JOE SATRIANI On COLDPLAY's GRAMMY Win: 'I Was Happy To Hear My Melody Being Celebrated'

Robert Gray of Ultimate-Guitar.com recently conducted an interview with guitarist Joe Satriani as part of a series entitled "Hit The Lights." Topics of discussion included CHICKENFOOT's formation, the group's debut album, "Soap On A Rope" and "Down the Drain", touring Europe, and the man's impending copyright case against COLDPLAY. Several excerpts from the interview follow below:

On how CHICKENFOOT came together:

"I've known Sammy (Hagar, ex-VAN HALEN vocalist) for quite a long time, and we live in the same area. For a short period, we were actually part of a group together called PLANET US. He called me roughly a year and a half ago, and asked me to join him onstage just for fun. We jammed at the end of one of his Las Vegas shows, and that was really the beginning of the CHICKENFOOT experience. Chad (Smith, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS drummer),Mike (Michael Anthony, ex-VAN HALEN bassist) and myself all just thought we would jam, and have a good time, though it turned out to be profoundly good. We looked at each other onstage, and said, 'Wow, we should be a group. What will we do about that?' We took it from there. We promised each other that we should write some tracks, should get together, and should see if we could take things towards the next step. For roughly nine months, we pursued this here and there, but then we finally put our feet down, and said, 'OK, let's enter the studio, and pursue this for real.'"

On CHICKENFOOT's name:

"I think it was just a goofy code name. We had to call ourselves something, and thought about possible names in the meantime. We thought of clever names, though I never thought any name was as good as CHICKENFOOT. (laughs) CHICKENFOOT is just a name which is so eerie, yet at the same time, is perfect. I wasn't surprised when the public overwhelmed us somewhat by just constantly referring to us as CHICKENFOOT. The name just stuck, I guess."

On whether a music video will be recorded for CHICKENFOOT's debut album:

"We have to film some videos. I've noticed that in my schedule, a video shoot will occur during May. I don't know which track that music video will be filmed for, though such things have to be put into place. 'Chickenfoot' will generate a couple of tracks worth of videos."

On whether a second CHICKENFOOT album will be recorded:

"I really hope so — I could see CHICKENFOOT recording three to four albums."

On where his copyright case against COLDPLAY is currently at:

"Our respective lawyers are talking to one other, and trading papers. There's much protocol which needs to be followed. These types of cases tend to drag on, and with very little interesting news for months and months (laughs). None of us are meant to discuss any of the really interesting aspects, so all I can say is that the case is still ongoing."

On COLDPLAY winning a Grammy for "Viva la Vida":

"I'm happy for the group, and in a very weird way, I was happy to hear my melody being celebrated. However, I was slightly confused that NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc.),the organisation which handles the Grammy Awards, would even consider nominating a track which they knew was heavily contested. These are the people who voted for MILLI VANILLI, though it isn't really their job, I suppose."

Read the entire interview at Ultimate-Guitar.com.

COLDPLAY vs. Joe Satriani: