Description

Steve Vai first came to public attention as Frank Zappa's "stunt guitarist" in the 1980s. Vai's incredible dexterity and musical acumen made him the thinking man's guitar hero. Striking out on his own, the fleet-fingered Vai released a series of solo albums that earned him a rabid following of guitar worshippers. Along the way, he did time as a sideman with David Lee Roth, replaced Yngwie Malmsteen in Alcatrazz, and formed shred-guitar supergroup G3 with fellow fretmasters Eric Johnson and Joe Satriani.

Biography

b. 6 June 1960, Long Island, New York, USA. Vai began his musical career at the age of 13, forming his first rock band, Rayge, while still at school. At this time he was tutored by Joe Satriani, who was to have a profound effect on his style for years to come. He studied jazz and classical music at the Berklee College Of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, before relocating to Los Angeles, California, in 1979. He was recruited by Frank Zappa as the lead guitarist in his backing band, while he was still only 18 years old. By 1984 he had built his own recording studio and had begun experimenting with the fusion of jazz, rock and classical music. These pieces were released as Flex-Able and Flex-Able Leftovers, and were heavily influenced by Zappa's offbeat and unpredictable style.
In 1985, Vai replaced Yngwie Malmsteen in Alcatrazz, then moved on to even greater success with David Lee Roth and later Whitesnake. Passion And Warfare, released in 1990, was the album that brought Vai international recognition as a solo performer. It welded together jazz, rock, funk, classical, and metal nuances within a melodic instrumental framework. It climbed to number 18 on the Billboard album chart, earning a gold disc in the process. The guitarist then formed Vai with Devin Townsend (vocals), T.M. Stevens (bass), Terry Bozzio (drums), recording 1993's Sex & Religion. The solo Alien Love Secrets further highlighted Vai's extraordinary style, with guitars sounding like horses on "Bad Horsie" and a Venusian vocal on "Kill The Guy With The Ball" created by utilizing massive EQ, his left foot and a digital whammy bar. Fire Garden was half-instrumental/half-vocal, and contained a bizarre mix of stunning guitar pyrotechnics, together with one of his most evocative compositions, "Hand On Heart". Vai takes his instrument into new realms but still makes it sound like a guitar, most of the time. he founded the record label Favored Nations in 1999.
DISCOGRAPHY: Flex-Able (Urantia/Akashic 1984)**, Flex-Able Leftovers (Urantia/Akashic 1984)**, Passion And Warfare (Relativity 1990)***, as Vai Sex & Religion (Relativity 1993)***, Alien Love Secrets (Relativity 1995)***, Fire Garden (Epic 1996)***, with Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson G3 Live In Concert (Epic 1997)****, The Ultra Zone (Epic 1999)***, Alive In An Ultra World (Epic 2001)***.
COMPILATIONS: The 7th Song (Epic 2000)***, The Secret Jewel Box 3-CD limited edition (Light Without Heat 2002)***, The Elusive Light And Sound Vol. 1 (Favored Nations 2002)***.

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