Former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony was recently set to show up at one of David Lee Roth’s first Las Vegas residency shows for a reunion, but he backed out last minute to play a corporate performance with Sammy Hagar and the Circle. Alternative Nation transcribed Anthony’s remarks from a new radio interview with Andy McMuray. David Lee Roth recently called out disrespectful Las Vegas fan comments.
Andy asked, “Do you ever interact [with former Van Halen bandmates]?”
Anthony responded, “You know what, to tell you the truth right now, Dave played two or three shows in Vegas already, at the beginning of [January]. I was actually going to show up at a show, at one of his first shows, I think he played the House of Blues in Las Vegas, but we had some corporate thing come up, and I had to fly out of town for that, so I ended up not doing it. But other than that, I haven’t had contact with any of those guys.”
Andy then said, “Talking to you, and talking to Sammy, you guys are always happy. I know Dave has his high highs and his low lows, but the Van Halen brothers seem like they’re down in the dumps.”
Michael shot back, “Especially at this point in my life, I don’t need any kind of drama, I want to go out and have fun. I have such good fortune doing what I’m doing. I have afforded myself the luxury, Sammy too, to be able to go out there and do what we want. We can go out there and play music and actually have fun, whether we’re playing a huge place or a small place.”
Van Halen’s original lineup were set to reunite for a summer 2019 tour before Eddie Van Halen’s rumored health issues led to its cancelation before it could even be announced to fans. Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth have not performed together since 1984, and last made an appearance together at the 1996 MTV VMA’s, alongside Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen. Sammy Hagar recently ripped David Lee Roth’s Las Vegas shows.
