Last night, I met with Faloon to discuss how we would wrap up our Masochist Supergroup Project. After reading his Chickenfoot blog posts I felt like maybe SuperHeavy wasn't that bad after all (so disgusted was he with Hagar, et. al. that he deleted the files from his hard drive, the 21st Century equivalent of throwing the 8-track in the Goodwill bin). Whatever precious time was lost listening to these records was redeemed by laughing about them over some Neapolitan pies and beer at PizzArte.
Today was nuts and I had no time to dedicate to SuperHeavy. I did Google "SuperHeavy + Interview" though, just so I would feel like I contributed something to the exercise.
The first search result was a GQ interview with Dave Stewart and Mick Jagger that mostly confirms what you would expect: that they made these songs up on the spot in the studio. And that they were drinking martinis.
Many people would argue that the Minutemen's Double Nickels on the Dime is the greatest record ever. I'm one of them. Ironically, Double Nickels has two Chickenfoot connections. The sixth song on side four, also known as “side chaff,” is a cover of Van Halen's “Ain't Talkin' ‘bout Love.” Also, the album's title was inspired by Sammy Hagar's “I Can't Drive 55.” Wildman Sammy declared that he would not, could not drive the speed limit. (For the record, neither does my mom.) The Minutemen figured that the rule breaking should come across in your art—your band, your writing, etc.—not your motor vehicle skills.
When I have the time, I love to walk. Sometimes I'll just wander for 50 or 60 blocks looking at buildings and people. Unlike a subway commute, where I want to shut the world out, I never listen to music on my walks — it's a time to let my mind wander. Because of my dedication to this project, I broke my rule today and listened to SuperHeavy in its entirety while strolling up Broadway.
When I was in junior high my friends and I loved Van Halen. They were big and brash and over the top. Completely unlike us. Van Halen had Eddie, the flashy guitar player, and David Lee Roth, the loudmouth frontman. They also had Alex Van Halen who drum sound was inescapable, especially the cymbals which were way too high in the mix. And then there was Michael Anthony. Solid, no mistakes that we could pinpoint but none of the shock and guffaws that Eddie and David served up. Michael Anthony was an order of regular in an otherwise supersize setting. We made fun of him. Later, talking to other Van Halen fans, active or recovering, I found that mocking him was common.
As if I needed to be reminded, Jagger has reggae cred. Walking down the street today I glanced into a shop window only to see Sir Mick's giant-ass grin staring back at me. He's sandwiched between Bob Marley and Peter Tosh and whatever they were smoking seems to have made them pretty happy.
As of March 11, 2011 Chickenfoot III was slated to include a song called “Astral Years.” Akin to Van Morrison? Sure, yes, as intended… but it's 52 times better! Take that Belfast Cowboy!
