STATUS: Inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as member of Van Halen. Former lead singer for Van Halen (‘86-96).
DOB: October 13, 1947 IN: Monterey, CA
CHILDHOOD HERO: Elvis Presley.
HOBBIES: I like to run, mountain bike and hike in the mountains by myself or with my wife. And I like to do nothing. And I love fights of any kind, whether it be boxing, jiu-jitsu, karate matches or Ultimate Fighting Championships [Sammy is a former boxer].
FAVORITE MOVIES: El Topo, Pulp Fiction, The Sixth Sense, Gladiator was brilliant. And I’m an Ingmar Bergman freak when it comes to movies.
MUSICAL TASTES: I’m a rock ‘n roll guy, of course. But I actually like new-age music. Music that you don’t have to really sit down and concentrate on. But it’s in the background and you do whatever you want to do – whether it be have sex, cook a meal or eat a meal. Things that don’t interfere with your every day life. I like that kind of music. Craig Chiquico and a Wyndham Hill collection of various artists called Winter Solstice.
PRE-PERFORMANCE FEELING: There’s four or five different feelings. The first one is most of the time I don’t feel like I’m ready. I always feel unprepared. Then the other thing I have to deal with sometimes, I’m a little too excited and too anxious. And I try to control myself cause I’ve got another hour. And right now, I’m ready like right now. So I have a lot of bad feelings. So right before I go onstage, it’s not a good thing. That’s probably one of the most uncomfortable times of my 24 hours – is that hour before I go onstage. It’s not a great feeling. It’s a lot of frustration, lot of anxiety. A lot of over-amping. A lot of unsuredness. It’s a strange time. I don’t like that time.
FIRST JOB: Paper route for The Mirror News in San Bernardino, CA (age 9).
EARLY MEMORY: Sure. I remember the first time I felt I connected with an audience. As an opening act for the group Boston during their first tour, in St. Louis (‘78). In a 15,000-seater in the Checkerdome. The people rushed the stage, ripped the barricades down, jumped on stage, you know, it’s like hysteria. It was the first time I really experienced it on a big level. And that was pretty exciting. I went, Wow! They love us here! Well, I knew I had it. But that was the first time the audience said, Yeah, you’ve got it [laughs]! Because most of the time as an opening act, people just play and that’s it. They applaud. But they don’t attack a stage like you’re the Beatles.
FUNNY MEMORY: So much has happened. I’ve fallen off the stage. I’ve ripped my pants. I’ve shit in my pants. I’ve done everything you can do onstage [smiles].
GREATEST CAREER MOMENT: There’s so many. Maybe the greatest moment might’ve been the moment I was onstage at the Cabo Wabo with Van Halen (‘88). I dreamed up this club and built it. I felt when we played the song Cabo Wabo at the Cabo Wabo at the grand opening, I’d have to say that was pretty fuckin’ magical. It came from a dream. I was driving down the street in Cabo San Lucas. I saw a guy staggerin’, hittin’ the barb wire fence. He had been drinkin’ all night and I said, Look at that, he’s doing the Cabo Wabo. The light went on, I wrote the song, built the club, made the tequila. It just all rolled. Just a magical moment to me when we played that song for the first time there.
MOST PAINFUL MOMENT: There’s never been a painful moment in my career. Except maybe when my long time manager Ed Loeffler died in ‘93. After 18 years of managing me. That was painful.
FAVORITE MEAL: Food from the great, great chefs – Julian Serano, Emeril Lagasse, Mario Batali.
FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR: Vanilla.
FAVORITE VACATION SPOT: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Topics: Bad Feelings, Childhood Hero, El Topo, Elvis Presley, Hall Of Fame, Mirror News, Monterey Ca, Musical Tastes, New Age Music, Opening Act, Paper Route, Pulp Fiction, Sammy Hagar, San Bernardino Ca, Strange Time, Ultimate Fighting Championships, Uncomfortable Times, Van Halen, Winter Solstice, Wyndham Hill
Biofile with Sammy Hagar | 