Steve Vai

George Redmon · From: Muskegon & Detroit Michigan.

Not for the faint of heart. Anyone over 50 maybe shouldn't click on this link. But i like steve vai. Talk about guitar abuse. Now i didn't care for jimmy henrix not even a little bit, sorry. jimmy was just noise to me. But steve vai is actually artistic. And how in the world does he keep that ibanez in tune? watch closely his self destructing ending, and his little finger kiss to his guitar. And of course he is playing through a stack of Carvin Vai Legacy amplifiers. I like it......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v3FEQhUkt8&mode=related&search=

Papa Joe Pollick · From: Swanton, Ohio

Well George,I'm way over 50 and I loved it. Steve is one of my favs.But my real rock guitar hero is Eric Johnson.Another very fine guitarist is Johnny A.Got a good CD collection of these guys.
Cool

PJ

Doug Beaumier · From: Northampton, MA

David Doggett · Posted 7 Feb 2007 10:26 pm

Well, being 60 (the first year of the baby boomers) I would think you would have to be considerably older than 60 to not like Vai. I am totally baffled by your negative comments about Hendrix. I can't imagine anyone could listen to songs like "Waterfall" and "The Wind Cries Mary" and call Hendrix "noise." And I completely agree with Doug. Hendrix is the most obvious influence in everything Vai does. And by the way, Hendrix was not just a flash in the pan rocker. He paid his dues with many years on the road playing R&B guitar for people like Little Richard. When he turned to rock, I thought he made psychedelic rock, which originally was kind of random and repetitive, much more musical and subtle. He was a true genius, full of electrifying originality. Vai is carrying on the tradition, but Jimi was the true original who showed the way.

Charles Davidson · From: Phenix City Alabama, USA

I'm 67 and loved it,always been a fan of his,but got to admit,never liked Hendrix even when I was MUCH younger.

Doug Beaumier · From: Northampton, MA

I'd say that Vai appeals more to "older" guitar fans than young ones. He's been a guitar hero since the early to mid 1980's, although he's not well known to the general public. Most music fans under age 25 never heard of him. "Older" guitar enthusiasts like us know and appreciate his work. Most of my guitar students are under age 25, and not one of them has ever mentioned Steve Vai. They have no idea who he is. Jimi Hendrix, on the other hand... every student, all the way down to age 12, has heard the name Hendrix and most can name a couple of Hendrix tunes. Like the Beatles, Zeppelin, and a couple of others, Jimi’s music will live forever and will be played by fans for many years to come. I will admit that not all of Jimi’s music appeals to me however. Some of his live recordings are a bit tedious, but his studio recordings are still as Exciting and Alive as they were 40 years ago when they were recorded.
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Jim Peters · From: St. Louis, Missouri, USA, R.I.P.

Not to be disagreeable, but I've never really got into the uber guitar virtuoso thing. To me, Vai has reached such a ridiculous level of ability that I just don't enjoy listening to it anymore. I give him his props, for sure. I don't like his visuals (all the posturing),either. The technique is distracting to me. I much prefer Hendrix' studio stuff. Give me Up From the Skies, or anything else off Axis anyday.
I always feel like Vai, Satriani, and others like them, sit down to write a song and think" I'm gonna play a "Phrygian Dominant" here to make this part sound sad, an "altered melodic minor," to add a little tension here, etc, etc.They play the right notes, but they just don't connect with me. I first heard Tender Surrender at a midnight flick, watching Woodstock. I thought it the highlight of Jimi's set.
JP
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Jim Peters · From: St. Louis, Missouri, USA, R.I.P.

Also, Papa Joe, I agree with you about Eric Johnson. I think he has a better mix of technique and feel. JP
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David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

I think Vai, Satriani, and some of the fusak guys have become victims of their own chops to some extent - "What can I do next?" "How do I top that last song, how do I 'beat' Satriani?" It's sort of like the action/adventure movies, where each one just has to be more exciting, louder, faster and blow up more cars than the last one - now even James Bond, who used to be the epitome of sneaky/cool, is mowing down rooms full of bad guys with a machine gun, sigh.

I would love to lock Vai in a little room* with a 335 and a Twin Reverb, maybe tape a few of his fingers together and threaten to beat him if he played anything faster than an eighth note, and see what comes out - I suspect it might be very, very good. I just picked up Al Di Meola's latest CD "Consequences of Chaos", and it's really, really good - he's slowed down enough to make each note count, you know?

*(Metaphorically, naturally....)

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

This is such an obvious Hendrix tribute that I just don't understand why anybody would use this to flog him. Vai is an extraordinary player, who I wish would more often hold back his obvious virtuosity in service of the song. But even though I think it is unnecessarily over-the-top for the emotion I feel it's trying to create, I still like it. Still, here are three reasons why I prefer Hendrix' approach to this type of material:

1. I prefer Hendrix' tone on a tune like this - more milky and ethereal. For example, Jimi's octave tone was closer to guys like Kenny Burrell or Wes Montgomery - I just think it sounds better in this context.

2. To me, Hendrix was able to convey more emotion with less technique. This is not to say that he didn't have plenty of technique - try duplicating his full feel on something like Little Wing or Castles Made of Sand - it ain't easy even 35+ years after the fact. Second-generation players in this style like Vai built off the shoulders of people like Jimi - entirely appropriate, since Hendrix was an innovator with a completely new approach to electric guitar, who died at age 27 with lots left to contribute. A virtuoso of Vai's caliber should be able to take the style further, technically. This doesn't diminish Jimi's contribution one iota, IMO.

3. I think the level of "showoff" type of stuff on a tune like this - even though extremely well articulated - was overdone and felt more like athletics than music in spots. I'm totally fine with that kind of thing in a more muscular, virtuosic tune. But I think a little of that goes a very long way in a tune like this. Perhaps guys like Vai and Satriani are in fact chained to the "gotta go for more" approach - their fans do seem to expect it from them.

All this is a matter of taste, of course. But to call Hendrix "noise", with a genuflect to players like Vai who obviously owe him so much, prompts this type of response.

Eric Jaeger · From: Oakland, California, USA

I think we're back to the old "chops vs. soul" debate.

I agree the guitar hero syndrome seems silly to me, but that belief also indicates where I come down on the technique vs. feeling question. My 17-year old nephew (who is a phenomenal guitarist -- technically) is still figuring this one out. He's learning to get Hendrix, and he just discoverd Joe Maphis (!), but he still thinks Zakk Wilde is numero uno.

To me the Vai/Satriani/Sarceno phenom is annoying. Not that they're not spectacular...

But people put down Horowitz for having no soul also...

-eric

Jim Cohen · From: Philadelphia, PA

Video has been removed by UTube. Too bad i missed it.

Steinar Gregertsen · From: Arendal, Norway, R.I.P.

I was seriously into Vai up until the "Passion And Warfare" album in the late 80s. While I didn't care much for the rest of the 80s shredder phenomenon I always felt Vai had an originality and unpredictability that made him stand out from the crowd.
I also felt he had lots of 'soul', and not the least - humor, in his playing up until then (he fasted for three days before recording the lead on "For The Love Of God", just to get in the right mood...).

But he kinda lost me after that, he became a bit, eh, "Hollywoodized" IMHO...
His work on Dave Lee Roth's "Eat 'Em and Smile" album is for me a high point from the 80s rock era,- chops to die for but still unpretentious and fun....

Steinar
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Michael Johnstone · From: Sylmar,Ca. USA

Yeah anyone who dismisses Jimi as noise hasn't really listened to the proper records. But as someone who has sat in front of his amp a number of times - even when he did play "noise" it sure was beautiful noise. Especially on a "sunshiney" occasion.

George Redmon · From: Muskegon & Detroit Michigan.

[/quote] This is such an obvious Hendrix tribute that I just don't understand why anybody would use this to flog him.

Mark Eaton · Posted 8 Feb 2007 1:11 pm **Re: Steve Vai**

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

George - absolutely, you are entitled to your opinion. Nobody here is trying to suppress that at all, have at it. But to give a strong opinion invites a dissenting view. To me, it's one thing to say Jimi's not your cup of tea, and quite another to say "Jimi's just noise to me. But steve vai is actually artistic". That, plus my critical comparison between the two, are my opinions, which I'm also entitled to.

Maybe you haven't heard the more melodic, chordal, and just plain gorgeous Hendrix stuff - it's out there. One can only imagine where he would have gone had he lived into his old age. As far as Jimi's wanking, Steve can also get off into "wanking mode" too - and in the appropriate places, I'm all for it in both cases. Wink

Michael Johnstone · From: Sylmar,Ca. USA

Yeah check out Castles Made Of Sand and Little Wing and you'll hear no distortion,no teeth - only amazing modal harmony, subtle, brilliant guitar technique (think Curtis Mayfield or Pops Staples on steroids) and lyrics on a par with Dylan or Van Morrison.
So sad that a lot of people only saw the Star Spangled Banner with the teeth thing and that's all he was to them. Kinda like those who only knew Elvis as a fat has-been drug addict in a white jumpsuit and cape doing faux kung-fu moves in a Vegas lounge as he slurred his way thru "My Way" and never bothered to hear the Sun sessions from 55/56.

Mark Eaton · Posted 8 Feb 2007 3:20 pm

There was a thread on the Forum a couple of years ago where someone referred to Jerry Garcia the guitarist (not Garcia, the "anti-christ" of pedal steel Wink

) as a "shredder."

If one thought of Garcia the guitarist as a "shredder," then apparently they never listened to the man play...
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George Redmon · From: Muskegon & Detroit Michigan.

Dave you are correct, i do not listen to much of this type of music. I just thought vai's song was kinda neat. I couldn't take a whole evening of it, and even less of henrix..different strokes for different folks i guess. I am sure if i heard some of jimmys stuff and actually paid closer attention to it, there would be something hopefully i would like.

Doug Beaumier · From: Northampton, MA

Jim Peters · From: St. Louis, Missouri, USA, R.I.P.

Doug, I agree on JH live, never could appreciate it that much. George, listen to Waterfall, Wait until Tomorrow, lotsa Mayfieldisms. Being a great musician is like some Olympic competitions- you get two grades, one for athleticism, one for artistry. Different folks appreciate one or the other for their own reasons.To really appreciate JH, you have to put him in his time frame. He was truly inovative and very unique (like Vai). He accomplished LOTS with equipment we didn't really have the ability to keep in tune, without tuners, with crappy cords, new untested pedals, lousy monitors, etc. Well, he did have great amps! But in the studio, he had some GREAT stuff, with a great and innovative engineer, and tremendous imagination. His artistry gets a 10 in my book, technique maybe a 8.5. I give Vai a 10 on athletics, a 5 on artistry, maybe less when he makes the ugly faces! Smile

I know you disagree, that's cool! Enjoy, JP
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George Redmon · From: Muskegon & Detroit Michigan.

Doug and jim, i will most certainly call my brother who listens to a lot of Jimmy Hendrix, Vai, and Alan Holsworth. And get some of jimi's CD's. I am willing to listen to some of his stuff sure. I wrote down your suggestions and will certainly give them a listen. I find how these guys can play this type of music truly amazing. And you are right, basically all i have to judge by are his live in concert stuff. Thanks for the suggestions. George

Doug Beaumier · From: Northampton, MA

Jim Peters · From: St. Louis, Missouri, USA, R.I.P.

The first song of JH I heard was Stoned Free, and I was just shocked by what he was doing! He holds that one bend while it distorts and is seriously Marshall compressed, well I never had heard anything like it!

I think that with Steve Vai, my focus goes from the song to the technique, that's what bothers me. George, what a great attitude you have, I hope you like what you hear, if not, big props for being open! JP
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