Michael Anthony interview with Ultimate Guitar
From UltimateGuitar.com:
Michael Anthony: ‘It Is An Unusual Mix Of Characters That Make Up This Band’
Chickenfoot are comprised of former Van Halen and Montrose vocalist Sammy Hagar, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and world renowned electric guitarist Joe Satriani. The group is already being hailed as one of the most exciting rock and roll guitar bands in years. Recently, Chickenfoot released their debut album which went on to achieve phenomenal world wide acclaim, and debuted at #4 on the American Billboard 200.
Bass player Michael Anthony was one of the founding members of Van Halen, and was the man responsible for lying down the bedrock for which guitar genius Eddie Van Halen could fly. More than that, he provided a signature style of background vocal that became such an intrinsic part of that band. “A total fluke,” the good-natured bassist humbly asserts today. “I was just doing what came naturally.” Michael Anthony recently took some time off from his very hectic schedule to sit down and talk to Joe Matera about Chickenfoot, Van Halen and his new bass rig.
UG: The Chickenfoot album oozes such a strong sense of fun and excitement, something that reminds a lot of what was captured on the early Van Halen records.
Michael Anthony: You hit that one right on the head. Obviously playing in a new group situation like this really inspires you to play differently. And these guys are great musicians and I don’t have to tell you that. And so we’re all good friends having a great time. And it is exactly like what it was in the early days of Van Halen because later on, everybody was kind of doing their own thing. But it makes me remember why I got into this business in the first place. And that is that you can have fun doing it.
As a bass player, having played with Alex Van Halen for many years, was it challenging for you to play with Chad Smith, who’s more of a funk player than the sort you’re used to?
It is definitely an unusual mix of characters that make up this band. Chad is such a great guy. I actually first met him about four years ago, down in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. He’s got a house down there and that was actually where Sammy met him also for the first time. The three of us have camped down there numerous times, and obviously before the Chickenfoot thing, I’d jam with Chad on many occasions. And he has this funk and un-conventional rock style that he plays, which is really cool and which he brings to the band.
“Obviously playing in a new group situation like this really inspires you to play differently.“
Listening to the album, it feels like the music and songs came together from more of a loose jam type situation with each other than any sort of structured songwriting format?
Yeah. Actually we first jammed almost two years ago now and the magic and the fire, was great from that initial jam. It was then that we said, ‘we’ve got to take this to see where it goes’ and so we went into the studio but without a producer or anybody. We did this for ourselves. We didn’t have any type of super group in mind when we were first thinking of putting it together as we were just four friends jamming. And because Joe [Satriani] had just put his last solo album out, he was ready to go out on the road so it wasn’t like we had a lot of time to go into the studio. We only had about three days over a weekend and so we went in and just jammed and came up with about six or seven ideas. Then whenever we could, we would just get together and basically jam and work on ideas that we had and also come up with different ideas.
Was it a total difference approach making this album compared to how you and Sammy made the Van Halen records?
It was much closer to how we did the music in the early days of Van Halen where somebody had an idea. Like Joe came up with most of the basic guitar riff ideas for this album, and then we would all just throw our own two cents into mix. Nobody during the recording and rehearsing of this whole thing ever told anybody else what they thought they should play.
It seems making this record was very prolific songwriting wise, so have you got any material for another Chickenfoot record?
We actually had some ideas that we didn’t use because they didn’t go with the bulk of material that ended up on this album. And also when we were on tour this year, we had a little MP3 player with us. And before every show, all four of us would get together to do a little practice session with little practice amps, and we would jam before every show together as a band. Just warming up, and the ideas would start coming out. So we’d turn on the MP3 player, put the ideas all down and let it go. And from those sessions, we got all kinds of bits and pieces and ideas that we can now expand and work on.
The most striking thing I noticed on this album is how prominent your bass sits in the mix. On most of the Van Halen records - aside from the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge album – your bass was always buried in the mix.
That was one of the great things about having Andy Johns work with us again. [Johns produced For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge] as he really likes to make the mix heavy. For the most part, a lot of the Van Halen stuff, the bass was always mixed in really light. But on this record, everybody wanted the bass to be out there. And both Sammy and I really wanted to take advantage of our vocal harmony blend too because it is a unique sound.
Speaking of Andy Johns, what did he bring to the process?
Andy is a real hands on guy. And he’s also one of the guys that jumps right into the mix. He’s great with ideas with everything from the parts to play to the song ideas. For me, as bass player, he had some great ideas as far as how to mike up and record the bass. And that worked really well. In Van Halen, a lot of times, the recording sessions were really tough. I’d need to bring in five or six different rigs and I don’t know, how many basses. With Andy, I ended up recording this whole album on this one little Ampeg B-50R amp that I had, and a couple of my Yamaha signature basses. And that was what I used for the whole album. With just that amp and bass, we got a sound that fit in just right.
“We didn’t have any type of super group in mind when we were first thinking of putting it together as we were just four friends jamming.“
How did you go about capturing your bass sound in studio?
With Van Halen as simple as it seemed, it was a really tough band to record because of the interplay between Alex’s big drum sound and Eddie’s guitar tone. Eddie wasn’t the type of guy, like a lot of guitar players are, where they have a certain frequency range that everything else would have to sit around it. Eddie’s tonal range was so broad and so wide that it was always kind of tough to fit the bass in. And also playing with two brothers like that, they wanted all their stuff to be big and bad and so, I’d try and squeeze the bass somewhere in there, and try and find a frequency that fit. When we worked with Andy the first time, he was probably the first producer we had worked with, that was really able to make everything work and sound big. And as we’ve discussed, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge was the first album where my bass actually had a real good big bottom end to it.
You have always used Ampeg amp but you have switched to Peavey amp recently. Why?
When we were recording this thing, the funny thing was that Joe had just quit playing Peavey at the time. And he’s actually working on a new amp of his as we speak. Anyway he introduced me to the Peavey guy who told me that Hartley [Peavey] had apparently been after me for such a long time and so was keen to show me some of his stuff. At that point, I had been going through a tough time with Ampeg. They got bought out by a company out here on the West Coast, in Seattle, called Loud Technologies and so they weren’t as personable to work with anymore. So I told the Peavey guy I would like to check out their stuff. And their stuff actually did sound really good. And I figured why not change? It is a new band, so new equipment too. I put it [Peavey] up against my Ampeg stage rig and it had just a little bit more to it. More of presence and more of a crunch that I really like. I have a brand new bass amp called a Peavey VB-3 and a brand new cab, in fact the cabs that I play are all prototypes, 8 x 10” cabs which we’re going to put together as a Michael Anthony signature bass amp.
When can we expect the signature bass rig to be available?
We’re working on it right now and it’ll be sometime during this next coming year.
How is your bass collection these days? I hear you have around 150 basses in your collection?
Yeah it is something like that. But the majority of those basses are basses that are…[sic] during the Van Halen years it’d be, Roth more so than anybody else out of the band, who would always be saying, ‘oh yeah new tour so you’ve got to use something different and get a different look or whatever’. So a lot of those basses are things that people made and gave me, as I’ve never been much of a collector until probably about the last ten years or so. Out of all those basses, I have probably got about 25 or 30 basses that are really collectible basses. Like, I’ve got the third Rickenbacker 4000 series bass ever made and I’ve got some semi-hollow Rickenbackers, a couple of the old Gibson EB-1 violin basses and some old Fender basses. But I’ve never been that much of a collector. Most of the basses I have in my collection have been because guys have put together for me and because they looked different and cool. Of course, I got them to sound and play the way I wanted them to, but it was mostly just for a different look for when we went out on tour.
With all your years with Van Halen, what do you consider one of your most treasured memories of your time with the band?
It is probably when we walked out on stage in Southern California at the US festival in 1983. There was like 300,000 to 400,000 people there as we walked out on to that stage. I mean my mouth just dropped wide open. It was Woodstock times ten to me.
My personal favorite Van Halen album of all time is the Fair Warning album.
Cool, Fair Warning is my favorite Roth era album.
“With Van Halen as simple as it seemed, it was a really tough band to record.“
I really think that album has been highly under rated over the years. Looking back now, what do you remember about the making of that album?
After having had made a few Van Halen records, we were obviously becoming a lot more comfortable in the studio. I think at that stage, as players, we were really becoming more accomplished as far as playing better than we have ever had as a unit and as a band. I just remember it was all good times. One great thing about a lot of that early stuff too is that we never, or used very, very few, overdubs, guitar overdubs. We always wanted to play it live, like we did on stage because that was how we would ultimately end up playing it to the people anyway. At that stage we were also learning a lot of the technical stuff, all the magic and all the stuff, the fairy dust that you can spread on stuff in the studio, but we always wanted to maintain that raw type sound. I think at that point we were probably rocking as a band.
Finally having been in this industry for many, many years now, what advice would you offer on the business side of things to up and coming musicians?
To probably go with what you feel in your heart to do. Like we [Van Halen] had management and record companies try and sway us one way or the other, but Van Halen, we always stuck to our guns and recorded the kind of music that we wanted to play. We never sold out to doing what was happening in the industry at the time or what everybody else was buying. Sometimes you may suffer or starve a little bit, but it is always more satisfying to play what you feel in your heart and what you love to play rather than trying to second guess and please anybody.
Interview by Joe Matera
Ultimate-Guitar.Com © 2009
Photo credit: Paul Bachmann, Ross Halfin
Filed under: Chickenfoot, Michael Anthony, Van Halen
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November 28th, 2009 at 10:48 am
Class
November 28th, 2009 at 10:53 am
No negative questions so a positive interview. Hmm?
November 28th, 2009 at 11:24 am
The guy still has the opportunity talk trash, but still doesn’t. It shows how cool he and how much class he really has.
November 28th, 2009 at 11:27 am
if Chickenfoot thrives so hard to be their own band, they should talk less about Van Halen (good or bad) and focus on thier own stories. im not bashing but these Chickenfoot interviews are soooo boring! its always “yeah VH was special” and “yeah bro, the foot is sooo Led Zepp” and “yeah bro, we’re are own band, we bring nothing from VanHalen or the peppers…or whatever Satch has done,” blah blah
November 28th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Great interview! UltimateGuitar asked a lot of really interesting questions that were nothing but positive. Why aren’t there more interviews like this?!
November 28th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Fair Warning has been in my cd player for over a year now. I think I have real problem. I keep on listening to “Hear About it Later” from the solo until the end… over and over again. Somebody help me.
November 28th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
I wish at that time, they released Fair Warning as a double album. They were really at the top of their game during that segment of their career.
November 28th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
YES.
Fair Warning.
!!
November 28th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
I have seen on you tube this video: “Hot For Teacher Van Halen 1993 Rehearsal” I do not care for Dave or Sammy, the other 3 looked like a family, 2 brothers and their best friend who play in the greatest R’n'R band ever! why all this has been lost?
November 28th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Mike is class. Seems like the only honest dude out of Van Halen! Dig the bit bout Fair Warning. Good to hear it Mike’s fave Roth era album. Not often any of the members admit to fave’s. Like they way he says “Roth era”..Like any of the Van Hagar albums could top it!! Good as they are! Chickenfoot aint shit on the classic VH stuff. We ALL know that. Them too probably, but that said I am still glad they exist!! It’s better than the recording void Eddie created.
November 28th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
I don’t know how classy Mike is. That’s his favorite “Roth period” album? There isn’t a Van Hagar album that’s even close to Fair Warning. He just can’t admit Roth did the best Van Halen album, and easily the next two that follow it (1984, Van Halen).
And “we always stuck to our guns.” Another diss on DLR because anyone who knows anything about Van Halen knows DLR was at the wheel. DLR marketed Van Halen as a business - if any guns were stuck to, he did the sticking.
Just look at how much their ‘brand’ changed when he left.
If Van Halen hired Barry Gibb to replace Roth, - Michael Anothony would be played Stayin’ Alive at his next show.
This is how mopes in popular groups rewrite history to enhance their role in the process, and hope ignorance will favor their retelling. (A McCartney fable).
November 28th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
you cant complain about mike talking about old van ahlen stories
IF THEY KEEP ASKING MIKE ABOUT VAN HALEN!!
if th easked about VH and mike said: ” i dont want to talk about it” then people would say he was a douche for not getting over it.
mike cant win because he’s the good guy.
November 28th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Mike is one the best all around guys in the rock world.It’d be great to hear all of fw done live,but without ma’s bad ass harmonys it would’nt be the same.
November 28th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
mike is the one who should write a book cause he is probably the only member i’d ever believe.
November 28th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
There is only one word that describes Michael Anthony…”CLASSY”!I started playing bass in 1979 because of Michael and still play to this day. You know what they say, He Who Laughs Last, Laughs The Loudest. Michael must be laughing pretty hard by now. One thing I have learned in my 43 years here on earth is that the truth always comes out in the end and it is very apparent where the problem in VH lies.
I have always wanted to meet Michael and chew the fat, maybe some day that will happen for me.
November 28th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Michael Anthony is relevant because of his history in Van Halen and because he is presently in a functioning, productive unit known as Chickenfoot. In the music business, he’s got a past, present and future. So do Ed, Al and Dave, if they want it. At the presser before the ‘07-’08 tour, Dave said (paraphrasing) this is a new band with a future, not just a “pasture”. Maybe they don’t really “owe” us anything at this point. But I’d be let down if it all ended with nostalgia tours after a comment like that.
November 28th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
The reason why mike doesn’t say anything bad is ? He knows Van Halen is an unpredictable band, you know, never say never, mike could be back in Van Halen at some point and I’m sure he does not want to blow that chance.
November 28th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
I gotta agree with the majority. The interviewer wasn’t digging for dirt like most, so it was great hearing Mike be positive.
November 29th, 2009 at 12:08 am
Gotta love Mikey man!! =)
November 29th, 2009 at 1:16 am
Mike’s never worked so hard in his life, and you can tell he’s loving it.
November 29th, 2009 at 2:33 am
Hey Aarxn82, if you think the CF interviews are boring…
Well, its real easy bro, don’t read em, or here’s a tip, go and read that new really informative and thought provoking interview from King Edward, you know the one about him coming out to the usa on the ship with brother al, that he played drums first, used to sit on his bed all night playing while al went out, or about the scientific lace up system on his new line of converse, special features of the el porno soundtrack, the new guitar, the new striped condom and their new ass kicking lip syncin bass player that got now…..
yeah, thats what I thought.
But read about CF, and the class of MA shines through, he’s too classy for those clowns representing VH these days, however is well within his right to provide commets and insight into something he was involved in for the past 30 years, and who has flown the flag with class all the way.
November 29th, 2009 at 4:00 am
RickieVanWhalen, it is a superb song. Possibly my favourite. It’s got a magical lazy feel.
November 29th, 2009 at 5:13 am
FAMAC! You are right on the money!
Van Halen with Roth were introduced night after night as “I GIVE YOU THE MIGHTY VAN HALEN!!!!”
The “MIGHTY” in Van Halen was lost when Sam came. The “MIGHTY” is there for a reason. The band was so dangerous, so dirty, heavy, rude and cutting edge that “MIGHTY” is as iconic as King Eddie’s Frankinstrat color!!
Diamond Dave was front, back, left, right and centre. The dude was everywhere spreading the VAN HALEN gospel!! Why do you think Van Halen never needed a PR or other clowns that bands can’t live without and do the talking form them these days?!! Dave was the ultimate promoter, supporter and and frontman all rolled into one!! Dave’s a one of a kind, a freak!!! He would ask himself questions that the dopey journalist didn’t even think of asking. He was so far ahead that most of his interviews should be preserved in the Rock n’ Roll national treasure!
How many of todays bands and artist could benefit or use some of Dave’s classic one-liners, jokes and jibes!! Dave just puts a smile on my face every time I hear him sing or talk!!! The dude is so full of life!!
November 29th, 2009 at 7:59 am
“you can try me at home, if it feels alright. But I ain’t home that night”
November 29th, 2009 at 8:44 am
Such a shame that he’s not in the band anymore, but he certainly seems happy and that’s good enough for me. Class act, all the way. I love the bass on Fair Warning.
November 29th, 2009 at 8:49 am
Van Halen and Van Hagar are two totally different bands, that share the same name. Different music and style altogether….You guys crack me up, with the constant comparing…..Roth is the “original” and the “original” is always the best, even when the replacement is better!…Just how showbiz goes….Hagar is the better singer & Roth is the better frontman..period….
As for myself, I go to a concert/show to be entertained..If I want “spot on” vocals with awesome range…I’ll say at home and put the head phones on…
November 29th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Bring back Mike and Sam, then we’ll get some news classic Van Halen music
November 29th, 2009 at 9:16 am
Cheers to Mad Mike!!!
November 29th, 2009 at 9:22 am
RickieVanWhalen. My favorite DLR VH song in every category. That solo teaches the importance of silence between notes. I love the solo on the live from ‘81 video MTV used to show with Dave on the police whistle to start it off. Great great great great song. Ed always said he wrote that on a piano. I gues I can imagine the first 30 seconds on keys, but that’s it. For argument sake, to appease all readers, best Van Hagar song in every category- the song 5150. I actually wish the slow trippy solo from Live Without A Net was how it was done in the studio, guess he came up with that on the road.
November 29th, 2009 at 9:31 am
class ACT. PERIOD
November 29th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
If Eddie was asked the same questions and had given the same answers, everybody would be calling him a prick.
November 29th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Class Act…The only believable one!!! The Brothers and Roth need to be firing some apologies Mikes way!!!
November 29th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Bridge - right on! The interaction between EVH and Dave during the ending is genious, magic, in-your-face rock. The best 40 seconds of music and improvisation in the VH catalog - IMO.
Scott - in the book “everybody wants some” the author claims that EVH is playing bass on some of the tunes on fair warning. I think DLR also said this? In fact, the author states and EVH admits, that he was in the studio undoing some of production and arrangments that “other people” were putting into the album. EVH stated that Fair Warning was the first recording that he had full control over. The author also states that is was around this time period (1981) that the relationship between EVH and Mike started to go south.
November 29th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Bye the way… IMO (try not to kill me)!! EVH is playing bass on “Dirty Movies.” I say this because it is a tough tune to play and while I LOVE mike, I don’t think he could pull it off. I wish somebody would ask him this question.
November 29th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
I’m willing to bet Ed’s playing on Girl Gone Bad too. That bass is very Edwardian.
November 29th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Guys, Ed played bass on WAY more than you guys think.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:08 am
hey el c, im not coming here bashing saying “OMG! IM SICK OF THE FOOT! IM NEVER COMING HERE AGAIN! THIS SHOULD BE THE FOOT NEWS DESK!”
but you have to admit, the CF interviews are boring as hell. its the same thing over and over and over. is it the same with King Edward? yes! every single peice ive seen written about him is always about how happy he is now and how they rehearse all the time blah blah. but im just saying, if CF is so good and intresting, how about talking about some other aspect of them? most of the blame goes to the interviewers of course.
chill dude
November 30th, 2009 at 3:41 am
Mike you are one hell of a guy rock on bro rock on
November 30th, 2009 at 8:09 am
Mike rocks. Is as genuine as he appears. A regular guy that happens to play a mean bass and has fantastic backing vocal talent.
FYI: Someone ask Mike how much bass he actually played in VH.You will find that he played less than 1/2 of all recordings. Barely any after Diver Down..
Chickenfoot is the best rock we have today - enjoy!
November 30th, 2009 at 11:57 am
It’s too bad Mikey isn’t in Van Halen anymore. He was such an important member of the band. He really is a class act.
November 30th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
“Hey! You remember when that girl was prom queen?”
‘Fair Warning’: about 30 minutes of sheer bliss!
November 30th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
i met mikey and his family on main st. in huntington beach. very nice man and a great family. he’s very humble and polite…
December 1st, 2009 at 1:23 am
And I sat here naively thinking that when it said “Michael Anthony - Bass Guitar” in the albums sleeves, he played it on every track….
December 1st, 2009 at 11:54 am
Rich
I thought Milli Vannilli was singing too!
December 1st, 2009 at 6:01 pm
But doesn’t that degrade MA as a bassist? Playing riffs that Ed wrote? Why the hell would you stay in a band if the guitar player wrote all your riffs?
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:13 am
I like reading these articles and then the comments after it.
Let’s be real here and tell the truth. Who cares if Mike played on Fair Warning or any album for that matter.
The thing we all seem to overlook here on this site is the contributions every member of Van Halen has given us up to this day.
If Mike didn’t play on the albums, how did he do it live?
If Mike wasn’t good, why did Eddie keep him around until 2004?
All bands have problems. There was 4 egos in Van Halen and 2 of them called the shots.
Van Halen shared EQUALLY in everything and that was an agreement between the 4 of them when they started the band.
I personally like Mike and believe he is the good guy. He was cut loose because he wanted to play music and Van Halen was on hiatus due to health problems. Mike isn’t or wasn’t a doctor so what was he supposed to do?
Sammy and Mike were friends and all Mike did was go play music. Sure we as fans blame Eddie or we blame Sammy or even Mike, but the blame is squarly on Van Halen, which is Eddie,Alex,and Dave.
I wouldn’t even blame Dave!
Every interview I’ve read or heard Mike has been classy. If Mike quit Van Halen, wouldn’t he have announced it that hey I left Van Halen?
I just wish that Van Halen, Mike, and Sammy would move on, do their thing and make music.
Mike and Sammy have moved on to make music, and Van Halen is still in limbo.
Proves to me that the 2 above care and the others don’t. Mike will always be asked questions about Van Halen because it’s his past and he will answer them without being rude.
His bass playing and vocals are untouched as indicated in the new Guitar Hero game as well as the whole Van Halen catalog. In my opinion, the only ones with something to prove is Eddie and Alex and that’s class taught by Michael Anthony.
Imagine if Mike spilled the beans about Van Halen?
December 2nd, 2009 at 8:17 am
It does degrade him Rich.I guess he stayed in the band despite having ALL his riffs written FOR him because he`s such a “nice guy”.
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:55 am
I am sure there will be a time where Mike comes to the point where there is no more chance at all of being in VH. Maybe when he is 70 and he will publish a book. I would love to read that. Im sure it will be spot on.
Something tells me that there is more to Mike not being back in VH besides Eddie kicking him to the curb to have his kid play. I remember reading an interview with Mike several years ago when he was talking about the Sam and Dave tour and how he did not see Dave or even talk to him. Then one day he marched into Daves dressing room and laid into him for ruining the several VH reunion attempts, etc and really humbled Dave. He said Dave just sat there and listened and agreed with Mike. Im sure larter Dave thought about this and when the VH reunion came around and Ed spoke to Dave about rejoining, Dave probably said, im not playing with Mike. Dave is not gonna let someone like Mike talk to him like that. Dave may have been the one to shut Mike down. Ed figured, we can get Dave back and make the fans happy..nobody cares about Mike. Pretty stupid all around that Ed let Mike go just cuz he played a few shows with sam? Makes Ed seem like a little B*tch to me. Same in the case of Dave wanting Mike gone. Whatever the reason, im sure on the surface Mike is over it and is happy with CF but im sure deep down he is still bitter. You cant be after all the years. To be kicked out for what?
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:59 pm
RA 8 1 2:
I think what you heard about mike talking to dave (during the sam and dave tour 02′)is right….but to a point.
Have you read “Everybody Wants Some!!” the vh saga?
In the book the author ian christi DOES mention what you wrote about mike bustin’ in dave’s room backstage and layed it on him. “Why the reunion could work” etc.
BUT it was NEVER stated anywhere that dave sat there…became humbled…and agreed. That my friend was eiether he say she say stuff or from a source that I’m not aware of. I personally dont think dave has ever had a problem with mike. He’s never said a nasty thing about him.
If I remember the quote from dave’s book about mike it was: mike’s a good guy….likes to mingle with the crew and likes to have a drink here and there. Something along them lines.
Ah the drama….. :/
December 2nd, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Whats up Duck!
Yes, I did read Everybody Wants Some. Maybe thats where I heard it. However I almost want to say that it was an interview with Mike I either read or actually saw a video interview. Something just tells me that I remember him saying that Dave just sat there and was very humble. I remember it because it didnt sound like somehting Dave would do. I could be wrong. As you said…Ahhh the drama. So much he said she said shit in the ol’ VH camp. Who knows what is what anymore…LOL
December 4th, 2009 at 7:23 am
RA 8 1 2:
You’re right! I know what interview you’e talking about man…
It didnt have to do with the dave and sam tour in 02′
He was talking about when sam left and dave was called in for the greatest hits package in 96′ (the two songs). LOL….I remember mike saying that when ed said that dave was gonna stop by , mike thought it was “dave the friendly computer guy” and in walks roth! Wish I could have seen mike’s face man! Shit! But yes….you are correct. Mike said that dave was very humble and said he made some mistakes.
Hey,in the VH camp….who doesnt?
I remember reading mike’s view of roth when he first met him:
“Jesus! Get this fuckin’ guy away from me!”
I laughed out loud when I first read that….
December 4th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Duck…this is the interview im talking about. It on VHND. Link below and i pasted the portion.
http://vhnd.com/old/articles/060317-01.shtml
On the last time he saw David Lee Roth:
“It was when him and Sammy toured together, what is that, four years ago now?
He would kind of pull his hat down and just walk by me because I tell you one of the first shows that I did with those guys I forget where we were at but I had a few drinks and I went into Dave’s dressing room after the show and I just unloaded on him, on what was his problem that we could not make this reunion work? And all he kept saying was, you’re right, you’re right. I told him, look at them out there; when you go out there and this is the beginning of the tour and he actually impressed me at the beginning of the tour but as the tour went on boy by the last show they didn’t even do the last show of the tour that I was out there because they couldn’t do it; Dave just started pulling shenanigans left and right.
Most nights Sammy and I would pound on his door and say come on out and numerous times invited him to come out onstage and do an encore, all three of us together but it never happened.”
December 7th, 2009 at 7:57 am
RA 8 1 2:
Thanks brother for the link and your response!
VERY intresting read!
Ya know, as much as I’m a huge roth era fan I’m the first to point out how stubborn and childish dave is at times. I did read that about mike and sam really trying to make an effort to get him out on stage with them or at least hang out!
To start off, I think we all know that dave cant stand sammy (and vice versa) and it was obvious that dave planned this all along. He wanted to make this a DAVE VS. SAM show…not a colaboration. Dave has issues man…but what rockstar or musician doesnt? It’s just a shame that it has to last all these years.
Thanks again for a great read man!