As for standing the test of time, history doesn’t lie. Steve Vai has captivated audiences for almost 30 years ever since learning his trade from guitar god Joe Satriani when Vai was just a young rocker. Since then he has consistently churned out original music and displayed supreme confidence when performing for an audience. “I’m a ham. When I’m on stage, the ham is cooking.”
Vai has continued to do what he does best throughout the years, jamming with a wide array of big time bands and musicians. He has played with the likes of Whitesnake, Frank Zappa, Ozzy Osbourne and David Lee Roth. His other influences range from Led Zeppelin to Alice Cooper to the soundtrack to West Side Story. Though his taste in music is varied, Vai has used a little of everything to season his music to his own liking. “I think [my influences] are cooked together in a particular way that makes a soup of a different flavor.”
Steve Vai has bounced around throughout his career, always looking to create something wonderful. This time he has joined up with musicians Bryan Beller (bass), Jeremy Colson (drums), Dave Weiner (guitar and sitar) and Zack Wiesinger (lap steel) for Where The Wild Things Are, which was filmed in Minneapolis, MN. In addition to that hand-picked ensemble, Vai is very excited about adding a new dimension to his music, virtuoso violinists Ann Marie Calhoun and Alex DePue. “The thing I’m very happy with, with this band, is I really struck a different level because the addition of the string players added a whole different dimension and I found the most perfect players in the world.”
The DVD, and the tour it was filmed on, was the maiden voyage for Vai and this group of melodic minstrels. The DVD was recorded after only a few weeks on the road. However, when you combine this much talent on one stage, night after night, a few weeks is all you need to sound like you’ve been collaborating for years. “By the time we got to Minneapolis we were prepared, we were ready, we were boiled.”
Guitarist Steve Vai’s passion for music appears to be as strong, if not stronger than, it was when he began so many years ago. While playing guitar, he appears to become one with the sounds he creates but yet he knows there is much more out there. When asked about writing music he said, “Let down your defenses and open up your imagination to different ways of expanding creativity.”
While Vai enjoys using culinary references when describing his music (maybe because he’s Italian or maybe he was just hungry when I spoke to him), his shredding skills are still top notch. His long and varied resume tells the story of a man making the most out of his talents. Chefs were born to bake and Steve Vai was born to rock.
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Written by Guest on 2009-08-19 23:57:05
Sounds like a great guitarist. Guess I've probably heard him, but did not really know who he was before. I'll be on the lookout for that new DVD. Thanks, Mr. Dziedzic, for another informative and entertaining interview!  |
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