Last week, former Van Halen bass guitar player Michael Anthony stopped by the Trunk Nation radio show for a chat with its host, the venerable Eddie Trunk.
During the interview, Anthony – who plays with another former member of Van Halen, Sammy Hagar, in Sammy Hagar & the Circle – revealed that he had a tantalizing new side project in the works with Bon Jovi electric guitar player Phil X, Aerosmith live drummer John Douglas, and “a really, really cool singer” whose identity remains a mystery.
Not too long after his interview with Trunk – last Saturday (March 25) – Anthony headlined a benefit concert for Save the Heartbeat, a non-profit organization that looks to help those affected by congenital heart disease.
Anthony's band for the show – which took place at the Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa, California – didn't feature John Douglas, but it did happen to include Phil X, a noted Van Halen aficionado.
With Phil X, and the band's longtime bassist, onstage, some Van Halen was naturally on the menu. To that end, you can watch them tackle Somebody Get Me a Doctor above.
Engaging in the same volume knob swells Eddie Van Halen employed in the original, Phil X – armed with a Gibson SG – clearly enjoys playing the part (and, indeed, the guitar parts) of one of his heroes.
Sammy Hagar also stopped by the benefit show, joining Anthony and Phil X for a couple of Montrose (Rock Candy, visible below) and Hagar solo (I Can't Drive 55) tunes, with a version of Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus thrown in too, for good measure.
As for Anthony's new mystery band, the bassist described it to Trunk as "a little side project thing that I've kind of been speaking to some people [about] and might be doing a couple of things with."
When asked about who might provide vocals, Anthony said, “I don't wanna mention any names, but it’s a really, really cool singer. And we're recording just for fun right now, some stuff. That's all I can say.”
