Michael Anthony: Van Halen ‘Would’ve Been in Rehearsals Right Now’
Michael Anthony claimed Van Halen would currently be "in pre-production rehearsals" for a presumed tour if plans to reunite the band's early lineup came to fruition earlier this year. The former Van Halen bassist, who currently performs in the Circle with fellow ex-Van Halen member Sammy Hagar, illustrated his knowledge of the situation to host Eddie Trunk on Sirius XM's Trunk Nation broadcast Wednesday (June 19).
Regarding rumors he shot down in 2018 after they were first sparked by the radio host, the musician told his side of the story about a probable Van Halen reunion. Hear the interview clip toward the bottom of this post.
"The reason that the Circle's taking a break right now is that if things would've worked out as they were starting to go, we would've been in pre-production rehearsals with Van Halen right now,” said the bassist.
In February, Hagar confirmed there was communication between Anthony and the Van Halen camp. Adding more detail, the bassist told Trunk he met with entertainment mogul Irving Azoff about the reunion the year before.
"I spoke with [him] last October," Anthony said. "That's when I first heard from [Azoff], and he asked if I would be interested in any kind of a reunion. I was finishing up a couple shows with Sammy and I said, 'Yeah, I'd be interested to hear what you guys have going on. I've got these few dates left and then give me a call.' And I never heard a call back."
Indeed, in March of this year, Anthony alerted listeners that a Van Halen reunion including his participation was "not gonna happen." It's a conclusion the musician reached after other interested parties got involved.
"Right after the first of the year, David Lee Roth's business manager or lawyer or someone got ahold of me about a meeting or something," the bassist explained. "At that point, I just gave it over to our manager, because I didn't want to start getting into this whole thing. I wanted to do it the correct way. Especially after the way things went for me in 2004."
That was the year Anthony last spoke to any members of Val Halen, by his own estimation. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen's son, Wolfgang Van Halen, has held the bassist position in the veteran glam metal outfit since they got back together with Roth in 2007.
"From what I heard — and I hadn't spoken to any of the guys — they were going to try and plan a thing for this summer," Anthony added. "And for whatever reason, they never got in touch with my people about any kind of a contract or any kind of a meeting or whatever. And then the next thing I knew, the plug got pulled on them."
Sammy Hagar and the Circle pick back up on tour in August. Get the dates here.
See Michael Anthony in the Top 66 Hard Rock + Metal Bassists