In a new interview, Howard Stern asked Michael Anthony if it’s true that KISS bassist Gene Simmons discovered Van Halen.
MarksFriggin.com recapped: Howard asked Michael about how he got the gig in Van Halen. Michael said that they asked him to play for them but David Lee Roth wasn’t at the rehearsal. He said that it was just Eddie and Alex. He said that they asked him to sing a background part and that led to him singing background on everything.
Sammy Hagar said they had Michael play in a certain way and Eddie heard them playing on a radio show once and he asked who it was playing bass with him. He didn’t know it was Michael. Howard said he didn’t let him come out and do his fucking thing. Michael said that what Eddie played was very complex and if he came into it then it could have turned into a mess. Howard said it takes a big man to take a back seat to Eddie. Sammy said it made it easier for him to sing too.
Howard said he loves talking to musicians. He asked if Gene Simmons is telling the truth about signing them and he let them go because he had to go out on tour. Michael said they were playing at a club in Hollywood and Paul Stanley fell in love with this other band and then Gene came to see the show with the other band and Gene was the one who said that these guys were the band. He said Gene had big plans for them. He said that KISS had to go off and do a tour. He said that they were going to sign and the record company said they got this band called Angel and they were turned down. He said Gene really did get the ball rolling. Howard said it’s hard to know sometimes how a band is going to do.
