Is Mikey really getting AS screwed as Sammy says??

[Limecuda]

I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for Mike. He has been the silent impact player. To me without Mike, VH wouldn't sound like VH.

After reading that chapter in Sammy's book it makes me wonder about some of the credibility of it. It would seem when the band first started out that all the guys would consider themselves equal. Thus getting equal pay. That just seems the norm for a group of guys wanting to hit it big. Bands are usually their tightest in the very beginnings.

I might could see those that actually write the lyrics and do more of the studio work may see a little extra, but not a major discrepency. But for Mike to be called a hired musician is ridiculous. If they ever fired him it would be a major slap in the fans' faces. It is arrogance for Ed and Alex to think that THEY are the band Van Halen. Last name ,yes, band, no! There were four people that got this plane off the ground,DLR,EVH,MA,AVH. I just can't believe this Ray character pulling in more on the DLR catalogue than Mike. It makes me sick!

You know Sammy said it best when he said that Mike's book, when this juggernaut is over, will be an interesting reading.

[cyclonus7]

I didn't know Sammy had a book out.

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Eat Us And Smile

[MikeL]

I thought it got held up over some disputes?

[LTLDREAMER]

Sammy's chapter is pretty interesting reading, but who knows - it's one side, ya know?

I remember hearing Mike say in an interview once, that he was surprised that HE wasn't kicked out of the band yet. So, who knows.

My interpretation is this. Mikey is the glue in that band...he keeps his mouth shut, eyes and ears open and just tries to keep the peace. If the boys are leaning towards the attitude "well, the name of the band is Van Halen, so that pretty much means WE are the band", well, then I will be extremely disappointed - I don't want to believe that. I would hope that he is paid as an equal part of that band. From Sammy's standpoint, it doesn't look like he's getting paid as an equal or even treated like an equal.

But (and this is a pretty big but), IF anything happens to Michael Anthony, (quits, kicks out - whatever) you can BET, that will be for sure the END of Van Halen as a band. It's bad enough they don't have a singer, but with no Michael, that's losing a mighty big chunck of a successful talent. They would NOT survive without him.

P.S. - To Ray Daniels....you are the reason this business gets a bad name - you are the lowest form.

[Glenn]

That chapter was a great read, but I'm not sure we should be taking it as the gospel. If it's true though, I agree that Mikey is not treated as he should be. Frankly, I get tired of reading things about how Mike gets treated in the Van Halen camp. Surely we can't be the only ones who realize how integral Mike is to the VH sound. Anyway, I'm still suspicious about Mike's name not being included in the song credits for Jump and Panama in the BOV1.

[stratogibson]

Friends,
Like many of you reading these boards, I play in a rock and roll band. Not only is it bullshit that Mikey is apparently getting jipped, but it is plain old bad business. Mike is a creative bass player, we've all heard fabulous bass lines from him, a tremendous singer, no one should argue that, and by excluding him, I think that VH is missing out on great opportunities to improve music. I can't count the number of songs I've thrown a fresh tune out to the band, only to have our bass player say "how about if you did this?" to it and it improves the song. The more creative input they can get into the process the better. Anybody remember the bass line in "Down in Flames", jesus that's hot. Come on Mike, getting a new bass and amp, turn that damn thing up.!

[Sweet William]

Sammy's got a book, in which he talks about Van Halen? Yes? No?

[stratogibson]

Sammy has a book, unauthorized biography, correct me if I'm wrong, but he filed an injunction to keep it from distribution, at least for the moment. Yesterday in the "how did ray daniels screw up van halen" discussion, Lead Synth threw out a link to the 19th chapter of the non-published work. It's a great read, here is the link. http://www.vhvault.com/1989/sambook.html

[dolphmurph]

I love Mike, but I don't really have a problem if he's getting payed less.

Sometimes Ed even tells him what to play on bass.

If you look at the Best Of album, you'll see that Michael didn't even contribute to the writing of Jump and Panama.

Though it does sound like he's not getting a lot of respect. Sounds like he kissed major Edward butt to keep his spot in VH.

[Panama Jack]

Mike has been a team player throughout this whole saga I hope he doesn't get screwed.

[Bassman]

That's one thing I've always wanted to ask him if I ever met him, is how does he contribute to the songwriting?

Does he have total freedom to fit his own bass part to Ed's music? I'm guessing that it depends on the song. There are probably times where Ed has a certain bass line in mind, and he communicates that to Mike. There are probably times where Mike has made suggestions as far as which direction the song should go. At least I would hope that it truly is a group effort.

There's no question that it's total bullshit if Mike didn't get an equal cut of the tour money. Like Sam said, Mike's up there working just as hard as the rest of them! There's just no excuse for that.

[Lead Synth]

I took the chapter off my site for legal reasons, but if anyone would like a copy of the chapter, email me and I'll send it your way.

I agree wholeheartedly that someday when it's all over, if we are lucky, Mikey will write a book that will tell the whole story the way it really happened.

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"i still dream big thanx to Van Halen music!" - Eddie_italian
Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to...
doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have! "1989"

[Im-out-a-here]

Mike is an important part of Van Halen but It is only right that the members who contribute more should be compensated accordingly.