To Michael Anthony, one of the main things that stuck out about Eddie Van Halen was his humility.

Speaking to Chad Tyson of 105.9 The Brew in Portland, Ore., the former Van Halen bassist said that his ex-bandmate was "a very humble guy. He never let the fame or stardom or all the accolades that he acquired playing guitar go to his head. He always just considered himself a guy who played guitar, and that was really special about him."

Anthony, who split with Van Halen after the 2004 tour, when he was required to give up his stake in the band before he could step on stage with them, repeated what he said earlier in the week about calling Alex Van Halen and exchanging a few texts with Eddie's son Wolfgang. He also offered his encouragement for what Wolfgang, who replaced him in the band, is doing in his burgeoning solo career.

"It's really cool what Wolfgang did with his song 'Distance,' Anthony continued. "And I wish him the best of luck with the album. It's a hard time right now for somebody to come out with a new album, a new band, or whatever, but I know he'll do well with it when he can get it all out there."

Since his departure from Van Halen, Anthony has continued to work with Sammy Hagar, who split with Van Halen at the same time, in both Chickenfoot and the Circle. The latter band just released Lockdown 2020, a collection of 11 tracks - mostly covers and Hagar's Van Halen songs - that they've performed remotely and uploaded to YouTube. Anthony added that Hagar is putting together touring plans for this year so that, "As soon as they lift anything, if we can get out there and play, we're gonna be hitting the road."

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