CHICKENFOOT
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 9th November 2009.
Chickenfoot is a newish super, super (super) group featuring (if you don't already know) former Van Halen members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, Red Hot Chili Pepper drummer Chad Smith, plus a little-known guitarist called Joe Satriani. Their debut, self-titled album has just been re-released as a deluxe package including a bonus track and DVD.
We caught up with Joe to chat about the band and more.
Photo Credit: Jaylyn Todd - http://www.jaylynphoto.ca/
Hi Joe, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. You’re history and life is oft-documented online and in the press. Do you read a lot of editorial about yourself that brings a ‘that’s not true’ smile to your face?
Joe: I don't bother with that stuff.
Looking back, what persuaded you to take up guitar, as opposed to say drums, saxophone or even vocals?
Joe: I started on drums, took lessons, and played for two years, but found I wasn't all that good. Progress was better on guitar.
Photo Credit: Paul Bachmann - http://www.rockographer.com/
I guess that was the late 1960’s and into the early 1970’s? Were your inspirations the usual suspects like Clapton and Hendrix, or were your tastes more diverse?
Joe: Hendrix, Page, Beck, Clapton, Wes Montgomery, Tony Iommi, Johnny Winter, Todd Rundgren, Alan Holdsworth, etc...
I notice you play keyboards as well. Would you class yourself as good, or is it more of a useful side-skill?
Joe: A useful side-skill and composing instrument.
Were you a prodigious guitar talent straight away – i.e. did you feel you had a natural affinity with the instrument - or was the old adage of practice, practice and practice again your guiding light?
Joe: Playing guitar has always been hard work for me, ever since the beginning. I'm still trying to get it right.
Photo Credit: Paul Bachmann - http://www.rockographer.com/
You became a teacher and fostered some of the world’s best known guitarists including Steve Vai and Kirk Hammett. Did you have the aspiration back then to become famous yourself, or were you simply focused on passing on your knowledge?
Joe: I was just a guy in rock band teaching on the side. It just so happened that I was good at it and my students were very talented.
Were you writing and recording your own material whilst you were teaching, or simply jamming/covering the work of other artists?
Joe: Both, and playing in club bands at night. It was a heavy work load, but it was good work.
You started working on (other people’s) and releasing (your own) albums in the mid 1980’s. Did the fame come suddenly, or has it been a gradual process?
Joe: Real success came with "Surfing With The Alien" in '88, and I had been a solo instrumentalist since '84, but when it took off, it really took off.
Photo Credit: Paul Bachmann - http://www.rockographer.com/
Was there one moment when you realised you were well known, or one moment when you knew you had made it?
Joe: When RollingStone gave me a one page article I knew I would become familiar, but "making it" to me has always been about longevity. That takes work.
You are best known as a solo performer rather than a member of any band. Is it a control thing, an ego thing, had the right opportunity not appeared, or is solo instrumental work simply the thing that floats your boat the most?
Joe: The solo career happened by accident. I was always looking for something like Chickenfoot to come along.
What was different about Chickenfoot? Presumably you’ve had plenty of other offers in the past to join bands?
Joe: Being part of the band from the beginning, our unique chemistry, and doing it all on our own made it special.
How did the Chickenfoot sound develop? Was it a conscious decision to go in one particular direction or was it a fluid, natural progression?
Joe: That's just the way we sound when we play together. It's natural.
What’s it like working with Sammy, Michael and Chad? There’s a definite chemistry there.
Joe: We just make music with little discussion before hand. It rocks all by itself. Never a dull moment with us.
How quickly did the album come together? From the outside it seemed to happen overnight!
Joe: It was about 50 days of working together spread out over a year. Sammy and I had records and tours to do that kept us busy right up until the last two months of the project. I would write a group of songs and send them to Sammy, he would write the lyrics and melodies and then as a band we would arrange and record the songs in a two day session. After that, we wouldn't see each other for two months. Then start the whole thing up again. That's what we did for 10 months. The last two months we got together as a band and finally finished the recordings and mixes. It seemed to take forever.
Photo Credit: LeeAnn Mueller - http://www.leannmueller.com/
Okay, you must have been asked this a million times already...where did the name Chickenfoot come from?
Joe: Sammy came up with it years ago
You’ve pretty much finished touring the Chickenfoot sound for the year, save one more gig in Vegas on the 5th of December. Is anything penciled in for next year, or are you all heading in separate directions to work on other projects?
Joe: We are still working on that, but it's too early to say.
When might a 2nd Chickenfoot album see the light of day?
Joe: 2011???
I assume Chickenfoot is an open ended project rather than a one-time piece of fun?
Joe: We would all like to see it continue.
Photo Credit: Jaylyn Todd - http://www.jaylynphoto.ca/
Any plans for another Joe Satriani solo album, and perhaps some solo touring?
Joe: I will start to work on writing a new solo record next year.
How about G3? Nothing seems to have happened in the last couple of years. Is it simply on hold or has the concept outlived its shelf life?
Joe: I would like to go out with a new G3, but we have no immediate plans.
Who do you rate as the best guitarist or guitarists (apart from yourself) out there at the moment?
Joe: I will leave that to the fans to decide... and the journalists...
Do you still get chance to teach or take guitar clinics?
Joe: Not too often. Touring and recording take up most of my time.
Question from Frances, a.k.a. Mrs Rock Realms: I love playing ‘Midnight’ and ‘Tears In The Rain’ and I’m presently using them in preparation for my grade 6 exam. How do you feel when you hear people murdering your songs? Are you proud they are playing them or do you want to rush over and show them how to play them properly?
Joe: Sometimes I murder my own songs! I'm honoured when I hear someone playing one of my songs.
Photo Credit: Bryan Adams - http://www.bryanadams.com/
If you were stranded on a desert island with a solar powered CD player, what 5 albums would help you keep your sanity?
Joe: Electric Ladyland(Hendrix), Beggars Banquet(Stones), So(Peter Gabriel), Stand Up(Tull), Chickenfoot!
How many guitars do you own, and what are your most 'interesting' ones?
Joe: About 200. The best ones are the ones you write the most on. Those would be my JS1000's.
Do you use one of your own riffs as the ring tone on your cell phone?
Joe: ...No.
What question do you hate being asked? Have I avoided it?
Joe: "stranded on a desert island", I hate that one.
Any question you love being asked that I’ve missed? If so, what’s the answer?
Joe: Nobody asks real musical questions anymore, I miss that.
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
Joe: Playing some guitar of course!
Thanks for your time Joe.
Joe: Thank you...
Thanks again to Joe for his time. The “Deluxe Edition” of Chickenfoot’s debut album is released by earMusic this week. The Deluxe Edition of the eponymous album includes a bonus DVD disc with exclusive behind-the-scenes and live footage, plus promo videos for the singles ‘Oh Yeah’, ‘Soap on a Rope’ and ‘Sexy Little Thing’.
Visit the official site for more info: http://www.chickenfoot.us/
Check out the Rock Realms review of the album here.
Photo Credit: Bryan Adams - http://www.bryanadams.com/
