Sammy Hagar recently made an appearance on RT’s Dennis Miller Plus One for an interview. Speaking to the host Dennis Miller, Hagar stated that he believes the liquor industry is safer than the music industry.
Although Sammy Hagar is mainly known as the former frontman of Van Halen or his band The Circle, the musician is also a successful entrepreneur. As a businessman, he owns a tequila brand and a restaurant chain known as Cabo Wabo. On September 22, Hagar also launched his new brand Beach Bar Cocktail Co. with a rooftop performance.
Hagar usually throws his birthday parties at his restaurants. As you know, he celebrates his birthdays with events known as ‘Sammy Hagar’s Birthday Bashes.’ During those events, he mainly performs at the restaurant with his band The Circle, which also helps him promote his brands. According to the musician, this is his way to promote his business.
During his appearance on RT’s Dennis Miller Plus One, the host Miller asked Hagar about his business ventures and said he is also interested in being an entrepreneur. He then asked him if he was successful in understanding how to manage his interests.
As a response, Sammy Hagar said he messed things up quite a few times, but he took risks to get where he is now. He then compared the music industry to the liquor industry and said he feels much safer in the liquor business. According to the musician, this is because the liquor industry is built around friendships, unlike the record industry.
In the interview, the host Dennis Miller told Sammy Hagar:
“Sammy, I look at guys like Jimmy Buffett, I look at Gene, I look at Paul. You read so many kids who get screwed over. And I love the business acumen, man. I’m trying to think how early into the game [you were] when you’re being the Red Rocker, but how early on do you think I’d best get my ducks in a row here, or I’m going to get screwed business-wise? Were you always savvy?“
Sammy Hagar then said:
“No, oh hell no. If you think I haven’t been f*cked… Oh geez, it’s like the funniest thing to me! It’s like ‘I am not a virgin, trust me.’ But every time you do, if you don’t learn from that and figure it out, you’re still going to get f*cked anyway.
You know, when you’re doing things like ‘I’m adventurous, so I’ll take a risk, I’ll take a chance,’ that’s a lot of the times how you get it because you don’t know what you’re doing. When I got into the liquor industry, oddly enough, I haven’t been f*cked.
It’s like all the rock and roll stuff, every time I change record companies I’d say ‘I’m leaving this company, they screwed me out, I’ll go to a new one!’ What? They screwed me again! So, the record industry is a little tougher.”
He went on to say:
“I don’t know. The liquor industry is built around friendships and relationships. I found that out. You got a friend, he owns a hotel or owns a restaurant, and he puts your booze in there. You’re buddies, everything’s good. So, it’s a little more kind of buddy-buddy system. I can’t explain it, but I feel much safer in the liquor industry than in the music industry.
You know, the promoters will lie to you, you walk out, you couldn’t get another person in there if you had to. They say ‘You only sold half the place, what are you talking about? There was room, you just couldn’t see in the back. It’s like ‘Okay, here we go again.'”
You can watch the rest of the interview below.
