Sammy Hagar – HuffPost 8.26.13

[Note: This begins with a relative question but basically evolves into advice for new or evolving artists by default.]

Mike Ragogna: Sammy, what do you think of the state of rock these days?

Sammy Hagar: I don’t know. It’s interesting. Thank God I already made it. I don’t see a guy with my style and the way I went about it doing too well today. My way of making it, I think, is dead and gone but I still believe that if you want to be a musician… If you want to be a pop star, it’s different. You’ve got to go get on TV or something. But if you want to be a band, a rocker, a guy that can play music and jam with other people and be a real musician, then you’ve just got to go play as much as you can in front of as many people as you can any time, anywhere and live and breathe it. Put your head down and keep on swinging. One of my favorite new young bands is Rival Sons. Their last thing was called “Keep On Swinging,” and he’s the same guy who wrote that song “Not Going Down” on my record. He’s got that attitude. A young guy from Fontana, my hometown, he wrote a song called “Keep On Swinging” and he wrote “Not Going Down.” That’s the attitude you’ve got to have today. If you’re going to go out and do what I did, you’d better have your f**king head down and just be swinging. To try to outsmart the system and find a way to do it but then still be a musician, you’ve got to play music, you know? I don’t know if it’s going to get you anywhere. You’ll get somewhere. I don’t know if it’s going to get you rich and famous by doing that, but you’ll get somewhere. People will start noticing you. That’s just my advice, whether you asked for it or not. That’s what I think of the industry right now, it’s tough, but keep your head down and keep f**king swinging. Kick, bite, everything. Cheat.

MR: [laughs] Cheat?

SH: [laughs] If you have to!

MR: I usually ask for advice for new artists, but I think you just gave it.

SH: [laughs] Yeah.