In a recent interview with Andy Greene for Rolling Stone magazine, Sammy Hagar was asked about his omission from Alex Van Halen‘s book Brothers, where the VAN HALEN drummer stated that the essence of the band ended with David Lee Roth‘s departure.
“It’s sad,” Hagar said. “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.”
Referring to the fact that Alex has been seen in photos and videos using a cane during the promotion of Brothers, Sammy went on to say: “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.'”
“Why he left me out, I would like to hear him explain that someday, because I don’t get it completely,” he added. “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 reiterated his determination to reconcile with Alex.
He said: “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. 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. 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.”
Brothers, the 384-page memoir by Alex Van Halen, is now available in audiobook format. The audiobook features an exclusive, previously unreleased track titled “Unfinished,” composed by Alex and his brother, the legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen. This final collaboration between the two brothers can be heard as Alex narrates his life story.
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