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Michael Anthony not invited by Van Halen


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Last month, former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony wrote a letter to fans on his Web site explaining that he was never invited to take part in the band's reunion tour with David Lee Roth. Anthony wrote, "It's not that I'm not touring with Van Halen because I'm going out with Sammy [Hagar]. I'm going out with Sammy [under the name The Other Half] because I was not invited to do the [Van Halen] tour. Sammy told me that if I was asked to be part of the VH tour and decided to do it, it would be totally cool, and it would not tarnish our friendship in the least. Well, it's not to be, and life goes on."

Now, with everyone and their mother asking Anthony why he's not doing the VH tour, he has spoken more about it with MTV News. "That's the one thing that's really kind of sad," he said. "It would have been cool to get onstage with Dave again, but I'm not going to whine about it, because that's the way it is. Why waste my time trying to make a stink about it?"

Anthony also explained that his past touring with Hagar was never meant as a slight against his former band, and he doesn't believe that it's the reason for his exclusion. "I was touring with Sammy when Van Halen wasn't doing anything, and people said that got under their skin, and they felt like I was betraying them or whatever, which I really wasn't," he said. "I wasn't going to sit home and do nothing. My wife wanted my ass out of the house. So when Sammy called and said, 'Hey, want to come out and jam a song or two?' that's how it started. I don't know why I wasn't asked to do the [VH] tour."

Anthony continued, "I know in the past there's been a lot of fighting and drama, but I'm not into all of that, especially now. And I'm not going to sit there and whine about it and call these guys motherf***ers and the whole bit. It is what it is, and if [Eddie Van Halen] wants his kid to play with him, fine. But they're really throwing him into the lion's den right off the bat. This is going to be a tough enough tour for those three guys, having not played for so long, and then throwing [Wolfgang] in the mix? ... I hope he does OK. It's sad that the fans aren't going to see the original lineup."

Meanwhile, Anthony will hit the road with Hagar this fall for a tour that kicks off in Biloxi, MS, on October 19. The trek will feature Anthony's Mad Anthony Express, Los Tres Gusanos, The Other Half, and Sammy and the Wabos

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I read somewhere that Eddie Van Halen's son was going to play with the band in this so called reunion with David Lee Roth. I'm not sure if he plays bass but could be a reason as to why Anthony wasn't invited. But I don't see how it could be called a Van Halen reunion without Michael Anthony. He never got the attention he deserved because of Eddie Van Halen and the revolving door with lead singers. Really, Van Halen has been a joke for the past several years,which is sad because they were really good at one time and I loved them.

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Back when Van Halen hit the scene it was like, man this band kicks a**!! Their sound was rockin' hard and Eddie brought guitar rock to the top of the charts. I never cared for David Lee Roth, but his antics onstage gave the band that certain uniqueness of their own. And I agree that without Michael Anthony this is not a true Van Halen reunion tour. Wolfgang may play just fine, but he wasn't there from the beginning and didn't help carve the name Van Halen in rock history.

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Yes it is a shame, and I think it would've been best not to even do this reunion tour. Just let Van Halen fans remember the Van Halen they love and not change those memories. It got really out of control when they had Gary Cherone take over on lead vocals, in fact I thought they were joking! :D

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