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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Same Old Sammy Sammy Hagar Is Infusing His New Music With Emotions Left Over From Van Halen Split

If the songs on Sammy Hagar’s first solo album since his Van Halen days sound a wee bit bitter, you can’t really blame the guy.

“Little white lies been around for years/little white lies ringing in your ears,” he sings with his trademark screech on the aptly named tune, “Little White Lie.”

On “Leaving the Warmth of the Womb” he demands “Why doesn’t love take you anywhere? It burns so hot then it disappears… . I feel so all alone. Why don’t you hold me some, hold me some while I bleed?”

Both these songs are off Hagar’s new album “Marching to Mars” and both, he has said, are about his last days with Van Halen.

No one would describe those days as happy for the 49-year-old old Hagar.

It was June last year when “The Red Rocker” - as he’s called - found himself booted from one of the biggest rock bands in three decades.

And catch this for irony: When Hagar was bounced from Van Halen, he was swapped for the very guy he’d originally been hired to replace - David Lee Roth.

It was a strange but short-lived affair between Van Halen and its former flamboyant frontman, who has since been traded for Gary Cherone.

Who, you may ask, is Gary Cherone? Well, he’s the former lead singer for Extreme.

While the new Van Halen lineup has yet to prove itself, in May, Hagar jumped feet-first back into the fray with “Marching to Mars.”

“I don’t know what else to do,” Hagar told the Los Angeles Times. “When you get hurt by something in life, in a relationship or a friendship or a job, you can either crawl into a hole and give up or you can try to turn it into a positive.”

And certainly Hagar hasn’t had to tread back to the limelight alone.

Hagar credits former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart with helping him get back into the groove.

“He said ‘You’ve got to get right back into it,’ ” Hagar says. “Mickey became like my coach.”

Hart, along with a bevy of Hagar’s friends and big names in the music biz - among them Huey Lewis, Bootsy Collins and Slash from Guns n’ Roses - pitched in on the new album.

Hagar first stepped into the rock world in the 1970s with the group Montrose, and went solo in 1975. He toured widely and became known for such hits as “I Can’t Drive 55” and “Your Love is Driving Me Crazy” before joining Van Halen in 1985.

As part of Van Halen he penned hits like “Why Can’t This Be Love” and “Love Walks In.”

When he comes to Spokane he will perform with Jesse Harms on keyboards, David Lauser on drums, Mona Gnader on bass and Victor Johnson on guitar.

Although “Marching to Mars” reveals some of Hagar’s bitterness, there’s also some recovering confidence there.

With bits of his vocals smoothed like velvet in “Salvation on Sand Hill” Hagar sings:

“I saw the eyes saw the teeth, beads of sweat/think I’d gone to hell/But just as long as you believe, a snake won’t bite.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: These 2 sidebars appeared with the story:

1. THE QUESTIONS HE CAN’T SEEM TO ANSWER Sammy Hagar, the former Van Halen frontman, teased a Spokesman-Review reporter with the possibility of an interview. Then, at the last minute, he cancelled. Ah, well, we can’t all be Rolling Stone reporters. But here are a couple of questions we would have asked him: At what point does a grown man give up the name Sammy? Did your keen fashion sense allow you to name a brand of pants after yourself? Now that you’re getting older, can you drive 55? What’s Valerie Bertinelli really like? And, really, is it any wonder Hagar only talks to the big boys? Well, the rocker may not have time for newspaper interviews, but he certainly has time for his fans.

2. DOUBLE SHOT Sammy Hagar performs Wednesday at the Spokane Opera House and Aug. 17 at The Gorge. Tickets are $27.50 for the Opera House show (G&B Select-a-Seat, 325-SEAT or (800) 325-SEAT); $29.95 for The Gorge show (Ticketmaster outlets; call (509) 928-4700 for locations or (206) 628-0888 for credit card purchases.)

These 2 sidebars appeared with the story:

1. THE QUESTIONS HE CAN’T SEEM TO ANSWER Sammy Hagar, the former Van Halen frontman, teased a Spokesman-Review reporter with the possibility of an interview. Then, at the last minute, he cancelled. Ah, well, we can’t all be Rolling Stone reporters. But here are a couple of questions we would have asked him: At what point does a grown man give up the name Sammy? Did your keen fashion sense allow you to name a brand of pants after yourself? Now that you’re getting older, can you drive 55? What’s Valerie Bertinelli really like? And, really, is it any wonder Hagar only talks to the big boys? Well, the rocker may not have time for newspaper interviews, but he certainly has time for his fans.

2. DOUBLE SHOT Sammy Hagar performs Wednesday at the Spokane Opera House and Aug. 17 at The Gorge. Tickets are $27.50 for the Opera House show (G&B; Select-a-Seat, 325-SEAT or (800) 325-SEAT); $29.95 for The Gorge show (Ticketmaster outlets; call (509) 928-4700 for locations or (206) 628-0888 for credit card purchases.)