Tommy DeCarlo Audio Interview

From the way Tommy DeCarlo talks about his experience as the lead vocalist for legendary rock group Boston, the appreciation he has for the opportunity has not diminished at all. The former Home Depot employee recently talked to the folks at Melodicrockconcerts.com for about 36 minutes and shared some of his memories from the amazing journey has been on since he was discovered after posting some of his vocal performances on the internet.

You can tell that talking to DeCarlo is not like talking to a veteran rock star, and that’s kind of cool, since he sounds more like the guy next door than the guy on stage in front of screaming fans. Originally from Utica, New York, it’s easy to tell from his accent that he’s not native to the North Carolina home he shares with his wife and wife and two kids.

Although it’s not entirely clear what DeCarlo’s future with wind up being, he’s enormously grateful for the experience he had working with the band while touring with Styx last year. Spending time on the road with them evolved into a friendship with the guys from Styx that continues today. DeCarlo described his recent reunion with Styx at one of their shows as like seeing family.

Boston founder Tom Scholz is said to be working on new material, something DeCarlo would surely be interested in if he is invited to participate. Asked whether he would be willing to go on tour with Boston again, he jokingly says “Let me see. Let me think about that,” and then delivers a very decisive “Yes, I would love to.”

Despite the uncertainty of his future with Boston, DeCarlo is not sitting just around his house waiting for the phone to ring. He has involved himself in some of his own projects and reveals that he has been working with some writers and producers and doing jingles, which gives him some valuable experience in the studio. He describes it as a “great little gig,” and is something that probably allows him to continue to enjoy freedom from his old job at Home Depot.

Although I don’t know the exact details of Tommy DeCarlo’s employment status today and whether or not his musical endeavors earn him enough to pay the bills, I think the thought of returning to Home Depot after touring with Boston would be pretty tough on just about anyone. However, if it had to be done, DeCarlo strikes me as the kind of guy that has the humble, unassuming attitude that would allow him to put that orange apron right back on again and go back to helping customers navigate around the store.

I really kind of doubt that’s something he’s going to have to worry about though.

There’s a lot more in the interview which can be listened to at Melodicrockconcerts.com.

Tags: Audio, Boston, interview, Tommy DeCarlo

Michael Anthony Talks Chickenfoot And Van Halen

Could any interview with any member of the new “supergroup” Chickenfoot be complete without some explanation regarding that crazy name? When the group’s bassist, Michael Anthony, talked with Detroit radio station WRIF recently, that was the first issue that came up, and much to everyone’s surprise, there actually is some logic behind the name choice.

Anthony admits that nobody seems to care for the name, but as he rightly points out, once you hear it you know who it is. It turns out the name was originally chosen when Anthony, Sammy Hagar and Chad Smith were jamming down at Hagar’s club. Since there were three of them, and a chicken’s foot has three prominent toes, the guys –- likely in the midst of a tequila-fueled evening – gave birth to the name that everyone seems to hate.

Anthony admits that they did spend some time researching other names and getting a bit frustrated when they plugged various selections into Google and discovered that another band was already using the name. When Google informed them that there were no results for any bands using the name "Chickenfoot,” Anthony goes ahead and admits that they “were just stupid enough to take it.”

Anthony also explains that the logo that they came up with for the band actually makes sense for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it kind of looks like a chicken foot and secondly, the peace sign, which closely resembles the logo, was referred to as “the footprint of the great American chicken” by some U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam era.

So, it appears that there is a little bit of history behind the choice of the name, although Anthony admits it was recognized only after the name had been chosen.

These days we also expect to hear something about the recent war of words that has been going on between Michael Anthony and Eddie Van Halen, and this interview did not disappoint. Anthony maintains that he never quit the band, despite Van Halen’s recent comments to Rolling Stone that he did. Don’t expect a lot of vitriol and insults directed towards Eddie however. Anthony doesn’t seem like that kind of guy and sounds like he would just like to move on and stop rehashing the past drama of his years with Van Halen.

Although he does not come right out and say it, Anthony does hint that life in Van Halen was a bit like living under a dictatorship. He seems quite happy with the way things work in his new band, and describes his later years in Van Halen as a more “choked,” indicating that he didn’t have the creative input that he may have liked and was more-or-less told what to play.

According to Anthony, the creative process at work inside Chickenfoot is much more democratic and each member is free to run with his own ideas and freely inject as much creative input as he wants.

There’s a lot more to listen to in this interview, including a little chat that the jocks have after they get off the line with Michael Anthony where they basically side with Anthony over the whole Van Halen thing. Going on my own gut feeling regarding that issue, I’d say that I have to agree with them.

Check out the full audio interview at WRIF.

Tags: Audio, Chickenfoot, Detroit, Eddie Van Halen, interview, Michael Anthony, WRIF Radio

The Chicken Has Landed

Well, as I mentioned a short time back, Chickenfoot is surely not a forgettable name. In a new audio interview, the new supergroup is now admitting that the name seems to have stuck, despite declarations to the contrary early on when they were asked about it. In fact, it seems like they have actually embraced the name, something that seems to have been influenced by the positive reaction to the unusual name they have observed.

The interview was marked by the absence of drummer Chad Smith who was unable to take part. There was the joking and fooling around one would expect when these guys are together, but there is also some good substance for fans who are looking forward to the release of their debut album.

The three members who took part in the interview, Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony and Joe Satriani talked about how the group came up with the material for their forthcoming album, and how easily they work together. There’s much praise for Michael Anthony who, having played with some of rock’s most respected guitarists, has never received the credit he deserves for being a great bass player.

Hagar goes into some detail about how he comes up with lyrics he writes and reveals that he simply relies on the real-world experiences he has had, adding that he would simply “dry up” if he locked himself away in a room alone to write lyrics. Perhaps the most intense example of Hagar’s lyrical influences for the first album comes from the street in Mexico known as Avenida Revolución, a street, according to Hagar, that is quite hazardous for pedestrians.

A bit of time is devoted to the track that goes by the name “Get It Up,” which might evoke certain images for a lot of people and spawns talk of Viagra commercials during the interview, but actually has a much different and more serious intent behind it.

Asked about whether it feels strange to be forming a band as someone who is “not in their twenties.” Hagar seemed anxious to answer the question and compares the experience of putting the new band together to the acting career of Clint Eastwood, who Hagar says was just rehearsing during his years creating Dirty Harry series of movies, for his performance in Gran Torino, which Hagar was obviously impressed with.

There’s much more in this audio interview which can be downloaded at MusicRadar.

Tags: Album, Audio, Chickenfoot, Download, interview