During the August 22nd appearance on SiriusXM‘s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, Michael Anthony was asked if he has been in contact with Alex Van Halen since the former Van Halen bassist launched a tour with singer Sammy Hagar, guitarist Joe Satriani and drummer Jason Bonham that focuses largely on the music of VAN HALEN. Anthony responded (as transcribed by blabbermouth.net), “No, I haven’t. In fact, the last time I tried to get a hold of Alex, I tried to get a hold of him on his birthday in May, and I did not hear back from him. So, I don’t know. I didn’t wanna push it or keep trying to get a hold of him or whatever. I figured he knew that I tried to get ahold of him, I think, so I just kind of left it at that. God, at this point, I’m just waiting for his book to come out, so I can read that.”
Anthony went on to say that he doesn’t know much about the book, Brothers, which will be released on October 22nd through HarperCollins Publishers. “I know as much as everybody else,” he said. “The book’s coming out in October and I’m looking forward to reading it myself.”
Asked if he was surprised when he first heard that Alex was going to release a book, Michael said, “I was surprised when I first heard about it, yeah. I was very surprised. And then when I heard he was selling all of this gear, and when I checked into that, I mean, it was like he was selling everything right down to the last drumstick and backstage pass that he had, whatever. That really kind of surprised me, but maybe that’s his way of just — that’s gonna be his closure on the whole thing, doing that and the book now.”
Anthony continued, “Alex, basically, like myself — I’ve never been one to wanna talk smack about the band or whatever, ’cause I choose to remember all the good stuff and all the good times that we had. And I’m hoping, and I’m pretty sure that that’s probably what the book will focus on and not any dirt or whatever, ’cause Alex really was never that kind of guy anyway.”
4 Responses
Don’t be surprised Mike, everyone runs low on money eventually.
Do you think Alex is kind of being loyal to Eddie by not talking to Michael? I really didn’t like the way Eddie trashed Mike right up until his passing. I hoped he would stop, and embrace Mike and acknowledge his great vocal and bass contributions to VH when they were at their best (IMO) during the first 4 albums. C’Mon Alex, do what Eddie didn’t do, while there’s still time. Give this guy his respect.
All these bands seem to enjoy trashing each other. I’ve been in bands and yes they are not always fun. Personality conflicts, egos, drugs, alcohol, wives, girlfriends can all create a hostile work environment. But when you’ve made millions together which is a rare and special accomplishment, why continue bashing each other especially in the latter stages of life? It’s so stupid man. Many of these groups (Kiss for example) have tarnished their legacy by the continual drama they throw at each other in the media. I’m not going out and buying a Kiss record because Gene and Paul allege Ace was fired from the band.
I imagine Mikey will release a book someday and tell his story. I look forward to that, as hopefully he’ll round out the story of the great hard rock band from the late 70’s & 80’s.