Former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony has revealed that he's formed a new band with Bon Jovi Guitarist Phil X and current Aerosmith touring drummer John Douglas. There is also rumoured to be a "really cool singer onboard" but no one has come forth to claim the spot, yet.
Anthony, who also plays for Sammy Hagar and The Circle, told all in an interview on SiriusXM's Truck Nation with Eddie Trunk. Getting into the nitty-gritty, Trunk asked if Anthony would be retiring any time soon, which Anthony denied.
“Well, I wasn’t going to mention anything about it, but there is a little side project thing that I’ve kind of been speaking to some people, and might be doing a couple of things with. I don’t wanna get ahead of myself and mention too much, but it might involve Phil X and John Douglas.”
Anthony continued, saying, “I’ve known J.D. for many years since he’s worked with Van Halen… What a great guy. And we do have a singer. I don’t wanna mention any names, but a really, really cool singer. And we’re recording just for fun right now, some stuff. That’s all I can say.”
Aside from working with Hagar, Anthony has remained estranged from the Van Halen camp for years, having not been invited on the band’s reunion tour with David Lee Roth in 2007 and being subsequently replaced by Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang on bass.
A prospective Van Halen tribute tour was slated to feature ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted, though the lineup never came to fruition. Adding fuel to the speculation, Roth posted his ideal Van Halen tribute lineup, which happened to include Newsted and Anthony.
