(antiMusic) Michael Anthony has addressed his absence from the Van Halen reunion tour, saying simply that he wasn't invited to take part and he also encourages fans not to judge his replacement too harshly as he is sure that Wolfgang will do just fine. While Dave, Alex, Eddie and Wolfgang hit the road this fall, Anthony will be joining former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar for a tour with their band aptly titled "The Other Half". But with news of the reunion and what some see as snubs of the former Van Halen bassist, Anthony felt it was time to speak out publicly about the reunion tour. Here is what he had to say on his blog: "First of all, I hope all of you are having a great Summer!! I want to thank everyone for all the support you're shown me during the past months. It's all been pretty crazy, and I just wanted to bring you all up to speed. A lot of you have been asking about the upcoming Van Halen tour and my response to it. It's not that I'm not touring with Van Halen because I'm going out with Sammy (Hagar). I'm going out with Sammy because I was not invited to do the VH tour.
"Sammy told me that if I was asked to be part of the VH tour and decided to do it, it would be totally cool, and it would not tarnish our friendship in the least!! Well it's not to be, and life goes on. I'll still be out there with Sam, and I can't wait to do some partying with all of you.
"One last note from myself to all the Van Halen fans out there who will be attending their shows...Wolfgang (Van Halen) is a great kid, so don't judge him too harshly. I'm sure he'll do just fine!!"
