DLR ARMY Exclusive
Beyond the 7th Song with Steve Vai
By Dave Clark
DLR Army Communications Officer

    At the center of a sonic universe that includes a fledgling music label, the million or so maniacal musical notes that make up "The Ultra Zone" and "The 7th Song" and his own charitable organization, you'll find guitar virtuoso Steve Vai, conducting the chaos.

    Having logged time in Frank Zappa's band as well as with David Lee Roth, Vai continues to amaze audiences with his own unique brand of soulful guitar pyrotechnics.

    From the blazing riffs on "Passion and Warfare" to the eloquent melody of Ultra Zone's "Frank," Vai continues to inspire musicians with his innovative and eccentric creations.
    In short; The guy is a musical freakin' genius.

    We were thrilled when Steve decided to sit down with the DLR Army and reminisce, as well as cast an eye towards the future.

  We checked in with Steve on Feb. 2, 2001 to talk about the "Eat 'Em and Smile" band, his new live record and some of his side projects.
    So kick back soldiers, you don't want to miss this one. 

DLR ARMY: So you just got back from NAMM, (the international music products association) show, right? How was it this year?

VAI: "It was fantastic. I like to attend NAMM shows as a spectator, but it's difficult sometimes because there are so many companies, and you want to see them all. I had a very tight schedule, but I got to see some interesting things. On Friday I visited the Carvin booth where I was awarded the MPA, which is an award that goes to the No. 1 amplifier as voted in all these magazines from around the world, which is a nice honor."

DLR ARMY: Congratulations.

VAI: "Yeah, thanks. I also visited the Digidesign booth and did a little presentation for Pro-Tools, which I'm using pretty extensively these days."

DLR ARMY: Very cool. You also played a show while you were out there, correct?

VAI: "I did a show at the new House of Blues in Anaheim."

DLR ARMY: How did that go?

VAI: "Let's just say I dismantled the place!"

DLR ARMY: Speaking of NAMM, I don't suppose you bumped into Mike Anthony, who spilled his guts and who just couldn't help himself from talking about what's going on with Van Halen these days?

VAI: "Uh, nope, (laughs) can't say I did. I don't think I've ever met him in my life."

DLR ARMY: I'm sure we're not the first ones to have asked you about that since NAMM.

VAI:  "Yeah, well, I often wonder what's happening with Van Halen these days."

DLR ARMY: So what are you up to? Have you started your next project? What has been keeping you occupied?

VAI:  "I'm working on a live record I recorded on my last tour that has all new material on it and was recorded in different countries. I was writing material that was sort of reminiscent of those countries. For instance, I wrote a Parisian waltz and recorded it in France. I have recordings from Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Japan, Australia, Ireland, South America. All over the world."

DLR ARMY: You're also still working on your box set?
 

VAI: "Yeah, I had to put it down for about a year. But the box comes next after the live record."

DLR ARMY: One of the discs you mentioned sounds really wild. It's some sort of ambient noise with music underneath?

VAI: "There's a c.d. in there called 'Hot Chunks,' which is sort of like a ... potpourri of sound events."

DLR ARMY: Sound events?

VAI: "(laughs) I would always record things with a cassette player or a DAT player, things that happened out in the street, just things that happened in my life."
    "It will be very eclectic, but very cool."
Steve explained the box set will feature a variety of discs that span his entire career, though sadly, nothing from the DLR years.
    "It's basically a collector's item thing," he said.
    It will tentatively feature a c.d. from a band he put together early in his career, a compilation of original Frank Zappa recordings and "Archives Vol. 2 and 3" with b-sides, material Vai's contributed to other artists and bonus tracks. The discs will include tracks from John Lydon's band PIL and orchestral tracks from the Jimi Hendrix tribute project "Calm Before the Storm."
    The set will also include a disc of film scores and soundtrack contributions like "Crossroads," a solo piano disc featuring Vai's compositions performed by Mike Keneally and Capitol Record's Alcatrazz release "Disturbing the Peace," as well as a double live Alcatrazz record.

DLR ARMY: We've heard a variety of stories over the years, so tell us, how did you first get involved in the Eat 'Em and Smile project?

VAI:  "Dave had done his solo record, the EP, 'Crazy From The Heat' and when the word was out that he was looking for a guitar player I thought, 'There's no way I'm going to get that gig!' That was a stellar situation for anybody.
    "I was a big Dave fan, and I actually still am. Billy Sheehan had recommended me and Dave called.
    "I'll never forget. I was in the shower, covered in soap, and a call came in, 'Hey, this is Dave Roth, man!' (laughs). I was like, 'No, it's not!' He said 'Yeah man, we're putting a group together.'
    You know Dave is one of the best hypesters — he can really get you going.
    "I was just stunned. I went down to meet him and we talked a little bit and we got together in his basement. It really clicked. It was a great environment. You know I was doing a lot of different things at the time musically, but I would go see Van Halen and I would be riveted to David Lee Roth. He was just the consummate frontman."

DLR ARMY: Having listened to your work with Frank Zappa and the material you recorded after you continued your solo career it's sometimes amazing to me that you wanted to do a more traditional, straight ahead hard rock record with anybody. Was it hard to switch gears?

VAI: "No. I love rock music and the Roth band was a great forum for me to exercise that. They both had their challenges. With Frank I loved complex type of orchestrated things.
    "If I hadn't worked with Frank I probably wouldn't have been very good working with Dave. But I knew what Dave wanted and I knew what he was expecting and I didn't go in there with something (inappropriate).  You just look at the situation and you know what you're getting into and you don't go in there and start playing quintuplets and polyrhythms."

DLR ARMY: Certainly we've all heard about the time you spent under Frank Zappa's tutelage. Is there one thing that you could point to as having learned by working with Dave?

VAI: "When I joined that band he worked very hard with me on my whole stage appearance and charisma and presence. I was kind of gawky, you know? I was tall and lanky and big long hands and feet and stuff, and I had no idea of fashion sense whatsoever.
    "He really worked hard on helping me understand how you present yourself in front of an audience and how you permeate every cell of every person in that audience."

DLR ARMY: Was it strange at some point when you realized, 'I'm now the guitar player for the cat I used to have to pay to go see!' Obviously fans expected you guys to be incredible right out of the starting gate. Did Dave do anything to help take the edge off the situation?

VAI: "Dave is an unbelievably witty guy and intelligent. Sitting down there in the basement with him, you come to realize that you're just a bunch of guys working hard to make songs. You don't walk around and go 'Hey I'm in David Lee Roth's house!'
    "You've got a job to do and you've got to do the right thing. But he knows what he wants and he knows what he likes and what he doesn't like."

DLR ARMY: Here you are a young guy playing guitar in one of the most spectacular bands of the decade. That must have been overwhelming ...

VAI:   "It was great for me. I was literally famous overnight."

DLR ARMY: And what an incredible band to be a part of! You, Billy, Gregg and of course Dave ...

VAI:  "It was a great band. It was a great opportunity for me. DLR knew how to tour and he knew how to throw a party. All that stuff you think and fantasize about happening, happened. Ten-fold! He really knows how to throw a party, that Roth!"
    "I'll never forget the first gig I stepped on the stage at, I think it was in Huntsville, Alabama, there was close to 20,000 people in the audience. The screaming was so loud, I'd never heard anything like it."

DLR ARMY: And still, there was a little apprehension on your part wasn't there, playing some of Eddie's trademark riffs and taking his place next to Dave?
 
VAI: "I didn't think I was going to be accepted. I knew that those were big shoes to fill — 'The guitar behind the voice of David Lee Roth.' But, the way that Dave introduced me and the way he sort of ... finessed my existence, just made it work.
    "I remember standing with Billy Sheehan at the end of the show and the screaming was so loud that it literally pierced your eardrums. We just started to cry.
    "It was an amazing experience. It was fantastic."

DLR ARMY: Sounds like a great time.

VAI:  "We actually became friends too. We hung out together. Dave was into climbing and we used to do a lot of climbing, all over the world. He used to get the best guides to take us."

DLR ARMY: There are a lot of rumors surrounding Van Halen, let's  discuss one of my favorite ones. There are a lot of fans who've debated whether Dave would consider a Sammy song, or whether the band would consider doing a song from DLR's solo work, should they reconvene.
    We're pretty confident that Diamond Dave flat-out wouldn't be caught dead singing half of a verse of "Right Now," but just for argument's sake ... what would your reaction be if you heard Eddie rip into "Yankee Rose" or some other tune?

VAI: "(laughs) ... I would be pretty stoked. Edward would never do it."

 DLR ARMY: Having always been a big Van Halen fan, do you remember the first time you heard the band. It must have been around the same time you were taking classes at Berklee School of Music. How did Ed's playing style influence you, someone who was already well on your way to becoming a professional guitarist?

 VAI: "I was shocked. At the time I was doing all these things on guitar that I thought were so unique — I was doing hammer-ons and these whammy bar things — and when I heard Edward do it ... he brought it to a different level. He really had great tone, everything he did was musical. Everything he did has his personality in it.
    "It was an inspiration for me to hear that stuff being done so well."

DLR ARMY: So if you were a betting guy, how do you think this Van Halen thing is going to turn out? Will Dave be back?

VAI:  "I personally hope they work it out and that Dave rejoins Van Halen. That was a historical band, and I think they have the potential to pick-up where they left off."
     As Van Halen planned their second record and world tour, Vai studied for three semesters at Berklee School of Music in Boston. Vai received an honorary degree from Berklee last year, and said the most eye-opening experience of his brief college career was navigating through the university's massive musical library.
    Vai and his webmaster Richard Pike began an effort to try to provide other students with the same type of opportunity. Together Vai and Pike launched the "Make a Noise" foundation, which is raising money to help establish musical libraries in high schools across the nation. The foundation is hoping to also
provide instruments and instruction to young musicians who cannot afford them.
VAI:  "Make a Noise started out as an idea that I had. I wanted to have a jam session every Wednesday at a club and just have people come down and play. It turned into the 'big mama-jama-jam' concept where we would take pledges and the music didn't stop for like 72 hours. People could pledge per hour.
    "Then the concept evolved. What we're working on is the implementation of c.d. libraries within high schools. When I was at Berklee the best education I got was in the library there because they had every type of music from every artist you can imagine. That's where I went and heard all the Beatles music, and Maynard Ferguson and Stravinsky.
    "It was all there and it's not at kids' fingertips these days. Not even Napster has all that stuff. If a kid grows up listening to the radio it's very easy to get brainwashed ... to just not get the fulfillment of what music can offer. There's treasures beyond measure that can change the quality of your entire life if you are exposed to them musically. And kids will never hear them because they're not on the radio.
    "But if go into your high school and it's all right there and you have the option of taking it out and listening to it I think that's a great musical education. That's what we're working on right now."

DLR ARMY: We'd love to see a copy of "Eat 'Em and Smile" in every library in the United States and beyond.
    You know, at the DLR Army we are obviously fans of classic Van Halen, but for our money, a lot of folks would be just as happy to see Dave reunite with you, Billy and Gregg.

VAI: "It sure would be nice wouldn't it?"

DLR ARMY: The "Eat Em and Smile" band is legendary. With all you guys sharing the same stage again, the possibility is very exciting ... what are the chances it will happen?

VAI:  "That was a great band. We really played the shit out of our instruments. And Dave was so concerned about the show and the presentation. I just don't see bands doing that these days really, or being able to play their instruments — nothing against contemporary rock bands — but we really played. The logistics of that would be really complicated, as you can probably imagine. I have a solo career that keeps me obligated to a record company, I have a record company.
    "Dave has an agenda too, and Billy is very successful in Japan with his band (Mr. Big). Gregg makes a fortune doing session work and touring with various groups.
    "In theory it would be great, but you really have to juggle the logistics at this point."
    "As a matter of fact, Billy is going to be here in about 30 minutes."

DLR ARMY: Well, tell him the DLR Army says "Hi." We interviewed him a few months ago. [Link: Our Billy Sheehan Interview]

VAI: "We're doing a photo shoot for a Japanese magazine."

DLR ARMY: Where is Gregg these days? We've tried to get ahold of him and we've never been able to track him down.

VAI: "I don't know. He's a hard guy to track down."
One of the things Bissonette has been up to in the last year was finishing his second solo disc, "Submarine," for Favored Nations, a record company started by Vai and Ray Scherr. The label boasts Dweezil Zappa, Eric Johnson and a host of other musicians hand-picked and approved by Vai and Scherr.
DLR ARMY: At this stage of the game, being involved in so many projects as well as having a family, why did you decide you wanted to add record executive to your list of credits?

VAI: "I always felt it was my calling to start a label. I wanted to address a need by bringing the music I thought was important to a group of people who found it hard to find. "I'm inspired by a talented musicians, good songs, and people who approach their music like it's art."  I'm not interested in breaking bands who are following trends.
    "I found a guy who was interested in the same stuff, Ray Scherr, who founded the Guitar Center chain. The structure of our deals is very different. They're not like conventional record deals.
    "I find that fulfilling; Dealing with artists, and being able to discover things and hear things. There's a certain part of my brain that likes to be stimulated by making executive decisions and dealing with lawyers and managers and negotiations. It feels good when you negotiate something and the deal is good for everybody, and it turns into some kind of success.
    "And I have no problem whatsoever walking away from things and people that I don't believe in."

DLR ARMY: So how is this label different than any other small independent?

VAI: "We don't take money from this label, we just keep reinvesting it. I used to be very nervous around business people, but I have come to learn that some of them are just a bunch of schmoes."
    "Business is business. If you've got the goods, you have them. You need to be fairly compensated for them. All these lawyers have very different brain muscles than musicians and nary do the two twains meet."

DLR ARMY: Thanks again for your time and good luck with your live record as well as the box set. We'll keep DLR fans posted and make sure they know when to head out to music stores to pick those up.

VAI: " Thank you. I think it's great what you're doing (with the DLR Army site) and I'm glad that I can help support you."

Check out Steve Vai's amazing web site at www.vai.com. "The Ultra Zone" and "The 7th Song" are available in stores now. If you don't have them, check 'em out. Additional information about the Make A Noise foundation that is also available at www.vai.com as well as a chance to win Steve's three neck, heart-shaped guitar.  Steve is also auctioning off his '92 Harley Davidson to benefit the Make A Noise Foundation.  Click here to view the auction on Ebay. A variety of artists and their latest releases are showcased at www.favorednations.com.
 
Links:
1. Buy Steve Vai Cd's courtesy of AMAZON.COM.
2. Steve's record label Favored Nations.
3. Make A Noise Foundation.