NEWS: New Joe Satriani DVD/CD - Live in Paris: I Just Wanna Rock

Haven't picked this up myself yet but I hear that it's pretty freaking stellar. Satch's new DVD and double CD, Live In Paris: I Just Wanna Rock, is out now, and it's just the think to tide you over until the next Joe Satriani or Chickenfoot release.

You can see a few clips at Satch's website here, or click here to enter the sweepstakes to win a signed Ibanez guitar, Vox Satchurator, Planet Waves guitar strap and some other goodies.

NAMM 2010: Ibanez Joe Satriani acoustics, JS2400

Perhaps one of the more surprising Ibanez offerings at NAMM this year was the pair of Joe Satriani signature acoustics. While he's used acoustic guitars in the studio for years, Joe's not exactly the first name that comes to mind when you think 'acoustic,' but he's been playing a prototype of this new model on stage with Chickenfoot lately, and the guitar is now in production. Here are my pics from NAMM (that's the JSA10 on top and JSA5 on the bottom).

Ibanez Unleashes New Joe Satriani Signature Acoustic Guitars
January 28, 2010

Already world famous for its JS line of Joe Satriani signature electric guitars, Ibanez this year embarks on a shimmering new acoustic adventure with Joe, with the new JSA acoustic guitar. Joe says his JSA acoustic "feels great, plays great and sounds wonderful. And, in all black, it looks so cool! It has outstanding projection and an impressive dynamic range too, with a powerful clear tone essential for live performance. The JSA acoustic has a full and balanced sound that's perfect for strumming, soloing, or delicate finger picking. It has good access to the upper frets, and the electronics make anything you play sound clear and natural."

JSA signature acoustics arrive in two models, the all-solid construction JSA10BK and its more affordable version, the JSA5BK. JSA10BK features a solid Engelmann spruce top and solid rosewood back and sides. The JSA5BK combines a solid Engelmann spruce top with mahogany back and sides.

Both JSA models feature fine Fishman pickup/preamp electronics, chrome Grover tuners and black high gloss finish and come equipped with D'Addario® EXP™ coated strings.

Ibanez also launched the 24-fret JS2400 which Joe mentioned in my interview with him back in June. Here's what Joe had to say about it at the time.

"It’s a really cool thing. I’ve always liked the idea of having those frets up there but I never wanted to move the humbucking pickup. That’s always been the problem because the humbucking neck pickup really only works where Gibson stuck it on the Les Paul. To me, that’s the spot, and once you start moving it back towards the bridge it starts to become horrible-sounding. Other guitars that have had the 24 frets and they move that pickup, it’s like, you may as well get rid of it, you know? So I was determined to solve this. And what saved us was the DiMarzio Pro Track. Ibanez got this thing right up against the last fret. It’s amazing how they were able to do it. It’s got a little bit more generous cutaway to the body so you can get up there and play up there. We’re still experimenting with the bridge pickup. I’m thinking it might be a Norton, one of the pickups I designed along with the FRED and the Mo’Jo with DiMarzio. Steve Blucher at DiMarzio is a wizard, so when I say I designed the pickups, that’s a euphemism for me requesting something (laughs). I say “Steve, can you just give me something that goes, like, ‘KKRRR-RURRRR’?” and he goes “Okay. Gimmie a couple of days.”

Specs include basswood body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard, original Edge bridge (by the way, the Edge is now standard on all Prestige JS models - woohoo!), DiMarzio Mo' Joe bridge pickup and DiMarzio Pro Track neck pickup.

Here's Ibanez's page about the JS2400, while this page includes a video featuring Joe talking about the new axe.

NEWS: Chickenfoot updates site, gives away Ibanez JS!

The Chickenfoot website (www.chickenfoot.us)has been upgraded and to celebrate the relaunch one lucky winner can get their hands on an autographed Ibanez JS with Chickenfoot graphic!!! WANT! Read my interview with Joe Satriani about Chickenfoot here.

The Chickenfoot site says:

Hello People of the Foot! We are excited to invite you to check out the updated version of the site, and most importantly, encourage you to start uploading your photos and videos from the tour! If you don't already have an account, just create one and you'll be off and running!

Most importantly, we are also celebrating the site launch with a BRAND NEW CONTEST -- UPLOAD YOUR BEST LIVE VIDEO FROM THE TOUR AND WIN AN AUTOGRAPHED CHICKENFOOT GUITAR + FULL MERCHANDISE SWAG PACKAGE! Entries are voted on by the community and Joe, Chad, Mike and Sammy will be choosing the grand prize winner themselves in a SPECIAL LIVE BROADCAST FROM THE DEC 5 VEGAS SHOW. We're putting the final touches on it now and you can expect to get a special peak at SOUNDCHECK, see the guys announce the winner, and answer a few questions from you fans. More details coming, upload your videos and start voting on others today! To post a video, log in and click on the "PROFILE" link up there on the top of the page to the right under the logo, then click the "Add video" link. You can view videos by visiting the MEDIA section and videos also will show up on their tour detail page.

We'll be updating you in the coming weeks with more details on the site but please start poking around and see some of the cool new features that we have for the awesome community of fans who have supported the band so amazingly on the whirlwind trip from the album's release to GOLD! Once you are logged in, you can add tour photos, tour videos, and even maintain a blog here at CHICKENFOOT.US. We'll pick our favorite blogs and feature them on the home page.

Please be thoughtful and only post appropriate content (that means photos and videos from the shows)-- we will be keeping an eye on things and switch to moderated first if it becomes necessary.

Oh yeah, one last thing... ON DEC 1st for ONE NIGHT ONLY, you can check out a world premiere of CHICKENFOOT LIVE theater show in participating theaters. For more details read here.

NEWS: Premier Guitar, Vox give you 5 new Satch tracks

Premier Guitar, Vox and Joe Satriani want to give you a present: 5 brand new Satch tracks (well, 4 but one of them is a different mix) featuring Joe and his signature Vox pedals.

Go here for the download links.

The tracks are:
BBW #2 mix1 Joe steps out in this ultra-funky jam infused with healthy doses of Big Bad Wah and Time Machine delay.
BBW #3 mix The track that started it all! This is the soundtrack to our Big Bad Wah demonstration video—an amazing, high energy performance featuring the Big Bad Wah.
BBW DDL JAM mix Trip out with this drum and bass-style performance featuring the Time Machine delay in its time-bending element.
BBW WAH JAM mix An alternate take of the BBW DDL JAM mix featuring the Big Bad Wah.
BBW WAH VERB JAM mix A remix of the BBW WAH JAM mix featuring the Time Machine delay used as a reverb.

Musician's Friend shopping links:
Vox Joe Satriani Time Machine Delay Guitar Effects Pedal
Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal Red Metallic
Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal Red Metallic

Save Up to 90% on Almost Everything at MusiciansFriend.com (exp: 8/31)

NEWS: Vox Big Bad Wah secret feature revealed!

Wow, I did not see this one coming. Vox and Joe Satriani have revealed a secret hidden feature within the Big Bad Wah pedal. Watch this video for more info.



CLICK HERE to buy the Vox Big Bad Wah from Musician's Friend and try it for yourself.

NEWS: Peavey website reflects Satch's Marshall move

Take a look at this Chickenfoot news story at Peavey.com - they've chopped out any reference to Joe Satriani in this Chickenfoot story, hot on the heels of Satch switching to Marshall while on tour with Chickenfoot in Europe. Even Satch's picture is missing.

The article says: Chickenfoot, the supergroup formed by bass legend Michael Anthony with Sammy Hagar and Red Hot Chili Pepper Chad Smith, relies on a Peavey backline for its self-titled debut album, released on June 5.

Ouch.

UPDATE! Peavey has since reinstated the reference to Joe being in Chickenfoot, and un-cropped the photo. 

By the way, Anthony's tone on this album is great and the Peavey article really makes me want to check out the Peavey VB-3.

NEWS: Satriani uses Marshall amps on Chickenfoot tour

Ok, first up, here's a press release that's doing the rounds. Read on after the press release for my thoughts.

06/2009 - Joe Satriani joins the Marshall family!

Marshall Amplification plc is pleased to announce that Joe Satriani will be using a Marshall backline for new group Chickenfoot. The super group, made up of four rock legends, started the European leg of their world tour on June 20th and will be heading back over to the States in August to continue .

Joe contacted Marshall Amplification prior to the first show at the Nova Rock Festival in Austria in order to check out some new Marshall gear. Marshall took some amps to the rehearsals, and Joe loved the tone of the JVM410H.

Joe used the JVM410H for the show at the Nova Rock Festival and will be visiting the Marshall factory this week to have a look around and try out different speaker cabinets.

Chickenfoot recently released their debut album and has taken the States by storm, going in at number 4 on the Billboard Album charts. For more information on Chickenfoot, check out www.chickenfoot.us

WHAT?!? So what of the Peavey JSX series? Is this why the JSX 50 hasn't come out yet? Or is Joe just using Marshall because in some countries it can be really hard to find Peavey gear, whereas Marshalls are pretty much the standard when it comes to renting backline? I mean, I'm pretty well travelled within the guitar world here in Australia and I've only ever seen two Peavey JSX amps, and they were on stage with Joe. So is Joe leaving Peavey, or is he just using Marshall for convenience? I guess only time will tell.

EDIT: Wow, time told pretty quickly! According to the extraordinarily awesome Music Radar, Joe says: "What can I say? I guess I'm crazy... But, I'm just looking to achieve the best guitar sound every moment I'm plugged in, and that brought me back to Marshall Amps."

CLICK HERE to read my interview with Joe, conducted and published last week.

INTERVIEW: Joe Satriani

You have to have been living in some kind of coop to not have heard about Chickenfoot, the new supergroup featuring Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, Mike Anthony and Chad Smith. Far from just being a mixture of Van Halen, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and a certain surfing alien guitarist, Chickenfoot rocks with a distinctive band sound. You get the feeling the 'foot is in it for the long run,

I Heart Guitar: Hi Joe! Peter from I Heart Guitar here. This is the third time I’ve interviewed you and also, you replied to me on Twitter a couple of weeks ago.

Joe Satriani: (Laughs) Oh fantastic. It’s funny how I’ve taken to doing Twitter while I’m sitting here in my studio practicing, just a crazy thing to do while I’m taking 60 seconds off.

I Heart Guitar: Same, if I’m typing up an article I’m sometimes like, ‘Eh, I just need to blab about stuff for a few seconds.’

Satriani: It’s a strange modern neurosis, isn’t it? Twitter is made for people like us who need to somehow get things out. It’s funny, before these interviews started I posted a picture that I got from these guys at Vox – someone’s girlfriend had given her boyfriend a birthday cake in the shape of a giant Satchurator pedal. It was the funniest picture.

I Heart Guitar: I saw that! So, first question: The album debuted at number 4, how cool is that!

Satriani: Yeah, I swear, I was thinking we were going to be 100-something. So when someone said “You know, I think we might be in the top 20” I was like, “Yeah, right.” Then, “No it’s going to be in the top 10.” Then as it came closer and closer I started getting emails from Gary Arnold at Best Buy saying “You’d better be ready, this is coming out at number 4.” Dave Matthews, Green Day, Black Eyed Peas. Classic rock up against those guys, it’s a great moment for rock.

I Heart Guitar: So you just wrapped up a mini tour?

Satriani: We did this little club tour. We called it a Road Test tour and we played in places that held 400 people, little sweat boxes, and it was so much fun, to take a real rock band like this with a brand new record that no-one had heard and just try to make them hear it and understand it. There’s nothing like feedback from a few hundred people who can scratch your nose during the show if they want (laughs). I mean, you really do have to do your work, but the feedback you get is great, and the fans who came to see us can take pride in being part of the experience that told us how to do it. I’m glad we did it and we’ll take that experience to Europe for this festival tour that’s starting later this week.

I Heart Guitar: Did you learn anything new about the songs after playing them on the tour?

Satriani: What you learn about is which part should stay the same and which parts are flexible. And you learn that with every album. I’ve learned that every time I’ve taken an instrumental record on the road. For instance, you learn that Flying In A Blue Dream has got to be handled very carefully but Ice 9 can be played a million different ways and it still works. You just never really know until you try. It was good for us to get this happening because let me tell you something: between February 2008 when we first played together and then a year later, we had still only spent 43 days making a record and about a week more playing together. We had never played all the songs top to bottom, let alone do a show. So we really were a band that against all odds recorded an album, and then all of a sudden we had to get experience like a normal band would. We condensed it into that little two-week club tour.

I Heart Guitar: And I hear you guys might possibly be coming down here to Australia sooner or later?

Satriani: You know I have made it my personal quest to convince the guys in the band that Chickenfoot needs to tour the world twice before it thinks about taking a break or going in to record another album. I’m the kind of guy who’s toured almost everywhere and I keep telling them, “We’ve gotta go to Australia, we’ve gotta go to New Zealand. I want to take you guys to India and the Pacific Rim. And we might as well do South Africa while we’re at it, let alone South America, North America and Europe.” Sammy doesn’t have a whole bunch of experience touring outside of America. He started out that way in Montrose but Van Halen wasn’t really that adventurous when it came to international touring. I think Chad is the only other one with a lot of international experience because the Chilli Peppers are a worldwide phenomenon.

I Heart Guitar: How do you approach guitar for Chickenfoot compared to your own songs?

Satriani: The biggest difference is that in a band like this with the kind of music we’re writing, I knew from the start that the rhythm guitar, the guitar that plays the riff, the intro guitar, the guitar that really plays with the rhythm section, has got to be the heart and soul of the band. It really does. It’s not about the soloist. To me that’s more like an 80s kind of a thing, where the guitarist is always on a self-promotion trip. And that was cool back then. Eddie Van Halen was the star of that: he had the true chops to pull that off. But I didn’t want to just revisit that era. Having lived through it myself I’m not interested in that. So I looked further back, and Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, they created these amazing records with their amazing rhythm guitar parts that really embodied the soul of the music. Then when the solo part came they would freak out and go crazy, but then they’d get back to what you really wanted which was the band rocking riffs. I made it my personal quest to make sure that happened. I wasn’t thinking Chickenfoot was a vehicle for Joe Satriani to fuse his solo stuff with a singer. I wanted it to be something totally Chickenfoot, something totally original with the band. I think everybody felt the same way in their own right. They weren’t out to try to reproduce what they were famous for. They wanted to use the band as impetus to do something new that they hadn’t done before.

I Heart Guitar: One thing I think is really cool about the band is hearing Mike Anthony right up there in the mix, and it’s so great to hear those backing vocals again too. Listening to Chickenfoot reminds me of how absolutely important he was to Van Halen.

Satriani: Yeah I know, he’s the sound, really, the sound of that band. That vocal blend is amazing. His playing, I remember every time we’d finish doing a song I’d say “How come I never heard that on a Van Halen song?” Musically I can see it because Eddie was a more adventurous player and maybe they thought the bass should be simpler so Eddie could be crazier, but the way we structure our stuff, no-one ever said a word to Mike. We just figured he’d play whatever he wants because everything he plays, we love it. It’s great. And then of course, having Andy Johns engineering for us was great because he loves Mike’s playing. He loves to hear that bass sounding big and fat. I think it’s so important.

I Heart Guitar: Well the Van Halen album Andy produced (For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, 1991) was the only one where you could really hear Mike. So why did you choose Andy this time?

Satriani: It was one of these things where we had this weird schedule where every two months we’d get together for two days and try to learn as many new songs as I had written, and we knew that at some point we were going to want to be in the studio for a month and really finish the record. I was thinking we needed a producer who was a big tall guy with a loud voice who could really take control of this. I thought Andy would be the perfect guy for the things we just talked about with Mike. I thought he was the only guy who could capture Chad, because Chad’s drumming is so intense. When you’re in a room with him it sounds nothing like the Chilli Peppers. It sounds like the craziest, biggest rock drummer you’ve ever heard. So I thought I need a big guy who knows how to record other big guys to capture this. Now, I’d made a record with Andy before (The Extremist, 1992) and I’d made a record with his brother (Glyn Johns), and he’d made a Van Halen record before – although Sammy had fired him at one point! But when I brought his name up everyone was like, “Yeah, let’s do it.” I guess everyone was feeling the same way. Andy came in and he really did bring a lot of wonderful sounds and a lot of great arrangement ideas. He really knew how to capture us when we were good, and he refused to record us if he thought we were sucking (laughs), which was great. When everybody left and it was just Andy and myself in the studio we had a great time doing the overdubs because we felt the same way: that this was a record that, if you needed a banjo, then you would play it. If you needed eight harmonicas, you would play it. If you needed a piano, an organ and twelve electric 12-strings, you just did it. So that’s what we did. We spent about three or four weeks just going crazy every day trying anything to make the songs that much better. He has great experience at that. He really knows how to pick the right instruments for the right job.

He’s got this funny thing where you’ll be trying to do a part and he’s looking at ya, giving you attitude, like, “No, that sucks, don’t play that. Do something else.” Then you play something and he’ll just get so excited, and he’ll say “You know what? That’s it. I’m leaving. You can stay here and waste your time but I’m leaving.” And he’ll just go. And you go “Wow, he’s the weirdest guy ever,” you know? But two days later you listen back and you go, “Oh he was right! Everything else after that did suck. That was the take!” It was good to have him around.

I Heart Guitar: So I wouldn’t be much of a guitar geek if I didn’t ask you what stuff you used on the album.

Satriani: Oh yes, a long list of crazy things. There are songs like Oh Yeah, Soap On A Rope and Get It Up, which basically was my live rig recorded at Sam’s studio. We really thought we were doing demos but they were so charismatic that we used them as our main recording. So that would be the Ibanez JS1000, the Vox pedals and the Peavey JSX. Probably just one head and cabinet, and it was probably just mic’d with whatever was there at Sam’s studio. Then there were songs that were done at the Skywalker studios where we had some other vintage 4X12 cabinets, and we had this Peavey 50 watt prototype that we were working on. The channel switching didn’t work and the effects loop wasn’t wired up – it was really an ugly-looking thing, but it did do this one thing great, which was it had this clean-yet-distorted, right on the edge sound that was just perfect for what we were doing.

I Heart Guitar: Is this the JSX 50 that was announced at Winter NAMM?

Satriani: Yeah but I don’t know when it’s going to come out. We’re still working on it. We’re still trying to make it as good as we can. Then there were some other things thrown in there, like I have two 59 Fender Twin amps that are just great relics. When we need a little slide wah-wah part we plug into that. The harmonicas all went into my Peavey Mini Colossal amp, a great amp for harmonica. When we needed a little extra fairy dust I played a 1966 Fender electric 12-string and a not-so-old Rickenbacker 12-string. Sometimes we’d put them into a Vox AC30. I’ve got a vintage one from 1964. Sometimes we’d just record them direct and sometimes we’d do a blend. I had some other vintage guitars like a 69 Fender Strat, a 55 Gibson Les Paul, a 59 Gibson ES-335 and a 58 Fender Telecaster, and we would sprinkle them in among the songs to, what would you call it… I guess you’re widening the frequency range. There’s a song on the record called My Kind Of Girl, and the main guitar is a JS1000 from 1990. It’s got a snake pattern on it, drop D tuning into the 50 watt Peavey prototype. Then its brother guitar on the other side, on the right channel, is a 58 Esquire into the same amp with the treble attenuated quite a bit because that’s a really bright guitar. The two of them together was great. The Esquire really supported keeping the JS1000 as the main guitar. Then for the solo we used the prototype Ibanez JS24, which is a 24-fret model I’ve got coming out, which has a very thick, heavy sound. As soon as that solo comes on it’s like, “Whoa.” It has its own identity. I still like doing that, and Andy’s a big fan of that, of trying to balance the stereo field with different things. So sometimes we’d do it with guitars, sometimes I’d play piano, or organ, or Wurlitzer electric piano, and double my guitar part with a piano part. There are songs where, I kid you not, there’s three synths, an organ, a piano, six 12-strings and an acoustic, all on one side. You can barely hear them but they’re there, kinda gurgling about.

I Heart Guitar: What more can you tell us about the JS24?

Satriani: It’s a really cool thing. I’ve always liked the idea of having those frets up there but I never wanted to move the humbucking pickup. That’s always been the problem because the humbucking neck pickup really only works where Gibson stuck it on the Les Paul. To me, that’s the spot, and once you start moving it back towards the bridge it starts to become horrible-sounding. Other guitars that have had the 24 frets and they move that pickup, it’s like, you may as well get rid of it, you know? So I was determined to solve this. And what saved us was the DiMarzio Pro Track. Ibanez got this thing right up against the last fret. It’s amazing how they were able to do it. It’s got a little bit more generous cutaway to the body so you can get up there and play up there. We’re still experimenting with the bridge pickup. I’m thinking it might be a Norton, one of the pickups I designed along with the FRED and the Mo’Jo with DiMarzio. Steve Blucher at DiMarzio is a wizard, so when I say I designed the pickups, that’s a euphemism for me requesting something (laughs). I say “Steve, can you just give me something that goes, like, ‘KKRRR-RURRRR’?” and he goes “Okay. Gimmie a couple of days.”

I Heart Guitar: I interviewed him a little while ago and he was really entertaining.

Satriani: Oh he’s amazing. He’s a very knowledgeable yet incredibly funny person. He makes just the greatest pickups ever. He and Larry are just really fantastic people. So anyway, we were just talking about that today in fact, myself and Steve, about trying to just go that extra one last .1%, because we’re so close to having the guitar all finished out. We’ve already picked out the colour of this and the colour of that and all this sort of stuff. But I’m excited about it. It’s really nice. That neck pickup really is like, wow, it really just sounds like the biggest Strat you ever played.

Chickenfoot's debut self-titled album is out now.

CHICKENFOOT tour dates:

Jun. 20 - Austria Nova Rock Festival
Jun. 23 - Cork, Ireland: Live At The Marquee
Jun. 25 - London Shepherd's Bush Empire
Jun. 26 - Holland: Heerhugowaard
Jun. 28 - Belgium Graspop Metal Meeting Festival
Jun. 29 - Paris: Olympia
Jul. 01 - Madrid (venue to be confirmed)
Jul. 03 - Pistoia, Italy: Blues Festival
Jul. 04 - Montreux, Switzerland: Stravinski Hall
Jul. 05 - Udine, Italy: Lignano Sbbiadoro
Jul. 07 - Hamburg: Grosse Freiheit
Jul. 08 - Copenhagen: Vega
Jul. 10 - Kilafors, Sweden: Rockweekend Festival
Jul. 12 - Weert, Holland: Bospop Festival

NEWS: Preview the Chickenfoot CD

Woke up this morning to see on Blabbermouth that you can now preview (or is that pre-hear?) every track from the Chickenfoot CD at the website of Swiss multimedia site CeDe. Awesome! Haven’t had a chance to check the link out myself yet – no time to sit at the computer when there’s jogging to be done, and my office computer is speakerless, dagnabbit – but I can’t wait to check these tracks out tonight. Thanks to Chris for pointing out that you can only hear 30 seconds of each song, by the way.

So What do you think of the previews?

Chickenfoot - Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, Mike Anthony and Chad Smith, release their self-titled debut album on June 9. CLICK HERE to preorder the import version of the album from Amazon.com for $24.49.

NEWS: Chickenfoot vinyl-only bonus track

Man, every guitar site on the internet is quickly becoming a Chickenfoot PR machine! These guys are releasing new tracks and new news pretty much every day now. The latest is that the vinyl edition of their self-titled album will include an exclusive bonus track called ‘Bitten By The Wolf.’ Without hearing the lyrics it’s hard to say if the song is a reference to Wolfgang Van Halen, hehe.

Here’s the link to preorder the CD and vinyl editions at Best Buy.

CLICK HERE to see Ibanez JS (Joe Satriani) guitars on eBay.

NEWS: Chickenfoot tour dates

North American "ROAD TEST" Dates

Playing a series of intimate venues, this initial tour is set to launch on May 14th and runs until May 29th. Keep an eye on the site in the next day for a special video from the guys announcing these shows!

May 14 El Corazon - Seattle, WA - Onsale 4/18, presale 4/17 10:00am
May 15 Commodore Ballroom -Vancouver, BC, CA - Onsale 4/17, presale 4/16 10:00am
May 17 The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA - Onsale 4/18, presale 4/17 10:00am
May 19 The Roxy Theatre - West Hollywood, CA - Onsale 4/18, presale 4/17 10:00am
May 22 Park West - Chicago, IL - Onsale 4/17, presale 4/16 10:00am
May 24 The Mod Club Theatre - Toronto, ON, CA - Onsale 4/18, presale 4/17 10:00am
May 26 Middle East Upstairs - Cambridge, MA - Onsale 4/18, presale 4/17 10:00am
May 28 The Fillmore NY @ Irving Plaza - New York, NY - Onsale 4/17, presale 4/16 10:00am
May 29 TLA - Philadelphia, PA - Onsale 4/18, presale 4/17 10:00am

Europe Summer 2009 Dates

Sat Jun 20 AUSTRIA Nova Rock Festival
Tue Jun 23 CORK, IRELAND: Live at the Marquee (solo show)
Thu Jun 25 LONDON Shepherd's Bush Empire (solo show)
Fri Jun 26 HOLLAND: Heerhugowaard (solo show)
Sun Jun 28 BELGIUM Graspop Metal Meeting Festival w/ Marylyn Manson, Nightwish, Disturbed, Chickenfoot
Mon Jun 29 PARIS: Olympia (solo show)
Wed Jul 1 Madrid (venue tbc)
Fri Jul 3 PISTOIA, ITALY: Blues Festival (line-up TBA)
Sat Jul 4 MONTREUX, SWITZERLAND: Stravinski Hall Featuring Steely Dan, Dave Matthews, Chickenfoot
Sun Jul 5 UDINE, ITALY: Lignano Sbbiadoro
Tue Jul 7 HAMBURG: Docks (solo show)
Wed Jul 8 COPENHAGEN: Vega (solo show)
Fri Jul 10 KILAFORS, SWEDEN: Rockweekend Festival
Sun Jul 12 WEERT, HOLLAND: Bospop Festival Featuring Bryan Adams and Chickenfoot

NEWS: More Chickenfoot music!

I know there's been a lot of hype about Chickenfoot, but man, I'm diggin' this stuff. It may not be the greatest album of all time (I believe that title goes to Mike Keneally's Sluggo!) but as a slice of groovy rock it's got a lot going for it. Check out the song 'Oh Yeah' here, along with the previously released 'Down The Drain' and 'Soap On A Rope.'

The self-titled CD will be made available by earMUSIC in Germany on Friday, June 5 and in the U.K. on Monday. June 8. The album will be released by Best Buy in the U.S. on Sunday, June 7.

Chickenfoot track listing:

01. Avenida Revolution
02. Soap on a Rope
03. Sexy Little Thing
04. Oh Yeah
05. Runnin' Out
06. Get It Up
07. Down the Drain
08. My Kinda Girl
09. Learning to Fall
10. Turnin' Left
11. Future in the Past

MUSIKMESSE 2009: Satch talks Vox pedals, Chickenfoot (video)

Music Radar had a little chat with Joe Satriani at Musikmesse about his Vox signature pedal line, in which Joe talked about the design philosophy of the series and dropped some tiny hints of what may be next.

Satch also talks about using his Vox Big Bad Wah and Peavey JSX50 on the forthcoming Chickenfoot album.

View the interview here:



Music123 links:

Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal Red Metallic

Vox Joe Satriani Time Machine Delay Guitar Effects Pedal Standard

Vox Joe Satriani Big Bad Dual Wah Guitar Effects Pedal Standard

CLICK HERE to see Ibanez JS guitars on eBay

NEWS: Full Chickenfoot album details

Here's the press release for the Chickenfoot album. Excited? I am!

CHICKENFOOT, the new rock supergroup comprised of drummer Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS), bassist Michael Anthony (ex-VAN HALEN), guitarist Joe Satriani and vocalist Sammy Hagar (ex-VAN HALEN), has announced the global release of its self-titled debut album. The CD will be made available by earMUSIC in Germany on Friday, June 5 and in the U.K. on Monday. June 8. The album will be released by Best Buy in the U.S. on Sunday, June 7.
"Chickenfoot" will be packaged in heat-sensitive artwork, which means when you put your hand on the CD inlay, photos of the band members will be revealed behind the CHICKENFOOT band logo.

"Chickenfoot" track listing:

01. Avenida Revolution
02. Soap on a Rope
03. Sexy Little Thing
04. Oh Yeah
05. Runnin' Out
06. Get It Up
07. Down the Drain
08. My Kinda Girl
09. Learning to Fall
10. Turnin' Left
11. Future in the Past

Hagar wasn't looking to form a new group in his post-VAN HALEN career. "I really wasn't looking to have a real band, but when I got involved with these guys, only a fool would say, 'No, I'm not going to do this.' The minute we started jamming it was obvious, like, 'This is something that needs to be heard.'"

A great band is nothing without a great rhythm section, and CHICKENFOOT has one of the best in the two-man team of bassist Michael Anthony and drummer Chad Smith.

As a founding member (and fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famer) of VAN HALEN, Anthony laid the bedrock for which guitar genius Eddie Van Halen could fly. More than that, he provided a signature style of background vocal that became an intrinsic part of that band. "A total fluke," the good-natured bassist humbly asserts. "I was just doing what came naturally."

Hagar sees Anthony's abilities differently. "Michael keeps the band going," he says. "Listen, he's never going to get the kind of credit he deserves — he played next to Eddie Van Halen. Hell, Jack Bruce didn't get much credit compared to Eric Clapton — that's just the nature of things. Mikey held down the fort, and he still does."

Aiding Anthony in holding down the fort is Chad Smith, drummer for the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, who have, since Smith joined the group in the late Eighties, gone from cult faves to a worldwide force. Heretofore thought of as a "funk/alternative" drummer, Smith gets to rock hard with CHICKENFOOT, and the percussion explosion he creates might come as a surprise to those who only know of his work from tracks like "Under The Bridge".

"The guy's from Detroit, for God's sake!" says Hagar. "He can play the hell out of funk, but he's a rocker. He plays hard, man. You could put one mic in a room with Chad, and you can hear all the parts of his kit — he's hard, but he's balanced. The band wouldn't exist without his groove."

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 bandmates. "After just a few songs, it became stunningly obvious that we shared an overall musical agenda," he says. "The only question was could we make a great album?"

The band answered that question last fall 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.

The band kicks and snorts their way through a passel of take-no-prisoners rockers like "Soap on a Rope", "Sexy Little Thing", "Oh Yeah" and "My Kind of Girl".

"These are the kinds of songs I could never do on my own," says Satriani. "I needed a band like this to make those songs come alive."

The band explores mature themes on songs such as "Runnin' Out", about a world stretched to the breaking point to "Learning to Fall", perhaps the most poignant love song Hagar has ever written lyrics for. As both a vocalist and songwriter, Hagar's intensity and forcefulness are on vivid display on "Chickenfoot".

"I write what comes to mind," the singer says. "I'm not bound by anything subject-wise. I'm inspired by the music. When I heard the music Joe was going for, it made me reach, it made me stretch. I think it made me sing in a way that I normally wouldn't have done. We seem to have that kind of effect on each other."

Satriani agrees. "People have this idea of what this band is about, or what Sammy Hagar is about as a lyricist and a vocalist," he says. "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."

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.

"Chickenfoot", which is already being hailed as the most intense rock 'n' roll album since LED ZEPPELIN's classic efforts, coincides with a European tour that will consist of outdoor festivals, including Montreaux, Switzerland, and Bospop, Holland, plus various intimate indoor rock shows, including the London O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire on June 25.

Tickets for the London 02 Shepherd's Bush Empire concert go on sale at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, March 27. This will be CHICKENFOOT's only UK date on the European tour.

CHICKENFOOT tour dates:

Jun. 20 - Austria Nova Rock Festival
Jun. 23 - Cork, Ireland: Live At The Marquee
Jun. 25 - London Shepherd's Bush Empire
Jun. 26 - Holland: Heerhugowaard
Jun. 28 - Belgium Graspop Metal Meeting Festival
Jun. 29 - Paris: Olympia
Jul. 01 - Madrid (venue to be confirmed)
Jul. 03 - Pistoia, Italy: Blues Festival
Jul. 04 - Montreux, Switzerland: Stravinski Hall
Jul. 05 - Udine, Italy: Lignano Sbbiadoro
Jul. 07 - Hamburg: Grosse Freiheit
Jul. 08 - Copenhagen: Vega
Jul. 10 - Kilafors, Sweden: Rockweekend Festival
Jul. 12 - Weert, Holland: Bospop Festival

NEWS: 2 full Chickenfoot songs!

Quick! www.myspace.com/thechickenfoot!!! Two full Chickenfoot songs! Rockin'! Loud! Funky! Satchy! Chunky! Rocksome! Go! Listen! Come back here and tell me what ya think!

Personally I like it. Kinda reminds me of some of Sammy's rockier solo stuff, but with Satch wailin' away and some cool solid Mike Anthony bass playing. Can't wait to hear the rest of the album.

According to Blabbermouth, CHICKENFOOT, the "supergroup" featuring members of the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS and VAN HALEN, played a private concert on March 18, 2009 in Southern California for employees of Best Buy. 

CHICKENFOOT will release its self-titled debut disc this spring. The first single from the CD will either be "Oh, Yeah!" or "Bitten By The Wolf". The band will also hit the road in May in support of the album, hitting clubs in the U.S. first, heading to Europe during the summer, then coming back for a larger North American run in the fall.

The group plans to perform songs from each of its members' careers in addition to tracks from the CHICKENFOOT album, so fans will get to hear songs from VAN HALEN, the CHILI PEPPERS, Satriani, and Hagar's solo catalog.

CHICKENFOOT will appear on the cover of the June issue of Guitar World, due out on April 7.

NEWS: Chickenfoot play first live show

Whoa, photos are starting to appear on Twitter following the live debut of Chickenfoot, the supergroup featuring Joe Satriani, Mike Anthony, Sammy Hagar and Chad Smith. I’m sure more info will come to hand, and I’ll try to stay on top of it, but from THIS PHOTO it appears that Sammy Hagar occasionally plays guitar in the band too: note his amps either side of the drum kit.

Follow I Heart Guitar on Twitter by clicking here.

NEWS: News for March 19, 2009

Vox Big Bad Wah shipping now
The Vox Joe Satriani Big Bad Wah is shipping now. It’s $219.99 from Guitar Center. I’m not sure if I’m going to get one of these or not as I have my eye on another wah to replace my tired old Crybaby, which is too new to be vintage but too beaten up to be in prime condition. The other Vox Satch pedals are also available.
Source: Guitar Center.
Buy: Vox Joe Satriani Big Bad Wah Dual Wah Guitar Effects Pedal Standard 

Vox Joe Satriani Time Machine Delay Guitar Effects Pedal Standard $199.99
Vox Joe Satriani Satchurator Distortion Guitar Effects Pedal Red Metallic for $129.99

DJ Ashba in Guns ‘N’ Roses?
Metal Sludge says there are rumours that Beautiful Creatures/SIXX AM guitarist DJ Ashba is in the running to replace Robin Finck in Guns ‘N’ Roses, now that Robin has gone back to Nine Inch Nails.
Source: Metal Sludge

Lynyrd Skynyrd signs with Loud & Proud
Southern rock gods Lynyrd Skynyrd have signed with Loud & Proud, the Roadrunner Records imprint headed up by Tom Lipsky which is also home to Sammy Hagar and Collective Soul.
Skynyrd will release a new album on the label later this year.
Source: Melodicrock

Strociek Tension Springs
Strociek Music, the company which recently released the TurboTrem series (a replacement trem bar with an Allen wrench built into it) has unveiled Strociek Tension Springs, which use a revolutionary new polymer to eliminate noise through pick-ups. This is a great idea for anyone who has been plagued by that clangy, reverberous sound of trem springs, and for dudes like Steve Vai who have tried to combat the problem by stuffing the guitar’s trem cavity with tissue paper. A unit of 3 Strociek Tensions Springs are available for $6.
Source: Strociek

GEAR: About my rig on the Satch 'how to' video

I’ve had a few people ask me about the gear I used for the ‘How To Do Satch-Style Harmonic Squeals’ video I posted on the weekend. Here’s an edited version of a response I wrote to a user on Jemsite.

* Ibanez RG550 20th anniversary reissue with stock pickups.
* Marshall JCM2000 DSL50 amp
* AxeTrak isolated speaker cabinet
* MXR/CAE Boost/Overdrive pedal
* MXR Carbon Copy analog delay.

If you're interested in buying any of this stuff, there are links at the bottom of the post.

About the guitar: A lot of people change these pickups straight away without even giving them a chance, but I think they’re great. There’s a little 30-second shred video on my YouTube channel www.youtube.com/iheartguitarblog which is the same exact amp and effect setup but using the neck pickup instead. The neck pickup reminds me of Andy Timmons.

I fully expected to change out the stock V2 pickups, but after playing them for a few days I decided they were fine (although the single coil is a bit microphonic so if I’m using that I turn the boost pedal off). I never really liked the V8s – too barky for the sound I'm going for. The V2s sit very nicely in the mix and they’re great for either alternate picking or legato. They seem to emphasize everything you do, so if you have your phrasing together it really shows.

About the amp: The guitar is recorded directly from the AxeTrak into my Digidesign M-Box with no processing. For the recording I used the amp’s lead channel (in normal mode, not ‘Ultra’). Gain at 5, master at 6, through an AxeTrak isolated speaker cabinet. All of the tone controls on the Marshall are turned up to 10, although when using a regular Marshall cabinet instead of the AxeTrak I reduce the treble and presence to 5 to get the same sound. The AxeTrak sounds great but you just have to learn to compensate for its natural tone a bit. Once you do it sounds very similar to a Marshall 1960A cabinet. In the interests of full disclosure, I bought my amp on endorsement terms by arrangement with the distributor. I shopped around and tried out a bunch of different amps by many different brands, but the DSL50 was the one for me. I bought the exact amp that I'd been using at World of Music to test guitars when I was working there.

I’ve found that the balance of a medium amp gain, combined with a cranked boost, seems to make all these cool harmonics come out which would otherwise be squashed with too much preamp gain. My theory is that when you increase the amp’s own gain, you increase the harmonics so much that they all start fighting for attention. Doing it the way I do seems to emphasize only the best ones. Think of it like increasing the contrast and brightness controls on your TV, where the boost pedal is the contrast and the amp gain is the brightness. If you turn them both all the way up, you'll just get a white screen, whereas if you turn up the contrast and find the sweet spot with the brightness, you'll get that glowing, David Lee Roth video kind of look. I also use the boost on the amp's Rhythm channel. I set the channel's gain at about 6, then use the pedal to increase it to around the same level as the lead channel's halfway point. It sounds a bit Nuno Bettencourt like this, and gives me just the right individual gain levels for rhythm and lead, while allowing me to set different volume levels for each channel. The end result is that it pretty much sounds like I'm on the lead channel all the time, but increasing the gain and volume when switching channels. If I want a clean sound, I just turn off the boost when on the rhythm channel, and maybe roll the volume control on the guitar down a little if I'm using high output pickups.

About the boost: For the recording I had only the boost side engaged, turned up to full volume. This pedal is designed by Bob Bradshaw of Custom Audio Electronics, and his amps have been used by guys like Steve Lukather and Eddie Van Halen, who used a CAE preamp on 'The Dream Is Over' from Van Halen's For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge album back in 1991. The overdrive part of the pedal sounds cool too but I don't use it very often.

About the delay: The Carbon Copy’s repeats are a little muffled, which seems to add a little bit of warmth to the overall tone, although I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s one of the key elements. I’d say the biggest contributing factors to the tone are the stock Ibanez bridge pickup and the effect of using a clean boost to increase the gain of the Marshall, instead of cranking the Marshall’s own gain.



For more how-to videos see I Heart Guitar site sponsor WonderHowTo

CLICK HERE to see Ibanez RG550 guitars for sale on eBay.

CLICK HERE to see Marshall DSL50 amps on eBay.

MXR Custom Audio Electronics MC-402 Boost/Overdrive Pedal from Guitar Center for $139.99.

CLICK HERE to buy the MXR M169 Carbon Copy Analog Delay from Guitar Center for $149.99.

CLICK HERE to buy the AxeTrak from JLH Products.

LESSON: How to do Satch-style harmonic squeals

Ok, go easy on me cos I'm new to this whole 'talking to camera' thing (I used to do radio and it's so much easier when nobody can see you!), but here's my first attempt at a video lesson, on how to do Satch-style pinch harmonic whammy bar squeals. I hope it makes sense in the video - I'm kinda learning as I go along here, in terms of not having a student in the room to get feedback from.



I've already shot a follow-up lesson but I haven't edited it yet. I'll put it online next week.

For more how-to videos see I Heart Guitar site sponsor WonderHowTo.

8 Whammy Pedal moments you totally have to hear

Steve Vai – Touching Tongues (Sex & Religion)
Vai combines a whammy pedal and delay to create complex harmonies and countermelodies in the chorus of this track from 1993’s Sex & Religion album. Very musical, very creative and very cool.

Living Colour – Wall (Stain)
With a delay effect keeping the groove going, bass player Doug Wimbish picks out certain notes to emphasise with the Whammy pedal before shifting the whole friggin’ riff up an octave over the course of the final bar of the intro. Awesome.

Pantera – Becoming (Far Beyond Driven)
Dimebag stomps on the Whammy pedal on the second beat of each bar of this killer riff. Live he liked to rock out without having to worry about pedals, so his tech did all Dime’s Whammy squealing for him.

Audioslave – Like A Stone (Audioslave)
Tom Morello uses the Whammy Pedal almost like Eddie Van Halen sometimes does with the whammy bar, using it to slide into each note from below. Awesome.

Pink Floyd – Marooned (The Division Bell)
The Whammy Pedal usage in this song is pretty subtle on first listen. David Gilmour uses it to stretch bends out over an octave, but he blends it in with his regular playing style so seamlessly that you can be forgiven for not even noticing.

Joe Satriani – Cool #9 (Joe Satriani)
The Whammy Pedal had been available for a while when Satch released this track on his low key, live-vibed self-titled album, and he’s used the pedal a lot since, but the open space provided by the vamp of this track leaves plenty of room to hear Joe’s intuitive Whammy Pedal technique in detail.

Coverdale/Page – Over Now (Coverdale/Page)
Jimmy Page uses the original WH1Whammy Pedal’s ‘Down 2nd’ mode to slide an A5 chord down to a D5. This setting is still present in the WH1, but these days they call it ‘Drop Tune.’

The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army (Elephant)
What sounds like a bass on this track is actually a Digitech Whammy Pedal with the pitch dropped way down below the basement. While Jack White loves his vintage analog gear, he’s obviously not shy about the occasional digital chip either.

CLICK HERE to read my review of the DigiTech Whammy Pedal.

CLICK HERE to buy the Digitech Whammy WH4 from Guitar Center for $169.95.


CLICK HERE to see Digitech Whammy pedals (all models) for sale on eBay.