I kinda like to discuss about supergroups. What is supergroups? According to wiki "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups. Supergroups tend to be short-lived, often lasting only for an album or two. Additionally, supergroups are often formed as side projects that are not intended to be permanent.
Among the one I love are cream,derek and the dominoes, newer ones like audioslave and velvet revolver. And the one everyone is waiting is chickenfoot, comprising Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, Chad smith and bassman Michael Anthony. I think it is going to be awesome. Here is some press about it -
What group is just as good as Led Zeppelin and ten times what Van Halen ever was? If you believe Sammy Hagar, who used to front the latter, it’s his new band, Chickenfoot.
And despite the terribly unfortunate moniker, there are some instantly ready for primetime players involved that could make this a rock act for the ages.
Joining Hagar is his fellow ex-Van Halen bandmate, bassist Michael Anthony, Red Hot Chili Pepper Chad Smith on drums, and guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani.
“When people hear the music, it’s Led Zeppelin,” Hagar told the Canadian Press last year. “I know that’s a mighty bold statement, but it’s as good as that – we could rival Zep.”
The tequila entrepreneur later distanced himself from the statement, saying he might’ve been indulging a bit the day of the interview, which was during a press day in Toronto to discuss the selling of his majority share in Cabo Wabo Tequila.
“I got (expletive) ripped and I said something stupid,” Hagar later told Guitar World magazine.
“I told (Satriani), ‘I’m so enthusiastic about this band, I might’ve said something.’ But I was buzzed up. What are you gonna do?”
He seems to be sticking beside his other statement though, that, “It’s 10 times Van Halen, because it’s functional — we all like each other.”
The Chickenfoot debut is due to drop at some point this spring, possibly in April, with a rumored nine songs already mixed and ready to be pressed.
The first snippet of music that has been released on the still-under-construction Chickenfoot homepage is a moody, grinding beat that isn’t short on providing instant goosebumps.
Hagar doesn’t do any singing, instead speaking over the riff he asks, “Is that that new thing Joe? It better be. Huh? Talk to me chief — is that it Joe? Well that’s cool Joe … we like it.”
Satriani, while highly respected in music circles and drooled over by guitar geeks everywhere, has never been part of a group that attained any degree of mainstream success. Sure, there was a brief stint in Deep Purple after Ritchie Blackmore bailed for the umpteenth time in the early ’90s, but this will be the first time that he’ll join a true cast of heavyweights in creating something from scratch.
“For years now I’ve wanted to do something with a real vocalist and a real band, and I came close a few times but nothing really panned out,” Satriani told MusicRadar recently.
“This time is different. What I’m doing with Sammy and the rest of the guys feels right. We get together, we have a lot of laughs, and great things happen musically.”
The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ current hiatus, or “disbanded for the moment” status, according to singer Anthony Keidis, leaves Smith free to bring the funky grooves which have distinguished that band from any other out there.
But the real secret weapon is Michael Anthony, who besides his solid abilities on the bass, is hands down one of the best backing vocalists in rock and roll.
His missing harmonies were the only thing that kept Van Halen’s reunion with David Lee Roth last year from being truly amazing as opposed to just great.
Anthony has always been in lockstep with Hagar, whose voice still sounds youthful and full of energy at the age of 61.
The only worry is whether or not the lyrics by the Red Rocker, which in the past have ranged from deep and insightful to embarrassing and bland, will equal what has the potential to be a truly great supergroup.
Defining a supergroup
The union of the musicians in Chickenfoot has the word “supergroup” popping up in most articles. But some people are saying that it can’t possibly be worthy of the title, because it’s really just a second tier former member of Van Halen, a solo singer who got lucky in having success with that same band, a guitarist that while technically brilliant, most people haven’t heard of, and a drummer whose main gig may or may not have closed for business.
Make no mistake about it: Chickenfoot is a supergroup —- at least for the time being. The definition of a supergroup is any gathering of artists already well-known for being in another act that combine their individual talents to create an album or two of material. The rule of thumb is that at least three quarters of the group come from somewhere recognizable.
Blind Faith from the late ’60s is a good example, with Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, all no strangers to playing arenas, with bassist Ric Grech the only real unknown at the time. Only one record resulted from the collaboration, the self-titled “Blind Faith,” and it’s considered a classic to this day.
The members of Blind Faith went on to have even more success in the wake of the dissolution of the group, but the question is, why start them in the first place?
First of all, it’s a no-brainer, especially when there’s the instant money making machine factor to be considered.
Look at Audioslave, which dropped ex-Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell in front of the mic for the core of Rage Against the Machine, whose singer Zack de la Rocha split in 2000.
Fans of both artists flocked to shows, and were rewarded for their interest, but it was limited to three studio recordings, and an unceremonious end fraught with tension and, according to Cornell, “personality conflicts.”
Still, the group was a cash flow for everyone involved, with chart topping singles, videos and tours around the world packed into an intense five years.
Then there’s the case of the artists that just need to step away from their respective bands to further express creativity, sometimes out of a common interest.
Such was the case with Mad Season, a Seattle-bred ’90s supergroup that had Alice In Chains’ Layne Staley linking up with fellow grungesters Barrett Martin, drummer for the Screaming Trees, and Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, who had met bassist Baker Saunders in rehab and decided to form the outfit.
The common interest in that case was drugs.
Unfortunately, it was also responsible for its downfall.
After a near masterpiece of a debut, “Above,” Saunders checked into the hereafter after a relapse while battling a long addiction heroin. Staley followed him a few years later.
Most supergroups tend to muster up enough common ground to last just two albums though, it seems like that is the standard shelf life no matter how strong the intentions; and the second one is almost never as good as the first.
The Firm, with Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers, managed just two records, the second which didn’t even hit shelves, passing go and heading directly into the dreaded cut-out bin.
An all-star cast of top-tier musicians created The Traveling Wilburys, but the combined talents of George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne could only sustain for a pair of albums. They get a pass though; despite Orbison’s death in 1988, the group soldiered on, but it just wasn’t the same.
More recently, Velvet Revolver completed a successful world tour for its sophomore release and celebrated by parting ways with vocalist Scott Weiland, who went back to his original group, Stone Temple Pilots.
Ex-Guns ‘N Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum, along with guitarist Dave Kushner, are supposedly still looking for a new frontman, but haven’t found one yet, and might come to the conclusion that that sort of lighting only strikes once.
But sometimes it happens twice – sort of.
Crosby, Stills and Nash were an example of a traditional supergroup, where all the members come from reasonably successful bands. Then Neil Young of Buffalo Springfield joined the ranks in 1969, and the supergroup arguably became a super-duper group.
CSN, and sometimes Y, ended up releasing a fair number of studio albums; over a half-dozen at last count, and that alone is a rarity.
And what happens when a supergroup makes it past the two albums? Well, then they become a full-fledged band — but that’s harder than it sounds.
Bad Company pulled its members from Free, King Crimson and Mott the Hoople for a string of successful albums and charting singles in the ’70s, but when Paul Rodgers went off to join The Firm in 1984, the group continued on in various incarnations, leaving its legacy as nothing more than a band with its best days 30 years ago.
It’s clear that eventually, all supergroups come to an end. Then what?
For the most part, the individual musicians end up on their feet, often becoming more prolific.
Cornell is currently prepping the release of his second solo album since leaving Audioslave in 2007, and routinely performs the group’s hits “Like a Stone” and “Cochise.”
Weiland completed a successful reunion tour with STP and is now on the road to support a solo effort. Rodgers isn’t missing Bad Co.; he’s doing quite well as the current singer for Queen.
And the members of Crosby, Stills and Nash regularly play together, with the ever busy Young still joining them on occasion.
Music columnist Michael Christopher appears Thursday nights at 9:45 on 1210-AM “The Big Talker” with Dom Giordano. To contact him, send an e-mail to rockmusicmenu@hotmail.com
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