Michael Anthony: My top 3 bass players of all time
From MusicRadar (photo by Ross Halfin):
Van Halen, Chickenfoot bassist reveals influences
As the bass player for Van Halen, Michael Anthony held down the fort - wherever guitarist Eddie Van Halen wanted to go, Anthony was right there, guiding the ship, providing a fat yet nimble musical bed for whatever was to come.
Not as easy as it sounds. And Anthony steers a veritable ocean liner of musical talents on the upcoming Chickenfoot album, the much-anticipated debut from the ensemble that is Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Chad Smith and Anthony.
“Being a bass player in these big-time rock bands is hard work,” Anthony says. “A lot of practice, a lot of research, a lot of studying the right guys - it all plays a part. I don’t listen to just these heavy metal monsters. When I came up, it was the era of the free-form band, but also the power trio, which called for bass players who locked in and looked for their moments to make their mark.”
In this exclusive interview with MusicRadar, Michael Anthony talks about his three biggest bass influences, and explains why young players should dig in and go back in the day. “It’s back to the future, for sure,” he says. “But I guarantee, if you listen to these guys, you’ll improve as a player.”
1. Harvey Brooks - The Electric Flag
“He’s the first reason why I got into playing bass. My sister brought home the first Electric Flag record and on it was this blues song called Texas that just stopped my world cold (sings) ‘Just got in from Tedas, baby/ you didn’t even know I was gone.’ Even as a kid I knew that was deep.”
“The minute I heard that song with its walking bass line I went, ‘That is so fucking cool.’ I had just picked up the guitar at this point, but when I heard Harvey Brooks, I took the two top strings off the guitar and made it my bass. For five or six months that’s how I played, on a guitar turned into a bass.
“Harvey was a great blues player. He had this groove that really spoke to me; it was so fluid and smooth, and he seemed to carry whatever song he was playing somewhere else, but he never lost sight of that fact that he had to stay in the pocket.
“Hearing Harvey Brooks was one of those ‘bam!’ moments in my life where everything made complete sense. I was hooked on the blues because of him. If younger players want to seek him out, they won’t go wrong.”
2. John Paul Jones - Led Zeppelin
Probably my second biggest influence. To me, if anybody wants to pick up a bass and learn how to play with taste and musicality, he’s definitely a guy to listen to.
“So much of the time people focus on the awesome power of Led Zeppelin, the whole ‘Hammer of the Gods’ thing, but John Paul Jones, probably because he was a session player, he put a lot of thought into his playing. He didn’t just lumber through.
“To this day, I listen to The Lemon Song, and I’m blown away by that little bass thing he does in the center when they’re doing that jam. It inspires me. If I’m getting burned out, if I’m feeling like I need something to bring me back to why I love playing the bass, I’ll put on The Lemon Song and it renews my spirit.”
“Another track of his that made a big impression on me was Bring It On Home. Jones starts a walking line on the verse that still gives me goosebumps. So much musicality. You could hear the orchestral guy he would later become.
“It was never so much the heavy metal thunder that got me. I was into players who played with taste and did these walking bass parts. If you can play like that, it really opens up the music. You can’t just pound away. After a while it’s like, ‘So what? What else you got?’”
3. Jack Bruce - Cream
“This is hard. As much as I love John Entwhistle, Jack Bruce and his work with Cream really got me into the three-man concept where you didn’t need a rhythm guitar player; you didn’t need a keyboard player; all you needed were three guys and a singer - and maybe one of them could be the singer!
“With Cream, they had this telepathy that was unbelievable, the communication. Jack Bruce really showed me that you could go anywhere with a bass part, and as long as you stayed in time, as long as you held down the groove, the door was wide open.
“Everything off the first record, Fresh Cream, blew me away. Their version of Spoonful - it’s a masterpiece. Each member was a soloist, but they responded to one another; there was nothing disjointed about it. It wasn’t just people going off.”
“I remember when Fresh Cream came out, I was starting to jam with other guitar players at this point, and Jack’s influence really paid off. Guitar players who I was playing with realized we could do it all by ourselves - we didn’t need another guitar player. That probably helped prepare me for Van Halen. A bassist has to be the bedrock, just like a drummer, but that doesn’t mean you can’t tell a story in your own right - you just have to know when the time is right.”
“If young bass players want to learn taste, restraint, but tricky ways to be musical, they should check out these guys. They might be surprised by what they find.”
In the coming weeks, look for an exclusive MusicRadar podcast with Chickenfoot, plus a special advance album preview.
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March 24th, 2009 at 4:44 am
MA is great and cf sounds awsome
March 24th, 2009 at 4:58 am
Mike is an under-rated bassist. Cool to see who inspired him.
March 24th, 2009 at 5:15 am
Mike has always been a kick ass player. His playing was washed over on 5150 and OU812 but Andy Johns mixed him in well on F.U.C.K. I am glad Andy is involved with ChickenFoot as I am sure Mike will shine.
I had the pleasure of meeting Mike on the Balance Tour at a Disney Hotel I worked at when VH was in Orlando for Wolfs B-Day. What a cool guy and a real friend to the fans. Mike is the reason I play bass today. Keep it up, can’t wait to see you and the “Foot” on the road.
March 24th, 2009 at 5:25 am
Mike has always been a guy with lots of talent and class.. Wolfgang will never be as good as he is.. Bring it on “Chickenfoot” !!!!!!!!!!! YEAH !!!!!!!!!!!
March 24th, 2009 at 5:30 am
Mike you are one of my Biggest Influences!!!!!!!!!! Thanks For the Memories!!!!!!!!!!!
March 24th, 2009 at 6:03 am
I never heard of Harvey Brooks or The Electric Flag before -pretty cool blues tune. Maybe that’s what VH should do for their next album. DLR can sing the blues and EDVH sure can play the blues and with Wolfgang in the mix it might just work. Let’s face it, VH will never make another album like the first six, so maybe a blues album is the way to go. Hey you never know.
March 24th, 2009 at 7:31 am
Always good to see Mike!
March 24th, 2009 at 10:09 am
go idea scar DlR voise is shot anyway he cant hit the high ones anymore. they should do a cover of little wing in momory of JH and SRV. a blues cd would be sweet
March 24th, 2009 at 10:18 am
Mike is great. When Chickenfoot finally tours, I think they should definitely let him sing a few too - He has a tremendous vocal capability, as I sure we’re all aware!
March 24th, 2009 at 11:09 am
I hope this is Mike’s time to shine. Agree with the other poster about the Bass getting buried in so many VH mixes.
The world needs Chickenfoot. The world does not need another Van Halen rehash. I would encourage the VH brothers to go back an seriously consider some reinvention I for one am tired of most things VH except maybe Balance and VH III (gasp I know, but hey it is still fresh)
You go Mikey! We are all can’t wait to see Chickenfoot!
Do I dare say that Chickenfoot has the best part of VH in it?
March 24th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Mike is the best. His playing complimented Ed’s perfectly. He was always able to throw in something extra cool when Ed paused. He always got the crowd going at live shows. I want Mike back in VH someday. I hope chickenfoot goes well, but I would prefer a MA solo project.
March 24th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
MA is cool. Is it true that EVH really always hated his playing?
March 24th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Mike’s not a shreading bass player eh? Care to eat your words Eddie? Sounds like he had the right influence and mindset to be in VH for all those years before you sacked him for your son. As long as Wolfie’s going to be there he’s going to be nothing but an imitator and emulator of Mike. Nothing against Wolfie, he was thrown into an impossible situation and has handled it the best way he can. I know you wanted to play with your son, but degrading someone and treating him the way you did is not the answer. MA is a class act and a super human being to boot. Maybe you should take some lessons in humility from him. It might rub off. If you came out and appologized to Mikie in public I’m sure everyone would be able to move on. Something tells me that your ego won’t allow it.
March 24th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
I don´t know if it is true that Ed really always hated his playing but I have read for the last few years that Ed wanted him out of the band several albums ago. Remember when the rumor was going around that Mike was going to be replaced with Billy Sheenan after he left DLR´s solo band? This was right before they came out with III. The evidence has been there for years that Ed wanted Mike out of the band. Mike´s role kept getting more and more reduced. Plus, Eddie didn´t want Mike doing the 2004 tour, but Sammy stepped in and refused to do the tour without Mike.
March 25th, 2009 at 7:34 am
What is wrong with Eddie and Alex? It is really weird how they are portrayed in the media ( That’s all I have to go by although I met them once and they were kinda weird - nice but weird ) Micheal Anthony is a great bassist and performer and entertainer and he fit VH perfectly musically and performance wise..Something strange in the soup and i cant figure out what.
March 25th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Mike is such a great guy…Sam & Mike were the high point of the ‘04 tour. They took a lot of time with the fans before and during the show. Ed and Al were just in their own little world and pretty much ignored that part of it.
It’s funny - after all these years, Mike and Sam are still the “good guys” who just seem happy to be making music and playing. Ed & Al, who are enormously talented (which goes without saying) just seem so angry and bitter by comparison. I just don’t get it…
Anyway, I think Mike will “feel the love” on this tour…he was missed on last year’s tour, and I thought it was spooky to hear his vocal samples in the mix, but I wasn’t surprised. He was always that “mystery ingredient” that made that VH soup so damn good…
Blues album by VH? I think that would be a good match for DLR, and it would be interesting to hear a new side of Ed’s playing. You never know…a “left turn” like that might be just the thing to return the boys to their roots and get them the hell back on track.
Till then…THANK GOD FOR CHICKENFOOT BABY!!!!!!!
March 25th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Yeah I’m talking about before the 2004 tour. Can’t figure it out who wouldn’t want MA? I can understand wolfie on this tour but MA has been nothing but solid and helpful to EVH’s Career. As far as a shredding bassist…I’ve heard vai and sheehan’s jamming solos together on tours and that get’s boring after a while. I would go for the solid dude who can groove and sing his ass off!
March 25th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Yeah..it is weird but i’ve never seen anyone as oblivious as Edward…EVERY one wonders what really happened with mikey but Ed isn’t making a sound about it…Some people just have really weird reactions to constructive criticism or even opinions…Ed if you read this stuff at all I think Mikey,Sammy Roth and Cherone ( not to mention Mike’s kid’s ) deserve an answer.
March 25th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
I think after 10 years of promises that its pretty obvious who is the demented,bitter and twisted one.
Balls still in your court Ed!!!!!!
March 25th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
PUSH…Sammy always said the brothers were really hard on Mikey, and that he never understood that. I think they simply thought “how dare they” consider themselves “the other half”. Ed’s response to that was “my brother is the other half”, so it’s obvious they do not see Dave, Sam, Mike, or even Wolfie as equal in stature.
Success really changes people. Eddie and Al are more in the Axl Rose/Michael Jackson kind of mindset. I’m really happy that Mikey & Sammy are more in synch with the mindset of their fans. This summer will truly be something to remember!
March 27th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
Eddie is a tool and always will be.
Mikey is going to show the Van Halen’s what they kicked to the curb as trash. When they see or hear of this, which they have, they will go “damn we should’ve kept him!”
But they won’t and thank you. Chickenfoot is going to Europe and other places that Van Halen will never go to. Van Halen is done.
May 5th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Michael Anthony is a class act and I’m glad he took the high road and didn’t fire shots back at Ed in the media. It was a shit movie by Eddie to dump Michael Anthony and not let him be apart of the 07/08 Tour with Roth! It’s also actually nice to HEAR Mikey again on an album mix! I remember when I first spun OU812 I was like “is there any bass on this album?” You have to EQ the hell out of that album to get any…what a JOKE of a mix that album is!! It’s also nice to see Mikey happy and in a REAL band again and not the Cabo Wabo cover band with Hagar.