Sammy Hagar has broken his silence about the lineup change in Sammy Hagar Band.
After sharing a video from a recent soundcheck before one of their shows, the Red Rocker answered some fan questions in the comments section about the lineup. When a user asked about their former drummer Jason Bonham, Hagar said, “Jason’s doing so many projects this year in order for me to do the shows that I want to do I had to keep Kenny on for the rest of the year and who knows what.”
“I’m sure Jason and I will play many many times in the future. He’s a great drummer. We love playing together. And Kenny is a monster. His energy and enthusiasm is the best,” he added.
Another user then pointed out Joe Satriani’s absence from the video. Hagar said of the guitarist, “[He’s] recording and rehearsing with Steve Vai. He will be there for the residency Vic and I play a lot of runoffs together. We play more Sammy tunes with Joe we play more VH plain and simple.”
Hagar recently faced backlash for firing Bonham. In the comments section of a video of Hagar and Kenny Aronoff talking about the changes in their setlist, some users shared their dissatisfaction with the new drummer. “What happened to Jason, he’s so good,” a user commented under the video. Another wrote, “Bring back Jason!!!”
“Uggghh… get another drummer. Kenny is not the right guy for the job…yikes,” another user added.
The Red Rocker had been quiet about replacing Bonham for months but later explained the reasons behind the decision and why Aronoff was a better fit. He praised Aronoff as ‘one of the greatest drummers on the planet’ and highlighted his impressive record of playing on more million-selling albums than any other musician. Hagar also pointed out Aronoff’s ability to quickly adapt and learn all the songs.
Aronoff first filled in temporarily before becoming a permanent member after his debut at the Riverbend Music Center on August 27.
