CHICKENFOOT's Michael Anthony Says Quitting Smoking "Improved His Singing Dramatically"
July 12, 2011, 13 years ago
CHICKENFOOT bassist Michael Anthony (ex-VAN HALEN) spoke with MusicRadar.com about his legendary high-pitched background vocals which are featured more prominently on the new disc. "For some reason, my voice doesn't age," he says. "I can still hit those high harmonies just like I did back in the day." Laughing, he adds, "My wife likes to say I act like a kid, so maybe that's why I sing like one!"
Anthony does cite one major factor for contributing to his increased vocal power: he gave up smoking. "I was never a real smoker," he stresses. "I don't think I've ever smoked an entire cigarette from start to finish. But for years and years, if I was out with people, having cocktails or dinner or whatever, and if somebody was smoking, I'd take a few drags off their cigarette. It was stupid, but that's what I did.
"Recently, though, I said to myself, 'Why am I doing this?' So I just stopped messing around with cigarettes, just cut 'em out entirely. For one thing, I want to live a long life and try to grow old gracefully, so that's a good reason to quit. But I found that my singing improved dramatically. I've always been a natural singer on stage and in the studio – never had a vocal lesson in my life. But by trying to take better care of my voice, I can really feel and hear the difference. I'm pretty proud of my singing on this new album."Read the entire interview here.
eOne Music has completed a new, exclusive deal with Chickenfoot for North America. The band - also featuring former VAN HALEN singer SAMMY HAGAR, guitarist JOE SATRIANI and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS drummer Chad Smith - will release its sophomore album, titled Chickenfoot III, on September 27th.
The band have released the first audio teaser for III, which can be heard in the YouTube clip below:
Tracks to appear on the new album include: 'Bigfoot", 'No Change', 'Who's Next', 'Astral Years' and 'I Ain't Got You, I Got The Two By Blues'.
According to vocalist Sammy Hagar, the album cover and first video will both be in 3D.
