Michael Anthony wants Alex Van Halen to join him and Sammy Hagar to honor Van Halen’s legacy.
During a recent appearance on the Hook Rocks podcast, the bassist talked about his upcoming summer 2024 tour with Hagar, Joe Satriani, and drummer Jason Bonham, saying:
“It’d be great to get Alex out there [with us]. He’s obviously welcome anytime he wants to join us, but with Eddie passing… I’ve spoken with Alex a handful of times, and we speak more about family than anything else when we talk. But I can put a band together and go out and play Van Halen music, but wouldn’t it be nice to have the other guys that are still around with you from the band to go out and play it too? And, unfortunately, Sammy and I are the only two guys right now. So, we said, ‘Hell, let’s go out and do it.’”
The Bassist Wants To Have Fun While Playing Van Halen
Anthony added, sharing his aim to keep performing Van Halen songs:
“I don’t wanna be the guy that goes out there and, myself, the only one from the band, playing Van Halen music. Half the people would be going, ‘Oh my God, yeah,’ and the other half would be going, ‘Oh, he’s doing it for a cash grab because he’s trying to soak any money out of the Van Halen stuff,’ which I’m totally not all about it. When this thing is not being able to be done properly and all of us having fun, then I’m finished.”
What Did Wolfgang Van Halen Say About A Possible Van Halen Tribute?
Since April 2022, there’s been no news about a Van Halen tribute show. Ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted was asked by Alex Van Halen six months earlier to join the project. Newsted agreed to jam with Alex and Satriani in California but later felt it wouldn’t honor Van Halen’s legacy properly. Lately, Wolfgang has been saying that ‘drama’ within the Van Halen group has stopped a planned tribute project from happening. He told Linea Rock the following about the Van Halen reunion:
“No. [A reunion won’t take place]… I think with Foo Fighters, they have a lot less drama in their camp, and unfortunately, with Van Halen, there’s many pieces that don’t operate as they should; unfortunately, but that’s neither here or there; that’s just how reality is sometimes.”
Sammy Hagar previously said he thinks Eddie Van Halen deserves a tribute show but it is not up to one person. The rocker revealed he couldn’t reach out to Alex and David Lee Roth also wouldn’t want to tour with him. According to him, these are some of the dysfunctions Wolfgang referred to.
You can listen to the full podcast below.