Hagar The Happy.

SAMMY HAGAR: Van Halen's Loss Is Chickenfoot's Gain

Sammy Hagar says Van Halen's decision to boot bassist Michael Anthony out of the band in 2007 and continue on with Eddie Van Halen's son Wolfgang is a "complete loss."

Anthony now plays in Chickenfoot with Hagar, who goes onto say, "He's playing his ass off in this band. He never played like this in Van Halen. Eddie doesn't even realize what a great bass player he had...and that is his complete loss. I remember recording in Van Halen and Eddie was always saying, 'Just play eighth notes.' And he would play all this stuff and Mike's just going, 'boom, boom, boom, boom.' Boy, Mike's really capable of playing more than that, and he never found out."

Hagar, Anthony and Chickenfoot will hit the road in the spring while Eddie, Wolfgang and the rest of Van Halen hit Chicago tonight (Friday).