Latest News

Sammy Hagar and the Waborita’s will be performing
live, in Cabo San Lucas, 12/31, 1/2 & 1/4.
See ya in Cabo for New Years!!!

Sean DeRosier, 31, aerobatic pilot for the "Cabo Wabo SkyRocker" plane, died this morning in a crash while performing maneuvers at the Miramar Air Show in San Diego, California. He was 31. 

DeRosier earned his pilot’s license at the age of 17 and took up aerobatic flying shortly thereafter. He had been sponsored by the "Cabo Wabo SkyRocker" plane for the past two seasons.

Barry Augus, president of Cabo Wabo Enterprises stated, "Sean was a much-loved member of the Cabo Wabo family.  He had an incredible enthusiasm and zeal for things he believed in, and flying was perhaps his greatest passion. Cabo Wabo is proud to have been a part of Sean’s world. The ‘Skyrocker’ may now soar where eagles fly, but he will always live on in our hearts."

DeRosier was born and continued to reside in Fairfield, California until his death. He is survived by his parents Ben and Doris DeRosier, a
girlfriend and two stepchildren. Funeral arrangements are underway.

Cause of the crash is pending NTSB review.

By T.L. Stanley 

LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) — It’s music industry lore and Hollywood movie cliche that rock stars fritter away their millions on partying and booze. Not so for rock veteran Sammy Hagar, who’s actually bringing in money by turning what started, in his own words, as "a stupid  rich-rock-star whim" into a growing multifaceted business.

Clubs and tequila Mr. Hagar, who has his brand logo tattooed on his arm, created and oversees Cabo Wabo Enterprises, which includes two restaurant/nightclubs, a hot-selling premium tequila brand, a growing entertainment festival and a budding merchandise line.

Unlike many marriages between brands and musicians, Mr. Hagar isn’t a celebrity endorser licensing his name. He built his Cabo San Lucas cantina in the ’80s because he wanted a place to play music when he vacationed there. He later bought a local tequila manufacturer.

Accountant quit
His friends and advisers thought he was crazy, he said, and his accountant quit, saying the ventures were a waste of money. Instead, the cantina flourished and the tequila sold.

Mr. Hagar is now assembling the first sales force for Cabo Wabo tequila, which is a top-five seller in the super-premium-tequila category dominated by such brands as Patron and Cazadores, according to Adams Beverage Group. The top sellers moved between 200,000 and slightly more than 300,000 cases in 2003, Adams statistics show, upward of twice the Cabo Wabo volume, which Barry Augus,  who heads Cabo Wabo Enterprises, expects to reach 110,000 cases this year. 

Band/brand integration Live Sammy Hagar performances are the picture of brand integration, with giant Cabo Wabo bottles getting rock star positioning on stage and waitresses delivering "Waboritas" to Mr. Hagar and the band. Winners of radio contests, who sit in bleachers on stage, sample the tequila.

Cabo Wabo is now stepping up paid advertising, with its the first major print and outdoor campaign, created by two boutique agencies, Meat and Potatoes and All Things Possible, both in Los Angeles. On Board Entertainment, San Francisco, is Cabo Wabo’s event marketer. Spending on marketing and media for the brand, though modest, will triple to about $3 million next year. 

Mr. Hagar is in discussions to open more cantinas, some stand-alone and others connected to casinos or hotels, in cities as varied as San Diego, St.Louis, New Orleans and New York. He expects to open at least two next year,and two or three the following year. Each is wholly owned by Cabo Wabo Enterprises, has a performance space and features a Mexican-influenced menu with regional touches.

A variety of merchandise
Cabo Wabo merchandise, through a recently signed deal with licensing firm Signatures Network, will start production in the coming months. The apparel, barware and other goods that reflect a sand-and-surf party lifestyle will be sold in boutique retailers. Mr. Hagar is planning a Cabo Wabo cookbook based on the dishes served at his Cabo San Lucas and Lake Tahoe cantinas.

"I didn’t know it would grow like this," Mr. Hagar said during a Florida stop on his current tour with Van Halen. "When it started to look like a real business, it was hard not to take the ride."

Other marketers are hitching on. There is his annual Cabo San Lucas birthday bash, a free event for fans, and a Nokia-sponsored event for bar owners and liquor distributors. The amped-up celebrity quotient includes performances by Mr. Hagar’s band, the Waboritas, Chad Smith from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smash Mouth, Kenny Chesney and Billy Duffy from the Cult.

Risks and rewards
In flexing his entrepreneurial muscles, Mr. Hagar joins a growing list of musicians and celebrities who have launched everything from fashion lines to food products under their names. Those steps can be both risky and rewarding. "In Sammy Hagar’s case, he’s thought beyond the obvious, and he seems to have a real passion for what he’s creating," said Lucian James, brand strategist at San Francisco-based Agenda.

Mr. Hagar does not disclose sales for his enterprises, but Cabo Wabo executives said he could retire now as a multimillionaire from sales of the tequila and its related businesses. In his core business, Mr. Hagar has a newly released CD called The Essential Red Collection, and a Van Halen record, Best of Both Worlds. Because the music business is struggling, the Cabo Wabo empire is a way for Mr. Hagar to generate revenue and attention, said Jonny Podell, a 30-year music industry veteran who has been the longtime agent for Mr. Hagar, Peter Gabriel, the Gipsy Kings and others.

"Diversification is a great hedge from an artist’s point of view," said Mr. Podell, a former ICM agent who recently founded his own firm, Podell Talent Agency, New York. "In Sammy’s case, he started building this business long before the music industry started declining. But this is certainly a way for an artist to have a life after 50."

 

This year I’ve decided not to charge at any of the shows this October in Cabo.  It’s my way of saying thanks for supporting me and VH this year.  We are working on the procedures for getting in at the Cantina for October’s shows so check the postings.  The first person who complains about not getting charged is gonna spoil it.

Huh… See ya in Cabo! 

Sammy 

Sammy, The Waboritas, Michael Anthony, Chad Smith, Jerry Cantrell, Billy Duffy, Smash Mouth, Silvertide and Kenny Chesney scheduled to perform.

Cabo Wabo Cantina "Safe Haven Program" Continues

13 September 2004, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico: Book your flight, board the dog, break out the flip-flops and grab your sunscreen. The annual Cabo Wabo Meltdown and Sammy Hagar’s Birthday Bash down Baja way are on the books in beautiful Cabo San Lucas, Mexico beginning Friday, October 8, 2004. In conjunction with the six-day celebration, the Cabo Wabo Cantina "Safe Haven Program" will be in full force. (Details below).

The Cabo Wabo Meltdown in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico at the Cabo Wabo Cantina (no, we’re not stuttering) takes place Friday, October 8th and Saturday, October 9th, 2004.  Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, The Waboritas (guitarist Vic Johnson, bassist Mona, drummer David Lauser), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Jerry Cantrell  (Alice in Chains, Cardboard Vampyres), Billy Duffy (The Cult, Cardboard Vampyres) and Silvertide will be slammin’ and jammin’ along with other special surprise guests on one or both of the evenings.

Opening both nights of the Cabo Wabo Meltdown will be the yet-to-be-voted-in winner of the epic band-to-band standoff, "A Shot at the Cabo Wabo." Through a national promotion held earlier this year, the final 20 talented bands have been working hard all summer long for their opportunity to receive an all expense paid trip to Cabo and be the opening act at this year’s Meltdown. 

The party continues on Sunday, October 10th with country hottie Kenny Chesney. That’s right, K-E-N-N-Y C-H-E-S-N-E-Y. 

The days following will include Smash Mouth and the power trio of Los Tres Gusanos (Sammy, Michael Anthony and Waboritas drummer David Lauser) amongst others.

And on Wednesday, October 13th …it’s BIRTHDAY time. Amazing in that it falls on the same date every single year, it’s Sammy Hagar’s Birthday Bash featuring Sammy and the Waboritas…and who the heck knows who else. 

Ya can’t buy a ticket to ANY of these shows. It’s first come, first in the door. The line forms to the left …and out through the parking lot, around the corner, down the street and through the town.

"Funny thing," said Sunday’s headliner Kenny Chesney (in reference to Sammy). "You grow up, and you have your heroes… and when you get to meet ’em, it’s always a trip to find out they’re even cooler than you imagined!"

Hagar, known for his subtlety and lack of enthusiasm simply stated, "There is nothing else, anywhere at anytime, on the planet or elsewhere that is better than this. See you in Cabo."

 

"The Cabo Wabo Save Haven Program"Instituted in 2003, the Cabo Wabo Cantina Save Haven Program was created to ensure a safe and celebratory time during all who come to Cabo San Lucas on holiday. Anyone visiting Cabo San Lucas is welcome to come to the Cabo Wabo Cantina to register themselves and those in their traveling party. The Safe Haven form asks for each registrant to give information on their hotel, those traveling in their group and cell phone numbers. All information stays on file in the Cabo Wabo Cantina office. If by chance anyone gets lost in town or is separated from their group, forgets where they’re staying or the like, they simply return to the Cantina as a meeting/check in point.

About Cabo Wabo: Cabo Wabo is a lifestyle brand that includes Cabo Wabo
Tequila and the Cabo Wabo Cantinas in two of the most beautiful places on
earth: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and Lake Tahoe, Nevada at Harveys Resort
Casino. Cabo Wabo embodies the philosophy of founder and owner Sammy Hagar:
a quality of life embracing good music, good friends, a smile on your face
and the beach in your soul. Like our tequila, we believe your presence on
this planet should be savored and enjoyed to the fullest. CaboWabo.com

About Sammy Hagar: Sammy Hagar is the lead vocalist for the multi-platinum
group Van Halen and leader of his own band, Sammy Hagar and the Waboritas.
He is founder and owner of the Cabo Wabo brand, a collector of fine wines, a
serious cook in the kitchen and possibly one of the happiest people on
earth. With two current CD releases, The Essential Red Collection
(Hip-O/UM), and Van Halen’s Best of Both Worlds (Warner Bros.), Sammy Hagar
continues to be music to everyone’s ears.

A few ditties about our guest stars:

Kenny Chesney is hands down one of country’s hottest guys. With Pollstar’s
#3 ticket-selling tour of last year — behind Bruce Springsteen and the Dave
Matthews Band — the singer/songwriter from Luttrell, Tennessee has a
quadruple platinum CD with "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems", while his
brand new "When The Sun Goes Down" has just hit the triple platinum mark.
www.joesgarage615.com/ARTISTchesney.html
www.kennychesney.com

In addition to his thundering bass lines, Michael Anthony’s melodic and
instantly recognizable backing vocals play a huge part in the unique sound
and multi-platinum success of Van Halen . When not on stage with VH, Anthony is busy creating new recipes for his own line of "Mad Anthony’s Hot Sauce," and along with Hagar, will be launching the Mad Anthony Pepper Bar at the Cabo Wabo Cantina in Mexico later this year.
www.madanthonycafe.com

One of the most influential guitarists of his generation, Jerry Cantrell’s
heavy yet organic style, paired with soulful songwriting, helped shape the
multi-platinum success of Alice in Chains. His current super group,
CARDBOARD VAMPYRES delivers a new take on the hard rock experience.
Co-founded with guitarist Billy Duffy from THE CULT, the band fires some old
favorites with infectious vigor. 
www.jerrycantrell.com

Billy Duffy’s guitar playing has been highly influential in multiple realms
of the music world. Best known for his work with The Cult, the band¹s first
two albums, Dreamtime and Love, showcased Duffy’s dark, psychedelic style
that went on to have a resounding effect on both hard rock and gothic music.
Duffy’s knack for this unique sonic crossbreed has made him an essential
piece of music history. 
www.cardboardvampyres.com

Smash Mouth sold over two million copies of their self-made debut, but it
was 1999’s "Astro Lounge" that truly set the pop pinnacle. The lead single "
All-Star " topped three national radio charts and hit number four on
Billboard’s perennial Hot 100. Likewise, the album sold nearly three and a
half million copies and climbed to number six on the album sales charts. The
group’s self-titled third album included "I’m a Believer," which was
prominently featured in the film "Shrek." Lead vocalist Steve Harwell,
guitarist Greg Camp, bassist Paul DeLisle and drummer Michael Urbano are
presently touring and working on their fifth CD. 
www.smashmouth.com

Silvertide are disciples of the Church of the Power Chord in whose songs
shopworn classic-rock elements are reborn as signifiers of a wild, feral
renegade life, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Ranging in age from
20 to 23 this hard working, hard rocking five-piece comprised of lead
vocalist Walt Lafty, lead guitarist Nick Perri, rhythm guitarist Mark
Melchiorre, Jr., bassist Brian Weaver and drummer Kevin Frank grew up in the
same Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood. After their opening slot with
Aerosmith set an early benchmark, they’ve gone on to perform with such
headliners as Van Halen, Velvet Revolver, Kid Rock and The Darkness. Their
debut album Show and Tell (J Records) bowed September 28. "Ain’t Comin’
Home," the band’s lead track has been embraced by radio and they have been
named an AOL Breaker Artist. With a ferocious live show, Silvertide aim to
bring the arrogant swagger back to rock n’ roll.
www.silvertidemusic.com

The Beach performs 24/7, 365 a few blocks from the Cabo Wabo Cantina, and is
an important part of the overall Cabo Wabo lifestyle. Check out up-to-date
weather reports and forecasts.

Cabo Wabo is a registered trademark of Cabo Wabo Enterprises.
www.cabowabo.com