We here at GlamMetal.com were privileged to have a rare interview with one of rock and roll’s legendary bassist’s, Michael Anthony. Michael has kept himself quite busy since his departure from Van Halen. Not only is he involved with selling his own brand of hot sauces, he is in the midst of getting a project together (tentatively called Chickenfoot) that has the rock community abuzz. He was gracious enough to talk about these subjects and his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Let’s not Chickenfoot around and get down to it…
 

..............................................................................................................................................................................

Gus: For a couple of years, you have been doing sporadic shows with your own band “The Mad Anthony Xpress” and opening up for Sammy Hagar. Can you tell us how the band came about?
Michael: That came about around 2 years ago when Sammy was doing this with Carnival Cruise line out here called Cabo Wabo “Are we having any fun yet?” It starts out here in Los Angeles and goes to a couple of spots in Mexico and ends up in Cabo where Sammy does a show. The passengers pay a premium above the normal passenger price and they get all of these perks; shirts, swag and stuff like that. Sammy wanted me to do it with him because it was the second year he was doing it and I said “Sure I’ll do it!” I didn’t want to actually just go up there and jam with his band. Sammy actually doesn’t do the cruise himself because as he puts it, he gets seasick, which is another story. I just wanted to do something a little bit different, maybe doing the older Van Halen stuff and doing the singing myself. So, on the second cruise, I grabbed his guitarist Vic and drummer Dave and we learned some of the old Van Halen stuff and some cover tunes. We got up there and played and they dug it and we had a great time.

Gus: Your kind of going into my second question a little; You also do a set with Sammy called the other half. How much do you enjoy performing old Van Halen songs with just Sammy?
Michael: It’s great! I love the old Van Halen stuff both Roth and Sammy. People always ask me, what do you like better? Even in the Cherone era, as weird as it was and what the band was going through, I enjoyed that part of it too. Each era has something to offer. We did a lot of cutting edge stuff. Obviously Ed did back in the Roth days. With Sammy musically, I think we kicked it up a notch and took it to a higher level because of Sammy’s vocal ability and being able to play guitar. I love playing the old stuff. It’s great stuff and the fans like to hear it! Oddly enough, that’s basically the reason I went out and did the Mad Anthony thing. I actually went out last October/November 2007 and opened up Hagar’s show doing the Mad Anthony thing. I did about 40 minutes of it and did more of the obscure Van Halen stuff. I guess you can say the deep, deep cuts. Not the “Panama” or “Jump” that got a lot of radio play. Its great material and the fans want to hear it.

Gus: Any touring plans for you in 2008?
Michael: Hopefully, we do have touring plans. Sammy is doing shows with Kenny Chesney this summer. He is also doing his own shows as well. In August, he hooks up with the Scorpions and I think I may be doing some of those shows. At the end of August we are going to roll into this new project that Sammy and I got going on.

Gus: Boy, you are going right into my next question again. Seems like you are looking at my questions (laughs.)
Michael: I know what you are thinking (laughs.)

Gus: There has been plenty of talk in the last couple of months about a “supergroup” forming with you, Sammy, Chad Smith (from the Red Hot Chili Peppers), and guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani. How did this project come about?
Michael: These things happen by default or we just roll into these things. Chad comes down to Cabo (the Bar). He actually has a place in Cabo, San Lucas. He comes down and jams with Sammy and myself. We have a code word named for the band called “Chickenfoot,” for lack of having anything else better to call it. This past February, Sammy did a show at the Palms hotel in Las Vegas. He asked me if I would play the show with him and I said sure. Sammy had an idea because Chad wanted to come out and play as well. He wanted to put something different together for the encores. How he ever came up with Joe’s name, I don’t know. Maybe he pulled his name out of a hat and called Joe on it. He called Joe and he said he would love to do it! Sammy over the phone said let’s do Mr. Fantasy (the Traffic version), and Going Down (which is kind of a standard deal) instead of me finishing the show and doing an encore. So we all just listened to the music on our own. We never rehearsed it. We got up there (in Vegas), we played and it just clicked so well! In fact after we played those two, the fans were going nuts! Chad is going, “You want to hear one more?” We ended up doing Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll.” It sounded so great and everybody got along great too. So hey, why don’t we go into the studio and see if this could blossom into anything. Not to form an actual new band but just to do a one off thing because we don’t know where this is going to take us. Sammy and Joe both live in northern California and they got together and Sammy had a couple of ideas. Next thing I know, Joe says I got this and that and he sends us each a CD with about 6 different ideas on it. We were all just blown away. Chad and I flew up to San Francisco and in about one weekend, we all put 8 songs together.

Gus: Since you have been recording new material and have 8 tracks done already, can we expect the material to be released in late 2008 or early 2009?
Michael: We have to go back in the studio. The demos or what we are calling demos, a lot of that stuff we may just use off the demos because the energy was there. So we will be just checking everything to make sure the songs sound good and we are going to repair a few things on the demos. In August/ September we are going back in the studio to finish this thing off. Right now, we are putting a plan together on how we want to do this as far as touring or putting this out. Whether we will do it ourselves or go to a couple of labels. We really don’t know yet. We do know that everybody is way into it and it’s going to happen. There has been a lot of buzz over the internet saying that this supergroup or what have you, won’t happen. This is going to happen! I can tell you that!

Gus: You are temporarily calling this Chickenfoot. Do you actually have a name for it yet?
Michael: We have a couple of names that we are kicking around. Nothing I can say right now but the code name is Chickenfoot. Someone got a hold of it and it’s been a buzz over the internet. It’s funny because a lot of people say “I hate that name!” I just want to come out and say it’s not the name but what the hell. Let the rumors fly! (laughs) When we come out with this thing I’ll tell you, Sammy said in some recent interviews that this rivals Led Zeppelin or whatever. People are like why are they comparing themselves to Led Zeppelin? What Sammy was saying on how this thing feels is that it’s the same type of energy of early Led Zeppelin or early Van Halen. We are not writing radio friendly tunes or hits. There are long jams to these songs and people will be surprised in what they hear. This is what Sammy and I do. Chad does his thing with the Chili Peppers so people really don’t hear him hit em’ hard like a rock drummer. This guy is one bad mother fucker! This guy is one of the baddest drummers I have ever jammed with. Joe, the spin that he puts on this (because of him being a solo artist and instrumentalist) is a trip. He gets out there and lays it down.

Gus: I find it very interesting that Joe, being the instrumentalist that he is, has accepted being taken into a band and doing something different.
Michael: I think for him and Chad that it’s refreshing and new for them because it’s not something they would normally do. Chad was the first one to say “Let’s just use the demos and get out there and play right now!” Joe is a little bit more of a perfectionist so we are going to go in and make sure everything is right. We are not going to beat ourselves to death recording or do what a lot of people do when they go into the studio now, which is work it over, and over, and over until it’s perfect. There will be little mistakes here and there if we use a lot of this demo stuff. The energy and excitement is there on it.

Gus: Do you see this band actually touring in 2009?
Michael: I see us doing a little bit towards the end of 2008 and doing something more full blown in 2009.

Gus: Going back to one of your projects that included Chad and Sammy, whatever happened to Planet Us?
Michael: That happened at a time where everyone had some free time and of course we got together with Neal Schon and Dean Castranova. What a lot of people don’t know is that we actually pulled Joe Satriani into this band too. We did a radio broadcast up in San Francisco. I forget if it was a Westwood One thing or what.

Gus: Wasn’t it Rockline?
Michael: Yes, it was Rockline. Joe actually came up and jammed with us there and he was going to be a part of it. To make a long story short, the Van Halen reunion thing came around so that’s why we canned the whole thing. Neal wanted to keep going with it so he got together with some other guys and called it Soul SirkUS and went out and toured for a while.

Gus: I read your bio and it says that you have a tooth inscribed with the Van Halen logo? How in the hell do you get a tooth tattooed?
Michael: (laughs) I’m the kind of guy that I doesn’t normally wear stuff that promotes me. That is a little self indulgent for me. I always dug the Van Halen logo. It’s kind of funny, as I was getting a crown put on one of my molars about 10 years ago and my dentist (who was a friend of mine and a big fan of the band) said: “Why don’t you do something on this crown like the logo or something?” I said that’s fucking great! When I had the crown made I actually had a full color logo with the rings and everything inscribed on my crown.

Gus: Is there a picture of that anywhere?
Michael: There may be. I’m not too sure. It’s a little faded but it’s still on my tooth. I figured that would be the best way of getting around short of getting a tattoo.

Gus: Some of your hobbies outside of playing bass include hot rods, collecting watches, and having your own hot sauce. What is your absolute favorite hobby outside of playing bass?
Michael: Enjoying my family and my hot rods. My family and I go on cruises and I love the whole car scene.

Gus: Joe Perry also markets his own hot sauce. Have you guys ever swapped recipes?
Michael: (laughs) No we never have but it’s kind of funny that I never would’ve thought of doing a hot sauce until he came out with his. People started needling me about doing it because fans found out that I love chili peppers and hot food. When Van Halen would tour (when Sammy was in the band back in the early 1990’s) people would be laying hot salsas, homemade salsas, hot peppers and stuff like that on me. When Joe came out with his it kind of opened the door a little bit and people were like, “Why don’t you do your own hot sauce?” I actually called the people who were doing Joe Perry’s hot sauce. I actually wanted to be more involved with the making of the hot sauce than Joe was. We have a thing out here on the west coast every January called the NAMM Convention. There is a hot sauce called Ring of Fire and it’s made out here in El Cajon, California. I love their hot sauce and we had it when I was shooting a video for Van Halen years ago. The caterer gave it to me and I loved the logo. It was a chili pepper with a sombrero blowing a flame out of its mouth. I ended up getting a tattoo on my forearm of it and friends of the owner of the company saw me at NAMM with this tattoo and told him about it. The next year the people came back and said the owner wanted you to have some hot sauce, shirts, hats, the whole bit. I thought, maybe I should talk to this guy and kick it around. This guy’s name was Mike Greening and he was totally into it and doing a sauce where I can be at the inception right from the ground level of the flavor and everything. I really liked that idea. This sauce is all me as the flavor goes. It’s not like someone who might just slap their name on a sauce. Their company is called Mike and Diane’s Gourmet Kitchen. He even told me “Don’t expect to become a millionaire selling hot sauce.” I didn’t even think about that. For me it was something that was fun and if we created something that the people really liked then that would be great! Even more so than that is that I can create a hot sauce that I really like and that I can use. We also came out with a spicy mustard and BBQ sauce. 

Gus: When you were growing up, who were your influences that made you want to pursue a musical career?
Michael: I have a sister who grew up in an era with the hippies and the whole bit. Growing up in Southern California she experienced all of that stuff and she knew guys in bands like Blue Cheer, Love, Lee Michaels and hung out with all of these guys. She’d be bringing albums home and just exposing me to this stuff. I was playing bass but not really into it yet. I goofed around with some friends. One day she brought home the second Blue Cheer record “Outsideinside.” There was a cover where it opened up and opens up again and there was a picture of them onstage playing. The bass player Dickie Peterson had his Fender jazz bass slung around his knees with stacks of Marshalls behind him all the way across and I said that’s what I want to do right there! From that point I got really serious about it. Actually, the first album I really got into was a band called Electric Flag.  Their first album was called “Groovin’ is Easy” and their bass player Harvey Brooks got me into a lot of walking bass lines, more blues oriented. One of my all time favorite bass players is John Paul Jones. To me he is one of the most underrated bass players of all time. He’d step outside and do his thing but he wasn’t one of these guys who was trying to be a lead guitarist on bass. He held the baddest groove. I still listen to Led Zepplin’s “The Lemon Song” and get off now just as much the first time I heard the bass.

Gus: On behalf of our staff and readers we would like to congratulate you on your 2007 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A so-called re-union was done with the original Van Halen without you. Even though the tour numbers support that it went off well, many disagreed that it wasn’t a reunion tour and have voiced their opinions expressing so. How does that make you feel that fans are voicing their support and showing their appreciation of you and your legacy in the band?
Michael: First of all, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction was a bittersweet thing. Sammy and I showed up and we weren’t even in the band at the time. I felt, I hope those other three guys really regret this at some point in their life. It was great! Sammy and I are sitting at a table there watching REM play and I turned to Sammy and said, can you imagine if the band were all tight and everything and we got up there we would have really kicked everyone’s ass! Like no induction ceremony they ever had. Instead, we just jammed with the Late Show guy Paul Shaffer, which was ok. We got there and did it and Velvet Revolver did a couple of our songs. What was supposed to be the pinnacle of your career (at least for me), because all of your tears went into it. I’m out there trying to give some sort of off the cuff speech and I got Keith Richards looking at me. I had people like him, John McEnroe, and everyone comes up to me and congratulates me. I had my wife and my kids there and it was like the greatest night of my life! It was sad on how it turned out and it could have been so much better. As far as the tour goes, it kind of hurt in a way at first only because there were a couple of graphics on their website where they actually pulled my picture off album covers. I was like wow, I’m very proud of the old Van Halen legacy. It sucks that they want to try to wipe it out or seem like I was never there. The only other thing I wish is that we could have given them a real reunion, with all the original guys. They chose their path and Eddie says that I chose to play with Sammy and whatever. Basically, I played with Sammy because there was a period where the band wasn’t doing anything. I’m sitting there at home and my wife wants my ass out of the house (Gus laughs) and Sammy would call and ask if I wanted to jam on a couple of songs. I was on a plane before I had my bags packed because I just wanted to get out there and play.

Gus: Well, how do you feel about the fans appreciation of your legacy in the band? Doesn’t it make you feel good?
Michael: It does! I’m so grateful for everyday that when I wake up and I look at what I have and what I’ve done and I feel so appreciative. For me, the fans are the number one thing. When Van Halen has gone through periods of all of this drama and stuff like that, it’s like why can’t we all get out there and fucking play? It happens in sports or anything else you know? It gets to a point where it becomes big business or the egos get involved in it. Everybody then forgets why we get involved in this in the first place which is to rock out, do drugs, and bang chicks (We both laugh). We tried to do a reunion with Dave years ago. When it finally came down to it and we couldn’t make it work any which way, It was finally like this: Hey Dave, you don’t have any money. Do you want to get out there, suck it up for a couple of months and be a millionaire? Then you can retire and go to your island or whatever? His ego still wouldn’t let him do it (laughs)

Gus: He was too busy getting his EMT certification in NYC.
Michael: There you go (laughs)! As much as I would have liked to have done the reunion tour, I’m not going to boo-hoo about it. I’m at a point in my life when I go out, I want to have fun when I play. It’s great that we have been afforded that luxury after all of these years of building yourself up. This is where we should be really having fun and unfortunately a lot of that stuff is still in play, egos’ and whatever. If that’s the way you want to live out the rest of your life then go ahead. That’s why Sammy and I get along so great. We love the same stuff. We love the beach and we love hanging out. When we get onstage it’s like how Van Halen used to be. Two buddies on stage just having a great time and the crowd interaction, I can’t wait to get back out there. I’m getting goose bumps just thinking about it. I can’t wait to get out there and play again!

Gus: We want to say we are big fans of yours and good luck with your new project Chickenfoot, or whatever you decided to call it, and taking the time to talk to us today at GlamMetal.com.
Michael: My pleasure!

We would like to thank Michael’s assistant Kevin Dugan for making the interview happen. For more information on Michael Anthony and his hot sauces, go to: www.madanthonycafe.com .