Michael Anthony's falling out with Van Halen continued to be a topic of discussion by both camps during 2009. Here are some of the highlights: In February, Eddie smashed hopes that Anthony would be welcomed back into the group: Eddie Van Halen has told RollingStone.com that his son Wolfgang Van Halen, 17, who spent the last year on the road with his dad's band Van Halen, playing bass, is a "permanent" member of the group. more.In May Anthony told BW&BK: " When I actually found out that I wasn't going to be part of the last reunion thing with Dave, I heard about it like all the other fans did. Through the press or whatever. The one thing that hurt me more than anything else was that they launched their new website as they announced the tour, and I looked on the website and they had on the side of the screen on their home-page, all the early Van Halen records and on a couple, they actually took my image off the record. On the first record, if you look very close, he put an image of his son on there. And that's the one thing that actually hurt me, that they - whoever it was, because I'm not pointing any fingers, but I think I know who is behind it - would want to erase me from the history of the band." more.
Soon after Eddie told Rolling Stone that Anthony wasn't fired, he quit: RollingStone.com interviewed Eddie Van Halen and when the discussion turned to Chickenfoot, the new group featuring his former bandmates Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar , Van Halen had this to say, "I wish them well. The funny thing is that everyone who quits the band always claims they got fired by me. Hey, I'm not the bad guy here. When Hagar left the band, Mike went with him. Then when we get back together with Dave, and all of a sudden, he wants back in. It's like, 'No, dude, you quit the band.' So my son became the bass player. But we didn't give Mike the boot to have my son play. He was around. We didn't have a bass player. 'Hey Wolfie, you want to play?'" more
Anthony quickly responded with this: "Why would I have quit Van Halen ? It never happened. And what's weird is, he was being asked about Chickenfoot, whether he had heard us or not, and suddenly he launches into this thing about me quitting the group. What does one thing even have to do with the other?" more.
Then he spoke with Classic Rock revisited about Eddie's comments: " I was kind of forced into a situation like that. I never quit the band. When we did the 2004 reunion, Eddie didn't even want me to be a part of that because he was so torqued up that I was buddies with Sammy. Why can't I be buddies with Sammy and still play with Van Halen? With those guys, it was a cut-and-dried situation. You are in or you are out. You are with us or you are not. He still keeps bringing this stuff up. I talked to Joe Bosso [of MusicRadar.com] yesterday about it, because Rolling Stone was on his back for a response. I wanted the fans to know that I never left the band. For whatever happened, I am not a bitter person about it. I loved Van Halen; I loved everything we did. Hell, I was one of the only two guys who showed up for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. I love the legacy of the band but I am moving on. I am in a great place with Chickenfoot. Ed needs to do that too." more
Speaking of the Hall of Fame: Although both Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2007 with Van Halen , the band never performed at the induction since Eddie and Alex Van Halen were no-shows at the event. Artisan News Service recently caught up with Hagar and Anthony to get their thoughts on the induction. "You know, it was a pretty bittersweet thing for me," said Anthony "It was uncomfortable. It was one of the greatest nights, you know, one of the biggest accolades a person in the business can have. To be recognized for everything that we've done. I remember turning to Sammy, I think R.E.M. was playing and we were going, 'Man, it should have been us.'" more -
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