MICHAEL ANTHONY Says He Can Pull Off Lead Vocals On Any Classic VAN HALEN Song
MICHAEL ANTHONY Says He Can Pull Off Lead Vocals On Any Classic VAN HALEN Song
On October 14, former VAN HALEN and current CHICKENFOOT bassist Michael Anthony was interviewed on the "Lamont And Tonelli Show", which airs on the Bay Area rock station 107.7 The Bone. You can listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.
After Anthony was told by the radio hosts that he is such a great lead singer in his own right that he could probably front his own band, Michael said: "Yeah, you know, but I don't need that kind of pressure on me. Lead singers, they're their own breed."
He added: "It wasn't until the fourth or fifth VAN HALEN record that people would go, 'Wow! You're singing backgrounds on those records. That's not David Lee Roth.' And I go, 'Hell, no! That's not David Lee Roth.'"
Asked which classic VAN HALEN song he would pick to sing lead vocals on, if he had to choose one, Anthony said: "Ahh…. Oh my God… I sang 'Somebody Get Me A Doctor'. That actually goes over quite well. But I don't know… Man, I'd sing any of 'em. I could sing any of that crap. C'mon! I can sing it all. [Laughs]"
In a February 2013 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, VAN HALEN singer David Lee Roth spoke about the touchy subject of Anthony potentially replacing current bassist — and Eddie Van Halen's son — Wolfgang Van Halen. He said: "Ed has his own vision, I'm assuming. We haven't really been able to speak about it and it's a disappointment, just as not having a chance for a reunion of the original band. Clearly, vocals are every bit as much a component of success as a rhythm section or a guitar solo… What we have at our fingertips is arguably one of the greatest high tenor voices ever — that was in Michael Anthony. In our tiny little corner of the universe, that voice is as identifiable as the high voice in EARTH, WIND & FIRE, as identifiable as the high voice in the BEACH BOYS. VAN HALEN is an indelicate house blend of both — that's intentionally."
In October 2011, ex-VAN HALEN vocalist Sammy Hagar accused the band of using tapes of backing vocals originally done by Anthony on its 2007/2008 reunion tour, for which Anthony was replaced by Wolfgang. Hagar told Attention Deficit Delirium, "Those vocal harmonies on the last tour were Mike on tape. Mike should've reamed them for it. Wolfie don't sing like that, and Ed sure as hell don't. Go on the Internet and listen to Ed's voice live from the reunion with me. Hear him sing on 'When It's Love' and some of those songs. Ed can't sing, and his voice is shot if he can, from cigarettes and booze anyway."
Anthony and Hagar both last played with VAN HALEN on a 2004 reunion tour that ended acrimoniously. Both maintain that Anthony was booted from VAN HALEN for maintaining a friendship and working relationship with Hagar.
Hagar told The Pulse Of Radio that he thinks VAN HALEN made a grave mistake leaving Anthony out of the reunion tour with Roth. "Anyone in their right mind would know if you're gonna get Roth back finally! after all these abortions they've had, you get Mikey and you do the reunion tour, what the world really was waiting for. Not just fuck it up again. It's almost like they don't care about their fans. They just want to badger them until — see how much they'll take."
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