Credit: Neil Zlozower Join us in wishing "Mad Anthony" aka "Mikey" aka "Cannon Mouth" a happy birthday. Bottoms Up, Michael! Michael Anthony Sobolewski was born on June 20th, 1954, and was partly raised in Chicago. The family moved to California twice in Anthony's early years, settling in 1966 in Arcadia, California. Anthony attended Dana Junior High School, in … [Read more...]
Michael Anthony
Michael Anthony: ‘We Recorded Everything, Every Idea We Had’
Credit: Neil Zlozower According to Michael Anthony, whenever Van Halen was in the studio, someone was always ready to press the "record" button. "Every time that we went into the studio, whether it was Donn Landee or whoever was engineering for us, we had him press record," Anthony told Ultimate Guitar's Greg Prato. "We recorded everything, every idea that we had. … [Read more...]
Van Halen ‘Top Of The World’ Live In Dallas 12/4/1991 [Official HD Remastered Video]
Another official HD remastered video from Van Halen's live performance in Dallas, Texas on December 4th, 1991 has been released. This time it's "Top Of The World". The video comes from the upcoming expanded edition of Van Halen's #1 album from 1991, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. The Expanded Edition arrives this summer and includes a newly remastered version of the original … [Read more...]
Van Halen Tops List Of Missed Live Album Opportunities
Credit: Neil Zlozower Author Martin Popoff believes a live album from Van Halen during the original David Lee Roth-era of the band could have gone down as one of the greatest live albums of all time. Popoff, who is the author of the brand-new book Van Halen at 50, recently wrote an article for Goldmine magazine listing 20 bands who had that precious window of time to … [Read more...]
Michael Anthony On Hearing DLR’s ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile’: ‘Is Dave Trying To Kick Our Ass?’
During a recent interview with Ultimate Guitar, Michael Anthony was asked what he thought of David Lee Roth's first full-length solo album Eat 'Em and Smile. "That's a great album," Anthony told Ultimate Guitar's Greg Prato. "I mean, I'm friends with Billy [Sheehan]. And Steve [Vai]. Obviously, they're both great frickin' players. It was great. At first, my thoughts were, … [Read more...]
Mike Post On ‘Van Halen III’: ‘It’s Nobody’s Fault’
Van Halen III producer Mike Post says nobody should be to blame for the album failing to match the success of previous Van Halen albums. During a recent interview with The Bluegrass Situation's Amy Reitnour Jacobs, Post commented on the 1998 Van Halen album featuring Gary Cherone on lead vocals. While the album reached number four on Billboard and … [Read more...]
Michael Anthony: Alex ‘Continues To Grieve Today Over Eddie’s Passing’
Credit: Neil Zlozower Michael Anthony has commented on Alex Van Halen's decision to auction off his personal instrument and gear collection and why he wouldn't be surprised if Alex never returns to the stage again. Below is an excerpt from Anthony's recent Ultimate Guitar interview contributed to the Van Halen News Desk by UG writer Greg Prato: Although he's not … [Read more...]
Is Joe Satriani Switching Out His Ibanez For An EVH Guitar?
A band rehearsal video posted by Sammy Hagar has fans wondering: Is Joe Satriani swapping his iconic Ibanez guitar for an EVH model for the upcoming Best Of All Worlds tour? On Tuesday (May 28), Hagar posted a quick video of himself, Satriani, Michael Anthony, and Jason Bonham performing "Poundcake". Yesterday, Guitar Player's Phil Weller shared something interesting he … [Read more...]
Author Martin Popoff On Edward Van Halen’s ‘True Creative Force’
Credit: Neil Zlozower Van Halen at 50 author Martin Popoff calls Edward Van Halen is this era's "true Mozart" who had tools that no other guitarist had, including the ability to bring "personality" to the guitar. "He might even be the guitarist with the most personality ever on the guitar," said Popoff during a recent interview with the Van Halen News Desk's Eric … [Read more...]
Michael Anthony Shares Van Halen Road Tales & More On Trunk Nation
If Michael Anthony ever writes a book, he's got plenty of tales of debauchery on the road with Van Halen to tell. "I'll tell ya right now, boy, I could have a couple of chapters on just the trashing [of hotels] and all that stuff that we used to do when we first came out," Anthony said during a recent appearance on Trunk Nation. "My forte was fire extinguishers. Just kinda … [Read more...]
Van Halen ‘Poundcake’ Live In Dallas 12/4/1991 [Official HD Remastered Video]
The official HD remastered video of Van Halen's live performance of "Poundcake" in Dallas, Texas on December 4th, 1991 has been released! The video comes from the upcoming expanded edition of Van Halen's #1 album from 1991, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. The Expanded Edition arrives this summer and includes a newly remastered version of the original album, along with … [Read more...]
Van Halen Releasing Expanded Edition of ‘For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge’
For the first time ever, Van Halen is releasing an EXPANDED EDITION of one of their albums! With rarities, promo videos and previously unreleased live footage!! Van Halen’s ninth studio album, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, debuted at #1 and stayed there for three weeks during the summer of 1991. It was the third consecutive #1 album from singer Sammy Hagar, guitarist … [Read more...]