‘It all just sort of snowballed’: Michael Anthony on how he transitioned from Van Halen to Chickenfoot

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For ex-Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, the thing that makes being a part of Chickenfoot so much fun is “the hang,” the sense of camaraderie that each of its world-famous members brings to the project.

“Everybody has done a lot in their respective pasts, and have attained success and everything that goes along with it,” Anthony tells Brandon from Peavy TV, in the attached video. “So, with Chickenfoot, we can basically get together and just have fun as four friends playing music.”

Chickenfoot, in fact, grew out of a jam sessions between Anthony, who had recently been cut loose by Van Halen; drummer Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers); and frontman Sammy Hagar (Montrose, Van Halen) at Hagar’s night club Cabo Wabo. They added guitarist Joe Satriani, with whom Hagar had worked on the 2002 Planet Us project, and — before anyone really knew it — had issued a pair of studio recordings.

[SOMETHING ELSE! INTERVIEW: Kenny Aronoff joined us to discuss touring with Chickenfoot, his lengthy tenure on drums with John Mellencamp, and his lasting passion for jazz.]

“That’s exactly how it started out,” Anthony says. “We never intended to record a record, or go on tour, or any of that. It all just sort of snowballed, because we were having so much fun — and it was sounding so great. The magic was all really happening. If it turns to where it’s not fun anymore, we’d just stop. Right now, we’re just having a great time doing it.”

Anthony says he will be touring this summer with Hagar, then he said he expects Chickenfoot to reconvene in the fall of 2013. The band reissued its debut album recently, with four additional live tracks from Chickenfoot’s recent tour with touring member Kenny Aronoff on drums.

“We just wanted the fans to have a good dose of Chickenfoot in between the (studio) recordings,” Anthony added.

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