Sammy Hagar has been making himself heard recently, and some of his comments may have rubbed a few people the wrong way. Not long ago, he was reported to have compared the group he is currently working with, Chickenfoot, with Led Zeppelin, and commented that, “Chickenfoot could rival Led Zeppelin.”

Well, since that eventful moment, Hagar has backed away from that comment and says that he was under the influence of Tequila at the time, referring to himself as “ripped” and admitting that he “said something stupid.”

Although he has conceded that the Led Zeppelin comment was “stupid,” Hagar still sounds like he has great expectations for this new group, which will probably be called something other than Chickenfoot when all is said and done.

“The world needs this band right now. The rock ‘n’ roll world needs this band. We are a rock band, and we’re at the top of our game. When the world hears this, it’s gonna turn on its side,” he says.

Reflecting on his days with Van Halen, which is referred to at times as “Van Hagar,” Hagar reveals what he says were the real reasons he ended up parting company with the the group.

According to Hagar, it came down to a power struggle within the group between him and Eddie Van Halen, who , according to Hagar was not the kind of guy that handled a leadership role very well, and was happy to allow Hagar to call a lot of the shots.

All of that changed when the group came under new management, according to Hagar, and he believes that the new manager worked behind the scenes to “poison” Eddie Van Halen, and convinced him to become more assertive about leading the group.

Hagar also suggested that Eddie’s well-publicized drug use contributed to the conflicts that eventually convinced him to leave the band, and also believes it made Eddie  more susceptible to the new manager’s influence.

Hagar recently sat down with Music Radar for an interview where he revealed these details and more. You can check out the entire interview and download it at Music Radar.