GW Talk to me about Andy Johns. How did he come to work on this record?
ANTHONY I fell in love with Andy’s work when we did [Van Halen’s] For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. He brought the bass up, and you could feel it.
SATRIANI I’ve worked with him before [on 1992’s The Extremist], and every time was just an explosive musical situation. He captures the velocity of a rhythm section. Plus, he knows what makes musicians tick.
GW Did he challenge you?
HAGAR [laughs] Oh, he challenged us! He’s a sweetheart, but he can be a rude motherfucker. At first I had a problem with that. [adopts a gruff British accent] “You call that singing? That ain’t singing! Now sing the song in key already and get it right!” And I’m like, “Fuck you! That’s the best I can sing it, asshole!” [everybody laughs] But he knows how to get the job done. I have a ton of respect for the guy.
GW Let’s get into some of the songs on the record. Tell me about “Avenida Revolution.” Joe, what are you doing in the beginning guitar-wise?
SATRIANI It’s just a little trick with a guitar pick. For that song, I was trying to create something that had the weirdest-ass riff, something nobody could ever sing over, and of course Sammy nailed it. At first, the song was called “Into the Fire,” so I was trying to come up with a part that sounded like it was boiling—like it was bubbling up, you know? I did a pick thing that really worked.
GW Sammy, this song is one of your weightiest lyric-wise. Do you sometimes feel hampered by your “good time” image, being Mr. I-Can’t-Drive-55?
HAGAR I am a good-time guy. And I can’t drive 55! [laughs] I don’t feel hampered by anything. I write about what I want to write about. I put no limits on anything. When I heard that music, I saw people running through ditches and crawling through mud. And there’s this area in Cabo called “Avenida Boulevard” with nothing but crosses on the streets, and people have died literally trying to make their way across it—so that’s what I saw. That song wrote itself.
GW Michael, you’re all over this record as a background singer. Are you aware of how familiar your background singing voice is to people? It immediately sounds like Van Halen.
ANTHONY Sure. In the early Van Halen days, Eddie and I would sing together, and it was as much a part of the sound as Eddie’s guitar playing. Then when Sammy joined the band, it increased. You hear it and you’re like, “Whoa, that’s Van Halen!” Our fans know the sound. They grew up on it.
GW Joe, on the solo to “Sexy Little Thing,” how are you getting that cool tubey sound?
SATRIANI It’s the [Ibanez] JS6 guitar. I’m also using a set of 11s, the guitar is tuned down a whole step, and the capo is on the second fret. [laughs] Why? Why would I do such a thing? It was all about keeping the guitar in tune. It contributed to that tubey sound.
GW Sammy, are you playing any guitar on the record?
HAGAR Nope. Not one note. What would be the point of me playing guitar? Put it this way: I can play guitar as well as Joe can sing. [everybody laughs]
GW But how about live?
HAGAR Live, yeah. There’s some songs that’ll need the rhythm guitar. We’re figuring it out.
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