CHICKENFOOT's SATRIANI: 'We're Feeling Like We've Got A Few Records In Us'

Christa Titus of Billboard magazine recently conducted an interview with guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani of CHICKENFOOT. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Billboard: Why did you sign with Best Buy's label, Redline?

Joe Satriani: It was (Redline senior entertainment officer) Gary Arnold that made the deal feel right. Gary and Best Buy showed true commitment to getting the music to as many people as possible, leaving no retail or Net opportunity untapped. They have been very supportive of our efforts to use the Web to show people what the band is all about, previewing the new tracks and creating a community of Chickenheads. While this is a one-album deal, I see no reason to look elsewhere when we come back with record No. 2.

Billboard: Is the band looking at this as a long-term project?

Satriani: I think so. From the creative side of it, we're feeling like we've got a few records in us. We have to figure out how we're going to work it out schedule-wise, since everybody has something else to do, and nobody's interested in disrupting anyone else's schedule. But we just figured it'll work itself out, so we're just doing it one record and tour at a time.

Billboard: What is it like to write and record with a band after working as a solo artist for so long?

Satriani: It certainly is liberating to have so much talent to take advantage of. On a purely musical level, I can write a vague sketch and the bass player and the drummer will fill it up with amazing stuff. And I can count on Mike [Anthony] and Chad [Smith] to just go way over the top or think really deep into a groove ... Knowing Sam [Hagar] and how deep his musicianship is, I would say, "Well, I'm just going to write it and see what happens, because I know he's going to react to this," and sure enough, he would respond immediately.

Read the entire interview from www.reuters.com.