Sammy Hagar Announces New Album, ‘Light Roast’
In a new video address to his fan club, Sammy Hagar reveals that he will soon be releasing a new album, less than a year after 2013's 'Sammy Hagar & Friends' hit stores. 'Light Roast' will feature new acoustic versions of some of his best known songs.
The move was spurred by the excitement the singer felt while preparing for last week's inaugural Acoustic For A Cure show spurred him to record 'Light Roast.' Although he does not mention a specific date for the album's release, Hagar says that the new record will be available via his website in the near future. He also mentions that he will not be undertaking any touring in direct support of the album, although he hopes to add an acoustic segment to his concerts in the future.
For the making of the album, Hagar says things were kept simple: "It was just me and [longtime Wabos guitarist] Vic [Johnson] live in the studio with no overdubs. Just two guitars, sometimes one guitar, sometimes just one voice, sometimes two voices."
Hagar and Johnson agree that while they have done limited acoustic work in the past for radio station appearances and the like, the making of the record was in fact the first time they had done a whole set of Hagar's songs acoustically.
"I started to learn how to sing like that," Hagar says in the video. "I have the hardest time singing without a whole band behind me but I learned how to do it and it really helped me. It will make me a better singer."
If the success of Acoustic-4-A-Cure is any indication, Hagar giving his songs the acoustic treatment should sit well with fans. Along with Metallica's James Hetfield, Heart's Nancy Wilson and others, San Fransisco's Fillmore was the place to be last Thursday night. In addition to performing the Van Halen track 'Dreams,' Hagar also teamed up with his Chickenfoot band mate Joe Satriani and Train's Pat Monahan to play an acoustic rendition of 'Something's Going Wrong.'
All proceeds from Acoustic-4-A-Cure will be donated to support cancer research at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital.