Van Halen made larger than life music, and several band members exemplified this exaggerated ethos. There was David Lee Roth, the acrobatic frontman, Sammy Hagar, the party animal, and Eddie Van Halen, the prodigiously talented guitarist. Someone has subdued as Michael Anthony was bound to slip between the cracks in terms of attention.
Anthony joined Van Halen in 1974, and served as the bassist during their meteoric rise to fame. He was the everyman opposite Roth and the Van Halen brothers, and his easygoing nature helped him survive the departure of Roth, the departure of Hagar and even the departure of third singer, Gary Cherone. He played on 11 of the band's 12 studio albums. Then, he left.
Anthony left Van Halen in 2006
It seems hot sauce played a role in this decision. Michael Anthony amassed a sizable fortune during his time with the band, but he decided to open a hot sauce brand in the 2000s. Mad Anthony's Sauce remains a successful brand to this day, but the bassist believes this venture soured his relationship with both Eddie and Alex Van Halen.
Anthony told New York Magazine that he believes the Van Halen brothers disliked his sauce business and felt it undercut their music. He alleges they felt the same way about Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo tequila. Then, in 2006, the tie between him and the band was severed. A reunion was announced but Anthony was not invited. Instead, Eddie's son Wolfgang took over on bass.
Needless to say, Anthony felt slighted. Especially given that Van Halen would be touring under the guise of giving fans a "reunited lineup." A lineup that didn't include Anthony on bass was never going to be the real Van Halen experience. At least, he felt that way.
Anthony was inducted into the RRHOF in 2007
"I'm a little miffed that they're calling it a Van Halen reunion," he told Rolling Stone. "If I was dead and they needed someone to play, that's one thing, but to me this is not a reunion." To make matters even worse, Van Halen excluded Anthony from its final album in 2012, A Different Kind of Truth.
Anthony continues to work and tour as a musician, and is even part of the band Chickenfoot along with former Van Halen bandmate Sammy Hagar. Anthony and Hagar were the only two members who showed up to represent Van Halen when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
Anthony has also made peace with the Van Halen family in the last decade. Eddie may have passed, but the bassist told Blabbermouth that he has a good relationship with Wolfgang Van Halen and gets why his father wanted to tour with him. "Wolf is a great guy, great musician, his band kicks a*s," he said.