‘I’m not going to crawl into a corner’: Van Halen snub hasn’t slowed ever-optimistic Michael Anthony

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Michael Anthony’s transition out of his decades-long tenure in Van Halen was smoothed by the presence of bandmate Sammy Hagar in a new group. Turns out, even with Chickenfoot’s subsequent successes, the two still take time to remember the greatness that came before.

“They were great years; it was a great time,” Anthony says, in a new interview with Miles “The Shoe” Schuman. “I talk with him all the time, and we reminesce about Van Halen. We like to think about the good times in the band, you know? And that’s what I would like to think about, not about any of the drama. To me, it just seems like a waste of time. The fans know, and the fans will make their own assumptions about the whole thing. For me, I’m not going to crawl into a corner and just sit there.”

Anthony was a founding member, bassist and key background vocalist for Van Halen from 1974–2006. Hagar joined him in the group from 1985–1996, and then again between 2003–2005. They’ve released two studio efforts as Chickenfoot, along with Joe Satriani and Chad Smith, since 2009.

Meanwhile, Van Halen regrouped without Anthony, issuing 2012’s A Different Kind of Truth in a line featuring original frontman David Lee Roth — and guitarist Eddie Van Halen’s song Wolfgang filling in on bass. Anthony took it all in stride, staying away from negative comments in the media while focusing on his second career in Chickenfoot.

“There’s been other bands in the past, where a band member either quits or is ousted or whatever,” Anthony says, “and they’re bitter about it for the rest of their life. But it’s like: what happened, happened. It doesn’t do any good for me to sit and bitch and complain, or whatever. You just move on.”

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