Michael Anthony speculated that David Lee Roth assembled a supergroup to surpass Van Halen.
In a recent interview with Ultimate Guitar, the bassist shared his thoughts on DLR’s ‘Eat ‘Em and Smile’ album:
“Yeah. I mean, I haven’t heard it in a long time. And I actually don’t even know if I’ve heard the whole album ever in its entirety. That’s a great album. I mean, I’m friends with Billy [Sheehan]. And Steve [Vai]. Obviously, they’re both great frickin’ players. It was great.”
Anthony then reflected on his initial impressions of Roth’s band:
“At first, my thoughts were, ‘Is Dave just trying to put together a band to try to kick our ass? To try to put together the best players that he could get?’ Because obviously, between Greg [Bissonette] and Steve and Billy, shit right there, you got some great musicianship.”
He concluded:
“But I thought it was good. The playing was great on that album. Those guys are all great. And on top of that, it was just Dave being Dave.”
Anthony’s Role in Van Halen Post-Roth
After Roth left Van Halen in 1985 to pursue a solo career, Eddie Van Halen sought a new vocalist, eventually bringing Sammy Hagar into the band. In a 2022 interview with Darren Paltrowitz, Anthony discussed his role with Hagar in the band:
“No, not back then really as much now and then. I might sing something when Dave couldn’t show up to a soundcheck, but that was just like a cover where we were at in a song, going over something. However, I never really started doing that much until after Sammy joined the band because he doesn’t go and do soundcheck very often.”
Anthony added:
“When we were there, people would have come to soundcheck like VIPs as you saw in Las Vegas. After a while, it’d be boring to see Eddie, Alex, and myself. We’re fun to watch. So we would work up a few songs from the actual form, the early Van Halen era, and play for those fans, and I would sing them.”
Anthony has also expressed that he holds no grudges against Roth and is open to playing with him, emphasizing his readiness to collaborate with anyone now.
