On January 26th at the NAMM Convention in Anaheim, California, former Van Halen bassist Micheal Anthony was interviewed by Sally Steele of Vegas Rocks! An excerpt from the video below has been transcribed as follows:

When asked if he ever felt that Eddie Van Halen's son, Wolfgang Van Halen, was being groomed for his spot in Van Halen, Anthony replied, "No. Look what his Dad does, you know he was gonna be in the business somehow. As far as him being groomed for my spot, I have no idea if that's what Eddie was thinking at any point."

When asked if Alex, Eddie, and David will ever kiss and make up, Michael answered, "I'm always a never say never guy. But at this point, I'm very happy with what I'm doing. I'm having a great time. And if something happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't, at this point."

On February 13th, former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar, who has continued to work with Anthony in Chickenfoot and The Circle, guested on Trunk Nation and discussed the rumours. Check out the interview below.

Hagar: "As usual, Mike's hearing about it through the news, just like the way he heard about when Wolfie (Van Halen) replaced him back in 2007. It was, like, 'Oh, I guess I'm not in Van Halen anymore.' He read about it instead of these knuckleheads giving him a call and just being straight up front with him. So Mikey's still sitting in that same position again to where all these rumors are going around."

Whether or not it's gonna materialize (a Van Halen reunion), I wouldn't have a clue; it's nothing to do with me. But I told Mike, 'If this happens, you freakin' have my blessings. You go do this. You're a founding member in that band.' And for the fans, he needs to do it. He is the missing element right now. If you want my opinion, without Mike, it just doesn't seem quite the same. Mikey, he's the flag bearer; he walks out there with the flag, the VH flag. He holds it high, like the guy in the cavalry. And he's a special guy and he has my blessings. And when they're done, The Circle will go back out... if they do it, if it happens.

Mike and I have had the conversation. I'm telling you, Mike don't know shit. They're gonna have to eventually… somebody's gonna have to give the guy a call. I mean, he got a call six months ago from (Van Halen's) management saying, 'Are you interested?' And he said, 'Yeah. I'm doing a record with Sammy right now. We're booking shows, so you'd have to work around it.' And they said, 'Okay. We'll get back to you.' And that was it. I can tell you that much."

Sammy Hagar & The Circle - featuring Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, Jason Bonham and Vic Johnson - recently released their new single, "Trust Fund Baby". The song is the first single from the band's debut original album, Space Between, out May 10th via BMG.

Stream or download the single here, and watch a lyric video below:

The band will mount a large-scale tour of North America in support of the new album, in the spring of 2019. Stay tuned for further details.

(Photo - Leah Steiger)