Sammy Hagar to be honored in California, as Chickenfoot prepares deluxe reissue of debut

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Sammy Hagar and Chickenfoot will each find the spotlight again in the coming days. The band will see a deluxe re-release of its initial recording, while lead singer will be recognized with Sammy Hagar Day in Roseville, California.

The self-titled Chickenfoot debut, originally released in 2009 by the now-defunct Redline, will return as a deluxe double-disc reissue on October 16, 2012. Chickenfoot, featuring songs written by Hagar and guitarist Joe Satriani, would go gold. But when their label went under, the album was discontinued.

Chickenfoot, which also includes bassist Michael Anthony, drummer Chad Smith and occasional touring member Kenny Aronoff, recently reacquired the original masters and is now reissuing the album through its own label, with additional live tracks from Chickenfoot III — recorded during the group’s recent Different Devil tour with Aronoff.

The complete tracklisting for the forthcoming Chickenfoot reissue is below.

Meanwhile, Hagar, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame former lead singer of Montrose and of Van Halen, will be honored on September 15, 2012, in Roseville, as he opens a new downtown restaurant and entertainment site called Sammy’s Rockin’ Island Bar and Grill. He is also set to perform at the venue, during an invitation-only event that day.

Hagar, 64, owns a company called Red Head Inc. that boasts a trio of Cabo Wabo Cantinas in resort locations like Lake Tahoe; Sammy’s Beach Bar & Grill operates elsewhere in casinos and airports. Anthony is also a former member of Van Halen.

Here’s a look back at our recent thoughts on Chickenfoot, and Sammy Hagar’s tenures in Montrose and Van Halen. Click through the titles for more …

SOMETHING ELSE! INTERVIEW: CHICKENFOOT’S KENNY ARONOFF: When superstar drummer Kenny Aronoff — on tour now with Chickenfoot — starts recalling his sideman projects, they spill out with no rhyme or reason. He’s, almost literally, played them all. Of course, today it’s Chickenfoot, an all-star rock group featuring vocalist Sammy Hagar and bassist Michael Anthony, late of Van Halen, and sizzling guitar hero Joe Satriani. Aronoff is filling in for Chad Smith, who did the record but is now on tour with his main band, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Chickenfoot announced a new U.S. tour this week, after a string of successful European stops in January. Chickenfoot is just the latest stop in a dizzyingly diverse career for one of music’s most in-demand drummers. Aronoff starts listing them off then stops himself, taking it all in: “I mean, are you fucking kidding me?”

SAMMY HAGAR SAYS CHICKENFOOT GIVES MICHAEL ANTHONY RESPECT HE NEVER GOT IN VAN HALEN: Van Halen is missing more than Michael Anthony’s signature tenor, Sammy Hagar says. They’re missing a very good bass player. Together now in Chickenfoot, Hagar and Anthony have focused on mixing their vocals higher in the mix than they did during their own time in Van Halen. Just as importantly, Hagar says, they’ve let Anthony inhabit a larger musical role in their sound. “He’s playing his ass off in this band,” Hagar says. “He never played like this in Van Halen. (Band co-founder) Eddie (Van Halen) doesn’t even realize what a great bass player he had. I think he never realized it, and that is his complete loss.”

SAMMY HAGAR REMEMBERS LATE RONNIE MONTROSE AS EARLY MENTOR: The Montrose band’s self-titled ’73 debut, underrated at the time, has since become a touchstone recording in rock — serving as a reference point, for instance, in the mid-1970s work of Van Halen. Hagar was then part of a second edition of Van Halen, beginning in 1985. “Ronnie Montrose gave me my first break as a songwriter, as a front man, as a recording artist, as a touring artist, and for that I will always be grateful,” Hagar said. “I was looking forward to a reunion for my birthday bash in Cabo with Denny, Bill and Ronnie — one of the few bands from that era where all four original members were still able to do it. It’s a shame to lose Ronnie and I’m so sorry for his loved ones. Rest in peace.”

SOMETHING ELSE! FEATURED ARTIST: VAN HALEN: A long-waited reunion with original lead singer David Lee Roth has Van Halen back in the news … and us digging through some old albums. Here’s a look back at a few favorite moments with Roth — and yes, Sammy, too: See, in 1986, I was fully committed to the cause that was Van Halen with Sammy Hagar. Why, I don’t know. I had no real prior allegiance to the band other than 1984 being in my tape collection (just like every other budding self-respecting rock fan in America). But for whatever reason, I always seem to root for the underdog, and 5150 fit the bill — though I doubt I really knew that at the time.

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‘Track listing for forthcoming reissue of ‘Chickenfoot:

DISC 1:
‘Avienda Revolution’
‘Soap On A Rope’
‘Sexy Little Thing’
‘Oh Yeah’
‘Runnin Out’
‘Get It Up’
‘Down The Drain’
‘My Kinda Girl’
‘Learning To Fall’
‘Turnin Left’
‘Future Is The Past’

DISC 2:
‘Bitten By The Wolf’
‘Lighten Up’ (Live in Chicago 5/12/12)
‘Big Foot’ (Live in Seattle 6/6/12)
‘Last Temptation’ (Live in Seattle 6/6/12)
‘Something Going Wrong’ (Live in Boston 5/16/12)

Something Else!