Steel Panther Singer Wants Michael Anthony Back in Van Halen

Van Halen’s reunion with David Lee Roth is incomplete without Michael Anthony. At least that’s what Michael Starr, the lead singer of heavy-metal raunch purveyors Steel Panther said in a recent interview.

Speaking to Australia’s Rabid Noise podcast (which you can listen to below) in advance of their appearance at the Soundwave Festival, Starr, whose real name is Ralph Saenz, spoke of his preference for Anthony over Wolfgang Van Halen: “If you're gonna do a Van Halen reunion, you can't have your son playing bass. You've gotta have Michael Anthony in there.”

Calling Anthony “probably one of the most underrated bass players ever,” Starr also raved about him as a person. “Back in the day, we jammed with Michael Anthony three or four times,” he continued. “And I got to know him really well and his daughter, and he is the most down-to-earth, normal dude — just a great guy.”

It’s pretty clear which side of the Roth vs. Sammy Hagar debate Starr is on. He said that Van Halen’s early period was “my main influence,” and recalled having dinner with Roth around 1990 or so. "The funny thing about David Lee Roth is, when I sat down with him and I had that dinner with him, that guy is the same dude onstage when he's offstage. He never changes. That guy didn't stop talking for two hours. It was killer."

Steel Panther made news last week when they released their own commentary on Kanye West’s actions at this year’s Grammys. They uploaded a video to their Facebook account in which they said West's music sounded like “hamster turds” and “donkey farts.”

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