Michael Anthony, Van Halen Tour Postponements: Former Bassist Suspicious of Official Explanation

LeAnn Mueller

Michael Anthony isn't saying David Lee Roth lied in his recent video explaining Van Halen's slew of cancelled tour dates. It could very well be that, as Diamond Dave said, the legendary rockers are burned out but otherwise "getting along famously." What the band's former bassist is saying is that he has some doubts.

"I've got my own theories on it," Anthony said in an interview with American Rock Scene (audio below), Blabbermouth.net reports. "To me, it just sounds kind of interesting that if you're saying you're tired, or whatever, you wanna recharge your batteries, you don't go and put 30 shows on sale."

"If I were a fan, I'd be saying, 'Well, then why do you go and put 30 shows on sale?'" he added.

Asked by the host why Van Halen would wait three days to say why they'd postponed the 30 shows -- thereby allowing fans to speculate online that Dave, Alex and Eddie had fallen victim to in-fighting -- Anthony took a playful dig at his former cohorts.

"Maybe that's how long it takes to come up with your story," he said. "I don't know."

Ultimately, though, Anthony said he wishes everyone well, and that he's too busy playing with Chickenfoot -- his group with fellow Van Halen alum Sammy Hagar -- to think much about rejoining his old group.

"The circumstances would really have to be right," he says. "I was always the 'never-say-never' guy in the band. But as time goes on, I don't think about it, really, anymore. If it's gonna happen, it'll happen. I'm having a great time in my life doing what I'm doing now."

Listen to Michael Anthony's Interview

Watch Chickenfoot's Video for 'Three and a Half Letters (I Need a Job)'

Watch 'The History of Van Halen'

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