It's the summer of Sammy Hagar in Las Vegas. The Red Rocker launches Sammy's Island this weekend on May 17, giving the Palms a rock n' roll pool party with fun stuff like a roaming taco cart, live bands, and bars serving Hagar's own Santo Tequila and Sammy's Beach Bar Rum. He then brings his Best of All Worlds tour to the MGM Grand on August 19, featuring longtime Van Halen bandmate Michael Anthony on bass. As the song says, there's only one way to rock — and Hagar was happy to share the details.
There's the Cabo Wabo Cantina on the Strip, but is Sammy's Island more reflective of your original Cabo Wabo in Mexico – a party and live music venue by the water?
"It's a pool all day and party all night kind of thing. Just like Cabo Wabo, I'll show up all the time and jump up on stage … I play at least 40 free shows a year at Cabo Wabo in Mexico, and I never announce it except for the Birthday Bash.
"This is a destination to come as much as you want … If there's a known band, we're going to have to sell some tickets. When we have a big band play there, say Rick Springfield or REO Speedwagon, I will be there. But the idea is to have it be free as much as possible and have it be as much fun as possible for free."
What can fans expect at the MGM Grand? From what I understand, you're going to celebrate the Van Halen legacy with this tour.
"We're going to play a lot of Van Halen, a lot of my solo stuff, a little Montrose, a little Chickenfoot, but it's really about saying thank you to the fans for all the support. No one from Van Halen has ever done it since Eddie's death.
"My fans are begging me, 'Why don't you go out and do a tribute to Eddie, man? He was the greatest guitar player in the world. He deserves a tribute.' It's not my job. It's up to his brother and his son. They have the legacy to carry on, and if they don't want to do it, I'm not going to force 'em to do it.
"I tried to reach out to Alex (Van Halen) and get everybody together, but it's so dysfunctional, that Van Halen camp — it always has been. Even when I was in it, it was dysfunctional, but we got it done somehow.
"It's been 20 years since the Van Halen reunion in 2004, 20 freaking years since I played with those guys. Well, I'm not going to wait another 20, so Mike and I said let's go do it while we can still sing and play those songs."
How do you still sing with power in your voice and sound like Sammy Hagar from 10, 20 years ago, while some of your contemporaries — singers younger than you — don't sound anything like their old selves. Is it the tequila that keeps the vocal cords going?
"Yeah, every singer should drink Santo tequila. No, honest to God, I am lucky. I'm fortunate. I always kept myself in good shape physically, mentally, and spiritually. I don't use a teleprompter. I'm not sitting there reading the lyrics to you. I'm singing the fricking songs from my heart and soul. That's one of the reasons why it still sounds good.
"I don't always sing perfectly, but I have perfect pitch. When I'm singing off key, I know it. A lot of people tune down a half step … I tune down a whole step, and this is a big secret, so the songs are really still in A440 (tuning). It's just in a different key … So it's more natural, I hit the notes, and it preserves my voice when I have to play a two hour show."
