Sauce Sobowleski's Crib & Car

[Nitro Express]

Isn't she Jeff's niece? I read an article on Jeff's hot rods. Not only is he a great guitarist, he's a fabulous metal fabricator. He's first class in that arena as well.

[Nitro Express]

Sauce shined on Fair Warning. Him and Ed had the funk going here.

[Yount]

Sauce shined on Fair Warning. Him and Ed had the funk going here.

Ed plays so well with himself it's scary.

[FORD]

Ed plays so well with himself it's scary.

That's the rumor. We'll probably never know the truth one way or the other. If Ed did play on the records, that would have been the first time though, since the first three albums were essentially recorded live in the studio with minimal overdubs. No question it was Sobolewski there. Probably the most likely of the 6 pack that would be Eddie playing bass would be 1984. Recorded at his home studio, so he had 24 hour access to the equipment, and Mikey's name mysteriously vanished from the publishing credits on later reissues of the album. (Not that he actually wrote anything on the other albums either, but it's odd that they would alter the credits on just the one record)

[DLR Bridge]

From what I've read, MA was the one pushing hardest to get Dave back in the band pre-Wolfie, hello! Was it not (as reported) he who went backstage at a show on the Sam & Dave tour and yelled at Dave to bury the hatchet with Ed?

The interview I had read with Mike, as I recall, was more like he gave Dave a piece of his mind regarding his poor treatment towards Sammy and that he should drop the 'holier than thou' attitude and get up on stage to jam with them (Sam & Mike). I could be wrong, but I'd like to see that interview again. Just don't recall the Ed part.

[Mr Walker]

The interview I had read with Mike, as I recall, was more like he gave Dave a piece of his mind regarding his poor treatment towards Sammy and that he should drop the 'holier than thou' attitude and get up on stage to jam with them (Sam & Mike). I could be wrong, but I'd like to see that interview again. Just don't recall the Ed part.

Love that take... just because you don't want to spend time associating with assholes you are holier than thou?
No wonder 99% of the people I work with hate me and think I am 'holier than thou'.

[ThatArtGuy]

When we heard Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth were touring together, we were tingling with excitement. Not only is it every Van Halen fan's dream short of a full-fledged reunion, it provides an opportunity to gather juicy tidbits from the road. It's no secret these guys haven't been the best of pals over the years.

But getting an interview proved about as successful as finding the Gene Simmons demos from 1977. Diamond Dave wasn't talking, and the Red Rocker was on vacation.

Then we heard Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony was going to join Hagar for a few songs at the Ice Palace. Anthony has played with both flamboyant frontmen, thereby making him a mother lode of information. We were just dying to know what it was like working with two alpha male divas.

So when we got him on the phone, we asked him.

What's it like, working with two alpha male divas?

(Laughs). I'm kinda sandwiched in the middle. We've built it up as this song-for-song, rock 'n' roll heavyweights show. To me, it was more like "The Hell Freezes Over Tour No. 2." Geez, who would have ever thought in a million years that something like this would happen? But you know, I think once they got out there and started playing, the mutual respect for each other (came out. )

It's interesting that you're performing with Sammy and not Dave. Why?

Well, Van Halen's been off the road for like, three years now. Earlier in the year, Sammy called me about doing a side project, and I asked him if he was going out on tour. He said he was this summer, and said, "Come out for a couple of shows if you want, we'll have some fun." And then he hooked up the tour with Roth, and you know, I actually didn't want to be part of that show. I just wanted to keep my special guest status. So I thought, "I'll still go out with Sam, and we'll do some Van Halen stuff in the middle of his set." And we're going to keep it at that.

What Van Halen songs are you playing?

Obviously, it's all Sammy Hagar-era stuff. The few that we've done are "Runaround," "Finish What Ya Started," "Poundcake," "Right Now." I just talked to Sammy last night, and he told me they've changed the whole setup again. (Laughs.) I pretty much know 'em all, so I've got no problem with that.

Have you had a chance to interact with Dave at all?

Onstage, I haven't. But you never know what may happen. It changes nightly with those two guys. I've spent some time with David, I've talked to him a little bit.

The one thing I would like to see as far as Van Halen goes is that, if the band is going to put a lid on the past and move ahead, it would be nice to go out in style. That obviously would be doing something with either of those two guys, individually or together. It would be nice to keep the door open for anything like that.

We've all heard Dave's and Eddie's versions of why a reunion didn't work out in the mid-'90s. What's your version?

To put it in a nutshell, we all got thrown back together, and everybody wanted to go out and do a CD and tour. I think maybe it might have been just a little too much in the beginning rather than easing into it and making sure we all got along. There was lot of miscommunication, and lawyers got involved. That was one of the big things that hampered everything, because once you get those guys going at it, you're kinda like the innocent guys in the middle.

Have there been any spats between Sam and Dave on the tour?

Uh, not that I'm aware of. I try to keep out of the real deep stuff. I know one thing they're doing is, they're flopping night to night who opens and who closes. That was one of the things they did to try to please everybody. Other than that, I'm sure they probably have their disagreements. I mean, that's just natural for being on tour. But I haven't witnessed any knock-down, drag-out fights yet.

How would you deal with it if you did?

Well, being the guy that I am, maybe I would just have to jump in and referee. Or maybe I'd just jump in, knock them both out, and take over the whole thing! (Laughs).

Technically, since the show could be called "Sam and Dave," are they playing "Soul Man?"

Pardon me?

Never mind. Who gets more groupies backstage?

I really haven't witnessed much of Dave's backstage. It seems pretty quiet around his area, though, whereas, with Sammy, there's always stuff going on. Now see, I can't say anything that's gonna incriminate anybody, so I'm just gonna leave it at that, and you can set your own assumption. But I wouldn't be out there doing it if I wasn't going to be having a good time! (Laughs.)

Who's prettier, Sam or Dave?

Oh, God. (Pause.) You know, I gotta give that to Hagar. For a guy who's going to be 55 years old this October, that guy is in great shape, and is playing and singing better than he ever has. He just continues to blow me away.

What about Roth? You don't think he's fit?

Well, I don't know. (Uneasy laugh.) I don't want to say anything here, because one of those guys is liable to pick up the paper and read it! And that would cut my time on the road short, and I'd have to come home! (Laughs.) So we'll just leave it at that, that Sammy is the prettiest guy. (Pause.) Not that I have any kind of attraction. Uh . . . it's a purely platonic relationship.

What happens after this tour? Are you going to pursue that side project with Sammy?

Yeah. We're tentatively calling it Planet Us with Neil Schon from Journey and his drummer, Deen Castronovo. We got together and wrote a handful of songs in the spring, and it sounded great . . . so, if everybody's free in the fall, we're probably going to get back together and just see if this thing goes anywhere. And on the flip side of the coin, maybe we'll be working something with Van Halen, getting that all back together.

Are you talking an album, a tour, or what?

For Van Halen? Man, if Van Halen got back together, it would be the whole ball of wax. It would all be fine with me, it would all be good.

[jhale667]

I ♥ her.

I'd add Tal Wilkenfeld to the list of interesting bassists. Not only does she kick ass, she's cute as can be.

That she is...and anybody who gets a gig playing with Jeff Beck at 22 is obviously no slouch.

[jhale667]

The interview I had read with Mike, as I recall, was more like he gave Dave a piece of his mind regarding his poor treatment towards Sammy and that he should drop the 'holier than thou' attitude and get up on stage to jam with them (Sam & Mike). I could be wrong, but I'd like to see that interview again. Just don't recall the Ed part.

I'd like to see it again too, because IIRC MA wasn't the bassist for Spam on that tour. Remember the dual interview DLR and Spam did on Stern (where Dave owned him with the "Speedballs vs. Milkshakes" comment among others) where Spam said "the brothers wouldn't allow it" and Dave said he WASN'T interested in jamming unless Mike was there? Pretty sure his exact words were "If you told Mona to stay home and brought Mike out instead, I might consider that...."


I also remember from that interview MA saying that Dave didn't disagree with him at ALL, just sat there and said "You're right, you're right..." which I CAN'T see him saying about MA asserting that he should be "nicer to Sammy".

[Big Fat Sammy]

Wow. Mikey didn't seem to get the "Soul Man" reference in that interview above. Well fuck him then.

[Nickdfresh]

The interview I had read with Mike, as I recall, was more like he gave Dave a piece of his mind regarding his poor treatment towards Sammy and that he should drop the 'holier than thou' attitude and get up on stage to jam with them (Sam & Mike). I could be wrong, but I'd like to see that interview again. Just don't recall the Ed part.

I saw or read an interview with Mike, maybe not the same one as this. But I recall him saying how it was great that he and Dave sat and talked together about the old times in Dave's dressing room one night. And that he only gently approached the topic of a jam...

[Nickdfresh]

When we heard Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth were touring together, we were tingling with excitement. Not only is it every Van Halen fan's dream short of a full-fledged reunion, it provides an opportunity to gather juicy tidbits from the road. It's no secret these guys haven't been the best of pals over the years.

But getting an interview proved about as successful as finding the Gene Simmons demos from 1977. Diamond Dave wasn't talking, and the Red Rocker was on vacation.

Then we heard Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony...

"...I really haven't witnessed much of Dave's backstage. It seems pretty quiet around his area, though, whereas, with Sammy, there's always stuff going on. Now see, I can't say anything that's gonna incriminate anybody, so I'm just gonna leave it at that, and you can set your own assumption. But I wouldn't be out there doing it if I wasn't going to be having a good time! (Laughs.)

Like a fat, ugly old man paying girls to inflate his extra-small penis pump?

[DLR Bridge]

I also remember from that interview MA saying that Dave didn't disagree with him at ALL, just sat there and said "You're right, you're right..." which I CAN'T see him saying about MA asserting that he should be "nicer to Sammy".

I definitely remember that part as I thought the same thing as you. And yes, Mike popped up on stage for a few of Sam's shows on the Sam & Dave tour, but that wasn't the 'Other Half' tour. I vividly remember reading that Mike pulled Dave aside and verbally (yeah right) put him in his place, followed by "you're right, you're right..." Tough tale to buy I tell ya.

[VHscraps]

I definitely remember that part as I thought the same thing as you. And yes, Mike popped up on stage for a few of Sam's shows on the Sam & Dave tour, but that wasn't the 'Other Half' tour. I vividly remember reading that Mike pulled Dave aside and verbally (yeah right) put him in his place, followed by "you're right, you're right..." Tough tale to buy I tell ya.

I recollect Mike saying that in an interview, too - most definitely. But, I think it might've been one of those radio interviews a few years back. i.e., some time after the Sam and Dave tour - more like 2008-ish.

I remember ripping the audio - he did a musicradar.com interview, and a VHND audio interview (although, I don't think it was on that), and also some other one that had some funny stories about Ed and Alex getting into fistfights every time their father, Jan, had visited the studio ...

[Seshmeister]

A more up to date picture of the family room...