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Stupid questions with Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth

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HAGAR

Hagar: Steve Jennings/Wireimage.com

EW On a scale of 1 to 11, how hard are you partying right now?
SAMMY HAGAR I'm lying down, I've got my f -- -in' feet up and you know what? That is a form of partying.

EW So...on a scale of 1 to 11?
SH I'm on a 3.

EW Looking back, do you regret Dave's buttless pants?
SH Yes. Even I wish he'd never done that. And it works to my advantage that he did. Dave's bold. He believes his own s---, let me tell you. If he brings that s--- out on this tour, I'm gonna have to sleep with the light on, man.

EW How many shots of your Cabo Wabo tequila does it take to wipe out the memory of that sleeveless yellow getup you wore in the "I Can't Drive 55" video?
SH Actually, it took about four or five cases over the years to erase that.

EW What's harder: driving 55 or turning 55?
SH Driving 55. Getting old's a piece of cake.... I got a car that I drive, a 427 Shelby. In third gear, at 85 miles an hour, if you just step on it, without popping the clutch, the wheels start smoking. How can you drive 55 miles an hour in a car like that?

EW Which is the more poignant Van Halen lyric: Your "Only time will tell if we stand the test of time," or Dave's "Got an on-ramp comin' through my bedroom"?
SH Dave came up with some good lyrics, little clever lines like that. But none of them really meant anything. When you're in your 50s and up there singing, "I've got a freeway runnin' through my bedroom" or whatever the f--- that line was, it looks bad. Talking about the test of time--then you're talking about a true relationship and you can sing that when you're 50 years old.... I'm giving myself the edge.

EW Sammy, why can't this be love?
SH [Sigh] I wish it could, but Dave's said a lot of bad things about me in the past.

EW Can it at least be...like?
SH You know what? I can like him. He's an entertaining fellow.

EW What's Eddie doing as he's reading this interview?
SH He's thinking, "Boy, did I f--- up."

EW Don't tell Dave, but you were my favorite singer in Van Halen.
SH Oh, right on. You have taste. Peace and love and happiness.

Posted May 31, 2002 | Published in issue #656 May 31, 2002 | Order Article Reprints

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