Rock veterans team up to form energized, inspired Chickenfoot

It was the rare encore that marked a beginning rather than an end.

And 21 months later, it's still going on, in a way.

Back in February 2008, Sammy Hagar ended a show in The Pearl at the Palms by inviting a few of his running buddies -- former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani -- onstage to knock the stuffing out of some classic rock covers as a way of concluding the gig.

It was one of those flash point moments, the striking of a match, the lighting of a fuse.

"I totally remember it," Anthony recalls, his voice a cannon ball of enthusiasm. "When Sammy was doing the show in Vegas, he wanted to do something different than just going onstage for the encore with his band the Wabos, so he called up Chad and myself and had an idea to call up Joe also. We're all like, 'We'll come down and do a jam for the encore.' And boom.

"I've been fortunate a couple of times in my career where the magic is just happening -- sometimes it never happens," he continues. "It's on fire, and then you add the crowd being there, god, it was just so much fun. After we were done, that's when we were like, 'Wow, we've got to get into the studio or something and see if we can do something with this,' because we just had so much fun doing it."

What ultimately resulted was Chickenfoot, a full-fledged new band whose eponymous debut has earned the group a gold record.

The album's appeal lies in its kinetic, off-the-cuff feel. It's an energized affair, with Hagar howlin' at the moon through most cuts, teaming up with Anthony for their trademark backing harmonies, which are high up in the mix.

For his part, Smith lays down a hard, funky swing, while Satriani peppers everything with some wild-eyed fretboard acrobatics. As such, "Chickenfoot" is a blend of spontaneity and technical fireworks; chops and impulsiveness.

It's a very informal sounding record, and yet the band locks in on such an airtight groove, their skill as players is always palpable.

It would be easy for a project like this to come off as gimmicky or forced. Instead, it feels organic and never overthought.

"When we were recording this thing, nobody told anybody else in the band what they think they should play here or there," Anthony notes. "Everybody was free to just throw their thing into it, and that's the cool deal. It's almost like four little solo records coming together as a unit. We recorded it live in the studio, besides some of the overdubs that Joe did. We wanted to keep it really loose in that respect. I think it really comes off that way, and when we do play those songs live, we never play them the same. With this, you don't know what to expect."

Anthony's a fun guy to talk to, prone to letting loose with this huge laugh that barrels out of him, shattering the calm like a brick hurled through a plate glass window.

He sounds relaxed and more than a little liberated, as if Chickenfoot has picked the lock to his true identity as a musician.

"It's great, because in the later years of Van Halen, I was kind of choked as far as what I played in the band," he says, reflecting on his former group. "This was like a really great release. It was like, 'Ahh, man, I can just go out there and jam and play whatever I want.' "

Anthony claims that he's having such a good time, that he's bent on helping some of his new bandmates do the same, especially the normally stoic Satriani.

"We pull Joe out his shell a little bit now," he says with another chuckle. "He actually breaks a sweat and moves around onstage. That's something that he doesn't do very often doing the solo thing. You get a few screaming girls up in front of him, and we change him up a little bit. We said, 'Hey Joe, check out what the other side has to offer to ya here.' "

More laughter ensues.

Though Anthony says that he hasn't toured or worked this hard since 1975, he seems completely at ease with himself.

It's as if vacation has become his vocation.

"We've all done our stuff in the past with Van Halen, we've made money, so we can do this purely just to hang out as friends and have a good time," he says. "And, man, you look at it a whole different way when it's like that, because you don't feel the need to have to do anything or prove anything to anybody. Everybody just brings their own deal to the table, and it gives you a kick in the butt. It gets me all inspired and makes me realize why I got into doing this in the first place, and that was just to have and make music, you know?"

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.