`MARCHING TO MARS' WITH SAMMY HAGAR

More than a year after his acrimonious split with heavy metal rockers Van Halen, Sammy Hagar is luxuriating in the freedom of being his own man again.

He himself financed his new "Marching to Mars" album. "I don't want record companies telling me what I want to do," he said in a phone interview from Charleston, W.V.

And he is performing in small venues, mostly 3,000-seat theaters, that Van Halen never played in. That's what "Marching to Mars" is all about: "No luggage, no nothing, leaving the whole thing behind," he said. "I'm just Sammy Hagar."

With a laugh he adds, "I figured doing it on another planet is safer."

The Red Rocker's "Marching to Mars" tour lands at the Show Me Center for a 7:30 p.m. concert Wednesday.

When Hagar exited Van Halen in June 1996, brothers Eddie and Alex did TV interviews claiming he didn't want to tour anymore. Hagar says he simply didn't want to do what Van Halen's new manager, the Van Halens' brother-in-law, wanted them to do.

The chemistry between he and Eddie, the group's songwriters, also had changed, Hagar says. They were working on a song for the movie "Twister" and couldn't agree on an approach. "When the creators in the band don't agree any more you've got a problem," he says.

"...I felt like we'd lost the dream."

Hagar was furious at the Van Halen brothers' snipes at the time but says he's not bitter now. "I'm over it and happy with this new thing."

He's also still a fan of Eddie's guitar playing. "I would never say anything against his musicianship," Hagar said.

Hagar began his career in 1973 as the lead singer for Montrose. After two albums he struck out on his own and recorded 12 albums as a solo artist. He wrote the title songs for the movies "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Heavy Metal."

He joined high-flying Van Halen after lead singer David Lee Roth quit to go solo. Hagar fit in immediately.

The band's first album with him out front, "5150," was their first to go No. 1. It contained the hits "Why Can't This Be Love," "Dreams," "Love Walks In" and "Best of Both Worlds."

Five more successful albums followed before the band released "Best of Van Halen Vol. I" in October 1996. By that time Hagar, who said the band had always sworn they'd never stoop to a "best of" album, was gone.

Hagar does sing five or six Van Halen songs in his current concerts. They're mostly his signature tunes, songs you can't imagine anyone else singing: "Dreams," "Right Now" and "Finish What You Started."

"Those are my character, my heart and soul, my spirit," he said.

"This is what I believe in."

All those years with Van Halen, Hagar never sang "Jump," considered one of David Lee Roth's signature songs.

Hagar says the concerts on this tour, which began in May, have the feel of "An Evening at Cabo Wabo," the name of Hagar's restaurant at Cabo San Lucas on Mexico's Baha peninsula.

He plays lots of guitar and is backed up by a four-piece band which includes a rock rarity -- a female bass player.

The Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart went into the studio after Jerry Garcia died, and he advised Hagar to do the same after the breakup with Van Halen. "I turned my anger right into creativity," Hagar said.