Sammy Hagar Talks Up Chickenfoot Bandmate Satriani

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Having played alongside the likes of Eddie Van Halen, Ronnie Montrose and Neal Schon, you have to wonder if Sammy Hagar may be testing to  see how much praise guitarist Joe Satriani can take before his head swells up beyond its capacity to accommodate his often-worn hat.

While talking with Reno Gazette-Journal not long ago, Hagar called his new guitarist, Joe Satriani, the “the best guitarist I have ever played with.” That’s mighty high praise, when you consider that Hagar spent some significant time alongside guitarist Eddie Van Halen during his years with the group. For many, Van Halen is considered a guitar God and is held up as the greatest rock guitarist of all time. Joe Satriani

Hagar’s admiration for Satriani seems to be influenced by his ability to play so many types of music so well. “He can play anything and everything — folk, blues, jazz, hard rock, soft rock, fusion, you name it. As a guitar technician, Joe is the best guy I’ve ever stood in the same room with on any instrument. And he’s so soulful when he solos. He puts more feeling into a solo than any other player I’ve been with,” Hagar says.

As some may remember, Hagar dared to evoke the name of Led Zeppelin a while back while talking about the new group he has put together with Satriani, ex-Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers fame. At the time he went as far as saying the new supergroup “could rival Led Zeppelin.”

This time, when Hagar was asked how he might describe the group’s sound his comments were not quite so bold, but he does bring up Zeppelin again. “It’s like early Led Zeppelin with a little Deep Purple and Montrose. With Mike and I in there and me co-writing all the songs with Joe, you’re also going to get a little Van Halen — Van Hagar, you might say. But every band we ever loved, from the Stones to Cream, is in there. We even get funky every now and then.”

According to Hagar, Chickenfoot will be kicking off a tour of Europe this summer after which they are planning to return to tour here in the U.S.

For the full story, check out the Reno Gazette-Journal

1 Comment

  1. JohnnyQ Speidel May 23, 2009 at 11:24 am

    I have been a Hagar fan since the beginning. Sammy has had the pleasure of working with some of the best guitarists around. With out a doubt. But lets give Joe some credit here. This is one of, if not the greatist guitarist to ever play the instrument. His knowlegde of music and his technical prowess are second to none. This isn’t some kid who just hit the music scene, and is taking the world by storm. This is a man that has been making some of the most soulful music ever written for many many years. A musician that has poured his heart and soul into his music all his life. Someone that has shared his knowlegde with others that have turned out to be great musicinas in they’re own right as well. All you have to do is listen to some of his work and its easy to see why Sammy gives him such high praises. Its because he DESERVES IT. Im not worried about Joes head swelling to monumental proporsions. He’s as down to earth and grounded of a musician as anyone out there. So I’d like to end this by saying, “Thanks Joe for all the great music you’ve shared with us. You are an inspiration to us all.”

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