Michael Anthony Alludes to David Lee Roth Being the Reason for Lack of Van Halen Tribute
Michael Anthony wasn’t exactly subtle about saying David Lee Roth is the reason why there hasn’t been a Van Halen tribute following the death of Eddie Van Halen in 2020.
The former Van Halen bassist appeared on The Hook Rocks! podcast where the topic of the heavily rumored Van Halen tribute was brought up. Anthony says, in part, “All I can say is — I’m not gonna point fingers — but through all of this, one of the ingredients was not, let’s say, playing ball with everybody else … And you’ve read it probably with Wolfgang [Van Halen]’s interviews, too, that he’s been doing this past year.”
What Has Wolfgang Van Halen Said In Interviews?
WVH has said several things in interviews over the years about the dysfunction around and within Van Halen.
Wolfgang said to Classic Rock in October 2022, “When it comes to Van Halen and entities surrounding the band it’s unfortunate … I don’t know what it is with some bands but certain personalities just can’t get over themselves to work collectively for one purpose – that’s been the curse of Van Halen for its entire career … Hell, it was difficult to make plans even when the band was active.”
Earlier this year, he responded to stories Roth shared in a video on YouTube accusing Wolfgang of having his guests kicked out of some shows on Van Halen’s final tour.
Wolfgang said he was “honored” Diamond Dave even thinks about him. However, he also said any comments from Roth should be taken “with a grain of salt” and cited how the former Van Halen frontman said he came up with Eddie Van Halen’s “Eruption” track and all of his solos. Roth also took credit for the classic red-white-and-black-stripe “Frankenstein” pattern on his guitars.
Wolfgang then said, ” … I seem to have been born into this Van Halen drama that has come way before me. And I guess now that my dad isn’t here to be a target, I guess he went to the next best thing.”
For what it’s worth, Sammy Hagar had some remarks about Roth's comments. Speaking to People at the MusiCares’ Person of the Year gala honoring Jon Bon Jovi, Hagar said, “Look, if you really think about what he said, it’s like do I sense a little tinge of jealousy in there or something?”
The Red Rocker added, “I mean, honestly, the only thing I can say without being cruel is he needs to find a new dispensary.” (That dispensary line is a reference to a recent video released by DLR where he claims he racked up a $92,000 bill at a cannabis dispensary.)
A Brief Explainer on the Rumored Van Halen Reunion/Tribute
In 2022, there were a lot of headlines about a rumored Van Halen tribute tour. As previously reported, former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post published on April 14, 2022 that Alex Van Halen contacted him for a “possible Van Halen tour.” Newsted also said Joe Satriani was selected by Alex to play guitar.
In the April 18, 2022 episode of Rock of Nations, Satriani said, “I’ve been talking with Alex and Dave for about a year about doing something — a tour, something like that — that was going to be a true tribute to Eddie and the Van Halen legacy…For me, it was a terrifying prospect of doing something like that, but I realized that it was something that would be a real labor of love for me. I was just so honored to take on the challenge.”
Following all of these quotes from Newsted and Satriani, David Lee Roth would issue a statement to Van Halen News desk saying, “In my mind ‘Van Halen 4K,’ in the age of covid is going to require two of us for every position. [Joe] Satriani and [Steve] Lukather, [Michael] Anthony and [Jason] Newsted, Al [ex Van Halen] or Tommy Lee. Probably the only one who could do my job today would be Pink.”
In May 2022, Michael Anthony told The Mitch Lafon and Jeremy White Showof the rumored tour, “The only thing that was kind of a surprise to me was the Jason Newsted thing when he came out and said that Alex [Van Halen] had talked to him last year or something like that, which is kind of interesting, because I actually had been talking on a conference call with [Van Halen manager] Irving Azoff, Alex and Dave [Lee Roth] last year, so I don’t know what the Jason thing was all about.”
