During a recent Q&A session at the Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp, bassist Michael Anthony shared insights into his current relationship with former Van Halen vocalist David Lee Roth. When asked about his interactions with Roth, Anthony revealed that their communication has been quite limited in recent years.
“Uh, I haven’t spoken with Dave in quite some time,” Anthony began. “The last time I actually spoke with him was when there was talk about a possible reunion tour. It’s really crazy because I hadn’t heard anything about Jason Newsted coming into the fold and doing the tour.”
Anthony explained that he had been contacted a few years ago by Alex Van Halen and Roth, through manager Irving Azoff’s office, about the possibility of a reunion tour. “Joe Satriani was gonna be the guitar player,” he noted. “That was probably the last time I talked to Dave. That was, God, I don’t know, about a few years ago now. I forget, something like that.”
Despite their sporadic communication, Anthony expressed a neutral stance towards Roth. “Dave’s kind of a crazy guy. It’s hard to explain Dave. We don’t have enough time,” he said, indicating that Roth’s eccentric personality makes him difficult to characterize succinctly. “But, no, other than that, no. I mean, I don’t have anything against Dave. And I’ve said this in the past to different people, that if the chance ever came up, I would definitely be willing to jam with him or whatever.”
Anthony even shared a moment of missed opportunity: “In fact, I think the last time he did his last residency shows at the House Of Blues in Vegas some years back, I was actually gonna come to one of those shows and surprise him and come up and jump on stage. But, unfortunately, we were playing a gig somewhere else, Sammy and I were.”
To sum up, Anthony last spoke with Roth a few years ago regarding potential reunion plans, but their interactions have been infrequent since. Nonetheless, he remains open to the idea of working with Roth again if the opportunity arises.
