Alex Van Halen says Van Halen reached out to Michael Anthony about 2006 David Lee Roth reunion

By Jill Lances May 13, 2026 | 1:15 PM

Drummer Alex Van Halen of Van Halen performs during the 2015 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 17, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Alex Van Halen is setting the record straight about not having Michael Anthony in Van Halen for their 2006 reunion with original frontman David Lee Roth.

In an interview with the Brazilian outlet KazaGastão, Alex says that when the band decided to reunite with Roth they reached out to Anthony, but wound up going with Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang Van Halen when Anthony didn’t respond.

“We did call,” Alex says. “To put the record straight, we did call Mike cause we owed him that, and we did call, he just didn’t answer.”

“You know, and I’m not angry at him, I love Mike,” he adds, noting that he was his “drinking buddy.”

Alex says Wolfgang wound up getting the gig because he impressed him and Eddie in the studio.

“People think … that there’s family influences in how he became part of the band, which is just simply not true,” he says.

Anthony’s last tour with Van Halen was their 2004 reunion tour with Sammy Hagar. Anthony is currently playing with Hagar on his The Best of All Worlds Tour, which has Hagar performing a set filled with Va Halen classics. The next U.S. leg launches June 13 in St. Louis.