CHICKENFOOT guitarist JOE SATRIANI is featured in a new interview with Robert Gray as part of a series at Ultimate-Guitar.com entitled Hit The Lights. An excerpt appears below:

How did Chickenfoot come together?

"I've known Sammy (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.'"

'Soap On A Rope' features a hard rock vibe in the vein of AC/DC and LED ZEPPELIN. What spawned this track?

"That track surfaced due to the fact that Sam and me had a conversation regarding cool tracks, and what we felt the group would be good at. We just drank tequilas, and riffed upon ideas. He said something which stuck in my head, which was; "It would be cool to write a track where you guys play, and I sing in one whole, and then you guys play once more". Sam loves to listen to us play, and noted that if we wrote a track of that nature, then he could sing, and subsequently listen to us play. He also commented that such a track would be more exciting for him. I thought about that, and so I whipped up a demo, and sent it to the group's fellow members. Everyone liked that demo. The second time we convened to record some demos, we all arranged the track right there on the spot somewhat. Sam encouraged me to conduct a long jam at the end of the track, and to just go crazy. That's how the track was born. We could record different versions of that track all day long, since it's a fun track to play."

What's your reaction to COLDPLAY winning the Song Of The Year Grammy Award 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 whole interview at this location.