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June 19, 2009
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.
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June 3, 2009
Van Halen News Busting Out All Over
Things have been kind of quiet on the Van Halen news front lately. Other than ex-Mrs. Van Halen’s hot bikini pics all over the place, we haven’t heard too much from anyone connected with the group for a while.
There are clearly things in the works, and it’s clear that we can expect some new material from the veteran rockers as well as a tour coming in a year or so. In addition, video game players who have always wanted to play along with a virtual version of guitar legend Eddie Van Halen also have something to look forward to.
From the E3 video game expo, which wraps up tomorrow in Los Angeles, we get word that a new title will be coming to the “Guitar Hero” series called “Guitar Hero: Van Halen.” No real surprise regarding the name, but more interesting is the additional content that’s part of the game, and will allow players to go beyond rocking with VH and play along with the likes of guest players such as Queen, Blink 182 and Weezer.
Moving from the virtual world of rock into the real world, a recent interview with Eddie Van Halen that appeared in Rolling Stone magazine sheds light on issues surrounding the future plans for the group, the departure of former bassist Michael Anthony and Eddie’s recent appearance on Spike TV to accept his “Guy’s Choice Guitar God” award.
It was backstage at the event in Culver City, CA where Rolling Stone caught up with the reclusive Van Halen, who admits he never “goes to anything” and is a bit nervous about going out to accept the award, adding that, “I don’t even know what to say. Especially sober, shit.”
As for the future of Van Halen the band, there are plans to get back to work after his wedding and honeymoon. Van Halen is marrying publicist Janie Liszewski on June 27th and plans to get back onto the studio with the rest of the group upon his return. Van Halen also says they are planning a tour sometime next year.
As we have come to expect from Van Halen the group, there are numerous versions of how the various feuds and departures played out throughout their stormy history. For his part, Van Halen had nothing but praise for his on-again-off-again frontman, David Lee Roth. Declaring that things are different now because they are both sober, Van Halen describes his new experience with the group as “a wonderful feeling.”
As one might expect, comments reserved for ex-VH bassist Michael Anthony are not as complimentary. With respect to Anthony’s departure from the group, Van Halen says, “The funny thing is that everyone who quits the band always claims they got fired by me. Hey, I’m not the bad guy here. When Hagar left the band, Mike went with him. Then when we get back together with Dave, and all of a sudden, he wants back in. It’s like, ‘No, dude, you quit the band.’”
Interestingly, Van Halen denies hearing any of Chickenfoot’s material, and adds that he doesn’t listen to anything. One has to wonder, however, if the denial might just be a reflection on the bad blood between him and his two former band mates. Who wouldn’t be a little curious about what two of your ex-buddies are up to these days, especially since finding out is as easy as a little typing and a few mouse clicks?
Seems a little hard to believe that he hasn’t heard a single note from Hagar and Anthony’s new gig. The bridge that was burned after the end of that relationship is not showing any signs of reconstruction, that’s for sure.
Spike TV’s “Guy’s Choice Awards” is scheduled to air on June 21 at 10:00 PM.
The entire interview can be accessed on the Rolling Stone website.
November 19, 2008
Michael Anthony And Sammy Hagar Let Loose on Van Halen
Until now, former Van Halen bass player Michael Anthony has been pretty kind to his former band mates by not sharing his true feelings about his experiences while he was with the group, and his more recent exclusion from the Van Halen reunion tour. At least not publicly. Although he still seems reluctant to say anything really nasty about Van Halen, he does reveal a little more about the process that led to his separation from the group.
Although Anthony concedes that he sees himself as the ultimate “sideman”, and not necessarily the guy in the spotlight, he stresses that the role of a sideman is vital, and holds things together when the guy who is in the spotlight plays a ten-minute solo.
Although Anthony has talked about his disappointment that resulted from his exclusion from the Van Halen reunion tour which featured the return of original vocalist David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang on bass, he is talking more about his feelings now and admitted that he would have loved to have been part of it.
Revealing some of the negative feelings and disappointment about his parting ways with Van Halen, Anthony sounds like he has it all behind him now and seems to be very excited about the new group he has been playing with, which is being called “Chickenfoot” for the time being.
You can read more from the interview Anthony did with Music Radar and even download the audio from the interview.
Sammy Hagar, on the other hand, is a lot more open about his feelings when he talks about his time spent with Van Halen – a period in the group’s history that resulted in some of the group’s best material in my personal opinion.
Hagar, talking with Classic Rock Revisited not long ago, was clearly not pleased about the way Michael Anthony was treated by Van Halen when he was excluded from the last tour. “He got f***ed and it was horrible. I am not going to go on about ‘why and what,’because I have no idea…(The fans) have been waiting for this reunion and they (Van Halen) did it wrong. It is one more strike against those guys. They are not healthy, mentally, and they make bad decisions. They don’t take the fans in mind for one second and it is not good."
Hagar also relates the story of how a drunken Eddie Van Halen tried to knock the window out of a plane the group was flying on during a tour, and almost left the group as a result. Although Hagar remained in order to finish up the tour, he insisted on flying in a separate airplane for the duration of the tour to avoid being exposed to Van Halen’s alleged dangerous drunken rampages.
Hagar has his own album that was released just yesterday called Cosmic Universal Fashion, and he is also heavily involved with Michael Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith in the aforementioned “Chickenfoot” project, something Hagar is no less excited about than Anthony and has described in the past as something that “could rival Led Zeppelin.” A bold claim to be sure, and it will certainly be interesting to hear this new material when it finally starts making its way out for us all to hear. They are hoping to complete the album they are working on sometime next summer.
For more on Hagar’s comments, check out KBS Radio.
October 31, 2008
Former Van Halen Bassist Michael Anthony Back on Track
Thinking back on how he was booted out of Van Halen evokes some painful memories for Michael Anthony. After a long career with the Van Halen brothers, Anthony learned early last year that he had been replaced by Eddie Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang.
According to Anthony, that wasn’t the most painful event that marked his split with the group, who had decided to reunite with frontman David Lee Roth for a full-blown tour. The real low blow was delivered by way of the Van Halen website where Anthony had discovered that his picture had been removed from all Van Halen album covers that appear on the site – including the first one – and replaced with pictures of Wolfgang.
Outraged fans made their voices heard, and Anthony’s pictures were soon restored to their rightful positions on the album covers as a result. “I mean, to think that somebody would go to the trouble of trying to erase me from the band’s past, that hurt. But I think the fans felt the same way because a day or two later the website was changed and my pictures were put back,” Anthony said.
These days things are looking up for Michael Anthony. He’s joined up with Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani and Chad Smith to form what is currently being called “Chickenfoot,” but word is that the name may be changed when they settle on what they actually want to be called.
The group is currently finishing up work on their new album, which Anthony sounds quite enthusiastic about – comparing the group’s energy to the early days of Van Halen.
No official release date for the album has been announced yet, but the group’s earlier plans were to finish recording by the end of September.
Read more at Music Radar.
May 31, 2008
Sammy Hagar Part of New ‘Supergroup’
Sammy Hagar is back in the news as a result of his recent plans to form what some people are calling a new supergroup.
Hagar is teaming up with drummer Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, guitarist Joe Satriani and former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony. Hagar and Anthony hanging out is nothing new since the two seem to have become close friends since their days in Van Halen.
It appears that Hagar has high hopes and great expectations for this new group. When asked what fans can expect, Hagar compares the sound to Led Zeppelin and says “it’s as good as that.” He goes on to say, “We could rival Zep.”
Hagar says that the new group has eight or nine songs ready to go and are planning to enter the studio on September 1.
Rock fans who long for the days of Van Hagar may have a while to wait, if they are fortunate enough to ever see those days again. Hagar says he loves Eddie Van Halen but Van Halen does not feel the same way about him.
“I heard that he (Van Halen) got cleaned up again. Hopefully he stays that way and doesn’t die, because before we both die we have to be friends again,” Hagar says.
