David Lee Roth shared a new piece of art on Monday that makes several references to his longtime Van Halen rival, Sammy Hagar, in what is either the latest jab in the pair's long-running feud or another savvy play by Roth to get our attention.
The colorful new drawing posted via Roth's social media channels is styled as the front page of a newspaper called 'The Daily Catastrophe," but all of the paper's 'headlines' seem to make reference to Hagar.
A box in the upper lefthand side of the page reads "Concrete Flowers for Sam." Another pair of lines on the upper right read "Sam the Man not only will be giving his life for rock and roll, but plans to be buried in his recently aquired [sic] jet!"
Another line reads "Red Rocker Refuses To Fly 55 in Afterlife." Below that, "Up, up, and away." And at the bottom of the page, "Soggy Kudos to the Bottom's Favorite Front-Guy For Planning Ahead!"
The front-page imagery depicts a crudely drawn, insect-like figure with spiky hair making the 'rock horns' hand sign while flying a broken plane over — or into — what we can only guess is supposed to be a mountain.
Roth has penned several 'Daily Catastrophe' cartoons this year. They usually depict similarly absurdist scenes with tongue-in-cheek allusions to current events. He even drew himself in the cockpit of the tumbling propeller plane in one 'Daily Catastrophe' drawing from this past April.
Hagar and Diamond Dave have famously been at odds since their joint 'Sam and Dave' tour in 2002. Hagar has been highly critical of Roth's behavior during the trek but has also claimed to have no idea what the beef is between the two iconic Van Halen singers.
Roth seldom refers to Hagar by name in public, which is partly why his latest drawing has raised so many questions.
The Red Rocker has done several interviews since Eddie Van Halen's death in early-October. One of the more widely-circulated headlines was Hagar's insistence that Van Halen was trying to put together a tour in 2019 including all of the band's former members, including both himself, bassist Michael Anthony and Roth.
While Hagar told Eddie Trunk that he hadn't been contact directly about the tour, he expressed certainty that the massive reunion was in Van Halen's plans until Eddie's health began a downturn.
Wolfgang Van Halen confirmed the idea as well, but acknowledged to Howard Stern that Roth's approval was still in question before the tour plans were scrapped.
In late-October, Roth revealed a previously unreleased song dedicated to Eddie called "Somewhere Over the Rainbow Bar and Grill." A year ago, after announcing his revamped solo career, Roth claimed that with Van Halen "finished," it was his responsibility to carry on the band's live legacy.
Photo: Getty Images