Alex Van Halen Silently Rejects Sammy Hagar’s Show Invite

Sammy Hagar is set to launch his Best of All Worlds tour alongside Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony, and Jason Bonham, promising a nostalgic mix of Van Halen classics and deep cuts. However, fans should not expect any guest appearances from Alex Van Halen, despite Hagar’s numerous attempts to involve him.

Hagar shared in an interview:

“Mike and I reached out to Alex before we did this.
“We reached out to him a dozen times before this tour, in every way. Email, text message, phone call, message on the machine, OK? No response. No response. I mean, we made every offer to get together or to just talk or to have breakfast, lunch or dinner. Go to the studio and play. Come to my house or I’ll come to your house. Go ride horses, go sit on the beach. What do you want to do? Let’s just do something. Let’s get together. And nothing.”

Highlighting their strained relationship, Hagar added:

“When the tour came, the first person we called and left all of the messages, sent all of the emails, it was Alex Van Halen. Mike and I said, ‘We’re wanting to do this thing.’ Alex’s famous line to me [was], ‘Sammy, we ain’t getting any younger.’ Mike and I said, ‘Alex, we ain’t getting any younger. We’re going out and playing for the people. We’re going to go honor the Van Halen catalog. Let’s just get together and let’s talk about it. Mike and I, we’re going out, we’re going to do this, Alex. Please join us. Let’s be friends, let’s bury the hatchet, whatever.’ There was no response.”

Hagar hoped Alex might attend one of the shows, particularly in Los Angeles, but it seems unlikely.

“I was saying, ‘He’ll come to a show, he’s got to in L.A. or something. I’m sure he’ll come.’ But no, no, he sold all of his equipment. That was his statement. That was like, ‘Nah, I ain’t coming nowhere.’”

How Jason Bonham Channels Alex Van Halen

Even though Alex Van Halen won’t be part of the tour, his influence will be felt through Jason Bonham. Hagar explained:

“Alex idolized John Bonham. And Jason plays exactly like John Bonham, his dad.
“Every time Alex would go in the studio, when I was in the band, he’d play ‘When the Levee Breaks’ for the engineer, or he’d play certain drum sounds, like ‘Kashmir.’ He’d play a Zeppelin tune or so and he’d say, ‘Let’s try to get this sound. Right here, this is what I want, that sound.’ Alex is a great drummer, totally original and badass. He’s one of the greatest rock drummers of all time, Alex Van Halen. But he was playing like John Bonham a lot of times.”

The late John Bonham’s legacy serves as a connection between his son and Van Halen. Hagar noted:

“Jason, when he hears that, he goes, ‘Oh, I know what [Alex] was trying to play. My pop was always on the hi-hat like this and then he played in between,’
“So he knows exactly what Alex was doing. When he plays it, it fuckin’ sounds like his dad and Alex are on the same kit, man. Jason is the right guy for this tour. He’s been with me for a long time. Having Jason play ‘I Can’t Drive 55,’ you know, no big deal. Anybody can play that. Well, not anybody, but you know, any decent drummer would be fine on [that song]. But when it comes to ‘Poundcake’ or ‘Rock Candy’ — because Denny Carmassi was also a John Bonham freak that wanted to play like John Bonham in Montrose — when you play those kinds of songs, Jason Bonham is important.”

The Best of All Worlds tour will kick off on July 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida, promising a powerful tribute to Van Halen’s musical legacy.