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Flex-able Steve
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He added riffs to rock, jazz, funk and classical ensembles
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Guitar virtuoso Steve Vai, like countless other Long Island kids, picked up the guitar when only 13 and formed a band. Unlike most, however, he had as a neighbour and guitar tutor the inimitable Joe Satriani.
Born June 6, 1960, Carle Place, New York, he was just 18, when invited to play the lead guitar in his band by Frank Zappa. Vai appears on numerous subsequent Zappa recordings, including Tinseltown Rebellion (1981), You are what you is (1981), Thing-Fish (1984), Them or Us (1986) and several ‘shut up ‘n’ play yer guitar’ albums, among others.
Steve Vai has led a divided career. While his solo work was hailed for its nuanced melding of Jazz, Rock, Funk and Classical influences, he also has appeared as a hard-rock guitar slinger on hire for artists such as David Lee Roth, Frank Zappa and for the group Whitesnake.
He recorded his first solo album, Flex-able, in 1984, which was arranged in his home studio. The record sold close to two and a half million copies with scant publicity and limited airplay.
After a short stint replacing Yngwie Malmsteen in the group Alcatrazz, Vai signed on as lead guitarist for David Lee Roth’s solo outfit. This association lasted three years and yielded two albums namely, Eat ‘em and Smile (1986) and Skyscraper (1987). His collaboration with Whitesnake lasted only one album, Slip of the Tongue (1989).
In 1990, he released his third solo album, Passion and Warfare, while, his 1993 offering Sex & Religion, signalled a conscious move to pop, with the addition of vocals and a band that included ex-Missing Persons drummer Terry Bozzio.
That same year, Vai won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental performance for his work on Sofa, off the Frank Zappa tribute, Zappa’s Universe. In 1996, Vai sang lead for the first time on his album Fire Garden and later that year embarked on the G3 tour with fellow virtuosos Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson. Each guitarist performed solo, then, all would get together and jam.
Even though, Steve Vai has slowed down on collaboration to focus on his own music, he still finds time for occasional guest appearances on records such as Al Di Meola’s The Infinite Desire (1998) and Joe Jackson’s Symphony 1 (1999).
A. GEORGE ANTONY
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
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