Sammy Hagar, master of the conversational cabo wabo, gave an interview to Billboard about the upcoming second album from his hard-rock “supergroup,” Chickenfoot, and like most Sammy Hagar interviews, it’s full of Sammy Hagar quotes, which remain some of the finest quotes you’re going to get in the world of rock ’n’ roll. Although there was nothing about aliens this time, Hagar did elaborate on the band’s decision to name its second album Chickenfoot III, saying that it was arrived at only after drummer Chad Smith (of Red Hot Chili Peppers) suggested calling it Chickenfoot IV as a joke. “This album is not a joke," Hagar admonished. "Chickenfoot IV is a joke. Chickenfoot III is kind of a joke, but mostly it's just fun."
Having thus established that Chickenfoot III is the sort of fun that is very serious, and meticulously crafted, Hagar explained that he spent plenty of time writing and rewriting the lyrics—sometimes coming up with as many as five versions of the same song—in order to measure up to the music. “I can't just start talking about girls and cars, y'know?” Hagar asked rhetorically, as clearly that would only leave Chickenfoot fans of songs like “Soap On A Rope” and “Oh Yeah” wondering what had happened to all the nuance. But perhaps most importantly, Hagar had some choice words for his estranged former bandmates in Van Halen, saying, “I'm so disappointed in those guys. I'm not even angry. I'm just disappointed. I really don't like them anymore.” Van Halen should probably go sit and think about what it did.