Jason Bonham said Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar were devastated in the days following the passing of Eddie Van Halen.
Bonham is a member of Hagar’s band The Circle, which also includes Anthony on bass. The Circle drummer appeared on WCSX in Detroit to talk about the group’s new album ‘Lockdown 2020’ but also addressed the passing of Eddie Van Halen. Bonham was asked about an emotional moment that occurred during Hagar’s Birthday Bash concert, which was taped just two days after Eddie’s October 6th death.
Prior to performing the Van Halen classic “Right Now”, Hagar held a moment of silence in honor of Eddie. Below is the video:
“You have to remember we had a rehearsal two days before [the Birthday Bash] and were were on a high because we hadn’t seen each other for such a long time,” said Bonham. “It was so great…and then the next day we get the news [that Eddie had died]…and then we gotta play.
“No matter how great we felt, we [also] felt a huge sadness,” Bonham continued. “Just as a fan my sadness was there but looking at Mikey and Sammy. Mikey in particular was devastated. And so was Sam but Mikey, I could just tell.”
Bonham said Hagar and Anthony made the best of a difficult situation, choosing to celebrate the legacy of their fallen friend and long-time bandmate.
“Ya know what? When it came to show time they just were like, ‘This is a celebration of the music,” said Bonham. “Let’s go out there and do what [Eddie] would want us to do and that was it. It was very tough…We gave it everything we had. It is what it was and I think it came across that, yeah, we were sad. We were definitely sad that we lost Eddie.”