Steve Vai has a theory book coming out called Vaideology

bingefeller

Alnico said:

Thanks loads for posting that Guitar World magazine interview !

No problem, enjoy!  It's one of his best interviews.

bingefeller

MelodicLydian said:

bingefeller said:

Cool video, @Wibble! ; Looks like Steve is plugging into that Marshall, I bet he's boosting the front end with a DS-1.  

He tends to use a Tube Screamer to boost the gain channel and then the DS-1 on a clean channel depending on the sound he is after. In more recent years using Carvin Legacy amps but he has used Bogner and Marshall over the years.

He explains the boost in this hilarious video back when he released the Jemini dual pedal for both of these sounds in one box:

He changed his rig a lot over the years.  

Back in the "old days" he just used a DS-1 or a DS-2 and he got most of his gain from them.  This was in the P&W, S&R, ALS and Fire Garden rigs.  After that I'm not sure when the started using the Tube Screamer as a front end boost to his overdrive channel.  

You can see his gear here...

https://www.vai.com/fire-garden-gear/

https://www.vai.com/sr-gear/

MagicPigDetective

Sex & Religion is not working for me at all.

Favourite song I've heard so far (after For the Love of God which is gobsmackingly good) might be K'm-Pee-Du-Wee from Real Illusions.

I'm also really digging Time Machine Vol .1 by Satriani, perhaps that's for another thread.

Bridgehouse

Every time I read this thread I just think of Maureen Lipman...

IvanMC

viz said:

fastonebaz said:

@MagicPigDetective ;
I recommend  the double live CD "Alive in an Ultra World" and the double CD Steve Vai "Anthology"

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alive-Ultra-World-Steve-Vai/dp/B00005KHEY
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Infinite-Steve-Vai-Anthology/dp/B0000TGA6E

From those you'll cover all his best work (IMO) there are some beautiful pieces

Tender Surrender, Feathers, Die to Live, Frank, Rescue Me or Bury Me, Windows to the Soul and my all time favourite, Whispering a Prayer.

Awesome stuff (that's not a song, just a fact)

Anthology is certainly a good place to start; the albums themselves track an incredibly varied, though Vai-veined career:

Zappa material: if you don’t like Zappa much, Vai’s additions won’t improve it for you. Same with PIL.

The 2 DLR albums: very quirky, unusual, stylish playing with DLR’s cabaret vocal style. 

Alcatrazz and Whitesnake: solid 80s rock, made even better by Vai’s additions.

Flexable + flex leftovers - experimental stage

P&W - lauded as his best

Firegarden - amazing double album, half of the songs have him singing

Alien Love Secrets - short, rocky, unembellished

Vai (with Devin) - takes time to enjoy and VERY noisy but absolutely incredible

UltraZone - quite processed, quite good

Real illusions - pretty damned amazing

Story of light - Pretty good. 

Flawless summary. I think Sex & Religion is underrated. It tore my head off when I first listened to it. Steve was fired up back then. And both Eat'em and Smile and Skyscrapper are majestic albums. I'm looking forward to having a go at this new book of his.

viz

MagicPigDetective said:

Sex & Religion is not working for me at all.

Listen to Dirty Black Hole, 4 times, each time louder than the time before. 

Then do the same with Pig, except 16 times. 

MelodicLydian

I find many of Steve's albums contain tracks that seem "out there" and aren't necessarily easy to get at the first listen (or indeed the 5th or 10th) but overtime they can often be appreciated and even become favourites. It is the unusual composition, structures and harmonies that are quite away from the common pop/rock type tune.

By contrast I find Satriani albums which also use different modes and interesting ideas tend to follow more closely the familiar verse, bridge, chorus etc. so are easier to get on the first few listens.

With Sex and Religion although bits like Touching Tongues and Rescue or Bury Me stood out immediately was certainly as an album something very different to Passion and Warfare and took lots of time for me to get the rest of it.

bingefeller

MagicPigDetective said:

Sex & Religion is not working for me at all.

Favourite song I've heard so far (after For the Love of God which is gobsmackingly good) might be K'm-Pee-Du-Wee from Real Illusions.

I'm also really digging Time Machine Vol .1 by Satriani, perhaps that's for another thread.

S&R is  worth sticking with, it has some of his best playing on it imo.  

LastMantra

wibble said:

On a related note, I've been watching the latest videos released by Marty O'Donnell on youtube of his work. Gamers will know him as the composer behind Bungie's Halo series and Destiny.

One of his behind the scenes/studio videos was of his session for Halo 2 with Nile Rodgers and Steve Vai. Fascinating and awesome stuff. Nile Rodgers can be seen rocking out on Steve's JEM. Anyway, worth a watch imho

I'm not a fan...but that was pretty cool. 
But why is Rodgers all up in his business when he's trying to play? 

Yearofthegoat

First time I heard P+W early 90's it blew me away. Have listened to it (and others) sooo many times.

There's an interview with SV on Andertons YouTube - more about life philosophy than music, which was refreshing.

(Goes off to fire up the CD player)

Aidanspaghetti

MagicPigDetective said:

I’ve only just realised that Hal Leonard is not the name of a man who’s written so many guitar books, but is the name of the company! Anyway, this book sounds interesting and I might give it a go, though I’m always suspicious about how much celebrities actually write themselves without ghost writers. 

His wife's not called "Cherry Lane" either
He's good, but not as good as that Steely Dan lad...

Aidanspaghetti

Huge Vai fan back in the day and still listen to him.... Being Irish, I've an afinity with "Lucky Charms" (Great  to see the little green men make an appearance again).

beed84

Bridgehouse said:

Every time I read this thread I just think of Maureen Lipman...

It took me a whole day to get that.

sweepy

DulcetJones said:

I'm pretty sure everyone involved in this thread already knows this but , just in case, Vai was in the movie "Crossroads".  A bit of a cheezy flick but he reportedly played all the guitars on the soundtrack and has a short  scene playing near the end.

Arlen Roth and Ry Cooder also supplied guitar parts to Crossroads, indeed Arlen Roth coached Ralph Macchio to make his miming more “convincing”

Yearofthegoat

Cooder did the slide stuff. Roth mentions the movie in his DVD 'Rock Guitar for Dummies'.

Ahem.

bingefeller

Here is a video from Steve:

EricTheWeary

sweepy said:

DulcetJones said:

I'm pretty sure everyone involved in this thread already knows this but , just in case, Vai was in the movie "Crossroads".  A bit of a cheezy flick but he reportedly played all the guitars on the soundtrack and has a short  scene playing near the end.

Arlen Roth and Ry Cooder also supplied guitar parts to Crossroads, indeed Arlen Roth coached Ralph Macchio to make his miming more “convincing”

As I remember it Roth had a falling out with the film makers over Vai's scene as in the original script it was a blues 'cutting heads' sequence - which makes more sense probably. 
The acoustic classical parts are William Kanengiser  and there are several musicians on the tracks by The Wonders ( essentially an expanded Frank Frost and the Jelly Roll Kings - Frank played most of the harp in the film) including a young Otis Taylor on guitar but not Roth or Vai.
Vai played the bits that sound like Vai in Crossroads. 

JMP220478

fastonebaz said:

Lebarque said:

@fastonebaz ;

@Lebarque I saw this,  but since I already taught him everything he knows I probably don't need to read it. 

Are you Joe Satriani in disguise ?

JMP220478

I really like Vai's stuff on PIL Album - didnt realise they were considering a lineup including Vai , Ginger Baker , Lydon and Bill Laswell ,, 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Album_(Public_Image_Ltd_album)

Hootsmon

I'm waiting on Satrianideology