September 19, 2007

In a recent, obviously non-biased, interview, Sammy Hagar proclaimed the following about the upcoming Van Halen reunion with David Lee Roth:

"I wouldn't do it without Mike. On the last reunion, and I'm telling you this straight up - this is stuff I've never really said actually - they wanted to throw Mike out then. Why? I don't know. I still can't understand why Ed has it out for Mike.

"Mike is the nicest guy in the world, and he's an unbelievable player. He's also an incredible singer and a professional. Mike is a guy who goes out every night and does a perfect job - a 10 every night - it's not even a 9.5. Why would you want to get rid of a guy like that?

"I don't know what happened between them somewhere when I wasn't around, but I just said, 'no, I won't do it without Mike.' My manager said, 'you put a gun in Mike's hand to negotiate with these guys.' I said, 'you're damn right because I'm telling you, the agency, the promoters and the band that I will not go out and do a Van Halen reunion show without Michael Anthony.'

"Obviously, someone else doesn't feel that way because Mike isn't there. Honest to God—it's none of my business. If Eddie wants to play with his son, fine. I love my son too, but I got him a different job. (laughs) I just think that it should be Mike.

"They will do good without him, and it's a shame. At the same time, I just think the fans are gonna walk away with a little bit of a disappointment because Mike's a big part of that band. "

From MTV.com September 4, 2007

"It's not like it was totally unexpected," Mike Anthony told MTV News during a recent interview, "only because of the strain from the 2004 tour and how everything's been since then."

Anthony is referring to the band's 2004 reunion jaunt with Roth replacement Sammy Hagar, which grossed almost $55 million before ending on a sour note (at the conclusion of the run's final gig, guitarist Eddie Van Halen smashed one of his guitars and quickly walked offstage).

"That's the one thing that's really kind of sad," Anthony continued. "It would have been cool to get onstage with Dave again, but I'm not going to whine about it, because that's the way it is. Why waste my time trying to make a stink about it?"

Instead, Anthony is going to be hitting the road with Hagar this fall for a tour that kicks off in Biloxi, Mississippi, on October 19, and runs through November 17 in Sioux City, Iowa. The tour will feature Anthony's Mad Anthony Express, Los Tres Gusanos, the Other Half, and Sammy and the Wabos.

"I just want to go out and play for the fans," Anthony explained. "Sammy sold part of his tequila company and made a lot of money on that, so he doesn't have to do anything if he doesn't want to. But that's what it's all about — getting out there and playing. I'm not doing the Van Halen tour, so Sammy asked me to come out with him again."

He said everyone "and their mother" has been asking him why he's not doing the VH reunion run, and he's not sure what to tell them. Anthony dismissed rumors that his exclusion from the reunion tour had anything to do with his partnering with Hagar in the Other Half.

"I was touring with Sammy when Van Halen wasn't doing anything, and people said that got under their skin, and they felt like I was betraying them or whatever, which I really wasn't," Anthony explained. "I wasn't going to sit home and do nothing. My wife wanted my ass out of the house. So when Sammy called and said, 'Hey, want to come out and jam a song or two?' that's how it started. I don't know why I wasn't asked to do the tour."

In fact, he admits he hasn't spoken to Eddie since 2004 and agrees with many of the band's fans, who reject the notion that the forthcoming Roth run is a bona fide reunion.

"I know in the past there's been a lot of fighting and drama, but I'm not into all of that, especially now," he said. "And I'm not going to sit there and whine about it and call these guys mother------s and the whole bit. It is what it is, and if [Eddie] wants his kid to play with him, fine. But they're really throwing him into the lion's den right off the bat. This is going to be a tough enough tour for those three guys, having not played for so long, and then throwing [Wolfgang] in the mix? ... I hope he does OK. It's sad that the fans aren't going to see the original lineup."

But Anthony was most upset by Van Halen's reported attempts last month to erase him from the band's 35-year history. Fans lashed out at the band after photos of Anthony on Van Halen's official Web site were allegedly removed or replaced by an image of Wolfgang. The pictures were restored within hours, soon after fans took notice and began sounding off on various VH message boards.

"When I went on the Web site, that was probably more upsetting than anything else," he said. "On the first album especially, they replaced my picture with a picture of Wolfgang, and I was like, 'What's someone trying to do here?' I am proud of Van Halen's history, be it good or bad or whatever. I love everything about the band. I guess the fans spoke out, because the next day, they changed it back. I really don't know what to say to that. If that's the way they want to play it out, then that's the way they'll play it out."

The tour, he said, is "going to be interesting this year, because earlier in the year, Sammy did this cruise down to Cabo San Lucas, and he asked me if I wanted to play on the ship. I thought, 'Yeah, that'd be cool to do,' but I didn't want to get up there and just play with his band and do Hagar songs as I always do," Anthony said. "So I thought, 'I'll grab his guitarist Vic Johnson and his drummer David [Lauser], and we'll learn some early Van Halen stuff,' and somebody called it the Mad Anthony Express. We did a couple of shows and played the really old stuff: 'D.O.A.,' 'Atomic Punk.' I lead-sang it, and it was so much fun. So we did it again Father's Day weekend in Lake Tahoe, and I put this thing together. We opened the show, and everybody loved it so much, Sammy's going, 'Hey, we need to go out on tour and open with the early stuff.' So here I go."

Anthony said the tour with Hagar will run for about a month. Then there will be a brief break before the tour commences. They plan to keep it going up through next summer. He also said there's a chance he and Hagar will start working on music together and that it's possible the duo might release a record some point down the line.

From MTV.com

In the days since Van Halen's August 13 announcement that a long-awaited reunion tour with founding frontman David Lee Roth was, indeed, on, the band's trusty fans haven't heard from the one man who could make a true VH reunion complete: original bassist Michael Anthony.

Instead, fans would eventually learn, Anthony has been replaced by guitarist Eddie Van Halen's 16-year-old son Wolfgang.

Anthony hasn't granted any media interviews, and the band's followers have wondered why he's been excluded from what is already turning out to be a sellout, 25-date North American run, which kicks off in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 27.

But on Tuesday [August 21], Anthony broke his silence in a pithy blog titled "Thanks for the support," which was posted on the musician's Web site.

"I want to thank everyone for all the support [you've] shown me during the past months," Anthony wrote.

It's all been pretty crazy, and I just wanted to bring you all up to speed."

With regard to the Van Halen reunion trek, Anthony claimed he was never even extended an invite.

Ex Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and new road buddy Sammy Hagar

"It's not that I'm not touring with Van Halen because I'm going out with Sammy [Hagar, who fronted the band from 1985 to 1996 following Roth's departure, and then again from 2003 to 2005]. I'm going out with Sammy [as the Other Half] because I was not invited to do the [Van Halen] tour.

"Sammy told me that if I was asked to be part of the VH tour and decided to do it, it would be totally cool, and it would not tarnish our friendship in the least," Anthony continued.

"Well, it's not to be, and life goes on. I'll still be out there with Sam, and I can't wait to do some partying with all of you."

Hagar and Anthony's shows will begin with Michael Anthony's Mad Anthony Express playing a set of early Van Halen rockers.

Hagar's Los Tres Gusanos will follow by performing "I Can't Drive 55" and other gems from his solo days.

Finally, Anthony and Hagar will team up to lead The Other Half through all of the Van Halen hits that Sammy sang.

The tour kicks off in Biloxi, Mississippi, on October 19 and run through November 17 in Sioux City, Iowa.

Anthony also urged fans to go easy on Wolfgang, calling the green bassist "a great kid" and adding, "Don't judge him too harshly — I'm sure he'll do just fine."

Missing, however, from Anthony's missive is any mention of the attempts Van Halen has reportedly made in recent weeks to erase Anthony from the band's 35-year history.

Last week, fans lashed out at the band after photos of Anthony on Van Halen's official Web site were allegedly removed or replaced by an image of Wolfgang Van Halen; the pictures were restored within hours, soon after fans took notice and began sounding off on various VH message boards.

Nor is there a response in Anthony's blog to the rumors that recorded tapes will be used to re-create his distinctive backing vocals on the upcoming tour.

Not surprisingly, Anthony also failed to make any reference to the recent reports that his name has been removed from the writing credits for the band's 1984 LP, 1984.

Some of the band's fans first took notice of this little fact while reading the closing credits for the movie "Superbad"; Van Halen's hit song "Panama" is used in the film, but the song is credited only to Eddie and Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth.

According to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers database, Anthony's name has been removed from the songwriting credits of 1984, but he's still credited with crafting material for the band's other studio releases.

Anthony could not be reached for comment as of press time; a representative for Van Halen had not provided comment from the band at press time.