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\u201cI admired it from a distance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Then at the age of 12, he heard Jimmy Page\u2019s monstrous solo on the Led Zeppelin song \u201cHeartbreaker,\u201d and\u00a0Vai knew the time for sitting on the sidelines was over.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018To Hell with this sh__, I\u2019m playing the guitar,\u2019\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n
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For instruction, Vai went to the best guitar player he knew, a 16-year-old prodigy who lived a few blocks up the street from him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had Joe as a teacher for three years. He was my go-to guy, and he helped steer me towards the theory and sounds I was interested in,\u201d Vai said. \u201cThose lessons with Joe were sacred. He was an incredibly effective teacher, and to me, he held the keys to the kingdom. He made me feel very inspired.\u201d<\/p>\n
That inspiration hasn\u2019t faded, and Vai notes that throughout the decades he\u2019s \u201calways looked up\u201d to Satriani.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJoe reopened the door to instrumental guitar music in a sense and had an impactful guitar record,\u201d Vai noted, referencing Satriani\u2019s 1987 breakthrough \u201cSurfing with the Alien\u201d LP. \u201cI can count on one crippled hand how many of those there are.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The pair have been on-and-off collaborators, playing together in the long-running guitar hero touring ensemble G3. But SatchVai is the first time the two have toured behind material they\u2019ve co-written together.<\/p>\n
Vai describes their respective styles as \u201cplaying in the same playground, but in different corners.\u201d Working together on \u201cco-mingling melodies and harmonies\u201d has been a way to weave those stylistic differences together in a new, dynamic way. While both have 40-plus years of bodies of work they\u2019re each proud of,\u00a0Vai has found creating with Satriani to be a natural, easy process.<\/p>\n
\u201cI very much enjoy co-creating with Joe,\u201d Vai enthused. \u201cWe used to sit in his backyard for hours, back-to-back as teenagers, just hours together honing our creativity. And boy, that feeling hasn\u2019t matured.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those times of playing with a respected mentor and experimenting are crucial in the education process of a burgeoning guitar player. After his time with Satriani as a teacher wrapped up, Vai studied jazz and classical guitar with various teachers, \u201cjust to see what it was like.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Having Satriani as someone to bounce ideas off of served as a motivator, something crucial to a kid just starting out with \u201can intention of being a really great guitar player.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve seen this play out watching my youngest son during lessons. When he improvises a scale into a rudimentary solo or executes a pretty nifty hammer-on or chord progression, Mitch\u2019s excitement shows. And it\u2019s evident in the way my son beams at the encouragement that he realizes he\u2019s on the right track.<\/p>\n
I mentioned this to Vai during our conversation; After all, given the opportunity, I had to ask Steve f___ng Vai (the guy\u2019s played with Frank Zappa, David Lee Roth and Public Image Ltd, for God\u2019s sake!) for tips on my own progeny\u2019s musical journey.<\/p>\n
Vai noted that a \u201cbuilt-in desire\u201d to learn is essential, and while he himself practiced eight-12 hours a day growing up, my son\u2019s \u201cpath may be very different.\u201d<\/p>\n
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He recommended practicing against a backing track to learn more about rhythm and melody. Even better, though, was \u201cgetting in a room with a couple of other guys and just playing.\u201d But with that concept much further in the future, having a trusted teacher now to bounce ideas off of and play with is crucial.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommunicating with another musician in real time (and) learning how to communicate, that\u2019s the best education,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
As I scroll through my phone now, looking at recent videos of my youngest son\u00a0practicing the intro to The Rolling Stones\u2019 \u201cSatisfaction\u201d and the A pentatonic scale before sending them to Mitch for feedback, it feels like there\u2019s a lot of truth to Vai\u2019s words when it comes to learning about\u00a0both the guitar and the human condition.<\/p>\n
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