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Tyler TV says, I've been reading that Chad Smith might not be able to be in Chickenfoot because of the Chili Peppers. What's up with that? It just wouldn't be the Foot without Chad. But if you were to get another drummer, who would it be?

"Oh yeah. Well, I've heard about this guy named Joe Bosso. He's supposed to be a super-hot drummer, so he's first on our list!" [laughs]

You'd be regretting that decision immediately, Joe, let me assure you. [laughs]

"OK, well, scratch that. All right, in all seriousness, we just did two shows with Chad, and they were fantastic. Chad played like a crazed madman. He was totally on fire, brilliant in every way. Afterward, he said he's still committed to the band, so that was cool. We're due to meet at the end of January and complete the second Chickenfoot album. So everybody's attitude is, full speed ahead.

"To answer the second part of the question, were Chad not able to be in the band because of the Chili Peppers, I think it would be fun to get somebody really outrageous like Tommy Lee. He's a great drummer, a lot of fun and a crazy personality. We've had some guys sit in from time to time. Some names that have been thrown around are Abe Laboriel Jr and Jason Bonham - they'd be really great. I'm not too worried about Chad completing the record. As for touring, we'll have to see. Obviously, he's going to be pretty busy."

Craig Charson asks, What can you do on the guitar that Steve Vai can't, and vice-versa?

[laughs] "Oh, that's a good one. I'm sure there's lots of stuff. Well, for one thing, ever since Steve was a little kid, he always had the ability to play very complicated flatpicking passages than I never could. I'm less disciplined when it comes to that. He has a great command over his hands, and like I said, he's more disciplined. I think that's why he was able to play those very difficult Zappa passages, which later became part of his writing style.

"As far as what I can do that he can't…I don't know. I think it would be far easier for him to play like me than the other way around."

Suzy Rugg says, I adore your music, Joe, but I also love your artwork, your character drawings. Would you ever publish a book of your art?

"Yeah, I'd love to. It's come up a few times. Some people have asked me to do that, but in order to really do it properly, I'd have to take at least a month away from music to really dedicate myself to the artwork and shift through the thousands of drawings I've done to try to come up with a cohesive book.

"Actually, I'd like to do bigger drawings, like door-sized panels. If I wind up with a summer with nothing to do, maybe I'll spend a month in Tuscany and do some painting. I don't know if that'll ever happen, though. But the thought of sipping espresso near the beach and going into my art studio is pretty enticing." [laughs]

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