Michael Anthony has opened up about his relationship with former Van Halen bandmate David Lee Roth.
In a video recorded last month but only recently posted online, the bassist admitted he hadn’t spoken with his former frontman in “quite some time.”
“The last time I actually spoke with him was when [there was talk] about a possible reunion thing,” Anthony noted (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “It’s really crazy because I hadn’t heard anything about [former Metallica bassist] Jason Newsted coming into the fold [and doing the tour]. And I got a call from Alex [Van Halen] and Dave from [manager] Irving Azoff’s office some years back asking about my thoughts on doing a reunion, a tour. And Joe Satriani was gonna be the guitar player. And that was probably the last time I talked to Dave. That was — God, I don’t know — about a few years ago now. I forget — something like that.”
READ MORE: All 75 David Lee Roth-Era Van Halen Songs Ranked Worst to Best
Though Anthony may be estranged from Roth, the bassist insisted he harbors no hard feelings towards the singer.
“Dave’s kind of a crazy guy,” Anthony noted. “It’s hard to explain Dave. We don’t have enough time. But, no, other than that, no. I mean, I don’t have anything against Dave.”
Anthony even suggested he’d be open to collaborating with Roth again in the future.
“If the chance ever came up or whatever, I would definitely be willing to jam with him,” the bassist asserted. “In fact, I think the last time he did his last [residency] shows at the House of Blues in Vegas some years back. I was actually gonna come to one of those shows and surprise him and come up and jump on stage, but, unfortunately, we were playing a gig somewhere else — Sammy [Hagar] and I were.”
Michael Anthony Joining Sammy Hagar for Van Halen-Focused Tour
Anthony’s relationship with Van Halen’s other singer is much better (and, no, we’re not talking about Gary Cherone). The bassist has teamed with Hagar for a long list of projects, including Chickenfoot and the Circle. This summer, they’ll head out with Satriani and Jason Bonham for the Best of All World tour, dedicated to the music of Van Halen.
READ MORE: Sammy Hagar Says ‘No F—ing Way’ to Tour With David Lee Roth
“Sammy and I figured it’s 20 years ago this year that we did the last Van Halen reunion,” Anthony explained in a different part of the video. “And Sammy and I were talking about it. We’re always reminiscing and stuff like that, and we thought, ‘Gosh, 20 years.’ And who knows what’s happening now? We obviously can’t wait much longer. Sammy’s an old man now. But we didn’t wanna wait any longer. And with Ed [Van Halen], unfortunately, passing away the other year. And Alex, he’s still pretty much — I know he still grieves and stuff like that. And he doesn’t really get out; he doesn’t get out and play. And so Sammy and I wanted to get the music out to everybody. And we thought what a better way… Let’s get together and take it and play it. Someone’s gotta play it.”
Van Halen Lineup Changes
Three different singers and two different bassists joined the Van Halen brothers over the years.
