Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth is definitely happy to be back with the group, but does have a few concerns about how things have worked out for the band. Among them is his desire to have original bassist Michael Anthony back in the lineup.

Roth told Rolling Stone in a new interview, "Ed [Van Halen] has his own vision [about the future], 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 of a component of success as a rhythm section or guitar solo, and there's an old expression saying, 'They don't go home singing the lighting show, they don't go home singing the production.'"

He added, "They sing my words and my melodies and 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 identifiable as the high voice in Earth, Wind & Fire, as identifiable as the high voice in the Beach Boys."

Michael Anthony has been replaced by Eddie Van Halen's son Wolfgang for the band's latest incarnation.

As for the writing potential, the singer admits that the work from their last album, 'A Different Kind of Truth,' mostly incorporates demos form their early days. He add he looks forward to working with Eddie Van Halen on new music, but so far the opportunity hasn't presented itself.

Roth also stated that he would like to see Van Halen expand their outreach to cover more countries around the world, but so far they've mostly been focused on North America. He added that he and drummer Alex Van Halen have been doing their best to break down some of the barriers of being a veteran hard rock act and that they would love to be part of the festival scene, playing Coachella, Glastonbury, Reading and other major festival events.

He explained, "We keep being shuttled into the heavy metal world, and that's a very exclusive neighborhood. But here we are -- we're back knocking on doors begging for Bonnaroo and begging for Lollapalooza and Coachella, not even as an advancement of career, but there's a whole new audience who don't know and doesn't give a s--- about Van Halen, and that's exactly the best audience to sharpen your spirit on."

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