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In Defense of Michael Anthony...

Mike Sorr

Mike Sorr

Oct 24, 2012
3,010
3,168
Manchester, NJ
www.graceandpeace.org
#1
I know Michael Anthony doesn't get much love here on TB. I've seen comments about how he's "the luckiest man in rock" for his abilities or lack thereof. Personally, I don't get it. I have a hard time believing that great musicians like Joe Satriani would tolerate playing with a no talent hack. I've read interviews where Mike says he reads music, took formal lessons in music theory, even went to school for music. It's my belief that most of the lack of respect for MA is due to the ridiculous effects laden "bass solo" he did during Van Halen live concerts. Obviously this was just a mid-show break so that Eddie and Alex could go do a few lines backstage and was never meant to be taken seriously. It was a part of the show in the same way the the lighting and pyrotechnics were part of the show. It was flash that was never meant to be studied by bass players the way guitarists studied Eddie's performance. Is Mike Anthony a virtuoso performer? He's more likely just a rock solid, highly capable rock player with fantastic backing vocals. What the hell is wrong with that?

Mike is also reported to be one of the nicest, friendliness un-rockstarlike rockstars out there and I've never heard anyone say a bad thing about him other than his former band-mate, EVH. Ed, on the other hand, sounds like a d**k.

Eddie Van Halen on Michael Anthony: 'I Had to Show Him How to Play ... I Have More Soul as a Singer'




 
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#3
I always felt like just because a player (guitar, bass or any other instrument) wasn't dazzling with million-note-per-second runs or pushing boundaries or being up front and flashy doesn't in any way mean they are a lesser player.

Michael Anthony did what the song called for and at least in VH he took a pretty basic (no pun) bass player's role. What's the problem with that? If early VH had had a bass player doing the same sorts of things Eddie was doing, it would have been "trigonometry rock" instead of fun, get blasted music.

I feel similarly about Gene Simmons. Aside from the fact he seems like a complete d-bag, I always liked his bass playing and thought it was good for the band and their overall sound.

That said, I never gave much of a crap about either VH or KISS past the first few albums.
 
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#6
Muddslide said:
I always felt like just because a player (guitar, bass or any other instrument) wasn't dazzling with million-note-per-second runs or pushing boundaries or being up front and flashy doesn't in any way mean they are a lesser player.

Michael Anthony did what the song called for and at least in VH he took a pretty basic (no pun) bass player's role. What's the problem with that? If early VH had had a bass player doing the same sorts of things Eddie was doing, it would have been "trigonometry rock" instead of fun, get blasted music.

I feel similarly about Gene Simmons. Aside from the fact he seems like a complete d-bag, I always liked his bass playing and thought it was good for the band and their overall sound.

That said, I never gave much of a crap about either VH or KISS past the first few albums.
Click to expand...


I read recently that Eddie wanted Billy Sheehan in Van Halen as far back as Billy's days in Talas. Can you imagine what a mess that would have been? Eddie is not Steve Vai. Ed doesn't strike me as being nearly as disciplined and professional as Steve. I couldn't imagine that and Eddie/Billy pairing would have been as great as the classic VH line up.
 
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#8
Mike Sorr said:
I read recently that Eddie wanted Billy Sheehan in Van Halen as far back as Billy's days in Talas...
Click to expand...

Yeah...see, while that is interesting to me, and I wouldn't mind hearing them paired up, I just feel like those two would have (musically) clashed. More like "who can slam in the most notes" or something.

It would NOT have been VH. Might have been called Van Halen (Van Sheehan?) but it never would have been the music we know of. I think instead of being fun and having a groove it would have just gotten too busy and showy. Eddie NEEDED that anchor that Michael provided. IMO.
 
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#9
Bassmaster1984 said:
I personally hate all the flashy playing, either on guitar , bass or drums. To me less is more. I love players like Mike Anthony, Ian Hill and Cliff Williams. They keep the groove and don't need to show how cool they are by playing garbage scales or what not.
This being said, I absolutely LOVE Matt Freeman from Rancids playing!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm kind of like that too. I can appreciate the skill of people like Steve Vai but I don't care to listen to it much. I don't listen to music for mad technical skills. And if I do want to do that, I'll listen to classical or certain jazz forms.

I like my rock and roll like a caveman I guess. I'm not impressed by people who play all over the song. I want to hear some good music--not a guitar player going "wheedly-whee" in the dog frequencies.

I don't think many bands can pull off incredible, tight musical prowess and hardcore playing AND make music that is enjoyable (for me) to listen to as rock/pop, song-based stuff. Rush comes to mind as a band who walks that line pretty well. Moster players all, but they don't tread all over their songs and overall sound.

All this, again, just IMO.
 
#10
No need to defend a dude who made it, did his thing and managed to stay pretty true to himself.

By all accounts, after reading the Sammy Hagar book, Anthony had very little say in what he played. EVH dictated what would be done and Mike, like a pro, did as his band leader asked. No shame in that. Do what you're asked, well. EVH may be a jackwagon of the highest order but VH were a force for a good long while and he gets most of the credit because he was so driven. If they had failed nobody would have have threads like this about them:)
 
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#11
Pretty much every longtime player I've met that has his or her head on straight recognizes Michael as a great player in a great band. As a few Van Halen tribute albums and a recent tour have proven, his playing is an integral part of that band and the group is lessened when he's not involved.

Billy Sheehan's being more candid about the whole thing with him and Van Halen on a number of podcasts he's been on over the last year. Talas opened up on a Van Halen tour years ago and that's where they met up. Although he's never said it verbatim, invitations fro Van Halen to join the band may have been a power move by the VH brothers to get Michael to renegotiate his financial stake in the band at the time.
 
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#14
yeah, Ed is pretty much sounding like a bitter man with no friends these days.

good for him, he can stew in it as much as he wants, I ain't buying no more Van Halen tickets or records. I got the ones I like, and I've seen them at the top of their game. Last time I saw them, ('06? '07?) was pretty good, but without Mike, it just didn't sound/feel/look right.

No way I'm buyin tix after what I saw on TV with Dave sounding terrible.
 
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#16
Mike Sorr said:
I know Michael Anthony doesn't get much love here on TB. I've seen comments about how he's "the luckiest man in rock" for his abilities or lack thereof. Personally, I don't get it. I have a hard time believing that great musicians like Joe Satriani would tolerate playing with a no talent hack. I've read interviews where Mike says he reads music, took formal lessons in music theory, even went to school for music. It's my belief that most of the lack of respect for MA is due to the ridiculous effects laden "bass solo" he did during Van Halen live concerts. Obviously this was just a mid-show break so that Eddie and Alex could go do a few lines backstage and was never meant to be taken seriously. It was a part of the show in the same way the the lighting and pyrotechnics were part of the show. It was flash that was never meant to be studied by bass players the way guitarists studied Eddie's performance. Is Mike Anthony a virtuoso performer? He's more likely just a rock solid, highly capable rock player with fantastic backing vocals. What the hell is wrong with that?

Mike is also reported to be one of the nicest, friendliness un-rockstarlike rockstars out there and I've never heard anyone say a bad thing about him other than his former band-mate, EVH. Ed, on the other hand, sounds like a d**k.
Click to expand...

My opinion of his playing has nothing to do with his bass solos. Personally, I think solos of any kind (bass, guitar, drum, vocals) are boring and nothing more than self indulgent BS. Its a good time to get a drink, something to eat or use the rest room. They come across as way to appeal to the obnoxious drunks in the crowd. My opinion is based more on the fact that his bass lines are very simple and not challenging to learn. However, he plays what is right for the song and maybe like Ringo's drumming with The Beatles, the beauty of Michael Anthony's playing might be in its simplicity. I think he gets gigs because he is a solid in the pocket player who knows his limitations, doesn't over play and has a reputation for being a nice guy. Nothing wrong with that.
 
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#17
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