Vince G.

(*Note: This is a small taste of the interview. When I tried to post it here, an error window came up telling me the text I entered was too long at 18392 characters, and I had to shorten it down to 10000 characters. Rather than sit here and try to edit the interview myself, I provided the link as well, so click on it and read away.)

http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/...hickenfoot.htm

One Genius & a Bunch of Idiots: An Interview with Chickenfoot' s Michael Anthony

By Jeb Wright

Michael Anthony was known as the 'nice guy' in Van Halen. While Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth feuded, Mike was smiling all the way, never causing any trouble. When Eddie and Sammy Hagar had their moments, Mike played the middle ground well, never causing any issues of his own. Somewhere along the line, Eddie tired of Mike and decided Van Halen would be a better band if another namesake, this time his son Wolfgang, were in the band, instead of Anthony. Mike had committed a sin and gone out on the road as The Other Half with Sammy. He even dared to be on the same tour bill as Diamond Dave. For this, the Van Halen's could not forgive Michael. It seems Van Halen is becoming a bit like La Cosa Nostra, if you are not in the family, then you are banished. Worse yet, if you don't play by their rules, you could get whacked.

Oh, wait a minute...It seems Eddie is telling RollingStone. com that Anthony quit Van Halen and was never fired. How convenient for Edwardo. Mikey walks away and Wolfie comes walking in. Apparently, Sammy quit as well. Edward has never fired anyone, according to him. Hmm, doesn't the Mafia deny hits as well? After all, these were emotional hits for Van Halen. Now, Sammy was one thing, hell, we knew these two were not getting along for years. But whacking Mike? That was just not cool by most people's standards. Luckily, for Eddie, Van Halen fans were yearning to hear Roth era VH songs, sung by Dave and played by Eddie and Alex, that the sacking, while not justified, was forgiven. We simply looked the other way.

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"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that."

"This is a lttle prayer dedicated to the separation of church and state. I guess if they are going to force those kids to pray in schools they might as well have a nice prayer like this: Our Father who art in heaven, and to the republic for which it stands, thy kingdom come, one nation indivisible as in heaven, give us this day as we forgive those who so proudly we hail. Crown thy good into temptation but deliver us from the twilight's last gleaming. Amen and Awomen. ."

"I think it's the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately."

-George Carlin 1937 - 2008

Vince G.

Here's the section where he talks about Ed's statement that Mike quit:

Jeb: Eddie Van Halen told Rolling Stone.com that Michael quit Van Halen and was not fired.

Michael: I am so far past that...I wish that he would be too. Unfortunately, he is a bitter guy. At my age, at this point in my life, I don't want to be bitter. I want to hang around positive people, and I could not find three more positive guys than the guys I am playing with now.

Why keep rehashing the past? They were asking Eddie questions that had nothing to do with that. They said, "Have you heard Chickenfoot? " And he goes, "Yeah, but by the way, Michael Anthony wasn't fired; he quit." It had nothing to do with anything. I never quit the band. At one point, I was forced to make a decision to sit on my hands, at home, and do nothing for a number of years, or go out and play some shows on a tour with Sammy and Dave [David Lee Roth]. What would you do? I felt that I was doing those guys a service by going out and flying the Van Halen flag and letting people know that Van Halen is still here.

My last name is not 'Van Halen.' People tend to forget you. I didn't want people to go, "That is that guy that used to play in Van Halen. What's his name again?" The fans wanted to hear that music. I was kind of forced into a situation like that. I never quit the band.

When we did the 2004 reunion, Eddie didn't even want me to be a part of that because he was so torqued up that I was buddies with Sammy. Why can't I be buddies with Sammy and still play with Van Halen? With those guys, it was a cut and dried situation. You are in or you are out. You are with us or you are not. He still keeps bringing this stuff up.

I talked to Joe Bosso yesterday about it, because Rolling Stone was on his back for a response. I wanted the fans to know that I never left the band. For whatever happened, I am not a bitter person about it. I loved Van Halen; I loved everything we did. Hell, I was one of the only two guys who showed up for the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame Induction. I love the legacy of the band but I am moving on. I am in a great place with Chickenfoot. Ed needs to do that too.

[Speaking to Eddie Van Halen] "You've got a studio right there at your house, and you say that you have a million songs written. Well, go ahead and record some, and go out and have fun. Let's look back fondly at Van Halen and what it was."

How was that? I am not a guy who gets mad. A lot of people are looking at my response and going, "Oh my God, Mike grew a set of balls." I didn't grow a set of balls. I just got tired of rehashing this shit. I am tired of it. I would always skate around the subject, but this is the way it is. I have gotten on with it and they need to get on with it too. They need to go out and remember why they are in this business.

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"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that."

"This is a lttle prayer dedicated to the separation of church and state. I guess if they are going to force those kids to pray in schools they might as well have a nice prayer like this: Our Father who art in heaven, and to the republic for which it stands, thy kingdom come, one nation indivisible as in heaven, give us this day as we forgive those who so proudly we hail. Crown thy good into temptation but deliver us from the twilight's last gleaming. Amen and Awomen. ."

"I think it's the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately."

-George Carlin 1937 - 2008

smithjc

Nice find. Classic rock indeed. Thanks for the info.

EDIT: Guess with the Family, you're either with them or you're against them. Wow.

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RIP - Classic Van Halen

"A lot of people take Van Halen more seriously than we do." The Diamond One

Faster Eddie

Mikey THROWS DOWN!

A great interview, all the way around...

i1sum2!

Thanks for setting the record straight Mike!

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78 - 84 THE ONLY YEARS THAT MATTER

No Van Handicap IV

It Ain't Right Without Mike!

Van Halen isn't going out like they came in

Gosh darnit, I'm good enough too

KING EDWARD: Hey everybody! Just started writing songs for a new album!
--About 30 minutes ago

KING EDWARD AGAIN: Whoops! Broke a string. Try again next year.
--About 29 minutes ago

fuddman5150

I like Mike challenging him. That might actually piss him off ala DLR.

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And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

ZachenFoot

I like this. Good for Mikey!

He doesn't need to explain himself, but I'm kinda glad he did. Casual fans of Van Halen who look at Eddie as a God among them and can do no wrong is finally placed under the spotlight as the bitter asshole he really is. And the media is covering Mike's statements very well.

As I said, we know what happened. Your casual "Panama / Jump" Van Halen fan doesn't. So this was probably necessary.

Not to mention, Ed doesn't realize by saying what he did, he just gave Chickenfoot's album more public attention

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vhrocks2005 (7/11/05-5/25/09)

"If he's on roids he's taking the worst shit imaginable." -Bob_R's rebuttal to Eddymon's accusation of Johnny Damon's steroid use (10/20/09).

"It lasted all of 15 minutes in my CD player and then was donated...I seriously gave it to a homeless person on the corner of Southfield and Warren in MI along with $10 and my sincerest apologies." -VHFRK5150's story on Van Halen III (11/24/09).

"Didn't you know? Ed has stipulated that VH shows are now mike-free. All microphones are to be referred to as "wolfrophones". It may be shortened to simply "wolf"." -VegasVic on Van Halen's new microphones (12/4/09)

Avatar credited to the fine work of Sixstring!

TheresOnlyOneWay

FUEddie.

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Sammy did the impossible. He made Van Halen better. Deal with it.
Michael did the impossible. He made Van Halen better. Deal with it.

Menlow

Mike is a class act.

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2008-09 VH Links Fantasy Basketball Champion

fuddman5150

+1. Ditto. I agree with this statement.

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And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

playintunes

Nothing new really. Honestly, if they didn't want Ed to bring up MA, they shouldn't have asked him if he has heard CF. I think Ed answered the question and then made it known how he see's the situation of what went down with MA. because for alot of fans it still is a big deal. It is nothing more than a relationship that went south and for some media, they want to stir up this type of whatever anytime they talk to Ed. MA keeps saying Ed needs to let go but in the interview Ed said loud and clear that he wishes CF all the success in the world. Seems to me like he got over Sam and MA a long time ago.

EAS

Eddie doesn't allow Dave to talk but Eddie allows Eddie to talk.

Probably a good idea is for Eddie not to allow Eddie to talk. Good idea? I think so.

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d[-_-]b

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Rokgtar

Good for all of them. They are all rich and they all play music for a living. Doesn't get much better than that. Now that they have both had their say they should leave each other alone and go do their own thing.

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"I think I got it now!"

i1sum2!

Yes, that part. Who woulda thunk it that Ed is now the spokesperson for VH instead of Dave?

__________________
78 - 84 THE ONLY YEARS THAT MATTER

No Van Handicap IV

It Ain't Right Without Mike!

Van Halen isn't going out like they came in

Gosh darnit, I'm good enough too

KING EDWARD: Hey everybody! Just started writing songs for a new album!
--About 30 minutes ago

KING EDWARD AGAIN: Whoops! Broke a string. Try again next year.
--About 29 minutes ago

Dutchie5150

I don't think Ed doesn't allow Dave to talk. Dave spoke a lot when he had his radio show. The problem was, nobody listened..... or cared. Why would it be any different now?

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If you have nothing nice to say about Eddie Van Halen, you're at the right web page. - Me (A few months ago)

"People take Van Halen much more seriously than we do" - David Lee Roth (1980's)

"I don't sit on the end of your bed while you're trying to make a living" - David Lee Roth (1988)