Van Halen's Hagar: "Respect in Montrose"

Sammy Hagar is excited about launching his brief The Tequila Made Me Do It tour this weekend, and just as excited about playing with his first band, Montrose. The group, which initially reunited in 2003, will play three shows with Hagar this month. The Red Rocker told us he expects the performances to be special:
[ click here to listen if you have a Backstage Pass] "We've done this once before, and it was phenomenal. It was so good I can't even tell you. It was better than it ever was. Well everyone's grown up. You know, we left on bad terms. You know, I got thrown out of that band - well, everybody did. Ronnie (Montrose) threw us out one at a time. You know, after you grow up and you get through all that, and there's a new respect between all of us."

Montrose were formed in 1974 by guitarist Ronnie Montrose after he left the Edgar Winter Group. The original lineup recorded just one album, while Hagar was with the band for two.

Montrose will play the tour kickoff on Saturday (August 6th) in Independence Township, Michigan, plus dates on August 13th in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and August 14th in Concord, California.