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Jack of All Trades: A Chat with Guitar Wizard Steve Vai
by Greg Prato
To the average rock fan, Steve Vai remains best known as a 'hired gun' for such '80s-era hard rock acts as David Lee Roth (in his first post-Van Halen project) and Whitesnake. But as longtime fans know, this dynamic guitarist first broke on to the scene under the tutelage of Frank Zappa (who dubbed Vai his "Little Italian Virtuoso," and credited him with "Stunt Guitar"), before playing and/or writing with a variety of other artists, including John Lydon's PiL, Joe Jackson, Al DiMeola, Alice Cooper, and Ozzy Osbourne. Although Vai's solo debut first appeared in 1984 (the classic, albeit heavily Zappa influenced, Flex-Able), he didn't really get a chance to launch a proper solo career until the early '90s, issuing a string of solo albums on a somewhat regular basis.
Later in the decade, Vai teamed up with his first guitar teacher (and former Long Island neighbor) Joe Satriani to launch the annual G3 tour, which sees the two play their own full-length sets nightly, with an additional third special guest joining the tour each year (past participants have included King Crimson's Robert Fripp, Eric Johnson, Yngwie Malmsteen, etc.). Just recently, Vai got around to issuing his first ever full-length concert DVD, the double-disc set Live At The Astoria London, a document of two sold-out shows at the popular UK venue back in late 2001. The reason why it took so bloody long to reach the shops is because Vai is a perfectionist — he oversees just about everything he puts his name on from beginning to end. But to the delight of his many fans, Vai's hard work is definitely reflected in the finished product.
Musictoday recently spoke with Mr. Vai by phone from his Encino, California, home. We chatted about the DVD, his future plans, and a rather interesting hobby.
Musictoday: : Let's start off by discussing your new DVD, Live At The Astoria London (buy it).
Steve Vai: Well, I always try to document each tour that I do in one way or another. And I've been pretty successful doing that, except making that documentation real in the world is a whole other story, 'cause by the time you go to work on it, there's other things that are due and whatever. So in the past I've been very poor at actually completing a lot of the projects that I start, but I know that one day it will eventually happen. I just can't stop documenting, 'cause once you do that, then you don't even have anything to show as a representation in the future. So when we were in Europe on this last tour, the tour sold so well and for some reason my profile just jumped up a few notches — I guess that happens if you just stick with it. So I decided I better really capture this experience with this band and at this time. So, you put out some goals, you find a production team, and you look at the itinerary. And I decided that London would probably be the best place 'cause we have two sold out shows at the Astoria, and if I was to try to capture both of them and record them, I'd have more to choose from, and continuity would make sense. So I decided we're just going to do this and I approached Sony, who actually showed no interest in supporting it, so I paid for the entire thing myself. And I own it, which is a good thing. But that's basically how it's done, you just say, "I'm going to do this," and then you gotta just be resourceful. You have to find a production team and you have to hire a sound guy to come over and record it. Then when I got back to town I had to go through every bit of footage and transfer it, then edit it, and then mix the sound — it's a big long process. And I do everything myself, that's why it takes so long, it's not like I hand it off to people. I've never done that; I'm never comfortable doing that. At times, I do it to certain degrees, but for the most part, I feel that an artist's vision doesn't stop with the concept.
Mt: So you've basically just answered my next question, which was why it took almost two years for the DVD to come out — 'cause you were doing it yourself?
SV: That's one answer. The other answer is that there were 2001 things that got in the way.
Mt: How did you hook up once more with your one-time Davie Lee Roth band mate, bassist Billy Sheehan?
SV: Well that actually started with a couple of G3 tours. Billy and I have been friends and worked together for years. I had a little G3 tour, and I always wanted to work with Billy, but he's very established and successful with his band. The opportunities never really came up, but this G3 tour that we were going to do was very simple and short. I invited him on the tour and it went very well, and I said "Well, let's go do this little European tour," just a couple of months. Then the next G3 tour came up, we did that, and now we're planning for the next studio record.
Mt: So you are working on a new record.
SV: Yeah, I've had a new album in the works for three years, and then I shelved it.
Mt: Why did you shelve it?
SV: It's this beautiful concept record that's more like a huge rock fable/opera type thing; it involves characters and all sorts of stuff. I wrote the music, I started to build the record, and then it started to get compromised 'cause it was a double CD and the record company said, "Well, one CD is all you need." So I had to start chopping things down, and then I had to have all these instrumental songs on there to satisfy my instrumental loving audience, and that compromised the story. And I said, "This is not what I originally set out to do." So I went back to my original concept of this big, beautiful, crazy, eclectic, eccentric story, with all these incredible actors and musicians I wanted to have a part of it, and I just picked it up and put it on the shelf, until I can get a regular record out 'cause it's such a long, involved process that it would take me years and years to complete it. So now where I'm at, I took the instrumental stuff off of that record, 'cause I don't want any instrumental stuff on that record. That should be all like a musical, and I'm starting to construct an instrumental record, with some vocal stuff, that has a story to it, but it's not as vivid.
Mt: Does this concept piece have a name?
SV: The concept piece was called Anatomy Of A Soul. One disc was going to be called Anatomy and the other one was called Of A Soul. It was either that or Where The Wild Things Are, but I just think that it would be very difficult to get that name. So the record I'm working on now has a working title, but it can change.
Mt: And what is that album's working title?
SV: Real Illusions.
Mt: Any idea when it's going to come out?
SV: I'm hoping for June, 'cause I was commissioned to compose a theatrical piece for the Metropole Orchestra in Holland, which is a fifty-piece band…fifty-piece orchestra with a small rock ensemble. So that's what I'm working on right now, and that's in May, so I'll be spending the whole month of May in Amsterdam, and I was actually invited to jam with Eric Clapton at this thing that he's doing in June, so I'm coming back for that. Then I'm going back out in Europe for June, July, and August — actually, the Eastern Hemisphere, and then the Western Hemisphere in the fall.
Mt: Will the dates be another G3 tour?
SV: I think parts of the European tour may be G3, I'm not exactly sure yet. We're still trying to kinda figure it out.
Mt: While we're on the subject of G3, how was the last tour with Joe Satriani and Yngwie Malmsteen?
SV: Oh, it was fabulous. It was a wonderful experience. You know, those G3 tours are always a blessing. They're just simple — it's great musicians, a great crew, all these great things.
Mt: I was checking out your Web site, and I really dug the "Journal Archives" [which is basically Steve's diary from his pre-pubescent years up to the present]. How long did it take to put together, and will there be more additions soon?
SV: I have no less than three 4-foot piles of notebooks that have meanderings from as far back as I could write. And I thought that one day I would eventually just implement them, 'cause they're all dated, and the entries are just really amazing that document really personal things. At one point, I developed my own language so that nobody could decipher what it was, 'cause it was really deep stuff. A lot of it would be really revealing and a lot of it would be really boring. And when I started to do that, I was getting some complaints — I started documenting what I was doing every day and putting it up on the Web site. I was looking at it, and I was saying, "This is bulls**t. People don't give a s**t if I'm going for a bike ride." And besides, it makes me too accessible, so I stopped doing it all together. But eventually, I'd like to maybe upload all of that stuff I have in the attic. That would be hilarious. It would be a huge Web page, but it would also be very revealing — things that no one would ever suspect.
Mt: It would be great if you put more stuff up from the '70s. Those entries are great.
SV: Yeah, I will, but you know what it is, it's a matter of time. But thanks for reading it.
Mt: Let's talk about your mammoth box set project, Secret Jewel Box [issued in installments, the set will eventually include a total of ten discs].
SV: Well, it's shipped with three CDs: Archives Vol. 2, which is music that I played with Frank Zappa, original recordings, then there was The Elusive Light And Sound[listed as Vol. 1 of the set], which was music that I've done for films. And then there was an Alcatrazz CD, which was a band I was in the '80s, that I licensed (1985's Disturbing The Peace). Just recently, I released two more archives CDs. They're really great too, I gotta say! Archives Vol. 3 is bonus tracks that have gone out on records of mine that I've done. And there's some great stuff; in fact, I just got nominated for a Grammy for one song. And then there's Archives Vol. 4, which you can get on my Web page, but won't be available in stores for a couple of months yet, and that's a compilation of music that I've contributed my guitar playing to with various artists. Stuff from PiL, Alice Cooper, Whitesnake — there's a ton of stuff.
Mt: Let's discuss your beekeeper hobby.
SV: I live in Encino now. We've moved onto this property that's two acres, and it was dilapidated when we moved on it, 'cause the owner was this kooky millionaire who never even visited the house for ten years, so everything was dead. I wanted to plant some fruit trees and my wife wanted to plant a garden, so I did a little research, and I discovered that honeybees are an excellent source of pollination. So I called my local beekeeper, I got a wild swarm…it's funny, I was talking to Tom Waits the other day, he was interested too. I mentioned to him that you gotta get a wild swarm, and he goes [in deep voice], "Whoa, that's a great name for a song." So maybe he'll use it. So you get a wild swarm, and there's certain A's, B's, and C's of being a beekeeper. I'm very resourceful and did a little bit of research. It's a really fun hobby. I get into the hive every month or so, when I just check them. And it only takes a couple of hours. Then we have these huge honey harvests, which I was supposed to do last year, but I didn't get to. So I got a thousand pounds of honey just sitting here.
Mt: So I'd imagine you can taste the difference between the honey from the hive and from the bottled stuff in a store.
SV: Actually, my wife can. I don't have very developed taste buds. I got it in my ears; occasionally, I'll pour the honey in my ears! We have raw honey, so it's got a lot of pollen in it, which is really good for you.
Mt: And the last question…I remember a while back I heard rumors of the original Roth Band getting back together. Any updates?
SV: I hear those rumors too, occasionally, but there's nothing like that planned as far as I know.
by Greg Prato
To the average rock fan, Steve Vai remains best known as a 'hired gun' for such '80s-era hard rock acts as David Lee Roth (in his first post-Van Halen project) and Whitesnake. But as longtime fans know, this dynamic guitarist first broke on to the scene under the tutelage of Frank Zappa (who dubbed Vai his "Little Italian Virtuoso," and credited him with "Stunt Guitar"), before playing and/or writing with a variety of other artists, including John Lydon's PiL, Joe Jackson, Al DiMeola, Alice Cooper, and Ozzy Osbourne. Although Vai's solo debut first appeared in 1984 (the classic, albeit heavily Zappa influenced, Flex-Able), he didn't really get a chance to launch a proper solo career until the early '90s, issuing a string of solo albums on a somewhat regular basis.
Later in the decade, Vai teamed up with his first guitar teacher (and former Long Island neighbor) Joe Satriani to launch the annual G3 tour, which sees the two play their own full-length sets nightly, with an additional third special guest joining the tour each year (past participants have included King Crimson's Robert Fripp, Eric Johnson, Yngwie Malmsteen, etc.). Just recently, Vai got around to issuing his first ever full-length concert DVD, the double-disc set Live At The Astoria London, a document of two sold-out shows at the popular UK venue back in late 2001. The reason why it took so bloody long to reach the shops is because Vai is a perfectionist — he oversees just about everything he puts his name on from beginning to end. But to the delight of his many fans, Vai's hard work is definitely reflected in the finished product.
Musictoday recently spoke with Mr. Vai by phone from his Encino, California, home. We chatted about the DVD, his future plans, and a rather interesting hobby.
Musictoday: : Let's start off by discussing your new DVD, Live At The Astoria London (buy it).
Steve Vai: Well, I always try to document each tour that I do in one way or another. And I've been pretty successful doing that, except making that documentation real in the world is a whole other story, 'cause by the time you go to work on it, there's other things that are due and whatever. So in the past I've been very poor at actually completing a lot of the projects that I start, but I know that one day it will eventually happen. I just can't stop documenting, 'cause once you do that, then you don't even have anything to show as a representation in the future. So when we were in Europe on this last tour, the tour sold so well and for some reason my profile just jumped up a few notches — I guess that happens if you just stick with it. So I decided I better really capture this experience with this band and at this time. So, you put out some goals, you find a production team, and you look at the itinerary. And I decided that London would probably be the best place 'cause we have two sold out shows at the Astoria, and if I was to try to capture both of them and record them, I'd have more to choose from, and continuity would make sense. So I decided we're just going to do this and I approached Sony, who actually showed no interest in supporting it, so I paid for the entire thing myself. And I own it, which is a good thing. But that's basically how it's done, you just say, "I'm going to do this," and then you gotta just be resourceful. You have to find a production team and you have to hire a sound guy to come over and record it. Then when I got back to town I had to go through every bit of footage and transfer it, then edit it, and then mix the sound — it's a big long process. And I do everything myself, that's why it takes so long, it's not like I hand it off to people. I've never done that; I'm never comfortable doing that. At times, I do it to certain degrees, but for the most part, I feel that an artist's vision doesn't stop with the concept.
Mt: So you've basically just answered my next question, which was why it took almost two years for the DVD to come out — 'cause you were doing it yourself?
SV: That's one answer. The other answer is that there were 2001 things that got in the way.
Mt: How did you hook up once more with your one-time Davie Lee Roth band mate, bassist Billy Sheehan?
SV: Well that actually started with a couple of G3 tours. Billy and I have been friends and worked together for years. I had a little G3 tour, and I always wanted to work with Billy, but he's very established and successful with his band. The opportunities never really came up, but this G3 tour that we were going to do was very simple and short. I invited him on the tour and it went very well, and I said "Well, let's go do this little European tour," just a couple of months. Then the next G3 tour came up, we did that, and now we're planning for the next studio record.
Mt: So you are working on a new record.
SV: Yeah, I've had a new album in the works for three years, and then I shelved it.
Mt: Why did you shelve it?
SV: It's this beautiful concept record that's more like a huge rock fable/opera type thing; it involves characters and all sorts of stuff. I wrote the music, I started to build the record, and then it started to get compromised 'cause it was a double CD and the record company said, "Well, one CD is all you need." So I had to start chopping things down, and then I had to have all these instrumental songs on there to satisfy my instrumental loving audience, and that compromised the story. And I said, "This is not what I originally set out to do." So I went back to my original concept of this big, beautiful, crazy, eclectic, eccentric story, with all these incredible actors and musicians I wanted to have a part of it, and I just picked it up and put it on the shelf, until I can get a regular record out 'cause it's such a long, involved process that it would take me years and years to complete it. So now where I'm at, I took the instrumental stuff off of that record, 'cause I don't want any instrumental stuff on that record. That should be all like a musical, and I'm starting to construct an instrumental record, with some vocal stuff, that has a story to it, but it's not as vivid.
Mt: Does this concept piece have a name?
SV: The concept piece was called Anatomy Of A Soul. One disc was going to be called Anatomy and the other one was called Of A Soul. It was either that or Where The Wild Things Are, but I just think that it would be very difficult to get that name. So the record I'm working on now has a working title, but it can change.
Mt: And what is that album's working title?
SV: Real Illusions.
Mt: Any idea when it's going to come out?
SV: I'm hoping for June, 'cause I was commissioned to compose a theatrical piece for the Metropole Orchestra in Holland, which is a fifty-piece band…fifty-piece orchestra with a small rock ensemble. So that's what I'm working on right now, and that's in May, so I'll be spending the whole month of May in Amsterdam, and I was actually invited to jam with Eric Clapton at this thing that he's doing in June, so I'm coming back for that. Then I'm going back out in Europe for June, July, and August — actually, the Eastern Hemisphere, and then the Western Hemisphere in the fall.
Mt: Will the dates be another G3 tour?
SV: I think parts of the European tour may be G3, I'm not exactly sure yet. We're still trying to kinda figure it out.
Mt: While we're on the subject of G3, how was the last tour with Joe Satriani and Yngwie Malmsteen?
SV: Oh, it was fabulous. It was a wonderful experience. You know, those G3 tours are always a blessing. They're just simple — it's great musicians, a great crew, all these great things.
Mt: I was checking out your Web site, and I really dug the "Journal Archives" [which is basically Steve's diary from his pre-pubescent years up to the present]. How long did it take to put together, and will there be more additions soon?
SV: I have no less than three 4-foot piles of notebooks that have meanderings from as far back as I could write. And I thought that one day I would eventually just implement them, 'cause they're all dated, and the entries are just really amazing that document really personal things. At one point, I developed my own language so that nobody could decipher what it was, 'cause it was really deep stuff. A lot of it would be really revealing and a lot of it would be really boring. And when I started to do that, I was getting some complaints — I started documenting what I was doing every day and putting it up on the Web site. I was looking at it, and I was saying, "This is bulls**t. People don't give a s**t if I'm going for a bike ride." And besides, it makes me too accessible, so I stopped doing it all together. But eventually, I'd like to maybe upload all of that stuff I have in the attic. That would be hilarious. It would be a huge Web page, but it would also be very revealing — things that no one would ever suspect.
Mt: It would be great if you put more stuff up from the '70s. Those entries are great.
SV: Yeah, I will, but you know what it is, it's a matter of time. But thanks for reading it.
Mt: Let's talk about your mammoth box set project, Secret Jewel Box [issued in installments, the set will eventually include a total of ten discs].
SV: Well, it's shipped with three CDs: Archives Vol. 2, which is music that I played with Frank Zappa, original recordings, then there was The Elusive Light And Sound[listed as Vol. 1 of the set], which was music that I've done for films. And then there was an Alcatrazz CD, which was a band I was in the '80s, that I licensed (1985's Disturbing The Peace). Just recently, I released two more archives CDs. They're really great too, I gotta say! Archives Vol. 3 is bonus tracks that have gone out on records of mine that I've done. And there's some great stuff; in fact, I just got nominated for a Grammy for one song. And then there's Archives Vol. 4, which you can get on my Web page, but won't be available in stores for a couple of months yet, and that's a compilation of music that I've contributed my guitar playing to with various artists. Stuff from PiL, Alice Cooper, Whitesnake — there's a ton of stuff.
Mt: Let's discuss your beekeeper hobby.
SV: I live in Encino now. We've moved onto this property that's two acres, and it was dilapidated when we moved on it, 'cause the owner was this kooky millionaire who never even visited the house for ten years, so everything was dead. I wanted to plant some fruit trees and my wife wanted to plant a garden, so I did a little research, and I discovered that honeybees are an excellent source of pollination. So I called my local beekeeper, I got a wild swarm…it's funny, I was talking to Tom Waits the other day, he was interested too. I mentioned to him that you gotta get a wild swarm, and he goes [in deep voice], "Whoa, that's a great name for a song." So maybe he'll use it. So you get a wild swarm, and there's certain A's, B's, and C's of being a beekeeper. I'm very resourceful and did a little bit of research. It's a really fun hobby. I get into the hive every month or so, when I just check them. And it only takes a couple of hours. Then we have these huge honey harvests, which I was supposed to do last year, but I didn't get to. So I got a thousand pounds of honey just sitting here.
Mt: So I'd imagine you can taste the difference between the honey from the hive and from the bottled stuff in a store.
SV: Actually, my wife can. I don't have very developed taste buds. I got it in my ears; occasionally, I'll pour the honey in my ears! We have raw honey, so it's got a lot of pollen in it, which is really good for you.
Mt: And the last question…I remember a while back I heard rumors of the original Roth Band getting back together. Any updates?
SV: I hear those rumors too, occasionally, but there's nothing like that planned as far as I know.
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