Michael Anthony: The High Voice Takes The High Road

Bass player Michael Anthony still takes the high road when asked about his dismissal from Van Halen. On his website, he writes, "It's not that I'm not touring with Van Halen because I'm going out with Sammy [Hagar]. I'm going out with Sammy because I was not invited to do the V-H tour. Sammy told me that if I was asked to be part of the V-H tour and decided to do it, it would be totally cool, and it would not tarnish our friendship in the least. Well, it's not to be, and life goes on."

Anthony was fired from the band before the 2004 reunion tour with Hagar, but Hagar intervened and Anthony was hired for the tour. This time out, he's been replaced by Eddie Van Halen's 16-year-old son Wolfgang, who, Anthony says, "is a great kid, so don't judge him too harshly. I'm sure he'll do just fine."

Meanwhile, Anthony's name has been removed from the writing credits for the band's 1984 album on the ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) database. This comes after his face was replaced by Wolfgang's on the cover of Van Halen's debut album that was pictured on the band's website. He has since been re-instated. A spokeswoman for Van Halen was unavailable for comment.

Michael gave Tommie & The Bartender a great interview recently, which we'll air again as the Halloween show in South Bend with Hagar gets closer.

Michael Anthony's website: MadAnthonyCafe.com

Van Halen's website: Van-Halen.com