Fan-filmed video of SAMMY HAGAR & THE CIRCLE performing the VAN HALEN classics “Runnin’ With The Devil” and “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” live this past Saturday, February 12 as part of Hagar’s 2022 “Sammy Hagar & Friends” residency at The STRAT Hotel, Casino & SkyPod can be seen below. Handling lead vocals on the David Lee Roth-era VH songs was THE CIRCLE’s Michael Anthony, who was also a member of VAN HALEN’s classic lineup.

In a 2014 interview with the “Lamont And Tonelli Show”, which airs on the Bay Area rock station 107.7 The Bone, Anthony was told by the radio hosts that he is such a great lead singer in his own right that he could probably front his own band. “Yeah, you know, but I don’t need that kind of pressure on me,” he responded. “Lead singers, they’re their own breed.”

He added: “It wasn’t until the fourth or fifth VAN HALEN record that people would go, ‘Wow! You’re singing backgrounds on those records. That’s not David Lee Roth.’ And I go, ‘Hell, no! That’s not David Lee Roth.'”

Asked which classic VAN HALEN song he would pick to sing lead vocals on, if he had to choose one, Anthony said: “Ahh…. Oh my God… I sang ‘Somebody Get Me A Doctor’. That actually goes over quite well. But I don’t know… Man, I’d sing any of ’em. I could sing any of that crap. C’mon! I can sing it all. [Laughs]”

Back in 2013, VAN HALEN singer David Lee Roth spoke to Rolling Stone magazine about the touchy subject of Anthony potentially replacing then-VAN HALEN bassist — and Eddie Van Halen’s son — Wolfgang Van Halen. He said: “Ed has his own vision, I’m assuming. We haven’t really been able to speak about it and it’s a disappointment, just as not having a chance for a reunion of the original band. Clearly, vocals are every bit as much a component of success as a rhythm section or a guitar solo… What we have at our fingertips is arguably one of the greatest high tenor voices ever — that was in Michael Anthony. In our tiny little corner of the universe, that voice is as identifiable as the high voice in EARTH, WIND & FIRE, as identifiable as the high voice in the BEACH BOYS. VAN HALEN is an indelicate house blend of both — that’s intentionally.”

In October 2011, Sammy Hagar accused VAN HALEN of using tapes of backing vocals originally done by Anthony on its 2007/2008 reunion tour, for which Anthony was replaced by Wolfgang. Hagar told Attention Deficit Delirium, “Those vocal harmonies on the last tour were Mike on tape. Mike should’ve reamed them for it. Wolfie don’t sing like that, and Ed sure as hell don’t. Go on the Internet and listen to Ed’s voice live from the reunion with me. Hear him sing on ‘When It’s Love’ and some of those songs. Ed can’t sing, and his voice is shot if he can, from cigarettes and booze anyway.”

Anthony and Hagar both last played with VAN HALEN on a 2004 reunion tour that ended acrimoniously. Both later claimed that Anthony was booted from VAN HALEN for maintaining a friendship and working relationship with Hagar.

A few years ago, Hagar told The Pulse Of Radio that he thinks VAN HALEN made a grave mistake leaving Anthony out of the reunion tour with Roth. “Anyone in their right mind would know if you’re gonna get Roth back finally. after all these abortions they’ve had, you get Mikey and you do the reunion tour, what the world really was waiting for. Not just fuck it up again. It’s almost like they don’t care about their fans. They just want to badger them until — see how much they’ll take.”

METALLICA and the San Francisco Giants will hold the eighth annual “Metallica Night” on Tuesday, May 24 at Oracle Park — formerly AT&T Park — in San Francisco.

METALLICA said: “It’s a tradition that we’ve missed the last two seasons, so we’re really excited for the return of Metallica Night at Oracle Park with our hometown baseball team, the San Francisco Giants. This year marks the eighth time we’ll take the field for the National Anthem, first pitch, and a few other pre-game shenanigans, and it all takes place on Tuesday, May 24th against the New York Mets.

“Special Event Metallica packages include a ticket to the game and a limited-edition METALLICA/Giants T-shirt; a portion of the proceeds from every Metallica Night Special Event ticket sold will benefit All Within My Hands. Tickets will be on sale this Wednesday, February 16th at 8 AM PST for Giants season ticket holders and Visa cardholders with single-game tickets on sale to the public Friday, February 18th at 8 AM time.

“Visit the Giants’ Special Events page for more information. We look forward to seeing you at the yard for another exciting season of Giants baseball!”

At previous “Metallica Night” events, METALLICA guitarists Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield performed the national anthem before drummer Lars Ulrich threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Hetfield had said about the yearly event: “We’re blessed to be doing this every year and being a part of the vibe here. You know, when times are good, when times are bad, they need the support.”

Hammett added: “It’s great. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a good opportunity for us to interact with our home team, hometown, and interact with the people of the Bay Area in San Francisco. And for me, it’s a lot of fun to be able to play the national anthem.”

Hammett told ESPN.com that he feels the version of the national anthem he plays is “really unique and different,” and it’s great that he can play it for his home team and hometown audience.

METALLICA has always kept strong ties to the Bay Area sports scene: the band has also performed before Golden State Warriors basketball games and San Jose Sharks hockey games.

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Witness how light guitars produce big, chunky tones thanks to a pair of blaring British-brawler amps and a hearty pedalboard.Behind the moody makeup, angsty energy, arena-level production, rebellious revelry, and 20 empty Marshall cabs blasting flood lights is a legit modern rock band. And behind the band’s charismatic leader Yungblud (aka Dominic Richard Harrison) is its producer, songwriter, and bona fide riff assassin Adam Warrington. Armed with a handful of Gibsons, a Gretsch, and an MIM Jazzmaster, he is a mortar of might.Before Yungblud’s redlining, headlining show at Nashville’s legendary Ryman Auditorium on January 29, Warrington gave PG’s Chris Kies some quality time to detail his artillery. During the interview, he explains why he lives by this advice: “If you love a guitar, don’t change it.” Plus, he reveals how his Box of Doom iso cab has become an integral ingredient, and walks us through a recent pedalboard rebuild that occurred after his previous stomp station was stolen from his London flat.[Brought to you by D’Addario Nexxus 360 Rechargeable Tuner: http://ddar.io/Nexxus.RigRundown]Solid GuitarFor the Life on Mars tour now crisscrossing the United States, Yungblud guitarist Adam Warrington’s No. 1 was this 2018 Gibson SG Standard that’s completely stock. (He did have a single fret replaced after it was ripped out when colliding with a drum riser in Las Vegas.) Originally owned by bandleader Yungblud (aka Dominic Harrison), the guitar was commandeered and kept by Warrington. He’s been favoring the black bombshell on this run for its beefy tone and the slender frame that allows him to “jump about” onstage without compacting any vertebrae. His main ride stays in standard tuning and takes Ernie Ball 2015 Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Slinkys (.010–.052).Mr. Brown“This was my favorite guitar [before acquiring the SG] and it probably still is, but I don’t play it as much because it’s quite noisy in the States,” admits Warrington. The problem child is a Gibson Custom Shop ES-335 that is loaded with P-90s that are coil-tapped. The semi-hollowbody is finished in a glossy, caramelly translucent brown. He almost put a Bigsby on it, but a friend reminded him that “if you love a guitar, don’t change it,” so it’s remained the same. This one sees stage time for the quieter numbers that require him to dial back the volume for a more acoustic, jangly sound.Les Paul, More Glue“I’m a massive Jimmy Page fan and this is the closest I could get to his guitar.” The more affordable approximation is this 2001 Gibson Les Paul Standard that has earned all its scar tissue riding hard with Warrington. About a month after purchasing it, he was performing with Yungblud and blasting overhead fluorescent lights revealed the guitar was sold to him with a neck repair. This wasn’t disclosed to Warrington at the time of purchase, but to test matters, he broke the headstock a second time when it fell off his bed. He claims the guitar sounds better than ever after two neck repairs.Ready for Your Close-Up?Here’s an intimate view of the burst smiling wide off Warrington’s Les Paul.Ready for Your Close-Up?Here’s an intimate view of the burst smiling wide off Warrington’s Les Paul.Casey JonesWarrington has named this LP “Casey Jones.” No, the Scot isn’t a devoted Deadhead or a railroad buff, but it’s the name of the weed strain he bought in Amsterdam shortly after scooping this guitar at Denmark Street Guitars in London.Surf the JetstreamThis stylish, tuxedo of a guitar is a Gretsch G6128T-89VS Vintage Select ’89 Duo Jet with Bigsby that makes a name for itself during shows for any songs in D-standard or drop-C tunings. To help keep tension equal to the standard-tuned guitars, the Duo Jet gets wrapped with Ernie Ball 2026 Not Even Slinky Paradigms (.012–.056).Jammin’ on the JazzmasterThis 2010s Fender Classic Player Jazzmaster Special is probably Warrington’s longest 6-string friend. To give his MIM offset a unique look, he swapped out the tortoiseshell pickguard for a mint green and took off the cream knobs and replaced them with black witch-hat controls. Aside from removing the jazz circuit (he kept accidentally knocking it into rhythm mode), everything else about the guitar is stock and he typically plays it with Ernie Ball 2027 Beefy Slinky Paradigms (.011–.054).A Bass for BenAdam Warrington’s guitar tech Ben Jackson tends to instrument maintenance in the shadows, but each night he puts on this Iron Lung BJ5000 to perform one song alongside Warrington. (Yungblud typically performs as a three-piece, with guitars, drums, and no bass.) This beauty was handbuilt by 21-year-old budding luthier Josh Warner, who shadowed Jackson as a tech assistant on a previous U.K. tour. This ’70s J bass replica was a token of his appreciation. He constructed everything (including the pickguard) and only outsourced the hardware, tuners, and knobs, and obviously didn’t wind the Seymour Duncan SJB-3 Quarter Pound J-Bass pickups.British BrawlersAdam’s setup features a Hiwatt Custom 20 and a Marshall Bluesbreaker Model 1962 reissue. The Hiwatt works in conjunction with a Dr. Z Brake Lite attenuator and PDI 03 JB Joe Bonamassa Signature Model guitar speaker sim DI box. The JTM runs into a Box of Doom Basic iso box, outfitted with a single Celestion G12H-150 Redback. Both amps are running red hot, which causes Ben to replace the Hiwatt’s EL84s several times during a long tour. And these amps are panned in Adam’s in-ears (left has Hiwatt and right has Marshall).Red MenaceSeen from the moon are Yungblud’s wall of red Marshall cabs. The stage props are just spray-painted Marshall 4×12 shells that house flood lights for dramatic blasts of millions of lumens!This is Adam Warrington’s second pedalboard build since backing Yungblud. The first iteration was stolen from his London flat. This version is close to the original and retains a Boss ES-8 Effects Switching System as the brains of the operation. His guitar hits the Dunlop Echoplex Preamp EP101, DigiTech Whammy, and then an Ibanez WH10V3 Classic Reissue Wah. After that, everything routes through the ES-8. That’s an Electro-Harmonix POG, two JHS Pedals (Crayon and Muffuletta), ZVEX Super Hard On, Fulltone ’70 BC-108C Fuzz, and a trio of Boss big boys (RV-500 Reverb, DD-500 Digital Delay, and MD-500 Modulation). And all of Warrington’s guitars are kept in check with a Boss TU-3s Chromatic Tuner.

Billy Howerdel, the critically acclaimed songwriter and multi-instrumentalist behind A PERFECT CIRCLE, will make his solo debut with a February 23 performance at #Happens Las Vegas.

The outing will give fans their first taste of the Howerdel’s upcoming album with the collection’s first single, “Poison Flowers”, slated for a March 4 release via Alchemy Recordings/BMG.

Howerdel explains: “This new album was birthed while on tour with A PERFECT CIRCLE. A weird blend of confidence, vulnerability and mortality urgently compelled me to write a letter of sorts in the form of an album.”

Joining Howerdel for the performance will be Josh Freese (DEVO, THE VANDALS, NINE INCH NAILS, A PERFECT CIRCLE, GUNS N’ ROSES), Danny Lohner (NINE INCH NAILS), Kaela Sinclair (M83) and Kevin Maher (FAKE SHARK).

#Happens is an organically driven, rock and alternative new music experience that brings together artists, radio programmers, label executives, and streaming experts over a three-day conference that encourages thought-provoking conversations and dynamic performances against the colorful backdrop of downtown Las Vegas. Howerdel’s performance is part of the opening-night party, which is open to the public.

Howerdel has perhaps one of rock music’s most well-rounded and interesting resumes. Growing up in West Milford, New Jersey, he spent hours listening to WLIR emanating out of Long Island, New York. Lying in bed, he would scribble down playlists and then scout out the records he loved in stores, among them THE CURE, ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN, DEAD KENNEDYS and Elvis Costello. However, it was the experience of seeing PINK FLOYD at Giants Stadium that triggered his lust for finding a way to work in the music industry. Howerdel initially racked up experience in stage lighting, working for almost any band or theater production that would ask, while at the same time devoting the rest of his free time to practicing guitar. A few years of work led to a chance meeting with FISHBONE, a move west and quickly becoming a sought-after road and studio tech, working with David Bowie, GUNS N’ ROSES, NINE INCH NAILS, and — oh, yeah — being roommates with TOOL’s Maynard James Keenan. It was that friendship that birthed the multi-platinum alternative rock supergroup A PERFECT CIRCLE.

Photo courtesy of Billy Howerdel