This Is Sammy Hagar: When The Party Started

With this collection, I wanted to revisit what I feel are the best songs I wrote during the second wave I d left Van Halen and formed the Wabos as an alternative to the superstar, high-pressure, commercial machine that I d been living in since I joined Montrose in 1972. These albums, Red Voodoo (1999), Ten 13 (2000) and Livin It Up (2006), represent the first time I was free from the pressures of putting out a major label release in 25 years. Musically, I needed to shake it up and fall in love with making music again. I needed a break from the big record industry machine from the known producers of that time and from major label A&R telling me what to do. With the Wabos; Jesse Harms, David Lauser, Vic Johnson and Mona Gnader, we locked ourselves in my basement studio and we rehearsed and recorded anything and everything I wrote. Along with Bob Daspit, and a few other engineer-friendly people, we produced and engineered it ourselves, thanks to a new technology called Pro Tools. I was in a place of experimentation, discovery and invention and I didn t want to be told what to do for the sake of making a hit single or album. In fact, when I d finished some songs, I d run them by my friends at major labels and they would all say this is not what we want to hear from Sammy Hagar. And I would say but this IS Sammy Hagar, this is who I am today! I was changing into more of a lifestyle artist some got it, some didn't. This is when the party started; I played hundreds, maybe thousands, of shows anywhere and everywhere without a set list and built a hard-core following of Redheads. They were really into what we were doing. My annual Birthday Bash in Cabo got to the point where thousands of people were ing on the streets outside of the Cabo Wabo Cantina to hang out with us, and live the life we were living. There's a lot of people I need to thank for these times. Musicians and crew members, business associates, Cabo Wabo staff, etc. There are way too many names to mention. So rather than take the chance of leaving someone out I just want to say thank you to all of you. You know who you are, and how you contributed to this very special time in my life. Most of all, I know how lucky I am to have fans that stay with me through every new turn in my career. This collection represents a particularity special time in my musical life and I personally handpicked each of the songs to share with you. It's now that Time again to see what's up around the bend. Always at your service. - Sammy