Well, all they need now is Gary Cherone. In what could be the most dynamic pairing since, well, since either of ’em last hung out with Eddie Van Halen, former Van Halen frontmen David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar are reportedly discussing a possible summer tour together.
That’s right, the power-lunged singers-who each fronted the rock group during two distinct eras (party metal and adult-contemporary, respectively) and each ended up splitting from the band-have met for the first time and are now in talks to team up.
Hagar broke the news this week on his official Website, RedRocker.com, saying, “Believe it or not, Sammy and David Lee Roth are talking about touring this summer. Sammy was blown away at how well they got along together.”
Added Hagar: “If this happens, this would have to be the party of a lifetime!!! Stay tuned! We’ll keep ya posted!!”
A spokesman for Diamond Dave confirmed only that the two exes “have met for the first time.” But Hits magazine is reporting that superstar manager Irving Azoff has signed on for “The Sam and Dave Show,” a tour that would feature both singers performing with their respective bands (though that title is probably not going to pass muster with the lawyers).
It only makes sense that the twosome would hit it off, considering their experiences joining, and leaving, Van Halen. Roth fronted the band from its beginnings in the late ’70s until 1985, when he bailed to focus on a solo career. Hagar then took over until the mid-’90s, when he was replaced by former Extreme singer Cherone.
Of course, news of a possible Hagar-Roth summer tour has unleashed a frenzy of chatter from fans. It also has revealed some potentially complicated issues: For instance, fans of Roth still seem unable to ever forgive Hagar for “ruining” Van Halen (“No one really cares about Van Hagar anymore,” grumbled one fan on a Van Halen message board), while pro-Sammy types might not understand why David Lee Roth has such a bizarre affinity for martial arts and midgets.
Either way, industry types say that if it happens, the tour should be big.
“We’ve been hearing the talk for a while, and it’s probably more interesting than Van Halen was with Gary Cherone,” says Gary Bongiovanni, editor of the concert trade magazine Pollstar. “There’s a good deal of curiosity.”
Meantime, both men have been generating attention for other new projects. Hagar recently teamed up with his old Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and former Bad English members Neal Schon and Deen Castronovo to record a two-song demo under the name Planet Us. The group hopes to have one of its tunes, “Vertigo,” considered for the upcoming Spider-Man soundtrack.
Roth, meanwhile, raised eyebrows with a bizarro new video that he plans to release on DVD titled David Lee Roth’s No Holds Bar-B-Que. The tape features Roth doing martial-arts style moves, dressing up like a sailor and hosting a luau, among other things that make absolutely no sense.
Asked to explain the video, Roth’s spokesman said, “It is what it is. It’s finger-licking good.”
Um, okay.
There’s also some bad news for Diamond Dave: He’s being sued by a tour manager in Texas who claims Roth owes him more than $50,000 in fees. According to the Houston Chronicle, Louis Gavrel filed a lawsuit last week saying he was entitled to 10 percent of the grosses from shows he performed in 1999.
