It's not Van Halen without Michael Anthony!!

[VanHalener]

Originally posted by Ric Flair
That's right...
David Lee Roth...
Eddie Van Halen...
Michael Anthony...
Alex Van Halen...

THE FOUR HORSEMAN!!!

The best group in the history of Rock and Roll.

[Ric Flair]

Originally posted by Pasadena Bunnie
Puleeeeze. Bassplayer is past tense, in the same category as Cherone.


This is a "NEW" Band....or didn't you hear Roth tell it at the press conf.?

One more word out of that little mouth of yours...
And I'm gonna take ya home and make a woman out of you!

[Nickdfresh]

[DrMaddVibe]

FUCK bassplayer!

[bueno bob]

Well, here it is, as far as I see it...

01. Mike could do a solo thing. It wouldn't sell. And it'll cost him more than what he'll get out of it to record it and promote it.

02. Seeing #1 is reality, Mike's faced with living on the Van Halen stuff. No escaping it, and he spent 30 odd years in the band anyway, so it's all he's going to be identified with no matter what he records or who he plays with.

03. Sammy Hagar is a shitty musician and a shitty singer. As far as an actual "human being", though, he's probably a pretty nice guy, all things considered. No doubt a lot more pleasant and happy than Edward Van Halen is.

04. Playing with Hagar gives Anthony a sure audience (small, but sure) and he doesn't have to actually work or take it seriously because it's more like organized fuckoff time when Hagar plays live than an actual musical event.

05. Examining points 1-4, Mike's choice to play with Hagar is really obvious, because anything else is not going to be exceptionally big and a very big drain on his time and resources, most likely.

And there it is. I can't see why any fan of Van Halen in ANY of it's various incarnations should hold ANY resentment or anger towards Mike at all.

And frankly, I think that kind of attitude is sheepish.

[DrMaddVibe]

I could ALMOST buy into that if it weren't for bassplayer's continued vocal antics towards Roth.

Roth holds a LOT more weight with Van Halen than bassplayer ever dreamed of. Nobody I know ever bought a Van Halen album or went to see them live to see bassplayer. Nobody I know even lists him as an influence.

I don't hold any anger towards bassplayer, he's an empty shell. I NEVER saw why he was in the band to begin with. He wrote nothing. He made his own bed, now he lies in it. He wants to goof on "The Other Half". The fact that I'm not willing to gloss over the bullshit that wasted time getting Roth back into Van Halen is the farthest from being called "sheepish". That bullshit remark is reserved for the Van Hagar fans and YOU of all people know that. bassplayer didn't want Roth back in Van Halen, and preferred Hagar. bassplayer is a shitty bassist so he's a perfect lock with a shitty singer who wants to be a musician!

[Terry]

Not a hate scene towards MA, but rather a gradual attitude shift over the years towards indifference, laced with mild pity.

I mean, the guy was in the CVH lineup. He did perform at all the concerts and on the records (well, most of them anyway...). In a way, it was hard to get pissed at MA when he took potshots at Roth in the press, because...well, it's Mike Anthony. Who gives a toss what he has to say about Dave?

I still kinda feel bad for the guy, though, because he stuck with the Van Halens through thick and thin...not that he had a lot of other viable options, but he stayed with them through the 1996 debacle, the Cherone years, did the 2004 tour with them even though Ed wouldn't let him play on the 2004 tracks and didn't want him there. Supoose one could say by 2004 MA was just a glutton for punishment, but in the end Ed basically said "fuck him" and went with his kid, rather than let Mike participate in the 2007 reunion.

What he does with Hagar is exactly what bueno said; organized fuckoff time to small audiences. But one has to couple that with what MaddVibe has said - Anthony can't write and unless he's in Van Halen precious few give two shits what he's doing, anyway. Just a fact.

What Dave, Ed, Al and Wolf have been doing is a different Van Halen. They said so themselves from the outset. Just like it was with Hagar and Cherone. Frankly, out of all the incarnations that have surfaced since 1985, this lineup is the only acceptable one (when Ed's not too fucked up to play well, that is).

[WARF]

Yeah, didn't Eddie Van Halen play bass for the TWO new tracks in 2004, It's About Time and Up For Breakfast?

[Little Lamont]

I wonder how much shit ya'll would be giving Mike if he was in the band right now. Think about it... I bet we'd all be singing the praises of the mighty original Van Halen.

Well, it ain't Mike's fault he's not in the band, it's Ed's. So why are you dumping on Mike for something he had no control over?

[Nickdfresh]

Originally posted by DrMaddVibe
I could ALMOST buy into that if it weren't for bassplayer's continued vocal antics towards Roth.

Roth holds a LOT more weight with Van Halen than bassplayer ever dreamed of. Nobody I know ever bought a Van Halen album or went to see them live to see bassplayer. Nobody I know even lists him as an influence.

I don't hold any anger towards bassplayer, he's an empty shell. I NEVER saw why he was in the band to begin with. He wrote nothing. He made his own bed, now he lies in it. He wants to goof on "The Other Half". The fact that I'm not willing to gloss over the bullshit that wasted time getting Roth back into Van Halen is the farthest from being called "sheepish". That bullshit remark is reserved for the Van Hagar fans and YOU of all people know that. bassplayer didn't want Roth back in Van Halen, and preferred Hagar. bassplayer is a shitty bassist so he's a perfect lock with a shitty singer who wants to be a musician!

The typical same, unsupported idiotic assertions: "Bassplayer is friends with Sammy." ---Whoopteeefuckingdooo!!

Ed fucking hired Sam, and rehired him in 2004. And Dave played with him in 2002, when it suited his interest...

"Anthony badmouths Roth." "Mike wanted to keep Dave out of Van Halen." ---They ALL badmouth each other, and Anthony had said nothing about Dave recently, and has said that he wanted a reunion to happen in the early 2000s, before Ed's cancer ruined things. Dave's the one that said he wanted a real and total reunion (not a revision) towards the end of his radio show!

They never used backing tracks with Anthony, and he managed to keep Ed afloat even on his worst nights in 2004 according to the Van Hagar fans...

[Coyote]

Originally posted by jhale667
"Now, go away, or I shall taunt you a second time!"

"Fetchez la vache!"

[Little Lamont]

I'm still not convinced any vocals are being piped in. I think Wolfie is singing those parts. Of course, I've got an open mind if somebody has proof.

[ModernDayWarior]

When I saw VH last year at MSG, it was awesome to finally see Eddie and Dave together again. THere was a little spot in me that did miss Mike though. How could anyone say that he wasn't a part of that character in the band is just fooling themselves. Yeah maybe he didn't really have a hand in writing the songs, but without his vocals it just isn't the same. He def. had a hell of alot more stage presence than Wolf also. I'm sure Wolf will come into his own eventually, but for a 16 year old kid, there's just no energy from him at all.

With all that said though, I'm ready to rock again at the Meadowlands and MSG next week. Can't wait.

On a side note, I think Mike would be awesome in Ted Nugents band. Think about it, he can def. hit all those great Derek St. Holmes songs with ease. And it would give Nuge a little more of a cool legit band than some of the no name bass players he's had recently.

[jhale667]

Originally posted by Coyote
"Fetchez la vache!"

"Of COURSE I am French...why do you think I have this ridiculous accent?"

[Nitro Express]

Originally posted by DrMaddVibe
FUCK bassplayer!

Ewwww. Sam's pits are all sweat stained.