Chickenfoot Supergroup of Van Halen, Chili Peppers Members, Satriani Ready Debut
As the Smoking Section previously reported, former Van Halen members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and guitar virtuoso/filer of Coldplay lawsuits Joe Satriani have banded together to form the supergroup Chickenfoot. According to Blabbermouth, the band’s self-titled debut album will be released via Best Buy on Sunday, June 7th (a press release confirms a June release, but doesn’t name a specific date or mention any Best Buy deal). The quartet made its live debut at a private performance in Anaheim on March 18th.
Hagar recently told Rolling Stone each member’s rock roots play a role in the band’s music. “Kind of like who we are. Like kind of Zeppelin, Van Halen you know hard rock-y, Rush-y, kind of progressive a little bit. Hard rock. Hard sophisticated rock,” Hagar said, adding that “Joe Satriani, he’s the doctor man. He is the professor, this guy Âhe’s awesome.”
The album will reportedly include 11 tracks and some heat-sensitive artwork, meaning if you put your hand over the band’s square peace sign logo, the black space will fade and reveal pictures of the band. No one’s buying CDs anymore, you need to be inventive these days. Hagar told RS that the band got its name because before Satriani was hired on, “There was three of us, three toes. And we’re funky.” The trio often jammed in Hagar’s adopted home base of Cabo San Lucas, where the former Van Halen members would perform with Smith at Hagar’s Cabo Wabo venue.
When Hagar realized he didn’t like singing and playing guitar at the same time, he thought, “‘We need a great guitar player. Who’s the best guitar player out there?’ Joe Satriani. And Joe’s a buddy right here in San Francisco, so I called him and boom.” A pair of Chickenfoot tracks have made their way onto the Internet, so check out the band’s “Down the Drain” above.