Michael Anthony with Eddie Van Halen in 2004; SGranitz/WireImageFormer Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, who was replaced in the band by Eddie Van Halen‘s then-teenage son Wolfgang in 2006, said he regrets that he didn’t have a chance to reconcile with Eddie before the guitar legend’s death in October 2020 from cancer.
In an interview featured on the latest episode of the “Talkin’ Rock with Meltdown” podcast, Anthony revealed, “We actually hadn’t spoken, and unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to. And it kind of bothers me, because we had some issues that were never resolved, but what can you do?”
Despite Anthony’s estrangement from Van Halen, a reunion tour that likely would have included Michael had been in the planning stages before Eddie became too ill to move forward with the trek. “I’m really sad that it never happened,” Anthony said about the tour. “But life and the show goes on.”
Anthony, who now plays in ex-Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar‘s current group, The Circle, also talked about that band’s just-released album Lockdown 2020. The record features various songs, including some well-known cover tunes, that were recorded remotely while the band members were self-quarantining during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“We’ve got everything on this ‘Lockdown Session’ album from Bob Marley to AC/DC,” Michael noted. “So we kind of were able to stretch out and actually play a lot of stuff we normally wouldn’t play.”
Michael said he was impressed with the vocal versatility Hagar displayed in tackling some of the covers. Singling out their rendition of David Bowie‘s “Heroes,” Anthony gushed, “It really blew my mind with how that song came out.”
Regarding their 2021 tour plans, Anthony said Hagar and The Circle are “already making plans now,” while noting that things will hinge on the pandemic plays out.
By Matt Friedlander
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