Van Halen News Desk

The Latest News & Info about The Mighty Van Halen

  • Home
  • News
    • All Van Halen News
    • Eddie Van Halen
    • David Lee Roth
      • The Roth Show
    • Alex Van Halen
    • Wolfgang Van Halen
    • Michael Anthony
    • Sammy Hagar
    • Gary Cherone
  • Bios
    • Eddie
    • Alex
    • Wolfgang
    • DLR
  • Music
  • Audio
    • Live Audio
  • Video
    • Live Video
  • Interviews
  • About
  • SHOP
You are here: Home / Chickenfoot / Michael Anthony: “I Was Really Given Total Freedom” on “III”

Michael Anthony: “I Was Really Given Total Freedom” on “III”

by VHND — updated September 26, 2011 52 Comments

From UltimateClassicRock.com:

The last time we spoke with legendary Chickenfoot bassist Michael Anthony a few months ago, we hadn’t heard the band’s new album ‘III,’ which vocalist Sammy Hagar describes as “the best record I’ve ever made.”

Now that we’ve listened to (and reviewed) it, the record certainly lives up to Hagar’s hype, and we were happy to get a chance to dig into the inner workings with Michael with a fresh interview to find out how it all went down and what we can look forward to on the band’s upcoming tour:

Is there a particular song on ‘III’ that surprised you as far as the direction that it went?

God, there’s actually a few of them, you know? Obviously, we’ve got the rockers like ‘Up Next’ and ‘Last Temptation.’ But songs like ‘Different Devil’ and ‘Something Going Wrong,’ are kind of a little bit of a different direction for us. I think just the fact of the studio time we’ve had, being out on tour and hanging out and being more comfortable with each other musically, the band is really evolving now.

‘Different Devil’ is one that has classic vocals from both you and Sammy.

Yeah, obviously as far as the vocals went, the music just really lent itself to some great background parts for me, and I think it’s probably some of the best background stuff vocally that I’ve ever done on an album.

Leading up to the release of ‘Chickenfoot III,’ we heard that your contributions would be more prominent in the mix for the new album. Was there a particular catalyst for that?

No, not really. But in this band, it’s so great that everybody is really allowed to put their 100% of what they want to do into it. I don’t think there was one song on this album where like Joe or myself said to each other “hey, why don’t you try this” or “why don’t you play that.”

So I was really given total freedom, which is great. Because you know, as time went on in Van Halen or
Read the rest at UltimateClassicRock.com

Rate this post

Filed Under: Chickenfoot, Michael Anthony

VHND is powered by Van Halen Store

EDDIE VAN HALEN FUNKO POPS

Eddie Funko Pops at Van Halen Store

LATEST POSTS

  • David Lee Roth on Eat ‘Em and Smile, the Van Halen Split, and the New Van Halen with Sammy Hagar (1986 Interview)
  • David Lee Roth’s ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile’ Turns 40
  • Sammy Hagar Brings the Best of All Worlds to MGM National Harbor
  • The Mystery Behind Alex Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher” Drum Intro
  • David Lee Roth’s Summer Tour Is Bringing the Party Back

EVH MINI GUITARS

EVH MINI GUITARS at Van Halen Store

LATEST COMMENTS

  • LarryLurex70 LarryLurex70 In the USA, no. But, you’re forgetting Roth’s life experiences aren’t limited to the USA. He’s multi-lingual and goes to other places around the world where English isn’t the primary...

    David Lee Roth’s ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile’ Turns 40 ·  2 hours ago

  • LarryLurex70 LarryLurex70 Still shooting your shot, eh?

    David Lee Roth’s ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile’ Turns 40 ·  2 hours ago

  • LarryLurex70 LarryLurex70 The Beatles and Sting also released alternate language records. Were they full of themselves, too? And, while I agree EEAS was missing the EVH factor, 5150 was missing the DLR element just as much. I...

    David Lee Roth’s ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile’ Turns 40 ·  2 hours ago

  • dman dman https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fceab09ba7b318d3ab0cab224190215926362378b819e4611eadb648dc6073fd.jpg

    David Lee Roth on Eat ‘Em and Smile, the Van Halen Split, and the New Van Halen with Sammy Hagar (1986 Interview) ·  2 hours ago

  • Dukeboy5150 Dukeboy5150 Holy Fuck!!! I fuck up perps. david Lee Roth was in Calgary Alberta Canada July 8 and I didn’t even know cause I’ve been busy with life up here and then a guy told me and I met a bet but no way...

    David Lee Roth on Eat ‘Em and Smile, the Van Halen Split, and the New Van Halen with Sammy Hagar (1986 Interview) ·  13 hours ago

Van Halen Sleeveless Shirt

Van Halen Sleeveless Tee at Van Halen Store

ALBUM PAGES

Van Halen I – Van Halen II – Women and Children First – Fair Warning – Diver Down – Right Here, Right Now – Balance – A Different Kind of Truth

Posts by month

Copyright © 2026 VHND.com. All Rights Reserved · Disclaimer: VHND is not affiliated with Van Halen, Edward Van Halen or ELVH, Inc.