a solo artist in the late '70s and early '80s (remember "I Can't Drive 55?") -- headed back into the recording studio on his own again. "Being in a band is a constant compromise. Everyone has to be pleased with each other," Hagar says, calling from Portland, Ore. between stops on his "Marching to Mars" tour, which plays the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts on Sunday. "After you've recorded a song and rewrote it and recorded it again and then threw it out and started over again," the concept "would become a different thing when four people finished with it. After 11 years of that, I was real anxious to do everything my way." It didn't take him long to round up a few musician friends -- Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, Huey Lewis, former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash among them -- and the nearly $500,000 he needed to produce the record of his dreams. "I didn't care about having a record company give me the money first. I knew what I wanted to do and I just started doing it." It's the gist of the funky tune, "Would You Do It For Free?" You're in love with what you do/ Are you satisfied?/ Is your heart straight and true/Or did money make you tell that cold-faced lie?" "I don't do things for money," Hagar says. "You do this because you think this is right and because this is what you want to do. I ain't saying I want to do it for free, but I would. That's the difference." One that comes through in the disc's 11 tracks, of which the acoustic-tinged "Little White Lie," the first release, was No. 37 on Billboard's rock track chart this week. "With a little help from friends old and new, Hagar made sure that 'Marching to Mars' resonates with positive vibes and rays of enlightenment," wrote Sandy Masuo of Launch Online Magazine. "The synergy that Hagar's cast of players generate is anchored to songwriting that's equally strong, and clinching it are some of Hagar's best vocals to date." "Every album I've ever done comes from the heart," Hagar explains. "This one has a lot more energy and enthusiasm. The freedom of being able to write and (record) any song I wanted to was so exciting that everything just came pouring out of me." The process was reminiscent of Van Halen's earlier days, when "spontaneity" was key, he says. Pointing to their '86 offering, "5150,' Hagar explains: "We didn't beat that album to death. We went into the studio fresh ... we wrote the songs, recorded them" and released the CD. "All we cared about was getting out on tour." For "Marching to Mars," Hagar says, "The best way to put it is that I left the goose bumps on my album. I didn't polish then off. I didn't rehash it. I wrote the songs and I did it. I don't know if that's good or bad, but for me, it's more pleasurable and more fulfilling." As for his former bandmates, Hagar harbors, well, at least not much ill will. "How can you hate someone that you loved for 10 years? You can't." Still, he adds with a chuckle: "I hope they have a few damn problems without me." Otherwise, he says, "that would make me feel like (expletive). That's what happened to (Roth)." The latter's post-Van Halen career careened down the rock 'n' roll toilet. "I don't want that to happen to me." But even if it did, Hagar has something to fall back on: He's also the proprietor of the Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, where he's known to stop in and play unannounced gigs free-of-charge. "It's my vacation spot, it's my jam spot, it's my release. It takes care of a whole other element of my life," Hagar says of the hotspot that shares the block with trendy Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock Cafe outlets. "I have the cheapest beers, the cheapest drinks, the cheapest food in town." And the 'Waborita," Hagar's personal spin on a traditional margarita. Its ingredients include a splash of a Mexican aphrodisiac. "I'm telling you right now, it is the finest drink you'll ever taste," he assures. A few lucky concertgoers seated in the front row Sunday night will get a swig, as Hagar mixes one up and passes it around during the show. "I beg people not to (horde) it, just sip it. I want 10 people (to share) per cup. Don't worry, there's enough alcohol to kill all the germs."