SAMMY HAGAR: 'I Miss VAN HALEN'

Even though Sammy Hagar says he's happy in CHICKENFOOT, and even though he pretty much threw guitarist Eddie Van Halen and drummer Alex Van Halen under the bus in his recent memoir, Hagar admitted to The Pulse Of Radio that he still has feelings for his time in VAN HALEN. "You know, I miss VAN HALEN," he said. "I don't like them fuckers and fuck those guys for what they did to Mikey [Anthony, ex-VAN HALEN bassist] especially, not me. Unnecessary. Bad guys. But I miss 'em, you know. [laughs] I miss that musicianship and that creative spark and that friction that made it all work, you know. So CHICKENFOOT's got all that, without the friction."

CHICKENFOOT, which features Hagar, Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS drummer Chad Smith, will release its second album, "Chickenfoot III", on September 27.

The first single from the set is called "Big Foot".

As previously reported, Smith will not join the band on tour this fall because of his commitments to the CHILI PEPPERS.

As he hinted recently, Hagar told SoundSpike that former JOHN MELLENCAMP drummer Kenny Aronoff may fill in for Smith on tour, explaining, "We're going to play with him for two days. If it works, we're going to go out in November, I think, and do a buzz tour, play small venues in five cities, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco. Then we'll make sure that it works and the chemistry is good. If it is we'll go out with Kenny."

Hagar added that Aronoff was Smith's personal choice, saying, "Chad picked him because he said Kenny's just like him. He beats his drum set to death. He doesn't play them. He beats them to death. At the end of every show you have to buy a new drum set for these guys. We need that power . . . When Chad can come back, we'll make 'Chickenfoot IV' probably with Chad."

"Chickenfoot III" may compete with the new VAN HALEN album, which will feature David Lee Roth on vocals and is reportedly out this fall.