Michael Anthony (musician) (1996-2003) Diminishing role with Van Halen and side projects What was his role in Van Halen? Anthony played bass on only three songs,
what caused his role to start diminishing?
What caused Michael Anthony's role in Van Halen to start diminishing?
As early as 1996, rumors periodically surfaced that Anthony had been fired from Van Halen, despite claims to the contrary. He continued working with the band. These rumors persisted until his final departure after the 2004 reunion tour with Hagar.  Anthony's involvement in recording the 1998 album Van Halen III was dramatically less than previous albums. Anthony played bass on only three songs, with Eddie Van Halen playing the bass parts for the remainder. Anthony is credited as a songwriter for the album along with the rest of the band, as is always the case for Van Halen albums. Anthony performed with the band for the 1998 tour, and was credited on messages from the band thereafter. He participated in the band's three reunion efforts with David Lee Roth in 2000 and 2001. Anthony's name was also credited in a few band newsletters and appeared in band interviews during this time. Sometime after this, Anthony disappeared from public view until the 2004 reunion.  In interviews, Eddie and Alex Van Halen suggested they were jamming and writing/recording new material during this time period but appeared to be working without Anthony.  Anthony began periodic appearances with Sammy Hagar during his solo tours. He usually played as part of both the Waboritas and Los Tres Gusanos, two of Hagar's bands. During 2002's David Lee Roth/Sammy Hagar tour, both Michael Anthony and ex-Van Halen vocalist Gary Cherone made guest appearances at concerts, sometimes together.  In 2002, Anthony, Hagar, Neal Schon, Deen Castronovo, and Joe Satriani formed the "supergroup" Planet Us and Anthony began making more frequent performances at Sammy Hagar concerts. Planet Us recorded two songs, including "Psycho Vertigo," which was intended for the original Spider-Man soundtrack but ultimately did not make the album. That and the other Planet Us song written for the band, "Peephole," were later released on the 2008 Sammy Hagar solo album Cosmic Universal Fashion. CANNOTANSWER
As early as 1996, rumors periodically surfaced that Anthony had been fired from Van Halen, despite claims to the contrary.
Michael Anthony Sobolewski (born June 20, 1954) is an American musician who was the bassist and backing vocalist for the hard rock band Van Halen from 1974 to 2006. He performed on Van Halen's first 11 albums and was their longest-tenured bassist. Following his 2006 departure, Anthony has collaborated with fellow former Van Halen bandmate Sammy Hagar for the supergroups Chickenfoot and Sammy Hagar and the Circle. In addition to his music career, he markets a line of hot sauces named Mad Anthony and related products. Anthony was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Van Halen in 2007.

Early years 
Anthony got his interest in music from his father, who played trumpet. Anthony began by playing trumpet.

Anthony was partly raised in Chicago. The family moved to California twice in Anthony's early years, settling in 1966 in Arcadia, California (Arcadia being located next to Pasadena, where Alex and Edward Van Halen, with whom Anthony would later play in the band Van Halen, were raised). Anthony attended Dana Junior High School, in Arcadia, California, from 1967 to 1969.  Anthony was in the marching band at the school. He ran track in junior high and also showed promise in baseball, as a catcher, but by the time he started high school he had ceased doing athletics to concentrate on music.

Anthony graduated from Arcadia High in 1972.

Music career

(1967–1974) Early musical endeavors 

Anthony took an interest in guitar as a teenager, but picked up the bass instead since most of his other friends already played guitar or drums. Anthony's friend Mike Hershey gave him a Fender Mustang electric guitar that Anthony converted by removing the two highest strings and playing it as a bass guitar. Eventually, his father bought him a Victoria copy of a Fender Precision Bass and a Gibson amplifier. Anthony mostly modelled his bass playing after Jack Bruce of Cream, but also admired Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones and Harvey Brooks of Electric Flag. His first band was called Poverty's Children. Other bands he played in included Black Opal, Balls, and Snake. Although Anthony is naturally left-handed, he plays right-handed.

Snake, a three-piece group featuring Anthony on lead vocals and bass guitar, was the last band in which Anthony played before joining Van Halen. Snake played covers of ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Foghat, along with some original songs. They played several of the same types of gigs as did the Van Halen brothers' band Mammoth. Snake once opened for Mammoth during a show at Pasadena High School. Mammoth's PA failed that night, so Anthony lent them Snake's PA.

While attending Pasadena City College, majoring in music, Anthony met Eddie Van Halen, who also took classes there. During this time, bass player Mark Stone parted ways with Mammoth and the Van Halens auditioned Anthony as a replacement. Anthony was impressed by their skill during subsequent jam sessions even though he had heard the brothers play before. After the session, the Van Halen brothers asked Anthony to join their band. One story claims that he first consulted Snake guitarist Tony Caggiano, who advised Anthony to join up with the guitar prodigy and his brother. However, according to Anthony's web site, he immediately accepted. This has become the accepted version of events.

Anthony had planned to attend college in Santa Barbara after he graduated from Pasadena City College, but instead he dropped out of PCC just before he earned enough credits for a degree so that he could devote all his time to Van Halen.

(1974–1996) Van Halen 

In 1974, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth and Anthony became known as Van Halen, dropping the name Mammoth when they discovered another local band using that moniker. After successfully navigating the Los Angeles & West Hollywood club scene and a 29 track demo produced by Kiss's Gene Simmons, Van Halen was signed to Warner Bros. in 1977 and released their self-titled debut album on February 10, 1978. Anthony was a 20% member (manager Noel Monk being the 5th) of all debts and profits, including merchandise, until midway through the 1984 tour, when tensions rose to the point that Roth and the Van Halen brothers insisted that he sign away all future songwriting credit and royalties, retroactive with the current 1984 LP. Noel Monk later wrote of the event, "If I were Mike, I would have told them to 'fuck off' and not played that night, to show them my worth. Instead Mike didn't say a word and signed away millions of dollars, as the three stood over him, lying on the floor."

The band released a total of ten studio albums from 1978 - 1995, a live album in 1993, as well as two greatest hits compilations during Anthony's tenure with the band.

Anthony produced a 1988 demo for his brother (Robert Lee Sobolewski) Bobby Leigh's band Asylum Suite, which was formed in 1984 and featured singer Michael Thomas Fiore.

(1996–2003) Diminishing role with Van Halen and side projects 

As early as 1996, rumors periodically surfaced that Anthony had been fired from Van Halen, despite claims to the contrary. Anthony continued working with the band although the rumors persisted until his actual departure following the 2004 reunion tour with Hagar.

Anthony's involvement in recording the 1998 album Van Halen III was dramatically less than previous albums. Anthony played bass on three songs, with Eddie playing the bass parts for the remainder. Anthony is credited as a songwriter for the album along with the rest of the band. Anthony performed with the band for the 1998 tour, and was credited on messages from the band thereafter. He participated in the band's three reunion efforts with David Lee Roth in 1996, 2000 and 2001 (with the latter resulting in early versions of A Different Kind of Truth tracks). Anthony's name was also credited in a few band newsletters and appeared in band interviews during this time. Sometime after this, Anthony disappeared from public view until the 2004 reunion.

Anthony began periodic appearances with Sammy Hagar during his solo tours. He usually played as part of both the Waboritas and Los Tres Gusanos, two of Hagar's bands. During 2002's Roth/Hagar tour (otherwise known as the "Sans Halen" or "Sam and Dave" tour), both Anthony and ex-Van Halen vocalist Gary Cherone made guest appearances at concerts, sometimes together.

In 2002, Anthony, Hagar, Neal Schon, Deen Castronovo, and Joe Satriani formed the supergroup Planet Us and Anthony began making more frequent performances at Hagar concerts. Planet Us recorded two songs, including "Psycho Vertigo", which was intended for the original Spider-Man soundtrack but ultimately did not make the album. That and the other Planet Us song written for the band, "Peephole", were later released on the 2008 Hagar solo album Cosmic Universal Fashion.

(2003–2005) Van Halen reunion 
Initially when Eddie and Alex asked Hagar to rejoin at the end of 2003 for a 2004 tour, the plan was to not invite Anthony back. Hagar, however, refused to perform if Anthony did not rejoin, and Anthony agreed to play but on a reduced royalties contract. The contract drawn up was for the duration of the tour only.

In 2004, Van Halen released the compilation album The Best of Both Worlds which included three new songs. Anthony did not participate in the writing of nor did he play bass on the new songs and was not credited on the album for the new material, although he did sing backup vocals on all of them.

Anthony now states in media interviews that he has not spoken to the Van Halen brothers since the 2004 tour, except to Alex at the funeral of Van Halen drum tech Greg Emerson. He has also speculated that since the brothers were not pleased with Hagar's commercial ventures such as the Cabo Wabo product line, their similar displeasure with Anthony's hot sauce brand may have caused the rift that ultimately separated Hagar and Anthony from the band.

(2006–present) Departure from Van Halen and formation of Chickenfoot 
Anthony spent the summer of 2006 touring as a member of the Other Half during a segment of the Sammy Hagar and the Waboritas tour. The Other Half featured Anthony and Hagar performing classic Van Halen songs from both the Roth and Hagar periods.

On September 8, 2006, Eddie Van Halen announced that his son Wolfgang was replacing Anthony as Van Halen's bass player. On February 2, 2007, Van Halen announced that they were reuniting for a tour with original vocalist David Lee Roth. Their tour began on September 27, 2007.  Anthony commented that he heard about his replacement "on the Internet" and added, "I'm a little miffed that they're calling it a Van Halen reunion. If I was dead and they needed someone to play, that's one thing, but to me this is not a reunion." At the tour press conference David Lee Roth stated, "This is not a reunion, this is a revision."

Anthony joined Hagar on live national television on February 25, 2007, during a pre-race performance for the California NASCAR race on Fox television. Anthony jumped onstage and joined Hagar during a performance of "I Can't Drive 55."

Anthony and Hagar were the only members, former or current, to appear at Van Halen's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 12, 2007. Eddie Van Halen was in rehab at the time, and Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth declined to appear.

Anthony is a founding member, bassist and backing vocalist for the band Chickenfoot with Sammy Hagar, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and guitarist Joe Satriani. The band released their first studio album in Europe on June 5, 2009, followed by the North American release on June 9. Chickenfoot released their sophomore effort, Chickenfoot III, on September 27, 2011.

Anthony is a member of Sammy Hagar and the Circle, a supergroup that formed in 2014 and features Hagar as well as guitarist Vic Johnson and drummer Jason Bonham.

Personal life
Anthony met Sue Hendry when both attended Arcadia High School. They married in 1981. They have two daughters: Elisha (born 1985) and Taylor (born 1992). Anthony and his family reside in Newport Beach, California. He can be seen during televised car shows, often being interviewed regarding his love and knowledge for classic motorcycles and cars.

Anthony mostly stayed on the sidelines of the rockstar "party hard" lifestyle, though he was often seen and photographed with a cigarette and a Jack Daniel's (whiskey logo) bass guitar.

Discography

with Van Halen
Van Halen (1978)
Van Halen II (1979)
Women and Children First (1980)
Fair Warning (1981)
Diver Down (1982)
1984 (1984)
5150 (1986)
OU812 (1988)
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)
Balance (1995)
Van Halen III (1998)

with Chickenfoot
Chickenfoot (2009)
Chickenfoot III (2011)

with the Circle
Space Between (2019)
 Lockdown 2020 (2021)

Commercial ventures
Anthony maintains a personal website titled "Mad Anthony's Cafe" where he markets and sells a number of signature products including hot sauce, BBQ sauce, and hot mustard. His line of commercial foods is the result of a collaboration with a San Diego, California restaurant noted for its hot sauces. His hot sauce brand, "Mad Anthony," has been noted on local news segments and on the Food Network for being "high-end" due to the quality of its ingredients and manufacturing process. The site also provides information on Anthony's Schecter Guitar Research bass guitar series. Chickenfoot bandmate Sammy Hagar carries the bassist's hot sauces at his Sammy's Beach Bar & Grill locations.

References

References

External links
Official Web site
Van Halen Store
Van Halen News Desk

People from the San Gabriel Valley
Planet Us members
1954 births
American heavy metal bass guitarists
American male bass guitarists
Living people
Van Halen members
Chickenfoot members
American people of Polish descent
American rock bass guitarists
Pasadena City College alumni
20th-century American bass guitarists
21st-century American guitarists
Sammy Hagar and the Circle members
In economics, diminishing returns is the decrease in marginal (incremental) output of a production process as the amount of a single factor of production is incrementally increased, holding all other factors of production equal (ceteris paribus). The law of diminishing returns (also known as the law of diminishing marginal productivity) states that in productive processes, increasing a factor of production by one unit, while holding all other production factors constant, will at some point return a lower unit of output per incremental unit of input. The law of diminishing returns does not cause a decrease in overall production capabilities, rather it defines a point on a production curve whereby producing an additional unit of output will result in a loss and is known as negative returns. Under diminishing returns, output remains positive, however productivity and efficiency decrease.

The modern understanding of the law adds the dimension of holding other outputs equal, since a given process is understood to be able to produce co-products. An example would be a factory increasing its saleable product, but also increasing its CO2 production, for the same input increase. The law of diminishing returns is a fundamental principle of both micro and macro economics and it plays a central role in production theory.

The concept of diminishing returns can be explained by considering other theories such as the concept of exponential growth. It is commonly understood that growth will not continue to rise exponentially, rather it is subject to different forms of constraints such as limited availability of resources and capitalisation which can cause economic stagnation. This example of production holds true to this common understanding as production is subject to the four factors of production which are land, labour, capital and enterprise. These factors have the ability to influence economic growth and can eventually limit or inhibit continuous exponential growth. Therefore, as a result of these constraints the production process will eventually reach a point of maximum yield on the production curve and this is where marginal output will stagnate and move towards zero. However it should also be considered that innovation in the form of technological advances or managerial progress can minimise or eliminate diminishing returns to restore productivity and efficiency, and to generate profit.

This idea can be understood outside of economics theory, for example, population. The population size on Earth is growing rapidly, but this will not continue forever (exponentially). Constraints such as resources will see the population growth stagnate at some point and begin to decline. Similarly, it will begin to decline towards zero, but not actually become a negative value. The same idea as in the diminishing rate of return inevitable to the production process.

History

The concept of diminishing returns can be traced back to the concerns of early economists such as Johann Heinrich von Thünen, Jacques Turgot, Adam Smith, James Steuart, Thomas Robert Malthus, and  David Ricardo. However, classical economists such as Malthus and Ricardo attributed the successive diminishment of output to the decreasing quality of the inputs whereas Neoclassical economists assume that each "unit" of labor is identical. Diminishing returns are due to the disruption of the entire production process as additional units of labor are added to a fixed amount of capital. The law of diminishing returns remains an important consideration in areas of production such as farming and agriculture.

Proposed on the cusp of the First Industrial Revolution, it was motivated with single outputs in mind. In recent years, economists since the 1970s have sought to redefine the theory to make it more appropriate and relevant in modern economic societies. Specifically, it looks at what assumptions can be made regarding number of inputs, quality, substitution and complementary products, and output co-production, quantity and quality.

The origin of the law of diminishing returns was developed primarily within the agricultural industry. In the early 19th century, David Ricardo as well as other English economists previously mentioned, adopted this law as the result of the lived experience in England after the war. It was developed by observing the relationship between prices of wheat and corn and the quality of the land which yielded the harvests. The observation was that at a certain point, that the quality of the land kept increasing, but so did the cost of produce etc. Therefore, each additional unit of labour on agricultural fields, actually provided a diminishing or marginally decreasing return.

Example

A common example of diminishing returns is choosing to hire more people on a factory floor to alter current manufacturing and production capabilities. Given that the capital on the floor (e.g. manufacturing machines, pre-existing technology, warehouses etc.) is held constant, increasing from one employee to two employees is, theoretically, going to more than double production possibilities and this is called increasing returns.

If we now employ 50 people, at some point increasing the number of employees by two percent (from 50 to 51 employees) would increase output by 2 percent and this is called constant returns.

However, if we look further along the production curve to for example 100 employees, floor space is likely getting crowded, there are too many people operating the machines and in the building and workers are getting in each other's way. Increasing the number of employees by 2 percent (from 100 to 102 employees) would increase output by less than 2 percent and this is called "diminishing returns".

Through each of these examples, the floor space and capital of the factor remained constant i.e. these inputs were held constant. However, by only increasing the number of people eventually the productivity and efficiency of the process moved from increasing returns to diminishing returns.

To understand this concept thoroughly, acknowledge the importance of marginal output or marginal returns. Returns eventually diminish because economists measure productivity with regard to additional units (marginal). Additional inputs significantly impact efficiency or returns more in the initial stages. The point in the process before returns begin to diminish is considered the optimal level. Being able to recognise this point is beneficial, as other variables in the production function can be altered, rather than continually increasing labour.

Further, examine something such as the Human Development Index, which would presumably continue to rise so long as GDP per capita (in Purchasing Power Parity terms) was increasing. This would be a rational assumption because GDP per capita is a function of HDI. However, even GDP per capita will reach a point where it has a diminishing rate of return on HDI. Just think, in a low income family, an average increase of income by $100, will likely make a huge impact on the wellbeing of the family. Parents could provide abundantly more food and healthcare essentials for their family. That is a significantly increasing rate of return. But, if you gave the same increase to a wealthy family, the impact it would have on their life, would be minor. Therefore, the rate of return provided by that $100 average increase in income, is diminishing.

Mathematics 
Signify 

Increasing Returns: 

Constant Returns: 

Diminishing Returns:

Production Function 
There is a widely recognised production function in economics: Q= f(NR, L, K, t, E):

 The point of diminishing returns can be realised, by use of the second derivative in the above production function. 
Which can be simplified to: Q= f(L,K).
 This signifies that output (Q) is dependent on a function of all variable (L) and fixed (K) inputs in the production process. This is the basis to understand. What is important to understand after this is the math behind Marginal Product. MP= ΔTP/ ΔL. 
 This formula is important to relate back to diminishing rates of return. It finds the change in total product divided by change in labour.
 The Marginal Product formula suggests that MP should increase in the short run with increased labour. However, in the long run, this increase in workers will either have no effect or a negative effect on the output. This is due to the effect of fixed costs as a function of output, in the long run.

Link with Output Elasticity 
Start from the equation for the Marginal Product: 

To demonstrate diminishing returns, two conditions are satisfied; marginal product is positive, and marginal product is decreasing.

Elasticity, a function of Input and Output, , can be taken for small input changes. If the above two conditions are satisfied, then .

This works intuitively;

 If  is positive, since negative inputs and outputs are impossible,
 And  is positive, since a positive return for inputs is required for diminishing returns

 Then 

  is relative change in output,  is relative change in input
 The relative change in output is smaller than the relative change in input; ~input requires increasing effort to change output~

 Then

Returns and costs
There is an inverse relationship between returns of inputs and the cost of production, although other features such as input market conditions can also affect production costs. Suppose that a kilogram of seed costs one dollar, and this price does not change. Assume for simplicity that there are no fixed costs. One kilogram of seeds yields one ton of crop, so the first ton of the crop costs one dollar to produce. That is, for the first ton of output, the marginal cost as well as the average cost of the output is $1 per ton. If there are no other changes, then if the second kilogram of seeds applied to land produces only half the output of the first (showing diminishing returns), the marginal cost would equal $1 per half ton of output, or $2 per ton, and the average cost is $2 per 3/2 tons of output, or $4/3 per ton of output. Similarly, if the third kilogram of seeds yields only a quarter ton, then the marginal cost equals $1 per quarter ton or $4 per ton, and the average cost is $3 per 7/4 tons, or $12/7 per ton of output. Thus, diminishing marginal returns imply increasing marginal costs and increasing average costs.

Cost is measured in terms of opportunity cost. In this case the law also applies to societies – the opportunity cost of producing a single unit of a good generally increases as a society attempts to produce more of that good. This explains the bowed-out shape of the production possibilities frontier.

Justification

Ceteris Paribus 
Part of the reason one input is altered ceteris paribus, is the idea of disposability of inputs. With this assumption, essentially that some inputs are above the efficient level. Meaning, they can decrease without perceivable impact on output, after the manner of excessive fertiliser on a field.

If input disposability is assumed, then increasing the principal input, while decreasing those excess inputs, could result in the same 'diminished return', as if the principal input was changed certeris paribus. While considered as 'hard' inputs, like labour and assets, diminishing returns would hold true. In the modern accounting era where inputs can be traced back to movements of financial capital, the same case may reflect constant, or increasing returns.

It is necessary to be clear of the 'fine structure' of the inputs before proceeding. In this, ceteris paribus is disambiguating.

See also

 Diminishing marginal utility, also not to be mistaken for 'diminishing returns'
 Diseconomies of scale, does not assume fixed inputs, and considers costs, thus differing from 'diminishing returns'
 Economies of scale
 Gold plating (project management)
 Learning curve and Experience curve effects
 Liebig's Law of the minimum
 Marginal value theorem
 Opportunity cost
 Returns to scale
 Pareto efficiency
 Submodular set function
 Sunk-cost fallacy
 Tendency of the rate of profit to fall
 Analysis paralysis
 Teamwork
 Amdahl's law

References

Citations

Sources 

 

Economics laws
Production economics In mathematics, the variation diminishing property of certain mathematical objects involves diminishing the number of changes in sign (positive to negative or vice versa).

Variation diminishing property for Bézier curves 

The variation diminishing property of Bézier curves is that they are smoother than the polygon formed by their control points.  If a line is drawn through the curve, the number of intersections with the curve will be less than or equal to the number of intersections with the control polygon.  In other words, for a Bézier curve B defined by the control polygon P, the curve will have no more intersection with any plane as that plane has with P. This may be generalised into higher dimensions.

This property was first studied by Isaac Jacob Schoenberg in his 1930 paper, .  He went on to derive it by a transformation of Descartes' rule of signs.

Proof

The proof uses the process of repeated degree elevation of Bézier curve. The process of degree elevation for Bézier curves can be considered an instance of piecewise linear interpolation. Piecewise linear interpolation can be shown to be variation diminishing.
Thus, if R1, R2, R3 and so on denote the set of polygons obtained by the degree elevation of the initial control polygon R, then it can be shown that
 
 Each Rr has fewer intersections with a given plane than Rr-1 (since degree elevation is a form of linear interpolation which can be shown to follow the variation diminishing property)

Using the above points, we say that since the Bézier curve B is the limit of these polygons as r goes to , it will have fewer intersections with a given plane than Ri for all i, and in particular fewer intersections that the original control polygon R. This is the statement of the variation diminishing property.

Totally positive matrices 

The variation diminishing property of totally positive matrices is a consequence of their decomposition into products of Jacobi matrices.

The existence of the decomposition follows from the Gauss–Jordan triangulation algorithm.  It follows that we need only prove the VD property for a Jacobi matrix.

The blocks of Dirichlet-to-Neumann maps of planar graphs have the variation diminishing property.

References

Curves
Graphic design
Interpolation
Splines (mathematics)
Matrices