Clearly, enthusiasm is no problem in the land of Chickenfoot. At the time of this writing, the band is negotiating a record deal and lining up dates for the summer. Produced by Andy Johns (whose long list of credits includes Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart—not to mention Van Halen and Satch), the finished album is an 11-song slab of raging rock. From no-bones good-time rockers like “Sexy Little Thing” to “My King of Girl” (both clear-cut singles) to heavier, darker tunes like “Avenida Revolution” and “Learning to Fall,“ the songs stomp and snort and do all the things that great rock songs should do.
And there are surprises galore: a banjo intro here (courtesy of Satch), a snatch of Hagar beat-poetry there, not to mention the constant head-turning fluidity of the Anthony-Smith rhythm section. What’s also interesting is that Satriani, who has, over the years, established a personality on the guitar that is instantly recognizable, doesn’t quite sound like himself. He sounds like another guitarist entirely, one still blessed with ungodly chops, but not the same Joe Satriani we’ve come to know since 1986. His playing is grittier, dirtier, less “fussed over” and, in effect, more soulful than ever. When I mention this to him, he grins an inscrutable grin. “You really think so?” he says. “That’s great. I think I’m too close to it to tell.
“Beyond that, the greatest compliment anybody can give us is that we sound like a band,” he says. “A ‘project’ is the last thing we had in mind; in fact, it’s the biggest thing we hoped to avoid. We’re a band that’s excited to be together, and if that translates onto the tracks, then we’ve succeeded. I can’t wait to do it again.”
GUITAR WORLD Last I spoke to you guys, you were adamant that Chickenfoot was not going to be the name of the band. What happened there? [All eyes go to Satriani.]
SAMMY HAGAR Joe, you want to answer that?
JOE SATRIANI [reddens, chuckles] Why me?
HAGAR ’Cause you were the most opposed to it.
SATRIANI Well, yeah, but…
MICHAEL ANTHONY All right, I’ll tell you what happened. During the time it was first announced that we were forming a band, the news got so big and everybody started talking about us, and the name just took on a life of its own. It sort of got to the point where it was like, “Okay, everybody assumes we’re called Chickenfoot. Why change it?”
HAGAR It’s true—the name got out there. I was telling this one guy about the band, and I said we were maybe going to call it the Nine—that was a name we had for about three minutes—and he just goes, “Oh, you mean Chickenfoot.” [laughs] So that’s just it: before we could think of anything else, we were Chickenfoot. And I’ll tell you, the more I see it in print, the more I think it’s right.
SATRIANI I didn’t like it at first, that’s true. But during the past year, we actually became Chickenfoot. My resistance to the name has gradually gone away, and I’ve accepted it. The music is there, which is what matters most.
HAGAR Dude, the music is so there. It’s dirty, it’s greasy, it’s swampy, it grooves. It’s as tripped out as a fucking chicken foot! [laughs]
GW Since you were announced, you guys have been branded a “supergroup.” What are your thoughts on this? Do you feel as though there’s too much expectation put on you?
HAGAR “Supergroup”? Hey, I don’t know. We were just trying to make a kick-ass record and be a great band. I love being a part of this. [points to Satriani]
CHAD SMITH When I think of the word “supergroup,” I think of those bands that were kind of artificially put together, where guys auditioned and record company guys got involved and all that. We came together very naturally. Everything was fun, it felt good, there was nothing preconceived about it.
GW Before you guys officially said, “Okay, we’re a band,” were there any discussions about what you wanted to avoid—problems you had faced in other bands that you didn’t want to repeat?
SATRIANI We had no time. We were too busy writing and making the record.
ANTHONY The thing is, we’ve all played together in various ways: Chad came down to Cabo and jammed with me and Sammy; Sammy and I had a thing going for a while with Neal Schon and [drummer] Deen Castronovo; then Joe came down and was possibly going to be a part of that…
HAGAR But we never sat down and said, “Hey, we’re gonna be like this, or we’re not gonna be like that.” Joe came with his riffs, Mikey started playing over them, Chad went loose and laid down the groove, and I started scatting—and that’s how it all went down. Song by song, we did it just like that.
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