Michael Anthony Teaming With Aerosmith and Bon Jovi Members
Former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony revealed that he has a new project in the works with members of Aerosmith and Bon Jovi.
“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,” Anthony confessed on SiriusXM's Trunk Nation. “I don't wanna get ahead of myself and mention too much, but it might involve Phil X [Bon Jovi guitarist] and John Douglas, who you know as [the touring drummer] for Aerosmith right now.”
Douglas and Anthony have some history together. The drummer served as a drum tech for Alex Van Halen during the bassist’s tenure with Van Halen. In addition to having played with Aerosmith and ZZ Top, Douglas is a beloved visual artist, known for customizing the drum sets of some of rock’s biggest acts.
Asked who will be fronting the new group, Anthony was coy.
“I don't wanna mention any names, but a really, really cool singer,” the bassist explained. “And we're recording just for fun right now, some stuff. That's all I can say."
In a separate part of the interview, Anthony looked back on the making of Van Halen III, the band’s ill-fated album with Gary Cherone that recently turned 25.
"I remember Alex was going through a divorce," the bassist recalled. "And there'd be times where we'd start up in the studio and he ... would record for a half hour, then have to leave to meet with his lawyer."
“It was just a really strange, strange, strange time," he continued. "One thing that was really kind of sad for me was that there was not even a handful of songs that the band actually recorded together in the studio. And before that, we used to record everything with everybody in the studio."