It was fun while it lasted, but it never seemed real to me. I could not believe I was in Van Halen.

I have a little history. I met Stone Temple Pilots, and their guitar player was a huge Extreme fan. Somewhere down the road, Extreme made its statement.

If I had had a chance to tour with Van Halen before the record, I think it would have been a different record.

When I was in Van Halen I was hitting notes that were out of my range. I never went for those registers before until Eddie pulled it out of me.

I tried to stick with what I knew best, which is writing rock n' roll songs and melodies. I am as passionate as I was when I was 20.

The voices on the record, that was trying to treat my voice like guitar players treat guitar tones.

Michael Anthony is the Diplomat of Rock N Roll. He is the regular guy.