| Chickenfoot The members of Chickenfoot admit that the band came together almost by accident, a result of jams held at Hagar's club, Cabo Wabo Cantina, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. "We were just having fun," recalls Michael Anthony. "After Sammy and I left Van Halen, we'd get together with musicians, and certain people seemed to really gel. Chad came down and we got on well with him. Gradually, we started talking about doing something more serious, but we needed a guitarist. Somebody smokin' - somebody who could take us to the Promised Land." Enter Satch, who hooked up with Hagar, Anthony and Smith and felt "an immediate connection unlike anything I'd ever experienced before." To Satriani, who had almost abandoned his lifelong dream of being a part of a "big-time rock band," here was his chance, and here were his band mates. "After just a few songs, it became stunningly obvious that we shared an overall musical agenda. The only question was could we make a great album?" The band answered that question when they hunkered down with the illustrious producer Andy Johns at George Lucas' Skywalker Studios and knocked out a batch of songs that sets a new standard for rock music in the new millennium. From the thunderous, ominous opening strains of Avenida Revolution (detailing the bloody drug wars in Tijuana, in which Hagar makes his feelings come through his skin) to the album closer, the shimmering rock ballad "Future's in the Past," Chickenfoot is a firebomb of a record, the likes of which we haven't heard in ages. "People have this idea of what this band is about, or what Sammy Hagar is about as a lyricist and a vocalist. The thing is that we manage to get each guy to up his game in a non-confrontational way. When I play with Chickenfoot, I find myself wanting to give them more all the time. I don't hold anything back. I think the rest of the guys feel the same way," says Satriani. That Satriani unleashes sheets of shred magna is, of course, a given, but what's interesting is, as individualistic and recognizable as his talents are -- and this is true of all the players -- they transform in a strange and beautiful way on Chickenfoot. Likewise, Anthony and Smith, channel past heroes. For Anthony it's Electric Flag bassist Harvey Brooks. For Smith it's Zeppelin's John Bonham. Together, they perform something of an astonishing balancing act, dispending performances that meet at the intersection of Heavy and Nimble. This is what a rhythm section does, drives the band in forceful, creative ways. Listen to Chickenfoot and you'll hear what a true rhythm section sounds like.
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