Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, two of history's greatest guitarists, bonded for life in high school. Vai, who was 12 at the time, started taking $5 guitar lessons from Satriani, who was four years older and had a head start of maybe a year and a half on the instrument. A lifetime later, the two old friends are touring as the SATCHVAI Band, promising a live experience built on virtuosity, friendship, and fearless creativity. They owe it all to ZZ Satriani, who convinced his dad to reunite the lineup from the first G3 tour for a music documentary. Satriani was fresh off a residency as Sammy Hagar's lead guitarist at Park MGM on the Las Vegas Strip when he checked in to talk about the tour, the album, and the friendship at the heart of both. He also talked about Van Halen, as one does. Joe Satriani calls Long Island 'a great place for rock 'n' roll kids'. He and Vai went to the same public high school within walking distance of their houses, right in the middle of Nassau County, which is kind of in the middle of Long Island. A great place to grow up for rock 'n' roll kids. They had a great music teacher at the high school, a young Juilliard graduate named Bill Westcott. He gave them a university-level education in music theory and music history. During that time, they were just long-haired metal kids, playing Black Sabbath and Beatles and Stones and Hendrix and Kiss and all that stuff with their friends at backyard parties, basements, battles of the bands, and high school dances. But they were also translating what Bill was showing them in class to their guitars. Satriani knew right away that 12-year-old Steve Vai was special. He was so well attuned to the instrument, even though it was new to him. Vai was passionate about music and wanted to know how to play like Hendrix or Frank Zappa. They agreed they would be friends for life, helping each other achieve their dream of playing guitar. Their gigs took them far and away from each other at times, but they sent cassettes to each other for fun. That's how Satriani got signed to Relativity. Vai called him up and said the label just signed him to a P&D deal for 'Flexible,'. Satriani thought it was an artistic statement, but Vai saw the potential and helped him get signed. Satriani was teaching from '78 to '88 at a guitar store in Berkeley, California, teaching teenagers who were inventing thrash metal. He could see the future coming and the music that was about to break. He's played with David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar, and he's honored, not imitated, Eddie Van Halen. The SATCHVAI Band is performing at Mesa Amphitheatre on April 10, promising a live experience built on virtuosity, friendship, and fearless creativity.
