Why not Chickenfoot?

As long as we’re talking modern-day supergroups, why not Chickenfoot?

...which seems to be exactly the attitude that pervades the latest major-league musical mash-up, consisting of Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, ex-Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, guitarist extraordinaire Joe Satriani and ol’ shaggy himself, Sammy Hagar. I mean, if you put together a group with that much amperage, wouldn’t you call it… Chickenfoot?

Fine, maybe not. But as you can see for yourself on their recently-unveiled Web site, these guys are pretty determined not to take this (or at least themselves) too seriously. The samples on the site and their MySpace page sound pretty much like you’d expect – jet-fueled old-school hard rock with Satriani and Hagar dueling for space and Anthony’s serially undervalued background vocals helping with the melodic side. (Just for the record, this makes four of the era’s sharpest rock guitarists Hagar has teamed with – Ronnie Montrose, Neal Schon, Eddie Van Halen, and Satriani. Makes you wonder who’s next…)

The album is out June 7 in the US and European tour dates are popping up for the summer. Chickenfoot – making tracks in the sawdust near you soon.

Scorpions: World Wide Live redux

Those seemingly immortal melodic metallers the Scorpions -- Klaus Meine (vocals), Rudolf Schenker (rhythm guitars), Matthias Jabs (lead guitars), James Kottak (drums) and Pawel Maciwoda (bass) -- bring their "Humanity Tour" back to the U.S. for one more swing next month. The tour, supporting their 21st studio album, Humanity - Hour 1, also promises a bevy of familiar hits from the archetypal power ballad "Wind Of Change" to the headbanging fun of "Rock You Like A Hurricane." The brief second U.S. leg launches in Northern California on Friday, August 1 and runs through August 10 in Chicago, with Sammy Hagar sharing the bill at the first three dates in California. After that the Scorps are off to hit Brazil, Mexico, Trinidad (!) and another swing through Europe that starts in the UK on October 12.