Sammy Hagar talks about Jimmy

DTinPA · Post by **DTinPA** » October 7, 2005 9:41 am

Jeb: Has Sammy Hagar become hard rock’s answer to Jimmy Buffet?

Sammy: I think Jimmy is a genius because he found this s*** before anybody else did. It is not like I have copied him. I found it myself and after I found it my wife turned me onto Jimmy. She told me he was coming to town – this is about ten years ago. I was like Jimmy Buffet? I remember he did that song "Margaritaville." My wife went to college in Virginia and I guess he was huge there. I didn’t think the guy could sell out a club in San Francisco and I show up and there are twenty thousand people in an amphitheater and I am going, "What the f*** is going on here?" I eventually met Jimmy and I started seeing what the man was up to. He found his cheeseburger in paradise; mine is Cabo Wabo. We are on parallel paths– I really am not trying to rip the man off at all. Since I have become aware of him and I have learned what he has done, I have become sort of friends with him. I have an alliance with the guy and I talk to him like a mentor. I will ask him how he got involved with this, that or the other. He gives me some advice from time to time and I think Jimmy is The Man. He is the Godfather and I am like his step-son or something. It is all fine and he gets nothing but respect from me.

http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/Int ... agar05.htm

3/4 Time · Post by **3/4 Time** » October 7, 2005 10:01 am

I really liked Sammy when he played with Ronnie Montrose back in the 70's.

Craiger · Post by **Craiger** » October 7, 2005 10:38 am

I always liked Sammy (although I was a bit late to the party...I only really started checking him out when he joined up with VH).

He seems like a genuinely laid-back, no-ego kinda guy who truly enjoys making music and having fun while doing it. Having a healthy dose of the Buffett-style tropical party vibe seems natural for him.

And his tequila is extremely good.

hikingontuesday · Post by **hikingontuesday** » October 7, 2005 12:20 pm

I LOVED the Red Rocker!!! I remember the Standing Hampton tour. Wonder where that cassette tape is...

ladyparrothead · Post by **ladyparrothead** » October 7, 2005 12:23 pm

Craiger wrote:
And his tequila is extremely good.

Yes it is. And his resturant in Tahoe is good too - not expensive and a good place to hang after a day at the lake.

buffettbride · Post by **buffettbride** » October 7, 2005 12:23 pm

I can't drive 55.

3/4 Time · Post by **3/4 Time** » October 7, 2005 12:26 pm

"Rock Candy, so hard, sweet and sticky"

smacky · Post by **smacky** » October 7, 2005 12:33 pm

She told me he was coming to town – this is about ten years ago. I was like Jimmy Buffet? I remember he did that song "Margaritaville." My wife went to college in Virginia and I guess he was huge there. I didn’t think the guy could sell out a club in San Francisco and I show up and there are twenty thousand people in an amphitheater and I am going, "What the f*** is going on here?"

In 1995, Sammy didn't know Jimmy Buffett could sell out a club? What was Sammy doing then? Even if you aren't a fan, you'd think he'd be aware of the sort of venues Jimmy would play.

[Shrug] Guess Sammy was too busy in a studio in Mexico doing Van Halen albums to know this.

Lightning Bolt · Post by **Lightning Bolt** » October 7, 2005 12:37 pm

GET ON YOUR BAD MOTOR SCOOTER AND RIIIIIIIDE!!!

3/4 Time · Post by **3/4 Time** » October 7, 2005 12:42 pm

ROCK THE, ROCK THE, ROCK THE NA.....TION......Yeah.

3/4 Time · Post by **3/4 Time** » October 7, 2005 12:44 pm

And of course.......JUMP ON IT........

Capt.Flock · Post by **Capt.Flock** » October 7, 2005 12:44 pm

I like the part of Jimmy being the Godfather.
He should be in the remake of the movie

Sammy's Cabo is very tasty

Jahfin · Post by **Jahfin** » October 7, 2005 12:58 pm

Not always been a big fan of Sammy's and how he Journey-ized Van Halen but I have always liked his attitude. A joint Sammy-Buffett tour could be a fun thing and just think of the merchandising possibilities (I'm sure Sammy and Buffett have

).

PalmettoSon · Post by **PalmettoSon** » October 7, 2005 1:20 pm

Jahfin wrote:Not always been a big fan of Sammy's and how he Journey-ized Van Halen but I have always liked his attitude. A joint Sammy-Buffett tour could be a fun thing and just think of the merchandising possibilities (I'm sure Sammy and Buffett have ).

Now you're onto something. Call it "From Cabo to Key West."

Tiki Bar · Post by **Tiki Bar** » October 7, 2005 1:21 pm

Speaking of Hagar and Buffett, this dude is like a Sammy-Jimmy combo!! He's the best of both worlds!!

Johnny Russler, of the Beach Bum Band! www.beachbumband.com

sorry - couldn't pass up the opportunity!

CaptainP · Post by **CaptainP** » October 7, 2005 1:22 pm

You beat me to it, Joann.....

On The Edge · Post by **On The Edge** » October 7, 2005 1:41 pm

I think Jimmy Buffett could learn a thing or two from Sammy. I had the great pleasure of going to a Sammy "red rocker" show this summer at the Concord Pavillion in California. Sammy played for over 3 hours... his only break lasted a whopping 30 seconds.... as this was his last stop on his mini tour. I have never seen a performer give so much back to an audience as Sammy. First things first, the lawn tickets were 15 bucks. Yes, 15 bucks. There was a festival atmoshphere as there were stages set up for local opening bands, margarita booths, tequila booths, and all sorts of other fun goodies for the fans.

While on stage audience members tossed up a variety of items, from beach balls to home made banners and T-shirts, sombreros and serapes, team jerseys, album covers, photos, and posters of Sammy. He put on every article of clothing thrown on stage, wore it for an entire song, signed it, and tossed it back in the crowd. While on stage he must have signed over 200 items. On the front corner of the stage, he had a stack of a couple of hundred signed 8x10 photos, he handed these out throughout the show.

He had a platform on stage behind the band that was reserved for 175 of the luckiest fans, radio contest winner, and people that he invited while touring the parking lot in his Cabo Wabo golf cart. He was on the golf cart, not some baloon guy on stilts. Several times he joined the chaos on that stage and sang songs with those lucky audience members.

He played everything you can think of during that show. For the last 45 minutes, he had Denny and Ronnie (Ronnie Montrose) join him on stage and perform the last segment of the show. Montrose rocked the house. They played until the house (noise ordinance) turned on the house lights and told him he had to stop.

Jimmy does give his fans a little bit of what they want, but Sammy takes it to a level that every fan would like to see. Perhaps Jimmy needs Sammy as a mentor. This was the best 15 bucks I have ever spent on a concert.

This show is just the tip of the iceberg, if you ever go to Cabo Wabo in Mexico during the Sammy's birthday month, he treats his fans to free out of control concerts for 8 - 12 days. Many of Sammys rock star friends join him for this b-day bash that Sammy generously shares with his fans. He is a performer that knows his fans, knows who provided him with all his fortunes, and he does not forget to take every opportunity to thank those fans.

PalmettoSon · Post by **PalmettoSon** » October 7, 2005 1:47 pm

Sammy also said recently that he thinks he's about five years away from the band being completely self-sufficient on tour, and thus being able to play all of their shows for FREE. They already do most of their Cabo shows free, but he's talking about touring and no charging a dime for tickets!

On The Edge · Post by **On The Edge** » October 7, 2005 1:49 pm

PalmettoSon wrote:Sammy also said recently that he thinks he's about five years away from the band being completely self-sufficient on tour, and thus being able to play all of their shows for FREE. They already do most of their Cabo shows free, but he's talking about touring and no charging a dime for tickets!

I almost forgot that part, thanks for the footnote.

JIMMY DID YOU HEAR THAT, FREE SHOWS FOR THE FANS. A SMALL WAY TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THE FORTUNES WE HAVE PROVIDED YOU WITH.

Tiki Bar · Post by **Tiki Bar** » October 7, 2005 1:56 pm

While I think it's uber-cool and super gracious of Sammy to do those things, unfortunately I think our fanatacism prevents Jimmy from being able to.

Granted I know little to nothing about Sammy or his fan-base, but the number of parrotheads and their fervent ways could get people hurt.