Alex Van Halen’s relationship with his former Van Halen bandmate Sammy Hagar has been rocky for years – something that was made abundantly clear when Alex refused to mention Hagar in his recently released memoir “Brothers.”
The two reportedly haven’t spoken in 21 years. And in a new interview with Rolling Stone, Hagar touched on why there has been no communication between them in the last couple of decades, saying:
“I’ve had this conversation with a few people, including [former Van Halen manager] Irving Azoff. I’ve asked him, ‘What’s the problem?’ And some people have said to me, ‘Oh, Cabo Wabo. At one time, Van Halen, when you built it, you guys were all partners in that. And then they didn’t 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’re angry. Alex is angry about that.’
“To that I said, ‘How the f*ck could they be angry about that? They gave me the damn thing, they walked out on me, left me with it. And they made me indemnify them in case I got sued and lost everything. They made me sign off big time.’ And I’m going, ‘I hope it’s not that.'”
He continued: “I think Al’s angry because I’m out doing it, and Mike [Anthony, former Van Halen bassist] and I are out doing it, and he can’t. He’s not a singer. He’s not a guitar player. He is not really a band leader. And he seems like he doesn’t want to play drums or can’t play drums anymore, and he can’t go write a new record.
“Alex wasn’t the songwriter in the band. He was the drummer. Eddie and I wrote the songs. Dave [Lee Roth] 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’t do it anymore. But I’m the happiest guy out of all of them. That pisses people off in itself. Being too happy, people don’t like that.”
When the interviewer noted that Alex has health issues, lost his brother Eddie Van Halen, and has some valid reasons for feeling bitter, Hagar replied: “Yeah, I’d say so. And I’m okay with it. Al, you’re fine. Just leave me alone. I’ll leave you alone. Everything’s good. I’m making you money, by the way, Al. I’m out there selling Van Halen records and keeping the name alive, keeping the music alive.”
