news » Chickenfoot hits the Road!

Joe Satriani burst on the scene in 1989 with his Surfing with the Alien album. Instantly recognized as a virtuoso performer, Satriani also was recognized for his awe-inspiring tone and his dedication to the tools of music making. It was this dedication that led Joe to team up with VOX in creating a series of signature effect pedals.

Joe Satriani made his mark as a solo instrumental performer, but he has performed with numerous acts from Crowded House to Mick Jagger to Spinal Tap and Deep Purple. Satriani was also a founding member of the touring band G3. Originally comprising Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Eric Johnson, the band has featured a rotating cavalcade of guitarists including Robert Fripp, Paul Gilbert, and most notably John Petrucci.

Now Joe has teamed up with Van Halen veterans Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, along with Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith to create Chickenfoot. Their self-titled first album was released June 8th, and the band is heading out to dates in Europe and the UK, before returning to tour the US in August and September.

When we caught up with Joe, Chickenfoot had just completed the brief Chickenfoot Road Test Tour, and was getting ready to head overseas.

VOX: Hey Joe – the new album sounds great! How did you approach creating the Chickenfoot sound?

JS: We recorded live as a four piece band…no sequencers or click tracks, and then added the necessary overdubs as we went along.

VOX: Really? Playing with a live band in the studio must be a change for you, right?

JS: This was so different from my layered approach on the solo records. We wanted to capture the unique Chickenfoot chemistry on every song, and this required that each of us “perform” during each take as if it were a live show.

VOX: Now you’ve completed the first few dates with Chickenfoot. How did that go?

JS: The Chickenfoot Road Test Tour was amazingly fun! Playing a new album’s worth of material in sold out clubs was such a rush, nothing quite like it. Every night the music was slammin’!

VOX: And how is it playing with the new band?

JS: This is a tight, heavy band that can improvise like no other band I’ve ever been in. Sammy, Chad and Mike are crazy onstage, there’s just never a dull moment with those guys.

VOX: So what’s next for Chickenfoot and Joe Satriani?

JS: We have our European festival tour in June and July, then our North American run, August 2nd through September 30th. I can’t wait to get out there and show the fans how good we are as a live band.

VOX: Anything special we should watch for on the tour?

JS: We will perform the entire record, and throw in some cool covers as well. I’ve even convinced Sammy to strap on a guitar and trade some solos with me for the encore!

Thanks Joe! Best of luck with the rest of the tour.