Bassist Michael Anthony had an interview with Sally Steele, where he talked about the late guitarist, Eddie Van Halen, as well about his relationship with Wolfgang Van Halen.
Asked if he had the chance to speak with Eddie Van Halen before his passing, Anthony replied:
“No, unfortunately, Eddie and I never had a chance to really settle any differences that we had in the past or whatever. But at the end of 2023 here, Wolfgang, he played the House Of Blues out here (in Las Vegas- with his new band Mammoth WVH) and I went to the show as his guest. And we talked, we sat and talked, and there was a lot of closure for me there.
”Valerie (Bertinelli, Wolfgang’s mother) was there. So it was a great night. Besides the fact that Wolf is a great guy, great musician, his band kicks a*s. But, yeah. So at least we were able to do that.”
Asked about his relationship with Wolfgang Van Halen, the bassist said:
“Yeah. Oh, yeah, we’ve always been friends. I think in Wolfie’s mind… And Eddie, he wanted to play with his son. The way I kind of feel is that Wolfgang probably wasn’t excited, really, about being in Van Halen. That’s why in his band, he doesn’t play any Van Halen, ’cause he wants to carve out his own niche.
”But just to be able to get up and play with his father, I can totally understand that. But no, I love Wolfie, man. I hadn’t seen him in, like, 20 years. I went to the show, it was great. We had a great time, great hangout.”