CHICKENFOOT GIVES ASPIRING MUSICIANS ADVICE FOR GRAMMY

At the last tour stop of their successful debut tour, Chickenfoot give advice to kids interested in getting into the music business.

Having sold more than 300,000 albums to date, Rock Super Group Chickenfoot, comprised of Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and front man Sammy Hagar, guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani, and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith, errupted on the music scene with their self titled album debuting at #4 on The Billboard Top 200 Chart and sitting at #1 on The Billboard Indie Album Chart. And just before Chickenfoot’s first world tour together finished up September 27th at The Gibson Amp in Los Angeles, Ca, the band held a Grammy Sound Check and invited 50 area students including both South El Monte High School Students and Grammy USM members from universities across the Los Angeles area to watch their sound check then have an intimate Q and A and get advice from legendary musicians.

At the Grammy Sound Check lead vocalist Sammy Hagar gave some guidance to the kids that were luck enough to attend.

“But you know what I think, the passion of the whole thing…there’s one other thing. The fact that you got to work and you got to practice and you got to push and do all that stuff, that’s true but the passion starts inside of you and to be an individual you really have to learn what you really like. What do you really want to sound like and what kind of music do you really want to play and then stay true to that. And always listen to the inside of you because you can be playing some music that somebody else is telling you to play and you don’t even like it or maybe you’re just trying to learn somebody else’s music. You have to figure out in your heart what really gets you off and keeps you happy and you keep going for that. That’s your guidance right there.”

Artisan News caught up with Chad Smith after the event to get his thoughts on what advice he would give to any kid considering breaking into the music business.

“Like I was saying to those guys in there, if you’re really passionate about music and what you do, there’s just no choice. That’s just what you’ll want to do and you’ll do it because you love it. If you can make money at it, that’s great but sometimes you might make a little bit of money and play in your home town and play in clubs or where ever and other times you’ll get lucky and keep playing and find the right people. You may get lucky and make a recording and things will take off from there. It’s just really to me, if you’re lucky enough to do what you’re passionate about and make a living at it then you’re successful.”

Chad also talked about really enjoying speaking with kids who are passionate about music.

“Yeah, yeah I do. When it’s kids that are into it and passionate about it and obviously they seemed like they were, more than just like fans that have you sign stuff and ask you weird questions. No they seemed like they were cool. I just found out about this a couple of days ago. They said ‘There’s this sound check and they Grammy people are coming.’ And I said ‘What’s it for?’ Then when they said it was kids, I said ‘OK Cool!’

The Grammy Foundation was established in 1989 to cultivate the understanding, appreciation and advancement of the contribution of recorded music to American culture – from the artistic and technical legends of the past to the still unimagined musical breakthroughs of future generations of music professionals. The Foundation accomplishes this mission through programs and activities that engage the music industry and cultural community as well as the general public. Grammy Sound Checks provide young people with a glimpse into the realities of music careers by inviting them to attend rehearsals and concert sound checks of major artists. Chickenfoot, having just completed their first tour in support of their debut album will take some time off as Chad Smith will be recording new music with his band The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Joe Satriani looks to get back to his solo career and Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar perform in Sammy’s band together. Look for Chickenfoot to get back together in the next few years as they’ve already built a loyal following and they’ve had so much success in such a short amount of time.