Sam Just Won't Stop

[twonabomber]

Bonham claims Sammy let him go

As he sets out on the latest tour by his Led Zeppelin Evening, Jason Bonham is "a little sad" – but not angry – about losing his spot in Sammy Hagar's band.
Answering a fan's social media question a few days ago, Bonham revealed that his 10-year tenure with the Circle and last year's Best of All Worlds tour band had come to an end. "Sammy has decided to carry on with Kenny," Bonham wrote, referring to Kenny Aronoff, who filled in during the four Best of All Worlds shows in August when Bonham rushed to England to help care for his mother, who'd suffered a stroke.

The move reunited the last Chickenfoot touring lineup of Hagar, Aronoff, guitarist Joe Satriani and bassist Michael Anthony (along with keyboardist-guitarist Rai Thistlethwayte). The group, with Aronoff, has been pictured working on new material in the studio, and Bonham says Hagar let him know he'd been replaced not long after the tour's end.

"I was trying to answer fans, really, because they were asking me, 'Why aren't you involved with the new thing they're recording?' and saying, 'Aren't you gonna do it again?' 'I was let go, so, no,'" Bonham, who recorded three albums with Hagar (2015's At Your Service, 2019's Space Between and 2022's Crazy Times), tells UCR. "Sammy rang me awhile ago. He was asking about my mom, but then he said, 'Y'know, I’m not gonna do much next year,' blah, blah blah, 'and I'm gonna go with Kenny.' I was a little shocked, I must say. I'd be lying to you if I wasn't a little sad, because we were on fire at the end of the tour. And I got a little upset. That was strange, after 10 years of being with him."

Nevertheless, Bonham has nothing but good to say about Hagar. "Listen, I love the guy to bits. I don't wish him any ill. I still speak to him. Honestly, the guy has taught me so much – about business, being positive. I'm an English guy; I can be really negative half the time. Even if the sun is shining, 'but it could rain.' He really helped me in that aspect big-time, and business sense and never taking no for an answer, always believing in yourself.
"So, yeah, I had a great 10 years. He allowed me to always do what I wanted to do. When my thing would get busy he always gave me the space. I couldn't ask for more."

Bonham is pleased to report, however, that his mother is well on the mend. "Mom is absolutely doing amazing, which is more than I could ever possibly imagine – from literally being told 'Say goodbye now' to now," he says. "She is a stubborn, hard-ass woman that suddenly went, 'I'm OK. I'm gonna be good.' It's still gonna take a lot of rehab and a lot of time to get back to what she was, but the real painful part – she beat that. So she's fighting on. She's almost back to normal, almost back to not talking to me. So she must be getting better! [Laughs.] She's gonna be around for a lot longer."

Not posting the whole article...

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/jason-bonham-sammy-hagar-split-interview/

[Terry]

Maybe Hagar can pay Aronoff less than he does Bonham.

It's not as if Jason Bonham is irreplaceable in terms of drumming ability.

[FORD]

It's too bad Aronoff doesn't get back together with John Mellencamp. His records haven't been the same since Kenny quit his band.

[DLR Bridge]

It’s a blessing in disguise, Jason. Do you really want to do a Vegas residency of this ‘ill advised to continue’ tribute show? Go play with literally anyone else. It’ll be the best thing for your soul.

[Mushroom]

nothing to see here

not that I care. Someone, the media (?) or Jason Bonham (?), is making a big stink over nothing. He’s touring with Black Country Communion next year. And he just posted on instagram 3 days ago video of rehearsal, stating “day one rehearsal went so well…”

[Terry]

Jason Bonham has pretty much been a journeyman drummer for hire for quite some time anyway and Hagar has had various people floating in and out of his various solo projects and live lineups. Nothing the least bit surprising re: Hagar showing Bonham the door. Least not to me.

[Silexxx]

https://blabbermouth.net/news/sammy-hagar-wants-to-be-friends-again-with-alex-van-halen-i-will-not-take-this-to-my-grave

In a new interview with Andy Greene of Rolling Stone magazine, Sammy Hagar was asked to address his absence from Alex Van Halen's book "Brothers" in which the VAN HALEN drummer wrote that the essence of VAN HALEN ended when David Lee Roth left the group. Hagar said: "It's sad. I haven't read the whole book, but I've seen all the excerpts, and I heard some of the interviews. It breaks my heart, because if I think what Alex is going through, losing his brother, never played with anybody else in his life, and then his health."
Referencing the fact that Alex has been filmed and photographed walking with a cane while promoting "Brothers", Sammy continued: "When I saw how rickety he is, I realized, 'No wonder he's not answering my call when I say, 'Do you want to go out and play with us?'' He can't. That breaks my heart, because I can only put myself in those shoes and say, 'What if I couldn't sing and perform anymore?' The thing that I did my whole life, the thing I devoted my life to, the thing that made me rich and famous and gave me the most beautiful life on the planet, and all of a sudden I can't do that anymore? I would feel like I was robbing the fans, to start with. When you put yourself in his shoes, I'm saying, 'Okay, I feel sorry for him.'"

Hagar added: "Why he left me out, I would like to hear him explain that someday, because I don't get it completely. I know that he's bitter about some things, whatever that is… It's like, 'If you don't want that era, that even gives me more justification to say I own it then,' because no one else can do it, and he can't do it even without me. It makes it easier for Mike [Anthony, former VAN HALEN bassist] and I [to go out and play the songs on our own]. We're sitting there going, 'Okay, I guess we own this,' and we have the obligation to bring this to the fans to keep this music alive, keep it live and alive. This music is too good to throw away."

Later in the interview, Sammy once again said that he is determined to make peace with Alex. "It's on my bucket list that I will not take this to my grave, and I don't want Al taking it to his grave," he said. "I've put the olive branch out there many times, and I just put it out again to [VAN HALEN manager] Irving Azoff.

"I want to be friends… I don't want to play in a band with Al," Sammy explained. "I'm not asking for that. I can see that he's not capable of doing that. If he was, I'd be happy to play with him, but it's not what I'm looking for. I just want to be friends again."

Sammy blames Alex's poor health now for not picking up his calls.

[Silexxx]

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/sammy-hagar-wants-peace-with-alex-van-halen-book-1235172676/

Full Rolling Stone interview and it's full quotes like these:

""I’m the luckiest guy in the world. I don’t have to brag about that. We all know I’m the luckiest guy in the world. Things just fuckin’ happen."


Before he hurt his back, he was talking to Dave about a possible tour. According to him, the whole thing fell apart because Dave didn’t want to do a tribute to Ed in the middle of the set. Are you able to understand that at all? " Yeah. Pure fuckin’ ego. “This show’s about me. What are you talking about?” That’s so wrong. I shied away from doing too much about Eddie on the Best of All Worlds Tour. It was an agreement between all of us, that we don’t want to look like we’re trying to suck vibes off of Eddie Van Halen’s death. I’m so careful about that. There’s haters out there that would misinterpret that, saying, “Oh, yeah, he’s out there making money off Eddie being dead.” No. "

Do you talk at all about doing more Dave-era songs in the set, or you thought that was enough?
Oh, that’s enough, three, and that’s because we played so long. If we only played an hour and a half, I would just do one, and it would always be “Panama.” Well, maybe two, because I like when Mikey sings “Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love.” He’s singing it so good now, and the way Joe’s playing it…it’s the best that song has sounded in many, many years, and I’m not criticizing anybody. I’m just saying we’re bringing that mother home, and I get to go sit down and ice my knees and my back.

[Terry]

https://blabbermouth.net/news/sammy-...is-to-my-grave

In a new interview with Andy Greene of Rolling Stone magazine, Sammy Hagar was asked to address his absence from Alex Van Halen's book "Brothers" in which the VAN HALEN drummer wrote that the essence of VAN HALEN ended when David Lee Roth left the group. Hagar said: "It's sad. I haven't read the whole book, but I've seen all the excerpts, and I heard some of the interviews. It breaks my heart, because if I think what Alex is going through, losing his brother, never played with anybody else in his life, and then his health."
Referencing the fact that Alex has been filmed and photographed walking with a cane while promoting "Brothers", Sammy continued: "When I saw how rickety he is, I realized, 'No wonder he's not answering my call when I say, 'Do you want to go out and play with us?'' He can't. That breaks my heart, because I can only put myself in those shoes and say, 'What if I couldn't sing and perform anymore?' The thing that I did my whole life, the thing I devoted my life to, the thing that made me rich and famous and gave me the most beautiful life on the planet, and all of a sudden I can't do that anymore? I would feel like I was robbing the fans, to start with. When you put yourself in his shoes, I'm saying, 'Okay, I feel sorry for him.'"

Hagar added: "Why he left me out, I would like to hear him explain that someday, because I don't get it completely. I know that he's bitter about some things, whatever that is… It's like, 'If you don't want that era, that even gives me more justification to say I own it then,' because no one else can do it, and he can't do it even without me. It makes it easier for Mike [Anthony, former VAN HALEN bassist] and I [to go out and play the songs on our own]. We're sitting there going, 'Okay, I guess we own this,' and we have the obligation to bring this to the fans to keep this music alive, keep it live and alive. This music is too good to throw away."

Later in the interview, Sammy once again said that he is determined to make peace with Alex. "It's on my bucket list that I will not take this to my grave, and I don't want Al taking it to his grave," he said. "I've put the olive branch out there many times, and I just put it out again to [VAN HALEN manager] Irving Azoff.

"I want to be friends… I don't want to play in a band with Al," Sammy explained. "I'm not asking for that. I can see that he's not capable of doing that. If he was, I'd be happy to play with him, but it's not what I'm looking for. I just want to be friends again."

Sammy blames Alex's poor health now for not picking up his calls.

Well, there's more than a few people (me included) who feel the essence of Van Halen ended when Roth left the group in 1985. Apparently, Alex is one of them.

Hagar certainly has the right to go out and play the Van Halen material he was a part of. It's not as if he needs "more justification" to do that.

As to the rest of it, apparently Alex doesn't want a relationship or friendship with Hagar. It'd be easier for Hagar to just accept that for what it is and move on. But, once again, Hagar has to as ever talk about it publicly in order to burnish his perpetual 'I'm the nice guy, here' image-making attempts...the frequency of which makes me think Hagar isn't 'the nice guy': if one has to consistently tell everybody what a nice guy they are, chances are they're not.

[Terry]

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/m...ok-1235172676/

Full Rolling Stone interview and it's full quotes like these:

""I’m the luckiest guy in the world. I don’t have to brag about that. We all know I’m the luckiest guy in the world. Things just fuckin’ happen."


Before he hurt his back, he was talking to Dave about a possible tour. According to him, the whole thing fell apart because Dave didn’t want to do a tribute to Ed in the middle of the set. Are you able to understand that at all? " Yeah. Pure fuckin’ ego. “This show’s about me. What are you talking about?” That’s so wrong. I shied away from doing too much about Eddie on the Best of All Worlds Tour. It was an agreement between all of us, that we don’t want to look like we’re trying to suck vibes off of Eddie Van Halen’s death. I’m so careful about that. There’s haters out there that would misinterpret that, saying, “Oh, yeah, he’s out there making money off Eddie being dead.” No. "

Do you talk at all about doing more Dave-era songs in the set, or you thought that was enough?
Oh, that’s enough, three, and that’s because we played so long. If we only played an hour and a half, I would just do one, and it would always be “Panama.” Well, maybe two, because I like when Mikey sings “Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love.” He’s singing it so good now, and the way Joe’s playing it…it’s the best that song has sounded in many, many years, and I’m not criticizing anybody. I’m just saying we’re bringing that mother home, and I get to go sit down and ice my knees and my back.

I mean, these Hagar comments, even for him, are beyond the pale in terms of gaslighting.

The whole Best Of All Worlds tour was predicated and promoted by Hagar as a tribute to Eddie Van Halen.

Could Hagar have went out there billed as The Circle or Sammy Hagar And Friends or whatever? Yep.

Instead, he chose to go out billed under the Van Halen-related song title he did, tapped Satriani to play and specifically stated he did so because he couldn't imagine another player more capable of playing Eddie's guitar parts. I mean, Hagar can parse all he wants in terms of whatever his intent was, but this is an Eddie Van Halen tribute tour. AND he's playing some CVH stuff as well. It was one thing when Hagar was in Van Halen and the band did a few CVH tunes, but Hagar isn't in Van Halen anymore.

Again, it's Sammy and his passing relationship with reality and his perpetual need to be perceived as a 'nice guy'...I dunno, in many ways it'd been more surprising if Hagar HADN'T attempted to bullshit and gaslight about the nature of this specific tour, which comes off to me as an extension of when Hagar and Mike showed up at the RNRHOF induction for Van Halen in 2007 when nobody else in the band did: on the one hand, fair enough that they showed up since they were in the band. To jump onstage and play Van Halen tunes with a bunch of people who weren't in the band...it's like, Sammy's so lame to the point where he does realize it (hence his defensive attitude about it in these recent Rolling Stone interviews) but can't help it.

[Nitro Express]

Anyways, someone hijacked a million dollars worth of Sam’s tequila being trucked in from Mexico. Jason. Did you do this? Ha! Ha!

[Nitro Express]

Well Sam just won’t go away. He would rather be a casino lounge act than disappear. He’s hellbent to remind everyone he once was in Van Halen.

[Vinnie Velvet]

Spammy is the biggest POS ever.

You just have to read his comments and know just why Alex wants nothing to do with him. On top of that he's a fucking delusional prick.

And its all fucking Ed and Dave's fault that they couldn't get their shit together. Otherwise we all would've been spared Ronald McFagar in VH world.

[Terry]

Spammy is the biggest POS ever.

You just have to read his comments and know just why Alex wants nothing to do with him. On top of that he's a fucking delusional prick.

And its all fucking Ed and Dave's fault that they couldn't get their shit together. Otherwise we all would've been spared Ronald McFagar in VH world.

Hagar dishing the dirt/airing the bands dirty laundry re: the 2004 tour via his autobiography would certainly make me wary of bothering with him were I in Alex Van Halen's shoes.

Doesn't seem like Alex has been playing much since Eddie passed anyway. While he apparently was up for some sort of one-off thing in the first year after Eddie's death as a tribute, it certainly doesn't seem these days like Alex has any desire to perform without Eddie.

From what Hagar and Anthony have said, neither of them have communicated with Alex over the last 20 years save for a brief phone conversation or email. So it doesn't seem Alex feels there is some great friendship there anymore regarding Hagar or Anthony.

[twonabomber]

Almost Human on YouTube checks in