Los Angeles, Apr 27 (UNI) Singer Sammy Hagar, known both for his solo career in the hard rock/heavy metal world, as well as for his tenure as the former vocalist of the iconic hard rock band Van Halen, speaking of his latest track ‘Encore, Thank You, Goodnight’, said that it was inspired by a dream he had of late guitarist Eddie Van Halen.
Speaking to Loudwire, Hagar said “I dream about Eddie all the time. This particular one, we were in a corner. When Eddie would have a song idea, he’d say, ‘Come here, come here, I want to show you, come here, come here.’
“He would take me away from (Alex Van Halen) and (Michael Anthony) and everybody. He didn’t want to be bothered showing me this song because everybody would put their two cents in. Al would go, ‘No, you’re playing too fast, Ed.'”
In Hagar’s dream, the late guitar legend was showing him a new song, just like he used to do.
“I woke up so fast, I remembered it and I got my pad and I started writing things down,” he recalled.
“I got my guitar out, I got my iPhone out, I recorded some melody. I fucking sang it into my iPhone and boom, that was the beginning of the song. I’ve written songs out of dreams, but not like this.”
In addition, he also spoke about his part in the upcoming ‘Back to the Beginning’ concert in Birmingham, on July 5.
The grand concert will mark the first live appearance by heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne in over seven years, and the first time since 2005’s Ozzfest to feature a live performance by the original lineup of heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath.
Aside from that, the concert will also feature other hard rock and metal icons such as Alice In Chains, Guns N Roses, Metallica, Anthrax, Tool, Slayer, Pantera, Lamb Of God, Gojira, etc.
“When the word started leaking out, Tom Morello calls me and says, ‘Hey man, would you be interested,'” Hagar said.
“I went, ‘Yes!’ He didn’t have to say what. Would you be interested? ‘Yes, Tom, I’m all in.’ I was so flattered that I was one of the early guys on.”
Hagar admitted that he’s an interesting pick to be part of the show because he doesn’t sing like Ozzy — but he’s been prepping every day to get ready.
“I’ve been studying,” he said. “Everybody asks, ‘What do you listen to?’ Him. I’m listening to Ozzy until the 5th. I got to learn his phrasing. His melodic structures are so unique, he’s such a unique singer. I’m so honoured.”
Apart from singing Ozzy’s songs, Hagar said he was also offered to do some of his own tracks, and he’s leaning toward some of his older material that was part of the same period as Black Sabbath.
