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Gibson Interview: Sammy Hagar Talks Chickenfoot, Guitars, And Songwriting
How do Joe and Eddie Van Halen differ in their approach to the guitar and in their approach to songwriting?
As a writer, Joe is faster. That makes him easier for me to work with, because I come up with things really fast as well. As soon as I hear a chord structure, I have a melody, instantly. And then five seconds later I’m writing lyrics. Working with Joe is great. If I say to him, “Hey, let’s do something funky,” next thing I know he’s saying, “How about this?” It’s like, bang, he’s done. Whereas with Eddie, he would come back a week later and want to re-do something.
But that said, working with Eddie was great, and we wrote great songs together. The Van-Hagar stuff still holds up fantastically well, but it was a slow process. It took three years to write the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge album. And when I tried to do the Van-Hagar reunion, in 2004, and we were trying to make a new record, Eddie could only squeeze three songs out. He’s just not as prolific, and not as fast. So that’s the difference between them as far as writing.
As far as playing goes, they’re both phenomenal. The innovations Eddie came up with in early Van Halen -- before I was in the band – were just so unique, he gets lots of points for that. But as just a straight-up player, who can play anything, and plays perfect every time, there’s no one better than Joe.
Gibson Interview: Sammy Hagar Talks Chickenfoot, Guitars, And Songwriting
How do Joe and Eddie Van Halen differ in their approach to the guitar and in their approach to songwriting?
As a writer, Joe is faster. That makes him easier for me to work with, because I come up with things really fast as well. As soon as I hear a chord structure, I have a melody, instantly. And then five seconds later I’m writing lyrics. Working with Joe is great. If I say to him, “Hey, let’s do something funky,” next thing I know he’s saying, “How about this?” It’s like, bang, he’s done. Whereas with Eddie, he would come back a week later and want to re-do something.
But that said, working with Eddie was great, and we wrote great songs together. The Van-Hagar stuff still holds up fantastically well, but it was a slow process. It took three years to write the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge album. And when I tried to do the Van-Hagar reunion, in 2004, and we were trying to make a new record, Eddie could only squeeze three songs out. He’s just not as prolific, and not as fast. So that’s the difference between them as far as writing.
As far as playing goes, they’re both phenomenal. The innovations Eddie came up with in early Van Halen -- before I was in the band – were just so unique, he gets lots of points for that. But as just a straight-up player, who can play anything, and plays perfect every time, there’s no one better than Joe.
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