VAN HALEN NEWS DESK

Chickenfoot photos from the studio

John_CunibertiNine new photos of Chickenfoot recording in the studio shot by photographer John Cuniberti are at the bottom of this page. Producer Andy Johns (Chickenfoot, Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, etc). is pictured with the band.

Joe Satrianai recently described Chickenfoot’s music to Billboard.com as, “High-energy, kick-ass rock’n'roll. We all bring to the table some unusual influences and then we also share a lot of roots. And I think that’s where a true color of a band comes out, just how we react to each other. So, it’s definitely rock music. We haven’t brought each other together to do a techno record.”

He described the music as “Funk, blues and experimental. The material is really slamming, and anybody who has ever been around Chad knows that he is a very huge personality, a very high-energy guy and his drumming in person is explosive. This band really gives him carte blanche to go crazy. I think it’s the best of what you’d expect, that’s the best way to put it. No one is acting out of character.”

  • ikethebird

    Lets hope the record jams and it inspires VH to record a product of more than 3 songs and “Jump”.

  • pete

    new music is an interesting concept,how about it ed?

  • Eric

    Hey Chad, Go Wings!

  • Andrew

    Hey Sammy, I saw you in concert last fall. Your voice sounded like shit live! thank god you have Mike backing you up! Also I thought you had more songs than what you played. Not a lot of hits my dear man! A cover of the Beastie Boys, Fight for your Right to Party……….SAD!
    Maybe you need to get back with Neil Schon, HSAS was your only good work outside Van Halen. Sorry man…….actually maybe you should say sorry to your last couple of fans.

  • Brian

    Easy shot andrew. You try packaging some tunes and lets see what you come up with. Sammy actually makes music that he likes and his true fans like and not what mainstream america is forced to like ’cause they’re told:”this is what’s hip” I’m gonna guess you are too young to experience what happens when the bands you like fall out of the circle of “what’s popular”. Just remember that the world doesn’t depend on your personal taste.

  • sammyvanroth

    hey andrew: F U A – HOLE! jealousy will get you nowhere. move out of your parent’s basement, take the star wars poster off the wall and you might be halfway successfull as sammy.

  • Rocko

    Hey Sam Don’t listen to A-Hole Andrew!!! Anyways, saw the photos and this looks like working process to me. I’ve not seen Andy Johns since That Damn Cinderella Vid ” Somebody Save Me”. Keep Up The Work Sam, Joe, Mike and Chad. Ch Ch Ch Chickenfooooooooooooooot!!!!

  • Pete

    SAMMYVANROTH…your quote “move out of your parent’s basement, take the star wars poster off the wall” may be the funniest thing I have read on-line in a year. Well put…

    I continue to be fascinated by the effort the Dave-era fans put into bashing Sammy…it is entirely borne out of an inferiority complex based on their worn-out Dave who bares no resemblance to the Dave of 1984. Sammy doesn’t even try to be his old self and he has never been more popular…go figure?

    Guys…just because Dave is no Sammy does not mean you should feel insecure about him. I LOVE his solo and VH records, so leave it at that…enjoy him for what he was!

    Sammy’s voice is simply built to last, and he continues to be relevant…but why that makes you so resentful is beyond me…but it’s still amusing!

    (;>)

  • Skutch

    Geez, all I hear is Ed-bashing these days. It always comes back to bashing Ed on the Chickenfoot threads? Can’t we all be friends. sound familiar?

  • Jor-L5150

    ” this is a van halen site so why sammy hagar …”
    ” van halen will make sammy hagar cease to exist…”
    ” you sammy fans are moren idiots homo’s …”
    ” the real van halen is better than jesus ..”
    ” sammy is so so so baaaaaadddd ..i mean..realllllY ”

    there.
    i just covered 65% of the posts on this topic.

  • ikethebird

    This was about pictures right?

  • tim5150

    vhnd need to stop with this chickenfoot crap!!! we are vh vans not chickenfoot!!! i mean in the late 80′s i hated satch cause people compared him and via to eddie all the time and now satch is on our website!!!!i know ive grown up and dont dislike via and satch but i dont care to hear about him and a ex- vh frontman that has nothing good to say about someone who happens to be alot of of hero(guitar hero anyway)i bought into sammy and van halen but he is gone and now im buying into whatever eddie is selling which is dave and wolfgang. oh yeah and his new axe!

  • Pete

    Hey Tim…Eddie has released 3 new songs in about 11 years…I’m happy for you and all that you’re happy with that, but wow…you’d think you’d be hungry for new tunes by now.

    BRING IT ON…CHICKENFOOT SHOULD GIVE US ALL SOMETHING TO SMILE ABOUT…you haters will be happy, and music fans will have something new and cool to rock to in 2009…EVERYONE WINS!

  • Erick

    Why do you guys want new music from VAN HALEN?

    Sure, would be nice, but it’s not going to be as good as the first 6 masterpieces anyways and you and I know it. And this Chickenfool isn’t even going to be anything near either.

    I don’t need new music from VAN HALEN. I want another tour like last year!

  • Erick

    And I don’t understand why you guys are always complaining about Ed selling stuff or talk about his guitars.
    I don’t care. It’s about VAN HALEN. I want to read and know about it. I would be interested if Ed’s selling cookies at a flea market. It doesn’t matter to me if he makes 2 bucks with that or 2.5 million. It’s VAN HALEN, guys!

  • Erick

    Especially Chickenfoot and Sammy fans should stop Ed-bashing. You guys shouldn’t be on this website anyways. IT’S THE VAN HALEN NEWS DESK !!!!!!

    Bring on some new guitars, strings or whatever Ed.

  • Pete

    Erick…music fans crave music. I suppose nothing can surpass the sentimental attachments we place on classic recordings, but my god man…it’s been 25 years since 1984…don’t you ever wish for more than simply rehashing something from the distant past?

    Maybe some people just stop evolving, or maybe it makes people feel old to acknowledge that the rest of the world has continued to move on since 1984…but I find it curiously interesting that you have found enough music for your life and you don’t need more…

    In a very real sense I envy you, because I find it mildly annoying when I go a few weeks without hearing something new that knocks me out (like “Something In Your Mouth” by Nickelback), but you are definitely a fascinating cat!

  • Chris

    Mark my words, “Chickenfoot would be better off without Sammy Hagar”

    Joe, Chad and Mike is an interesting mix?!! If they had a younger singer who has no strings attach with Van Halen and unlike Sammy always taking pot shots at Eddie & Co for his own PR, then maybe Chickenfoot would have some kind of purpose or at least not be a ‘one-off’ as I predict it to be.

    By the way all you Eddie basher and VH haters out there (a very small minority!) all I got is one thing to say to you sad cases “Run and hide when the mighty Van Halen release their album” The silence is deafening over at 5150!!

  • Pete

    Chris…I can’t say I understand from your posting if you’re pro or anti-VH…????????

    And as for Chickenfoot without Sammy, they began as a hobby of Sam’s at Cabo Wabo for a few years, and then Joe came along later after they had discussed the Planet US project.

    Given that CF is kind of Sammy’s pet project, it’s kind of pointless to imagine what they’d be like without him, since there would be no CF without him.

    As for new VH material…let’s see…3 songs in 11 years? Hmmmm…we’ll need 33+ years at their current pace to produce a CD, or god knows what they’ll be called in 33 years.

    Thank god Sammy is still rockin’ and producing new music to keep the music fans happy AND the haters happy too with something to criticize. YOU GUYS DESERVE SOMETHING TO SMILE ABOUT TOO, YOU REALLY DO.

  • ER

    Cool pictures – I didn’t realize that Sammy had his own studio. I think it’s great that Andy Johns is on board for this – he sure got a great sound on “For Unlawful” and Joe’s “Extremist” album.

    I bet the Joe instrumentals they do on tour will be his more popular ones, but personally I’m hoping for some of his lesser known songs – Time Machine, Crushing Day or Oriental Melody would rock – I’ve seen Joe four times, and still haven’t heard these gems live. It’d be a ton of fun to see Sammy rocking it up on rhythm guitar during the “Joe” segments of the set – this should be a blast! I think someone on another thread said they should do Judgment Day, and I completely agree! Haven’t heard that one live since I was in high school – way too long ago :)

    If these four were just getting together to do songs from their history, it would be a great show – but add a new album into the mix, and that’s the wild card. If the album delivers what these guys are capable of, then this could be amazing. If the album bombs then awwwww… got my hopes up for nothing. Time will tell. But for now, this sounds exciting.

  • Mark Sachs

    So many of you guys are hating on the Chickenfoot group. However, at least it will be some true Rock N Roll!!!!!!!!!!!! Not to mention new stuff! Which is unlike anything that is being played on the radio nowadays. Come on, everybody give it a shot!

  • Mark

    I am all for the Dave or the Gravers and Ed Apologists not being into Chickenfoot.

    Ed needs someone to purchase the tenth released version of Jump on Van Halen’s next music release, BOBW Part II.

    Will also give us all closer access to the stage.

    I love VH, but damn if I am not going to like something else just out of spite.

    If it’s good I don’t care if Boy George is singing, bring it on!

  • chad

    hey eric thanks. it’s going to be a good cd.
    new music

  • ClubfootKolby

    Sammys the best, I say bring him back, if Van Halen would have kept Sammy in the band we would have new tune every two years. Buy the way Dave walk away from the band in 1984.

  • Pete

    Dave left…ironically…on April 1st, 1985.

    Kinda puts a new spin on “April Fool’s Day”, doesn’t it? In 1984 Dave was still in VH promoting that album…what was it? Oh yeah…1 9 8 4…

  • Rob

    I have always preferred Dave-era VH over Sam Halen, and I started in 1979 w/VH II. BUT: reminiscing is one thing, but a huge tour with Dave ain’t new music; Chickenfoot isn’t merely the closest thing to VH will ever see the rest of our lives (I’ll be SHOCKED if we see anything new w/Dave)–it’ll be new, creative and…well, there’s not much more to say than that.

    I love Eddie–but he’s got to do a lot more than let Chip Ellis and Matt Brueck redo the Wolfgang for him if he wants to be lifted out of the category of crash-n-burn former greats. Even his interviews these days are all recycled from what he’s said over the past 30 years. It’s up to him; if he doesn’t get with it history isn’t going to be very kind to him post-1995.

  • http://n/a Mark Hammer

    Simply put, Sammy cares about his fans, often doing concerts and charging UNDER $20-$30 PER TICKET, as opposed to bands like SCR U-2, Springsteen and the Police, who have the AUDACITY to charge $150-$200. FOR WHAT? CRAP THAT’S 30 YEARS OLD? Sammy does it because he LOVES it, and he knows, that without his fans, he’s nothing. I’ve met Sammy twice, and he’s as down to Earth as anyman’s next door neighbor and I KNOW that Slick Willie Krajewski will back me up on this. Sammy rocks and his concerts are like a big party with 15,000 of your closest friends, especially at DTE here in Michigan…there is NOTHING like a hot summer night, girls in short shorts and tank tops, beers flowing and a Sammy Hagar Cabo Party at the ‘ol Pine Knob! This band is gonna Blowtha Roofov!
    WE CAN’T WAIT for the Michigan show!
    ROCK ON SAMMY, JOE, MIKE AND CHAD!
    GO WINGS! LORD STANLEY’S CUP IS STAYING RIGHT HERE, WHERE IT RIGHTFULLY BELONGS!
    No team better that a team with Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Hossa and a 47 year old defenseman!
    WHATTUP SLICK!??! WE’RE GONNA PARTY THIS SUMMER!

  • http://n/a Mark Hammer

    AND OH, BY THE WAY, SAMMY WAS EVEN COOL ENOUGH TO PUT MY WIFE IN HIS “SAM I AM” VIDEO! She’s the girl near the end of the video, holding up the “I LOVE YOU SAMMY” sign in the crowd! SAMMY ROCKS!

  • ER

    Oh yeah, if anyone in CF is reading, how about putting “Humans Being” into the set, and considering current events I think “If I Could Fly” is a must as well :)

  • Dan Russell

    Bring Back Cherone. Best song selection and concert in 35 years.

  • Pat

    It’s embarrassing that VH has not released a new album in over a decade. If you don’t count 3, it’s been 13 or 14 years. Hagar has released probably 5 to 7 cd’s in that time period. VH is screwed up.

  • Andrew

    Sorry guys your right Chicken Foot sounds like a band that will be around for years to come. One album tops, poor sales will drive the band down the toilet. But your right the songs will live on!! Sorry I’m a just a Halen fan on a Halen site. People keep crapping on Eddie because he is selling his equipment line, I don’t hear them doing the same with Sam and Mike. Hot sauce come on! At least Eddie has talent and respect from the music industry. And I’m 42, I’ve seen Van Halen with Sammy singing, Dave singing and have seen Dave solo and Sammy solo. When Velvet Revolver talked about Van Halen at the RRHF the pretty much crapped on Sammy the POP singer!

  • Dan

    How can you hate on a guy like Sammy when he is very fan friendly, delivers new music and gives a great guy like Mike Anthony a chance to be in a new band? At least he knows how to treat a friend and bandmate. I got no beef with Ed and the gang and I too look forward to new music soon. Let’s give Sam a break and some credit for trying to keep the fans happy.

  • bLUE aGAVE

    Wow, why all the bitterness? Dave era VH was great, Van Hagar was great and hopefully (due to some very good influences from all the members), CF will be great too. And if we are all really lucky another VH CD with Dave may be lurking in the future. It’s all music, the stuff we grew up with and will grow old with if we chose.

    How can you rag on Sammy for having fun, promoting a lifestyle he believes in and getting amazing musicians from different genres together to make music. He seems to have a lot of fun doing it, and I have a hard time seeing how or why anyone would resent that. And like it or not, 11 years with VH gives Sammy every right to be front and center on VHND. In fact, if it wasn’t for Sammy out there making music and having fun, being accessible, VHND would have folded years ago.

    And Eddy, one of the most gifted musicians and writers of any generation. Maybe a bit quirky, but that kind of goes with the musical genius thing. One thing for sure, all the above have given us nearly 40 years of true rock and roll, for which I am eternally grateful.

  • Douce

    Sammy I did catch your show at Casino Rama in Canada and you were sick as hell ,but you pulled it off ,most clowns like Axl Rose would have said fuck it Im not playing ,Yes I was surprised at the rap thing however it did mix things up but I would have prefered your stuff ,They rocked the house people it was fun and Sammy made it a point to sign my wifes arm ,not many superstars are that genuine Sammy is ,keep it up man and I cant wait to see Chickenfoot ,I did catch Eddie and Roth this summer and they blew the roof off the Air Canada center ,what can I say VanHalen made it to the top with 2 front men how many bands can say that they have done that ,AC/DC not many more

  • ou812

    VANHALEN 1 2 3 4 OOOOOOOOOOOOO IT AL IS FUCK HOT