Michael Anthony has been keeping his legendary voice in shape during COVID-19. Along with lending his iconic backing vocals to a new album from his band with Sammy Hagar, he’s also been making some appearances on the radio.
Anthony mostly recently appeared on Columbus, Ohio’s QFM 96 to promote the new Sammy Hagar & The Circle album out now titled ‘Lockdown 2020’.
Here are some of the highlights from the interview:
On The First Album He Ever Bought
“It was Blue Cheer. Their second album is called ‘Inside Outside’. The whole cover was just full of a bunch of stoner people and stoner things happening but if you open the cover it opened up and it opened up again. There was a picture of the band on stage and their bass player Dickey Peterson had his jazz bass and a stack of marshal’s behind him. I pointed at that and said, ‘THAT’S what I wanna do right there.'”
On Career Support From His Father
“My father was a musician. He never made it big as a musician but he played trumpet. He played his whole life so I think in the back of his mind he really wanted to see me make it as a musician so if I needed an amp or whatever he’d hem and haw about it but in the end he’d always help me out and buy it for me so he was behind it for me.”
Michael Anthony From 2010 Yamaha All Access Interview:
On Praise From Peers
“I never try to [listen to my own vocals]. Every now and then I’d stand back and listen to the band as a whole and go, ‘God! Van Halen – we were pretty bad ass,’ ya know? But I normally don’t think about it that way. What’s cool is sometimes I’ll run into musician friends that I know and they’ll say the same thing and I go, ‘Oh man that’s too kind, you don’t have to talk like that.’
“I have to thank my brothers and my sister,” added Anthony. “Growing up in a family where we were always yelling at each other and then my two daughters; I was always yelling at them so it kept me in shape! [laughs].”
On His Relationship With Eddie Van Halen
“There were a few things [we didn’t talk about]. I hadn’t spoke to Eddie in quite some time before his passing and there were a few things that would have been great to be able to talk with him about and work out. It bothers me every now and then but there’s nothing you can do.”
On Friendship With Sammy Hagar
“When he first joined Van Halen it was more like a lead singer joining a band. We had a close relationship but it was more just within the band. It wasn’t until I reconnected with him years later after he’d not been in the band that we connected more on just a two humans level. We still get along great. You’d hate to listen to our conversations now. He calls me and we’re like passing frickin’ recipes and stuff back and forth! [laughs].”
You can hear Anthony’s entire interview with Torg & Elliott on QFM96 below:
Sammy Hagar & The Circle – “Right Now” from ‘Lockdown 2020’