×

VAN HALEN: Will They Finish What They Started?

By Jim Cartwright Nov 16, 2023 | 10:42 AM

Sammy Hagar, during his appearance Tuesday on The Howard Stern Show on SiriusXM, said anyone who wants to join him next summer on his Best of All Worlds Van Halen tribute tour is welcome.

“We’re gonna invite every musician in every town. First of all, whenever you play, if there’s a guitar player in town, no matter what city it is, they come out to see Joe [Satriani], just like they used to for Eddie [Van Halen]. So if we’ve got other guitar players, we’ll get them involved, other singers, get them involved. If Alex Van Halen wants to jump up, if David Lee Roth wants to come out and join us, come on… You are welcome. This is about Van Halen.”

Pressed by Stern about Alex, Hagar said, “I would hope so. I reach out to Al about once a month for about five years now, and he doesn’t get back to me… I call, I leave a voice message, I send a text and I send an E-mail. All three things. ‘Al, give me a call.’

“Al’s favorite line to me was always, every time he wanted to get back together, he would say, ‘You know, Sam, we ain’t getting any younger.’ So I’d say, ‘Hey, Al, we ain’t getting any younger. Give me a call. Let me know. What do you wanna do? Come on over. Let’s get together. Mike [Anthony] and I’ll meet you somewhere.'”

In addition to Joe Satriani and Michael Anthony, Hagar will be backed by drummer Jason Bonham. Both Anthony and Bonham are in Hagar’s band The Circle, and Satriani and Hagar, as well as Anthony, played together in Chickenfoot.

The tour starts July 13th in West Palm Beach, Florida.