Former Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar has been backed by some of the world’s most technically proficient guitar players and now that he’s fronting Chickenfoot, a supergroup with Joe Satriani, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith, and ousted Van Halen bassist Mike Anthony, Hagar has taken rock’s first step in promoting a new band: Slag off your old one.
“I’ve made this statement a million times – some people don’t like it, some people do – but Joe [Satriani] is the best guitarist I have ever played with,” Hagar said (via Music Radar). “That’s a strong statement. I realize that.”
Better than Eddie Van Halen? Them’s fighting words at your local Guitar Center. To be fair, Hagar does give Eddie a backhanded compliment: “You’ve got to give Eddie a lot of love for his innovation of what he did as a stylist with the guitar,” he added. “He broke a lot of ground. But Joe is a master. He can play anything and everything – folk, blues, jazz, hard rock, soft rock, fusion, you name it.”
Plus, Satriani writes songs for Coldplay, right? There’s only one way to settle this: an epic guitar solo contest at GC with Steve Vai judging.