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Michael Anthony And Sammy Hagar Let Loose on Van Halen

Until now, former Van Halen bass player Michael Anthony has been pretty kind to his former band mates by not sharing his true feelings about his experiences while he was with the group, and his more recent exclusion from the Van Halen reunion tour. At least not publicly. Although he still seems reluctant to say anything really nasty about Van Halen, he does reveal a little more about the process that led to his separation from the group.

Although Anthony concedes that he sees himself as the ultimate “sideman”, and not necessarily the guy in the spotlight, he stresses that the role of a sideman is vital, and holds things together when the guy who is in the spotlight plays a ten-minute solo.

Although Anthony has talked about his disappointment that resulted from his exclusion from the Van Halen reunion tour which featured the return of original vocalist David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang on bass, he is talking more about his feelings now and admitted that he would have loved to have been part of it.

Revealing some of the negative feelings and disappointment about his parting ways with Van Halen, Anthony sounds like he has it all behind him now and seems to be very excited about the new group he has been playing with, which is being called “Chickenfoot” for the time being.

You can read more from the interview Anthony did with Music Radar and even download the audio from the interview.

Sammy Hagar, on the other hand, is a lot more open about his feelings when he talks about his time spent with Van Halen – a period in the group’s history that resulted in some of the group’s best material in my personal opinion.

Hagar, talking with Classic Rock Revisited not long ago, was clearly not pleased about the way Michael Anthony was treated by Van Halen when he was excluded from the last tour. “He got f***ed and it was horrible. I am not going to go on about ‘why and what,’because I have no idea…(The fans) have been waiting for this reunion and they (Van Halen) did it wrong. It is one more strike against those guys. They are not healthy, mentally, and they make bad decisions. They don’t take the fans in mind for one second and it is not good."

Hagar also relates the story of how a drunken Eddie Van Halen tried to knock the window out of a plane the group was flying on during a tour, and almost left the group as a result. Although Hagar remained in order to finish up the tour, he insisted on flying in a separate airplane for the duration of the tour to avoid being exposed to Van Halen’s alleged dangerous drunken rampages.

Hagar has his own album that was released just yesterday called Cosmic Universal Fashion, and he is also heavily involved with Michael Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith in the aforementioned “Chickenfoot” project, something Hagar is no less excited about than Anthony and has described in the past as something that “could rival Led Zeppelin.” A bold claim to be sure, and it will certainly be interesting to hear this new material when it finally starts making its way out for us all to hear. They are hoping to complete the album they are working on sometime next summer.

For more on Hagar’s comments, check out KBS Radio.

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Tags: Chickenfoot, interview, Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar, Van Halen

Classic Rock Briefs For November 19, 2008

New Rush DVD Close To Release As Group Takes A Break

Although I have not seen it yet, the new live DVD coming on the 25th sounds like a good one. As someone who is less impressed with lightning fast cut-away shots from camera to camera and more impressed with having the opportunity to actually watch a great group of musicians like these guys play, I’m looking forward to getting a look at this one.

Snakes & Arrows Live, recorded at the Ahoy Rotterdam Arena in the Netherlands last October is said to have taken a  different approach than earlier DVDs from the group. “With this one we wanted to focus on the playing," according to Geddy Lee. "So a lot of the camera work features the interaction between Neil, Alex and myself, a lot of the details that you don’t normally cover in a DVD performance.”

Lee also said that Rush is “a little burnt out right now,” and is planning on taking a break for a while. He does sound confident that they will start writing again in the future although he’s not specific about when that will be. Full Story.

Snakes & Arrows Live is currently available for pre-order at Amazon.com.

Chris Squire Talks About History of Yes and Feelings About Rock And Roll Hall of Fame

As the latest incarnation of the veteran progressive rock group continues their tour with stand-in frontman Benoit David, bassist Chris Squire takes some time to talk about his experience as the only member of the group who has remained continuously through their 40 year history.

When asked about not being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, Squire responds, “Who knows, I don’t know what you do about that. They just seem to have some anti-prog rock thing going on within their voting committee, and it’s just incredible that we’ve never been put forward.”

Personally, I think Squire is onto something. The fact that groups like Yes and Rush have yet to receive invitations for inclusion into the Rock Hall is a bit ridiculous, and the people in charge of making those decisions need to re-think some of them.

The decision makers out there in Cleveland should recognize the important contributions and outstanding musicianship demonstrated by both Yes and Rush, to name just two. Both groups have a very significant and dedicated fan base and have probably sold more albums than many artists who have been honored by being included among the other inductees. Full Story.

Paul Stanley Radio Interview Available Online

KISS fans might want to head over and check out the recent audio interview with guitar man Paul Stanley. He talked with the folks at radio station WBPM Classic Hits 92.9 in the Hudson Valley area of New York and commented about the group’s plans for a new album and possible tour. Full Story.

Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler And Joe Perry To Appear At American Music Awards

This Sunday marks the date for the 36th annual American Music Awards, which will be hosted this year by Jimmy Kimmel, and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry are scheduled to make a special appearance at the event.

Fans who want to catch Tyler and Perry should tune in or set their DVRs for 8:00 PM (ET) Sunday night on the ABC television network which will be broadcasting the event live from the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. Full Story.

Tags: Aerosmith, American Music Awards, Chris Squire, DVD, Paul Stanley Interview, Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, Rush, Yes

Another Led Zeppelin Book Hits The Shelves

For those that just can’t get enough Led Zeppelin, another new book is out and is dishing up more dirt on the group’s activities during their relatively short history, which ended with the untimely passing of drummer John “Bonzo” Bonham in 1980.

The new book, When Giants Walked the Earth: A Biography of Led Zeppelin was released to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the group’s formation. Author Mick Wall, reportedly a confidant of both Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, chronicles the group’s rise to become what many consider to be the world’s greatest rock and roll band.

Apparently, Wall does not hold back much in his reporting of the band’s legendary excesses, and delves into the  details of such matters as Jimmy Page’s fascination with the occult, and other details that involve drug and alcohol use, sexual escapades and other varieties of bad behavior that may have remained otherwise unknown to the public.

Although there’s much to say about the group’s unflattering activities during those years, Wall balances things out a bit with stories that expose some of their more admirable qualities as well. The support and sympathy provided to Robert Plant after the death of his young son, by none other than drummer John Bonham – perhaps the group’s most infamous mischief-maker – shows that the “Gods” were no less human than the rest of us.

The book is not solely focused on the dirt and personal tragedies that marred the group’s history however. There is also plenty of content that is focused on the music that propelled the young musicians to stardom that is equaled by few other groups in the history of rock.

Mick Wall is the author of numerous other books that featured other well-known groups such as Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden, and is also founding editor of Classic Rock magazine.

As always, When Giants Walked the Earth: A Biography of Led Zeppelin is available at Amazon.com.

Tags: A Biography of Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin, Mick Wall, When Giants Walked the Earth

Classic Rock Briefs For November 17, 2008

Soaring With The Eagles

In a recent e-mail interview with Don Henley of the Eagles, The Enquirer of Cincinnati asked the veteran country rocker about such matters as his activities during the recent Presidential campaign. Unlike the celebrities that were making news with very public support of their chosen candidates, Henley took a different approach.

“I was quite active in this campaign, but I focused my efforts more on various bids for House and Senate seats. And I didn’t do any of that work in front of cameras. I kept it relatively low-key and private. That’s what felt right to me this time,” Henley said.

There was also discussion about the band’s long history and included questions regarding how the band chose their name, why they decided to reunite and the price of tickets to their shows.

Bon Jovi plans Busy 2009

According to Richie Sambora’s recent comments while talking with Billboard, the New Jersey rock group has plans for a new greatest hits album, as well as work that remains to finish up on a documentary that is being made about the group, and a live DVD from their Lost Highway tour.

Although the new album is being talked about as a “greatest hits” compilation, Sambora says that there will likely be some new content included as well.

“…I think we’re looking at doing a greatest hits album next year. Jon and I are writing some new songs for it and to just load up for the next Bon Jovi record,” Sambora reports.

As for Sambora’s thoughts on the group’s eligibility to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, he certainly seems to appreciate the opportunity.

“Time flies man, but yeah there’s talk and rumors. Boy that would be nice. It’s something certainly I’ve been shooting for all my life. I think if you have a career in the music business, you want to get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, he says.

Tags: Bon Jovi, Documentary, Don Henley, DVD, Eagles, Greatest Hits Album, interview

Eagles Extend Tour Into Next Year

The Long Road Out of Eden just got a bit longer. The Eagles have decided to extend their tour into next year and although that’s good news for fans who have wanted to see them live and have not yet had the chance, there’s even more good news to report.

The cost of the tickets for the newly-added shows will not be accompanied by the additional fees fans have had to endure in the past. The elimination of the fees comes days after TicketMaster acquired a controlling stake in Irving Azoff’s Front Line Management Group, whose roster of acts includes the Eagles. Azoff himself is now the CEO of the new entity, dubbed Ticketmaster Entertainment.

TicketMaster is making moves towards transforming itself into an “all-encompassing entertainment company,” according to a statement from Azoff.

The new shows will commence in January with dates in the Eastern U.S., including Hampton, VA; Charlotte, NC; North Charleston, SC; Greensboro, NC; Greenville, SC; and Birmingham, AL.

Although I’m sure many fans were never sure about the justification for “convenience fees” that had been customary in the past, I am sure that fans will be happy to note their absence when they purchase tickets for next year’s Eagles shows. These days we don’t see prices dropping on many things other than fuel, so it’s commendable that Ticketmaster Entertainment has decided to give fans a break by eliminating those fees.

The current leg of the Long Road Out of Eden tour is scheduled to complete early next month and give the group a little time to rest up and enjoy the holidays. For more details and full tour itinerary, see Live Daily.

Tags: 2009, Eagles, Fees, TicketMaster, Tickets, tour