Sammy Hagar Explains Drummer Change on Van Halen Tribute Tour

Sammy Hagar has explained why Kenny Aronoff took over for Jason Bonham on the Red Rocker’s Best of All Worlds tour.

He said Bonham had tried to keep working after his mother suffered a stroke, but in the end realized he had to visit her in a U.K. hospital.

And the singer added that Aronoff had done a great job in covering for Bonham, joking that he was actually performing the Van Halen-heavy set list better than Hagar was himself.

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“His mother had a stroke and went into a coma, and it’s serious,” Hagar told KSHE 95 in a new interview (below). “The whole family went over there, and he held out for two or three days. [Then] he says, ‘I gotta go; I gotta go.’ I said, ‘You go – go.’

“So we told Kenny; he had about 24-hour notice, and he came in [for] the first night… at six in the morning. We played that night in Cincinnati, and he did a 90-percent perfect show. I swear to you, I make more mistakes every night than he did! So that’s a big hats-off to this guy.”

Sammy Hagar Hails Kenny Aronoff’s attitude

With the North American dates now complete, Hagar is set to tour Japan with Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani and Ray Thistlethwayte. “If Jason is still with his mom, he’s gotta be there till she either comes through or… whatever,” Hagar said, admitting he shouldn’t speculate. “But he’s got a medical emergency with his mother. You don’t ignore that.”

Returning to Aronoff – who previously stood in for Chad Smith in Chickenfoot, which also featured Hagar, Anthony and Satriani – the vocalist said: “We got Kenny, thank God. And if we have to go to Japan with him, we’ll go to Japan. I just love playing with him… he’s so enthusiastic. He’s the most enthusiastic guy – ‘Oh man, we’re gonna kill it! ‘Oh, don’t worry about me!’ He’s like, foaming at the mouth. He’s crazy!”

Watch Sammy Hagar’s Interview