{"id":73093,"date":"2026-09-18T16:59:28","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T16:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/18\/sammy-hagar-fires-back-at-alex-van-halen-whats-your-problem\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T16:59:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T16:59:28","slug":"sammy-hagar-fires-back-at-alex-van-halen-whats-your-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/18\/sammy-hagar-fires-back-at-alex-van-halen-whats-your-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Sammy Hagar Fires Back at Alex Van Halen: &#8216;What&#8217;s Your Problem?&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tOver the past few years, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/alex-van-halen\/\" id=\"auto-tag_alex-van-halen\" data-tag=\"alex-van-halen\">Alex Van Halen<\/a> has worked hard to avoid speaking about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/sammy-hagar\/\" id=\"auto-tag_sammy-hagar\" data-tag=\"sammy-hagar\">Sammy Hagar<\/a>, not even mentioning him by name a single time in his 240-page memoir<em> Brothers: An Intimate Account of Brotherhood and Rock Music. <\/em>But earlier this month, <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/ultimateclassicrock.com\/alex-van-halen-sammy-hagar-idiot\/\" target=\"_blank\">in an interview<\/a> with the Brazilian magazine <em>Roadie Crew<\/em>, he fired back when asked about Hagar\u2019s 2011 book <em>Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t\u201cI don\u2019t know what he wrote, and I don\u2019t want to know,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/van-halen\/\" id=\"auto-tag_van-halen\" data-tag=\"van-halen\">Van Halen<\/a>. \u201cIn my opinion, Sammy Hagar is a complete idiot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"VAN HALEN - RIGHT NOW - LIVE: RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW 1993\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Vwx3pmXuOIk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tUnsurprisingly, Hagar had much to say about that characterization of himself in a new interview with Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM. \u201cGuilty as charged, first of all,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m probably the most successful idiot on the planet\u2026I want to call Alex out and say dude, we all know, you act like there was never a Sammy Hagar. You act like there was never a \u2018Van Hagar.\u2019 We sold 40 some million records, [had] four Number One albums and you just scratch that off of your brother\u2019s legacy, saying no, that never happened. You don\u2019t even want to acknowledge it. That\u2019s deep. That\u2019s weird. That\u2019s not right, for Eddie, for me, for Mikey [Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony], for anybody.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t\u201cI\u2019m asking Alex, like why?\u201d he continued. \u201cCome clean, what\u2019s your problem? Just come out and say it. Is it the book? Say it. Cabo Wabo? Say it. Maybe if I knew what your problem was, I could fix it. But right now he just acts like there\u2019s not a problem, it just never happened.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tIn 2025, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-features\/sammy-hagar-retirement-alex-van-halen-feud-1235325430\/\">Hagar told<em> Rolling Stone<\/em><\/a> that he heard Alex Van Halen\u2019s anger towards him stemmed from his successful Cabo Wabo tequila brand. \u201cI\u2019ve had this conversation with a few people, including [former Van Halen manager] Irving Azoff,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve asked him, \u2018What\u2019s the problem?\u2019 And some people have said to me, \u2018Oh, Cabo Wabo. At one time, Van Halen, when you built it, you guys were all partners in that. And then they didn\u2019t want it anymore when it was losing money, and they gave it to you, and you turned it around and made hundreds of millions of dollars on it. And they\u2019re angry. Alex is angry about that.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ editors-pick-module lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tHe also felt the drummer was upset that Hagar and Anthony have been touring together for years, playing sets packed with Van Halen classics, while health problems prevented him touring. \u201cHe\u2019s not a singer,\u201d said Hagar. \u201cHe\u2019s not a guitar player. He is not really a band leader. And he seems like he doesn\u2019t want to play drums or can\u2019t play drums anymore, and he can\u2019t go write a new record. Alex wasn\u2019t the songwriter in the band. He was the drummer. Eddie and I wrote the songs. Dave and Eddie wrote the songs, and so we can go out and do them. And I think that really bothers him that Mike and I are still out there doing it. I would feel bad. If I put myself in his shoes, I would feel terrible if I couldn\u2019t do it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sammy Hagar - Panama (Live California 2025 - Proshot 4K)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZxbDybt_6_E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThe flare-up in the tensions between the former bandmates comes as Hagar is about to resume his Best of All Words residency at the Park MGM in Las Vegas. He\u2019ll once again by joined by Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani, and drummer Kenny Aronoff. The set is generally heavy on Van Hagar hits like \u201cPoundcake,\u201d \u201cWhy Can\u2019t This Be Love,\u201d and \u201cRight Now,\u201d But they sprinkle in a couple of Roth-era songs like \u201cAin\u2019t Talkin\u2019 \u2019bout Love\u201d and \u201cPanama\u201d along with Montrose\u2019s \u201cBad Motor Scooter\u201d and Hagar\u2019s solo hit \u201cI Can\u2019t Drive 55.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Why great art requires risk | Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth &amp; Robert Vargas | TEDxFargo\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gaJfmxN8ISU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tDavid Lee Roth, meanwhile, went on a solo tour earlier this year, but he called off the final dates, shortly before reuniting with Alex Van Halen at a Ted Talk, marking their first public appearance together since the final Van Halen concert in 2015. It\u2019s hard to imagine anything like that happening with Alex Van Halen and Roth\u2019s replacement in Van Halen, even though he jokingly suggested that Trunk might somehow negogitate a truce between them.<\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ recirculation-modules trending-in-article lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ recirculation-modules lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t\u201cI want to know how much you charge an hour to see if you can mediate this thing,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not trying to cause a conflict. I\u2019m trying to fix something, you know. Whether Alex wants to play drums ever again is his business, you know. Whether he wants to, you know, just keep releasing all this old stuff for these photographs and all this stuff, and charging people for old pictures that you can find on the internet and stuff, even if they\u2019re just his, it\u2019s like he should be putting them out there for free. To me, he\u2019s doing a lot of stuff wrong for the legacy of Van Halen. And the one that is my business is I just want to know why. Just come clean. Tell the people, tell me, make a public statement why, and then we can figure out whether you\u2019re right or wrong, and whether we can fix it or not. And if we can\u2019t fix it, then just go about my business. It\u2019s all good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tDespite everything, Hagar said he\u2019d react warmly if Van Halen were to ever reach out to him. \u201cOh come in, oh 100%, I\u2019ll grab him, I\u2019ll kiss him right on the lips,\u201d Hagar told Trunk. \u201cI\u2019d treat him like the person that I used to love and I could still love.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/sammy-hagar-fires-back-alex-van-halen-1235628732\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the past few years, Alex Van Halen has worked hard to avoid speaking about Sammy Hagar, not even mentioning him by name a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":73094,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop","article","has-excerpt","has-avatar","has-author","has-date","has-comment-count","has-category-meta","has-read-more","thumbnail-"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}