“I’m not gonna point fingers, but through all of this, one of the ingredients was not playing ball with everybody else”: Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony sets the record straight on the much-rumored VH tribute project

Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony has set the record straight regarding the much-talked-about Van Halen tribute concert and why it never materialized. According to Anthony, “one of the ingredients was not, let's say, playing ball with everybody else.”

In 2022, Van Halen's fans speculated that a tribute project was in the works. Joe Satriani confirmed he was involved in project discussions with Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth. 

Ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted claimed Joe Satriani and Alex Van Halen had approached him to participate in the Van Halen tribute project. However, the project seems to have fallen through entirely, with Anthony confirming the tribute is not happening due to internal disputes. 

In a recent interview with The Hooks Rocks podcast, Anthony said [transcribed by Blabbermouth], “Now I, myself, I got a call from Alex and Dave a few years, a right around that same time. And they wanted to put something together, and Joe was in the mix. I remember talking to Joe a couple of times after that, too. And Joe was telling me, 'Yeah, well, they gave me some of that album and told me to listen to it or whatever.'

“All I can say is – I'm not gonna point fingers – but through all of this, one of the ingredients was not, let's say, playing ball with everybody else. And that's all I'm gonna say. I'll let you all figure it out. 

“It's pretty sad, because even when the band was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame – this was in 2007 – Sammy [Hagar] and I were the only two from the band that showed up, and we weren't even in the band at the time.”

The upcoming Best of All Worlds tour, spearheaded by Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani, and Sammy Hagar, seems to be the closest Van Halen fans will get to a star-studded tribute project tour.

“It’s crazy to think that it’ll be 20 years since Mikey and I played these songs with Van Halen on the 04’ Best of Both Worlds Tour,” commented Hagar. “With Joe on board, we can take a deeper dive into those years.”

The Best of All Worlds tour kicks off on July 13 West Palm Beach, Florida. Fans can expect to hear post-David Lee Roth Van Halen classics such as Best of Both Worlds, 5150 and Right Now, as well as material from Hagar/Anthony/Satriani supergroup Chickenfoot and Sammy Hagar and the Circle.