~MUSIC IS WHAT FEELINGS SOUND LIKE~

"Happy 58th Birthday"

Michael Anthony...

Michael Anthony Sobolewski (born June 20, 1954), known professionally as Michael Anthony, is an American musician who is currently the bass player in the rock group Chickenfoot. Anthony is the former bass player for the hard rock band Van Halen.

Anthony is known for his stage antics, his effects-laden live solos, his number of custom-made bass guitars including a Jack Daniel's model shaped like a whiskey bottle, and his background vocals in Van Halen. He also has a signature Yamaha bass guitar series. In total, Anthony is known to have in excess of 150 bass guitars. In addition to his musical career with Van Halen and other acts, Anthony markets a line of hot sauces and related products named Mad Anthony.

Musical career begins

While Anthony was a promising catcher in baseball, he also competed on the Dana Junior High School track team (long jump) and played in the marching band there from 1967–1969. He took an interest in guitar as a teenager, but picked up the bass instead since most of his other friends already played guitar or drums. Anthony's friend Mike Hershey gave him a Fender Mustang electric guitar that Anthony converted by removing its top two strings and playing it as a bass guitar. Eventually, his father bought him a Victoria copy of a Fender Precision Bass and a Gibson amplifier. Anthony modeled his bass playing after Jack Bruce of Cream mostly, but also admired Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones and Harvey Brooks of Electric Flag. His first band was called Poverty's Children. Other bands he played in included Black Opal, Balls, and Snake. Although Anthony is naturally left-handed, he plays right-handed.

Snake, a three-piece group featuring Anthony on lead vocals and bass guitar, was the last band Mike played in before joining Van Halen. Snake played covers of ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Foghat, along with some original songs. They played a lot of the same types of gigs as did the Van Halen brothers' band Mammoth. Snake even opened for Mammoth at a show at Pasadena High School one night. Mammoth's PA failed that night, so Anthony lent them Snake's PA.

While attending Pasadena City College, Mike pursued a degree in music. Eddie Van Halen took classes there too and they would often see each other on campus. During this time, bass player Mark Stone parted ways with Mammoth and the Van Halens decided to audition Anthony as a replacement. Anthony was impressed by their skill during subsequent jam sessions even though he had seen the brothers play before. After the session, the Van Halen brothers asked Anthony to join their band. One story claims that he said he had to think about it and consulted Snake guitarist Tony Caggiano who advised Anthony to go ahead with joining Van Halen. However, according to Michael Anthony's web site, when asked if he wanted to join Mammoth, Anthony immediately said yes. This has become the accepted version of events.

Van Halen

In 1974, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth and Anthony became known as Van Halen, dropping the name Mammoth because they discovered that another local band was using that moniker. They were signed to Warner Brothers in 1977 and released their self titled debut album on February 8, 1978. Anthony's high vocal harmonies became a distinctive part of the Van Halen sound. The band released a total of ten studio albums from 1978–1995, along with a live album in 1993 and a compilation CD in 1996 that featured two previously unreleased songs.

Anthony has been married to his wife Sue since 1981. Both attended Arcadia High School and they have two daughters: Taylor (born 1992) and Elisha (born 1985). Anthony and his family reside in Newport Beach, California.

(Mike Anthony/Sobolewski & Family)

(Five-bedroom Tudor-style home is in the Silent Ranch Estates gated community.)

Diminishing role with Van Halen and side projects

As early as 1996, rumors periodically surfaced that Anthony had been fired from Van Halen. Despite claims to the contrary and his continued work with the band, these persisted until his final departure.

Anthony's involvement in the 1998 album Van Halen III was less than for previous albums. Anthony performed on only three songs; Eddie Van Halen recorded the others. Anthony is credited as a songwriter for the album along with the rest of the band as is always the case for Van Halen albums. Anthony performed with the band for the 1998 tour, and was credited for messages from the band thereafter. He participated in the band's three reunion attempts with David Lee Roth from 2000 through 2001. Anthony's name was also credited in a few band newsletters during this time, and he appeared in band interviews. Sometime after this, however, Anthony disappeared from public view until the 2004 reunion.

(Van Halen Tour '98 with Singer Gary Cherone)

In interviews, Eddie and Alex Van Halen suggested they were jamming and writing/recording new material during this time period but appeared to be working without Anthony.

Anthony began periodic appearances with Sammy Hagar during his solo tours. He usually played as part of both The Waboritas and Los Tres Gusanos, two of Sammy Hagar's bands. During 2002's David Lee Roth/Sammy Hagar tour, both Michael Anthony and ex-Van Halen vocalist Gary Cherone made guest appearances at concerts, sometimes together. Anthony never performed during Roth's segment however due to Roth's refusal to collaborate with Hagar or Anthony on stage.

In 2002, Anthony, Hagar, Neal Schon, Deen Castronovo, and Joe Satriani formed the "supergroup" Planet Us and Anthony began making more frequent performances at Sammy Hagar concerts. Planet Us recorded two songs, including "Psycho Vertigo," which was intended for the original Spider-Man soundtrack but ultimately did not make the album. That and the other Planet Us song written for the band, "Peephole," were later released on the 2008 Sammy Hagar solo album Cosmic Universal Fashion.

(Planet Us)

(M. Anthony & Sammy H.)

Van Halen reunion

Initially when Eddie and Alex asked Hagar to rejoin at the end of 2003 for a 2004 tour, the plan was not to invite Anthony back. Hagar, however, refused to perform if Anthony did not rejoin, and Anthony agreed to play but on a reduced royalties contract. The contract drawn up was for the duration of the tour only, with his role within the band resting in the hands of the Van Halen brothers thereafter. Throughout this time, and during the Van Halen III period, the public was unaware of Anthony's tenuous status within the band and was led to believe that he was still a full-time member.

In 2004, Van Halen released the compilation album The Best of Both Worlds which included three new songs. Anthony did not participate in the writing or play bass on the new songs and was not credited on the album for the new material (Anthony did sing backup vocals on all three tracks).

Anthony now states in media interviews that he has not spoken to the Van Halen brothers since the 2004 tour (except to Alex Van Halen at Van Halen drum-tech Greg Emerson's funeral). He has also speculated that since the brothers were not pleased with Hagar's commercial ventures such as the Cabo Wabo product line, their similar displeasure with Anthony's hot sauce brand may have caused the rift that ultimately separated Hagar and Anthony from the band.

(Sammy's Cabo Wabo Tequila line)

(Micheal Anthony's hot sauce brand)

Departure from Van Halen and formation of Chickenfoot

Anthony spent the Summer of 2006 touring as a member of The Other Half during a segment of the Sammy Hagar and the Waboritas tour. The Other Half featured Anthony and Hagar performing classic Van Halen songs from both the Roth and Hagar periods.

Sammy Hagar & the Wabos /

The Other Half / Mad Anthony Express

On September 8, 2006, Eddie Van Halen announced that his son Wolfgang was replacing Michael Anthony as Van Halen's bass player. On February 2, 2007, it was announced that Van Halen was reuniting for a tour with original vocalist David Lee Roth. The tour began on September 27, 2007. Anthony commented that he heard about his replacement "on the Internet" and stated, "I'm a little miffed that they're calling it a Van Halen reunion. If I was dead and they needed someone to play, that's one thing, but to me this is not a reunion." At the tour press conference David Lee Roth stated "this is not a reunion, this is a reformation".

Anthony joined his former band-mate Sammy Hagar on live national TV on February 25, 2007. During a pre-race performance for the California NASCAR race on Fox television, the bassist jumped onstage and joined Sammy Hagar during a performance of "I Can't Drive 55".

Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar were the only members, former or current, to appear at Van Halen's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 12, 2007. Eddie Van Halen was in rehab at the time, and Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth declined to appear.

Anthony is currently the bassist and backing vocalist for the band Chickenfoot with Sammy Hagar, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and guitarist Joe Satriani. The band released their first studio album in Europe on June 5, 2009, followed by the North American release on June 9. The world tour officially started May 14, 2009, in Seattle, WA at El Corazon. Anthony has stated that this group intends to continue with further albums and possible tours.

-Wikipedia.com

"Happy 62nd Birthday"

Ann Wilson...

Ann Dustin Wilson (born June 19, 1950) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, flute player, songwriter, and occasional guitar player of the rock band Heart.

Personal life

Wilson was born in San Diego, California. Her father was a colonel in the Marine Corps, and she moved frequently. Her family eventually settled in Bellevue, a suburb of Seattle, Washington. Shy because of a stutter, Wilson sought fulfillment in music. In the early 1970s she joined a local band, White Heart, which changed its name to Hocus Pocus, and then in 1974, to Heart.

During the 1970s, Ann Wilson was in a relationship with Michael Fisher, the manager of the band, while her younger sister Nancy was involved with lead guitarist Roger Fisher, Michael's younger brother. Both couples co-controlled the band. In 1979, both relationships ended; Ann stated that Michael had fallen in love with another woman and they parted. The song "Magic Man" was written about Michael and contains autobiographical lyrics about the beginning of their relationship.

(Heart beofre Ann & Nancy Joined, 1970~ LtoR ~Gary Ziegelman, LVox~Ron Rudge, Drums~Ken Hansen, Percussion~Roger Fisher, Gtr/Vox~Steve Fossen, Bass~James Cirrelllo, Gtr.)

Ann adopted her daughter Marie in 1991 and her son Dustin in 1998.

As a child, Ann was teased for being overweight. She revealed that in the 1970s and into the early 80's she would starve herself to stay thin. When Heart created a comeback in the mid-1980s, Ann had gained significant weight. Fearing it would compromise the band's image, record company executives and band members began pressuring her to lose weight. In music videos, camera angles and clothes were often used to minimize her weight, and more focus was put on her sister Nancy. Ann stated she began suffering from stress-related panic attacks due to the negative publicity surrounding her obesity. She underwent a weight-loss surgery called "adjustable gastric band" in January 2002 after what she calls "a lifelong battle" with her weight.

(Ann W. 1970's)

(Ann & Nancy, 1980's)

(Ann W. in the 80's)

Recording career

In 1974 Ann's younger sister Nancy joined Heart, and the band moved to Canada. Heart recorded their first album Dreamboat Annie in Vancouver in 1975; it was released in the United States in 1976.

In 1977 Little Queen was released, and in 1978, Dog & Butterfly.

Ann also sang the duet "Almost Paradise" with Mike Reno in the movie Footloose from 1984 which reached number seven on Billboard's Hot 100.

In 1986 she released a solo single from the movie "The Golden Child" called "The Best Man in the World" which reached number sixty-one in the U.S.

She also had a hit in 1988-89 called "Surrender to Me" which was a duet with Cheap Trick singer Robin Zander, taken from the film Tequila Sunrise which reached number six in the U.S. singles chart.

In 1992 Ann appeared on Alice in Chains' EP Sap; she did vocals for "Brother", "Am I Inside" and "Love Song". In 1993, Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley contributed to vocals on "Ring Them Bells," a Bob Dylan cover from Heart's album Desire Walks On. In addition, Alice in Chains bassist Mike Inez and touring guitarist Scott Olson appeared on Heart's 2003 release Alive in Seattle.

Ann and Nancy started a recording studio, Bad Animals, in Seattle in the mid-1990s.

They formed a side band, The Lovemongers, which performed "The Battle of Evermore" on the 1992 soundtrack to the Cameron Crowe (Nancy's then husband) movie Singles, and later released a four-song EP. The Lovemongers' debut album Whirlygig was released in 1997.

Solo career

In 2006 Ann began recording her first solo album, Hope & Glory, produced by Ben Mink, and released by the Rounder (Zoe) Music Group on September 11, 2007. That same year, she and sister Nancy were on stage for a series of concerts in Las Vegas. Hope & Glory features guest appearances from Elton John, k.d. lang, Alison Krauss, Gretchen Wilson, Shawn Colvin, Rufus Wainwright, Wynonna Judd and Deana Carter. Ann's sister, Nancy, also contributed. Four singles were released from the project, "Little Problems, Little Lies", "Isolation" and "Immigrant Song".

The Hope & Glory version of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" is available on Ann's official MySpace page, and charted as "the #9 most podcasted song of 2007" on the PMC Top10's annual countdown. Ann's powerful, piercing voice led many to refer to her as "the female Robert Plant" (Led Zeppelin's lead vocalist).

Ann joined producer Alan Parsons in the 2001 live tribute tour to Beatles music called A Walk Down Abbey Road.