Bassist Billy Sheehan continues to clarify comments he made that he was offered to join Van Halen on three different occasions.

Sheehan says on the Noize In The Attic podcast, “I spoke with Ed (Van Halen) three different times about joining the band; so three different times. Twice back in the day in the '80s, and then again in the '90s, I believe, we talked. I went up to the house and jammed with Ed and Al (Alex Van Halen). And I love that band, I love all those guys, and for years, I never said anything about it, because I felt bad.

"I think, in a way, it might have just been a negotiating thing for them with (Van Halen bassist) Michael (Anthony), by saying, 'Well, we've got this other bass player. You'd better…' I don't know. But I love all the Van Halen people. I love Michael, I love Ed, Al, Dave (Lee Roth), Wolfie (Van Halen), Sammy (Hagar), everybody. And it just bothers me that the press would just run with it and make something completely up; that I declined.

He goes on to say, "Yeah, we talked about it, and there was an offer, but they never gave me some official piece-of-paper offer. And then, as time went on, they changed their mind and said no, and then they asked me again later, changed their mind, said no, and asked me again later, changed their mind and said no. And I'm not the only one. Jeff Berlin and Tim Bogert said they were both approached by Eddie at one point or another. A lot of other singers, a lot of other people had been in and out…

"Now, at this late stage of the game, it's okay to mention it or talk about it, but it really is bothersome that Guitar World would say I 'declined'… I would never have declined an offer to play with Ed. I love Dave and I'm so thankful that I played with him. Well, Dave and Ed — I'm lucky to even know them at all.

In a recent interview with Canada's The Metal Voice, bassist Billy Sheehan (Sons Of Apollo, The Winery Dogs, Mr. Big, David Lee Roth) spoke about the upcoming Talas album, being asked to join Van Halen, David Lee Roth and the new Sons Of Apollo album.

Asked if he was ever offered the position of bassist in Van Halen, Sheehan responds: "I was offered  the position as bassist three times through the years and I consider it a great honour. However, I am torn because I love Michael Anthony and I think he is the best bass player for Van Halen. And as much as I would have love to do that, I want to see Michael in the band. I'm not sure why they asked me to join the band, Michael is an awesome player and singer and knows what the situation was. The first time was the tour of Fair Warning, we talked about it then, then I spoke about it with David Lee Roth, but I mostly spoke about it with Eddie Van Halen in Toronto, Canada and then the second time was 1984, Eddie showed me the stage set up we talked abut it then. Then the last time was when I got together with Eddie and Alex Van Halen at their house."

Since then, Sheehan has posted the following message via social media clarifying his comments, as they were taken out of context.

Sheehan: "More fake news — Though I spoke w EVH on three different occasions where he asked me about being in his band, the offer never came through. They never followed through on any sort of an official offer and therefore I never 'turned down' any offer, because it eventually fell through. This is the result of recycling old news (I’ve spoken of this before) because I thought I’d do a favor some little website that asked for an interview, and then they decided to make this the headline (for clicks), and many other websites picked up the 'story' to get more clicks. Recycled, inaccurate and rebranded old news. Never happened."

Sheehan has signed with Metal Blade for the release of a new Talas studio album. Talas was active in the '70s and early '80s, officially releasing three albums: Talas (1979), Sink Your Teeth Into That (1982) and Live Speed On Ice (1983). A fourth album, tentatively titled Lights, Camera, Action was said to be in the works, but it never got past the demo stage due to Sheehan leaving to join David Lee Roth's solo band in 1985. Stay tuned for updates.

Hartke has released the video below, in which they kickback with Billy Sheehan to discuss his career, thoughts on music, practicing and playing technique. Billy also talks about moving to Nashville, improvisation and the importance for young musicians to listen to many different styles of music to become a well-rounded player.