At Sammy Hagar rehearsal, Led Zep tunes and tales rule

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/07/14/sammy-hagar-summer-band-rehearsal-led-zeppelin-rules/12570987/

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Sammy Hagar, foreground, rehearses at his San Rafael, Calif., studios with his latest band, bassist Michael Anthony, left, drummer Jason Bonham and guitarist Vic Johnson.(Photo: Marco R. della Cava, USA TODAY)

At Sammy Hagar rehearsal, Led Zep tunes and tales rule
Marco della Cava, USA TODAY 9:03 a.m. EDT July 14, 2014

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — Just before the count-off, Sammy Hagar turns to a visitor and cackles.

“This is like test-driving a new car,” says the man whose pre-Van Halen fame is inextricably linked to his autobiographical 1984 single, I Can’t Drive 55. “With a new band, before you start it up, you’re really not sure where it’s going. But it’s exciting.”

From the first thunderous notes of Led Zeppelin’s Good Times Bad Times, it’s apparent that this latest Hagar-and-pals machine is firing on all cylinders. That’s good news for fans planning to hit Sammy Hagar: A Journey Through the History of Rock, the group’s upcoming run of summer shows, which kicks off Thursday at Rock Fest in Cadott, Wis., and wraps up Aug. 16 in Stateline, Nev.

When the band puts the final cymbal crash on Good Times, Hagar, 66, can’t contain himself. “That was powerful, guys,” he says to three compadres assembled at his private Northern California studio for the group’s first rehearsal, which USA TODAY was invited to attend. “This is going to work. Man, I love singing Zep tunes.”

‘It’s all about the love of these songs.’
Sammy Hagar

It doesn’t hurt that pulling drum duty is Jason Bonham, son of iconic Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, while the bass lines are anchored by founding Van Halen member Michael Anthony. The note-perfect guitar riffs are supplied by Vic Johnson, longtime member of Hagar’s house band, The Wabos.

For the next few hours, the foursome rips through a classic-rock mix of Zeppelin (Ramble On, When the Levee Breaks), Hagar-era Van Halen (Why Can’t This Be Love, Best of Both Worlds), Chickenfoot (Big Foot) and Wabos (Mas Tequila).

There’s a lot of good-natured banter back and forth, much of it focused on who will take which solos when and how Bonham should telegraph the wrap-up for each tune with a drum flourish.

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Sammy Hagar and guitarist Vic Johnson rip through rehearsal at Hagar’s San Rafael, Calif., studios.(Photo: Marco R. della Cava, USA TODAY)

Bonham, who sat in with Hagar and Anthony last fall during a festival in his current hometown of Miami, toured in 2013 with his Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience, which showcased the uncanny resemblance to his father’s hammer-of-the-gods drumming style. But despite that lofty pedigree, Bonham seems giddy to be in the same room with former members of Van Halen.

“Growing up with Dad in the industry, what he did specifically wasn’t that exciting to me, but I can still remember getting a bootleg of Van Halen,” the group’s 1978 debut, says Bonham, 47, whose father, a heavy drinker, died at age 32 in 1980. “I’m just a big fan of these guys.”

And the feeling is mutual. Raised on Zep classics, Hagar and Anthony both are tickled by their drummer’s link to rock history.

Hagar can’t help but blurt out, “Jason, just do the intro to Rock and Roll for him, please.” And a moment later, there it is, that familiar high-hat cymbal and drum explosion from Led Zeppelin IV, an album whose glyph symbols live on: Bonham has his dad’s three interlocking circles pasted onto his bass drum.

“These days, I just love to play,” Bonham says.

Anthony and Hagar nod in agreement. “This isn’t a job for us, because we don’t need one,” Anthony says. “We just love making music.” Adds Hagar: “It’s all about the love of these songs.”

During a break in the glorious racket, the band members swap stories. Not surprisingly, most circle back to Bonham’s larger-than-life father. The son recalls being taken as a kid to see The Police. Backstage, “Dad stepped on Sting’s blue suede shoes, and he told my dad, ‘Don’t step on my blue suede shoes,’ ” Bonham says, laughing. “Dad got up in his face pretty fast.”

Anthony immediately chimes in with his own Bonham tale. “(Van Halen) was just starting out and were playing on the Strip (in Los Angeles), and (band drummer) Alex (Van Halen) heard Bonham was at a club nearby and insisted we go meet him.”

Anthony reluctantly went along, and when they found Bonzo — the drummer’s nickname — he was less than excited to meet this L.A. drummer in an unknown band. “Your pop took a swing at Alex,” says a smiling Anthony.

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Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Sammy Hagar takes notes during the rehearsal of his latest band at the Red Rocker’s private studio in San Rafael, Calif.(Photo: Marco R. della Cava, USA TODAY)

Bonham’s eyes light up. “Wait a minute, that may explain something,” he says, launching into a tale about excitedly meeting Van Halen for the first time while in the company of his father. When he tried to shake Alex Van Halen’s hand, the offer was rejected. “I bet that’s why,” Bonham says.

When the laughter dies down, the amps get turned back up.

“Hanging out and telling stories is just one great thing about being in a group like this,” Anthony says. “The other part is playing and seeing if we’ve got, you know, it.”

Suddenly, the sound of Hagar’s (There’s Only) One Way to Rock floods the room. According to this gang, that way is: hard.