MICHAEL ANTHONY: 'I Never Quit VAN HALEN'

Former VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony has disputed guitarist Eddie Van Halen's assertion that Anthony quit the band before being replaced by Eddie's son Wolfgang.

In a recent interview with RollingStone.com, Eddie Van Halen was asked if he had heard CHICKENFOOT, which in addition to Anthony, includes former VAN HALEN singer Sammy Hagar.

"I'm too busy doing my own thing," Van Halen said, who then added, "The funny thing is that everyone who quits the band always claims they got fired by me. Hey, I'm not the bad guy here.

"When Hagar left the band, Mike went with him," Van Halen continued. "Then when we get back together with Dave [Lee Roth], and all of a sudden, he wants back in. It's like, 'No, dude, you quit the band.' So my son became the bass player. But we didn't give Mike the boot to have my son play."

Michael Anthony, speaking to MusicRadar.com, challenged Van Halen's version of events. "Why would I have quit VAN HALEN? It never happened," he said. "And what's weird is, he was being asked about CHICKENFOOT, whether he had heard us or not, and suddenly he launches into this thing about me quitting the group. What does one thing even have to do with the other?"

"I never 'quit.' I never once said, 'I'm out of here.' It never happened. That's the weird thing right now, for Eddie to be trying to paint himself as 'not the bad guy.'"

"Ultimately, all's well that ends well," he said. "I just find it odd that I'm put into a situation where I'm forced to defend myself. Everything is great in my world and I couldn't be happier with the group I'm in. But I don't want people to think I quit VAN HALEN, because I didn't. It never happened."

Read more of Michael Anthony's comments at MusicRadar.com.

Eddie Van Halen told RollingStone.com that he and David Lee Roth are hard at work on their first joint VAN HALEN album in 25 years. Van Halen, who was honored at Spike's Guys Choice Awards with the prestigious "Guitar God Award," said, "We're a true band now. It wasn't just a reunion one-off thing. I've already gone to Dave's house four or five times over the last month. I've got so much music. It's just trying to figure out what Dave's into because we haven't written together in a long time. But it's great. It feels like we've always felt in the beginning. But I'm sober, so it's different. He's sober, so it's different. It's a wonderful feeling."

Van Halen said that he and fiancée Janie Liszewski are planning to marry on June 27, " ... then Dave, Wolfie (Van Halen),Alex (Van Halen) and I are going into the studio and record some new music and go on tour about a year from now."

Van Halen was asked how it felt hiring his high school-age son as his new bandmate: "He was only 15 years old. (I said) 'You want to play bass?' 'Sure.' We did not have a bass player. That's the only thing really that bothers me about people acting like I'm the bad guy. I just sit in the studio and write music. I'm not some tyrant. I've got no beef with anybody. I wish (Hagar and Anthony) well. I hope they are... I don't know what a 'supergroup' means, but I hope they accomplish what they're setting out to do."

During the press conference announcing their 2007 reunion dates Roth said Van Halen is now a new band: "This is not a reunion, this is a new band. This is a revision with hits that you're so familiar with; it's as familiar as the roof of your own mouth is to you. But the ambition has nothing to do with old history. Usually when a band comes back like us it's rockers with walkers and this is everything but. Meet us in the future, not the pasture."