YOKERS
Guitarist Joe Satriani explains how Chickenfoot’s new album evolved in an explosive mix of tight deadlines and flowing tequila… “‘I don’t think the guys knew what they were getting in to” he tells DAN JONES…
Photography: Jon Hill, Kevin Nixon & Ross Halfin “
I hate those super-groups that sound like they could’ve taken performances from their solo records!” Joe Satriani tells Playmusic Magazine from the comfort of sunny California. It’s 6.30pm in the U.K. and the obligatory summer drizzle outside paints a distinct shade of grey. Joe, on the other hand, is in extremely high spirits as he buoyantly begins to talk about his new album with Chickenfoot, the four piece
rock band that the virtuoso lead guitarist formed in 2008 alongside former Van Halen stars Sammy Hagar (lead vocals) Mike Anthony (bass) and Chilli Peppers drummer Chad Smith. Since releasing his first solo record, Not of This Earth, in 1986 Satriani’s
formidable six-string skills have earned the affable 55 year-old New York native multiple Grammy nominations, an affluent career with the ever-developing G3 touring trio, and even shows with Mick Jagger and Deep Purple. It’s certainly no understatement to describe Satriani as one of the world’s greatest living guitar
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players. However, resting on one’s laurels just isn’t in Satriani’s nature. The guitarist explains that Chickenfoot’s second effort, Chickenfoot III… taps deeply into his musical roots.
“This is a modernized version of the solid rock that I loved when I was
younger, what I was raised on playing. I was always in a band with three players and one singer, I spent all of my high school years in bands like that, so every time I’m playing with Chickenfoot there’s an odd feeling like this is what I’ve been doing since I was a kid.” It’s this youthful nostalgia that has allowed Satriani and the Chickenfoot cartel to review the fundamentals of four-piece solidified rock and roll, disregarding peripheral frills for a riff-based approach that calls on the ghosts of classic-rock past. “Doing this record I get to dip into my respect for Jimmy Page and how absolutely amazing he was in not only writing and playing but how he produced himself and Zeppelin. I think that this album has me celebrating Hendrix and Page quite a bit and I enjoy that. I can hear my roots coming out.”
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