Van Halen News Roundup

MICHAEL ANTHONY NEVER MADE PEACE WITH EDDIE VAN HALEN

Unlike his Van Halen, Chickenfoot, and Circle bandmate Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony did not make peace with Eddie Van Halen prior to the guitarist's death last October. During his recent appearance on the Talkin' Rock With Meltdown podcast, Anthony shed light on where he and Van Halen stood at the time of his death from cancer, revealing, “(We) actually hadn't spoken (for many years), and unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to. And, y'know, it kind of bothers me, because we had some issues that were never resolved. But, I mean, what can you do? We were on track (for) a reunion, which I'm really sad that it never happened. But, y'know, life and the show goes on.”

Back in November, Wolfgang Van Halen, who replaced Michael Anthony in Van Halen on 2007 for their reunion tour with David Lee Roth, shed light on the proposed “kitchen sink” tour, which along with Roth, would have reunited Eddie and Alex Van Halen with former bandmates Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony. Due to Eddie's failing health, the trek never moved beyond the conceptual stage.

SAMMY HAGAR AMAZED HOW TECHNOLOGY LED TO THE CIRCLE'S NEW VIRTUAL ALBUM

Sammy Hagar is amazed how technology allowed him and his Circle bandmates to produce an entire new album using minimal technology while in lockdown.

Lockdown 2020 features all the tunes the band recorded in quarantine and posted online since the pandemic hit. Hagar, along with Michael Anthony, Jason Bonham, and Vic Johnson, have tackled covers of such iconic artists as the Who, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Little Richard, AC/DC, Buffalo Springfield, and Bob Marley & The Wailers.

Sammy Hagar told us that discovering how to record in lockdown felt like a blessing in disguise: “My engineer and my social media guy figured out how to shoot and record it on an iPhone. Then pass it to them, and they separate everything, and then they send the next guy a tape and a video that he watches and plays to. And then you put headphones on and you listen to the other two guys and then you take your iPhone and then send that in — we make a video and a damn record, in a way, y'know? And it's so brilliant and it costs nothing. It's really a brand new way of doing things and the lockdown invented it. It's the best thing that came out of it for me.”