The Van Halen News Desk received a surprise update straight from Michael Anthony today, when he personally called us and said that he reads the VHND every day, and that he wanted to give us the inside scoop on some important details about Chickenfoot’s upcoming album and first single. “Okay,” said Michael, “Here’s some breaking news for ya – I hope that you feel special ‘cuz you’re the first I’m telling this too, after my wife (laughs)”. You heard it here first!
ALBUM RELEASE DATE: The official release date for Chickenfoot’s second album is Sept 27th, 2011.
ALBUM TITLE: Michael did not want to divulge the album title at this time, but after we pressed him, he did at least admit that the title will not be the rumored title, “Chickenfoot IV”.
FIRST SINGLE: The first single from the album is scheduled to be released in July.
Some more info from Michael – “Sammy is really coming up with some great lyrics! And Chad’s really excited, even though he won’t be able to go on tour this time. We’re really going to miss having him on tour. We’ll get an amazing drummer for the tour, but they would only be filling in for Chad, not replacing him.” No word yet on who will be filling in for Chad.
When we asked if there is any possibility that Chad Smith would be able to play just a few shows on the tour, Michael replied, “I can’t say right now. It’s a scheduling issue. We wouldn’t want to pull him away from the Chili Peppers tour during any short breaks, because he’ll probably be tired and want to spend time with his family.”
We will keep in touch with Michael and we’ll have another exclusive interview with him sometime in the near future, as things get rolling with the ‘Foot.