Jon Taffer of Bar Rescue on Van Halen’s boozy business affairs

[Seshmeister]

Jon Taffer of Bar Rescue on Van Halen’s boozy business affairs



“Running a bar is not just a business – it’s a science… nobody knows more about bar science than Jon Taffer.” Three seasons in, that opening voiceover to Spike TV’s Bar Rescue is undoubtedly the most recognizable on the current reality television landscape. Taffer, a bar business veteran, takes on the tired, the angry, the bitter, and the dejected who are desperate to find a savior even if, like doubting Thomas before them, they at first don’t believe. Much more often than not, the boisterous, Svengali-like Taffer is able to take establishments in disrepair and turn them around with a new look, sometimes a new name, and always with an attitude of positivity that few can match.

I know you’ve worked with Sammy Hagar before, but when it comes to Van Halen, are you a Dave guy or a Sammy guy?

[Laughs] Let me tell you a quick, funny story about when Sammy and the guys went down to Mexico and decided to open Cabo Wabo – this is years ago. They had left a titty bar and they watched a local drunk walk into a light pole and knock himself out. Sammy turns to Eddie and says, “That’s the Cabo Wabo!” and they have a big laugh. The next morning they wake up and decide they want to open this nightclub next to their favorite topless bar. They find a local architect [Marco Monroy] and tell them that they want a 12,000-square-foot nightclub. Being rockstars, they leave two days later and go on a 10 month tour.
They come back after the tour and the club is 12,000 square meters, which is 32,000 square feet – so this club is almost three times the size they expected. First year it loses one million dollars and is a huge frustration in the band. Sammy goes ahead and buys out Eddie and his brother and now he owns 100% of it and he gives half of it to the architect, Marco, and his wife, to run in Cabo.

Marco’s wife becomes promoted to the VP of tourism to the port of Cabo. The next morning, there are buses pulling up in front of Cabo Wabo from all the cruise ships to buy t-shirts, and suddenly they’re doing $50,000 to $60,000 a week in t-shirts when the month before the place was losing a million a year.

Sammy’s got the tequila going, he’s got the club going, he’s making all this money and he’s perceived as the coolest guy in Van Halen, and the Van Halen brothers have none of this.Now the Van Halen brothers are out, Sammy owns the place, it becomes successful. Marco comes up with the idea to make a Cabo Wabo tequila, they move 140,000 cases a year in sales and Sammy later sells it for, give or take, $80 million. All this is going on while the band had broken up over, what I believe, Cabo Wabo. Sammy’s got the tequila going, he’s got the club going, he’s making all this money and he’s perceived as the coolest guy in Van Halen, and the Van Halen brothers have none of this.
Eight years later, the band gets back together with Sammy for a summer tour. At this time, I’m working with Sammy on a Cabo Wabo New Orleans. In the contract that Sammy signed to go on tour with Van Halen, it said specifically that he’s not allowed to say Cabo Wabo, wear Cabo Wabo shirts, do anything with Cabo Wabo onstage whatsoever.

He signs the contract.

Next day, Sammy goes out and gets the biggest fucking Cabo Wabo tattoo on his arm he can possibly get. Every promo picture has Cabo Wabo in it. Halfway through a planned world tour they were ready to frickin’ kill each other and they [didn’t go overseas].


The theory is that Sammy hoodwinked the Van Halen brothers, had a plan to buy them out while the club was doing poorly and then turn it around and make all the profit for himself.


Can I be honest with you? I know Sammy Hagar – he’s not that smart. It didn’t happen that way. They opened the place – it failed. They wanted out, Sammy bought them out. The cruise ships started showing up; that’s the side of the story I believe. And Sammy’s not a bad guy – I’m not suggesting he is – Sammy Hagar did not wake up one morning and decide to fuck the Van Halen brothers.

However! That said… I gotta go with Diamond Dave.

I’m right there with ya.

When I used to run the Troubadour, Diamond Dave used to come hang out and I remember a lot of wild Diamond Dave nights that I won’t get into. There were some amazing stories at the Troubadour and he was involved in quite a few of them, actually [laughs].




Read more at http://www.vanyaland.com/2013/08/29/...iness-affairs/

[vandeleur]

Sam's a slimy cunt Dave is rock n roll ... I can live with that

[twonabomber]

I have an incredible passion for human behavior; getting you to come to my place, getting you to stay longer, getting you to eat what I want you to eat, getting you to chew faster, chew slower, blink faster, blink slower, talk more, talk less.

I like the show, but this is where I think he's full of shit. Whatever bar I go to, I get one of maybe five items. I'm so predictable that the bartender at one local joint jokes that she doesn't have to ask me what I want.

I am all for people being into the "science" of what they do, but to make claims like that...nah. Same as these stupid salespeople who claim they can get me to buy something I don't need.

[Nickdfresh]

Sam's a slimy cunt Dave is rock n roll ... I can live with that

Actually, Sam is the luckiest cunt in rock and roll. He lucked out fronting VH, and lucked out with supreme timing to toast the Brothers on Cabo. I don't think he did it intentionally as said, he ain't that smart. Just has a horseshoe up his fat, welted asshole...

[Nickdfresh]

I like the show, but this is where I think he's full of shit. Whatever bar I go to, I get one of maybe five items. I'm so predictable that the bartender at one local joint jokes that she doesn't have to ask me what I want.

I am all for people being into the "science" of what they do, but to make claims like that...nah. Same as these stupid salespeople who claim they can get me to buy something I don't need.

I think if you read Anthony Bourdain's book, Kitchen Confidential, he goes into this in detail. While he mostly talks about kitchens and restaurants, he says there is in fact a recipe to a good bar-grill and he goes through the categories of different owners from the ones with money that have no idea of what they're doing to the ones that have some fetish they want to build a restaurant around. Another type is the middle aged creeper that wants to fuck young waitresses. He says he learned to be successful from a famous (or infamous) New York restauranteur he only refers to as "Bigfoot" that he notes as absolutely ruthless and obsessed with the bottom line and profitability and an operation that is somewhat self-sufficient and not overly dependent on suppliers or specific vendors. He noted that the typical, successful well run bars had certain trademarks like free peanuts and popcorn to make drinkers thirstier and not relying on looks of their khaki-clad barstaff to get customers. Bigfoot came up with these ideas simply because they worked and led to sustainability...

[sadaist]

That said… I gotta go with Diamond Dave.

Long story about Sam, blah blah blah, but that ending is just perfection!

[DLR Bridge]

Long story about Sam, blah blah blah, but that ending is just perfection!

It's so common, it's almost industry standard. I remember Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains saying he thought Sammy was a nice guy (safe and simple enough) but that he preferred his VH with Dave. All the luck in the world can't make you a suitable replacement for Dave. It's scientifically impossible.

[VHscraps]

Actually, Sam is the luckiest cunt in rock and roll. He lucked out fronting VH, and lucked out with supreme timing to toast the Brothers on Cabo. I don't think he did it intentionally as said, he ain't that smart. Just has a horseshoe up his fat, welted asshole...

[Seshmeister]

Actually, Sam is the luckiest cunt in rock and roll. He lucked out fronting VH, and lucked out with supreme timing to toast the Brothers on Cabo. I don't think he did it intentionally as said, he ain't that smart. Just has a horseshoe up his fat, welted asshole...

Exactly - that's the main reason I posted the article.

It is inexplicable to anyone that has followed his career in any way or listened to his interviews to try and work out how Hagar ended up a business tycoon.

This short article explains it to a degree and the line(s) about Roth did make me smile.

[sonrisa salvaje]

Nice article. Dave always seems to prove out like a classic movie whereas Sammy is thought of as direct to dvd.

[Zing!]

Actually, Sam is the luckiest cunt in rock and roll. He lucked out fronting VH, and lucked out with supreme timing to toast the Brothers on Cabo. I don't think he did it intentionally as said, he ain't that smart. Just has a horseshoe up his fat, welted asshole...

Exactly right. Sammy is just one of those guys that falls back-asswards into luck. We all know guys like that, and they're usually douchebags.

[78/84 guy]

The last time Sam was a rocker at all was 1973 on the Montrose album ! I'll give him 3 songs on 5150 and Balance. Remember The Hero's was a good tune.