A virtuoso with creative courage. Joe Satriani Guitar Collection Beginning of Solo Career

Joe Satriani is one of the most technical and respected guitarists who studied with many prominent musicians of the 80s and 90s. Joe was born July 15, 1956 in Westbury, New York. At the age of 14, impressed by the genius of Jimi Hendrix, Satriani began to learn the guitar, although he was initially interested in drums. The instrument was easy for him, and soon Joe himself began to give playing lessons. By the end of the 70s, when the musician moved to Berkeley (California), among his students were such future celebrities as Steve Vai, Kirk Hammett ("Metallica"), Larry LaLonde ("Primus"), David Bryson ("Counting Crows") and fusion specialist Charlie Hunter. In the early 80s, Satriani worked as a session man for Greg Keane, but in 1984 he decided to start a solo career. His first work was the mini-album "Joe Satriani", which the musician recorded and produced himself. The release remained unnoticed, and the guitarist was noticed a little later.

It happened in 1986, when Steve Vai, who had become famous for his work with David Lee Roth, mentioned the name of his teacher in a number of publications. For Satriani, this was a good moment, and the guitarist did not fail to take advantage of it by releasing his debut LP. "Not Of This Earth" caused quite a stir in the rock community, but Joe's real success came with his second album, "Surfing With The Alien".

This album, which received gold (and later platinum), led the public to recognize Satriani as one of the leading rock guitarists of our time. Confirmation of the sharply increased popularity of the musician was his invitation by Mick Jagger to the Australian-Japanese tour. After the EP "Dreaming #11", which contained both studio and live tracks, the guitarist's third full-length album was released in 1989. "Flying In A Blue Dream" differed from previous works in that it featured Satriani's vocals for the first time (there he also played harmonica and banjo for the first time). The album sold well, and an additional step to success was the inclusion of "One Big Rush" on the soundtrack of the Cameron Crowe film "Say Anything". In the early 90s, Joe opened his own line of guitars for the Ibanez company. This business somewhat distracted him from studio work, but in 1992 Satriani returned to purely instrumental rock with the opus "The Extremist", which became the most successful in his discography (both in reviews and in sales).

The following year, in addition to The Beautiful Guitar, Joe released a copy of Time Machine, which included new tracks, live numbers and compositions from the very first EP. In 1994, Sutch rescued the legendary "Deep Purple" and instead of the escaped Blackmore played a Japanese tour with them.

He even made an offer to stay in the group permanently, but the guitarist refused, preferring to continue his solo career. In the second half of the 90s, Satriani released two more albums, the relaxed blues "Joe Satriani" and the energetic hard "Crystal Planet", and also organized the "G3" project with Steve Vai. In 2000, Joe released his most daring creation, based on electronics "Engines Of Creation". And although this techno album was nominated for a Grammy, Satriani returned to a more familiar style on the following releases. Having exchanged the 2000s with the live album "Live In San Francisco" and the numbered studio album "Strange Beautiful Music", the musician drew a line in his work with the two-disc anthology "The Electric Joe Satriani". Throughout the decade, Joe regularly, with a two-year interval, supplied fresh solo albums to the market, and in 2008 he was discovered in the company of Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony and Chad Smith in the Chickenfoot project.

At the end of the same year, Satriani sued Coldplay because the Britpoppers allegedly scammed him of the ideas for "If I Could Fly" for their hit "Viva La Vida". The guitarist's claims were not officially recognized, and the case was put on the brakes. However, the musician himself was not opposed to borrowing something from others, and for example on his albums "Black Swans And Wormhole Wizards" and "Unstoppable Momentum" here and there the influence of fried boogie "ZZ Top" was visible here and there.

Joe was born into a musical family - his mother was a good pianist. As a child, Satriani played percussion instruments. Between the ages of 11 and 12, Joe decided to take a break from music, but he never stopped listening to it. At that time, he was listening to records by Hendrix and LedZeppelin, Beatles, Cream. After the death of Jimi Hendrix, Joe gave up football and completely immersed himself in music.

Unlike drums, he paid serious attention to the guitar, and he experienced great joy at the same time. At school, Satriani studied music theory and began to sing from sight, which was useful to him in the future. Young Joe began to have chord charts and guitar schools. At the age of 14, Joe began to perform in parks and at school dances, and already received money for this. At the age of 16, he could already be seen in clubs.

In the 11-12 grades of the city school, Joe began to study music theory in depth. He was lucky, because his school teacher was Bill Wescott - a real enthusiast. He taught children how to make cantatas, string quartets, and even helped them write symphonies. After studying the guitar thoroughly, Joe took up teaching, but he himself does not stop learning.

After graduating from high school, Satriani went to San Francisco. There he got a job in a music store as a salesman. In addition to work, he is engaged in recording in studios and continues to teach. Later everyone recognizes Satriani as a guitar genius. Fate sent him many students who were doomed to success in the future.

In the eighties he played in many bands, one of which was The Sqares. In 1984, Joe recorded his first solo album called "Joe Satriani", which almost no one noticed. But the second album in 1986 "Not of this Earth" received a lot of positive feedback. In 1987, another album appeared - "Surfing with the Alien", which went platinum and got into the Billboard magazine and won the Grammy. One fine morning, he woke up a celebrity, all the guitar magazines were decorated with his photo. Even Mick Jagger invited him on tour. Joe Satriani spent the whole year with Mick on tour, he traveled the whole world.

In 1989, Satriani began working with the Ibanez firm, it was in that year that Joe sang for the first time. In 1994, Joe was invited to the world tour with Deep Purple, where he replaced Ritchie Blackmore. But he did not want to be the band's permanent guitarist, deciding to opt for a solo career. In 1996, Joe Satriani realized his cherished dream: he created the G3 project, which involves three performers. This festival became popular and took place from year to year. The two participants in the show, which were Joe and his friend Steve Vai, each time were joined by a third participant.

In 1998, the album "Crystal Planet" was released. In the same year, Joe and his G3 comrades go on a tour of America.

In our millennium, Joe released a techno album without losing popularity. He continues to amaze the public and his loyal fans with new ideas, looking to the future, not forgetting the past. He is a guitarist with a capital letter, he gave life and glory to many outstanding performers, leaving a mark on the history of guitar music. After all, Joe Satriani is a wonderful guitarist, he surprises the world with bright performances, fresh music. At the moment, he leads his column in Guitar World magazine, telling readers about current rock and music, in general, teaches them to listen to the right music, growing up new generations.

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Mr. Satriani, let's remember the day you picked up the guitar for the first time.

Jimi Hendrix died in 1970 and I was determined to become a guitarist. I never regretted my choice.

How did you get started teaching?

Life forced. I worked both as a gardener and a bricklayer... Even as a salesman in a shoe store. However, I always wanted to do music. In high school, I already played pretty well. Students started coming to me. One of those guys was named Steve Vai. Then there was a move to San Francisco, where I taught for about ten years. I had Kirk Hammett, Larry LaLonde, David Bryson and a bunch of other people there. Again in San Francisco, with my current drummer Jeff Campitelli, we formed The Squares. So teaching guitar was nothing more than a side income. The main thing for me is playing in a group.

Why did you start playing guitar instrumental?

In a certain period, a bunch of home records accumulated. Usually I write everything - improvisations, fresh finds, etc. And one day I thought it would be nice to release an instrumental album. I could not even imagine that the idea would be such a success.

How developed is the guitar scene these days?

Sufficiently. Today I can afford to tour more cities in front of more people. The position of commercial FM stations in relation to serious musicians does not change. But you can always find a loophole.

How do you usually work on an album? Does Joe Satriani have any proven technology of his own?

Music is inspired. It's important not to burn out. Sometimes it takes years to write a melody. And another motive comes out immediately. There is no single algorithm! Songs with words are a completely different story, because the lyrics require special treatment. I play guitar, bass guitar, drums and keyboards. Many compositions are obtained simply because I like to do what I love.

After so many years, it must be difficult to compose?

What do you! I have music in my head shaft. It is a pity that there is not enough time to properly arrange it (laughs).

There are a couple of vocal tracks on your new album. What is their meaning?

OK. In its style, "Is There Love In Space?" turned out to be at the junction of rock and blues-rock, and I thought that it would be nice to ennoble the overall picture with a couple of songs. Have you noticed that the tracks with vocals have a slightly different pitch?

Have you thought about recording a song album?

What? Sing? No, just not me. For these purposes, it is better to invite a specially trained person (laughs).

What can you tell us about the G3 project? How did he appear?

It was in 1995. Once I complained to my manager that I feel isolated from the rest of the world: myself in the studio, myself at concerts ... My tours and the tours of other guitarists like Steve never intersect. We are deprived of the opportunity to communicate and exchange information. Guitarists, you know, love to hang out with each other and jam and all that stuff. So the idea was born ... Guitar festival or something. True, there was one restriction - no more than three performers can take part in the "festival". Firstly, in many concert halls there is a time limit - no more than three hours. And, secondly, three hours of "live" music, you see, is still hard for the listener. From all these ideas, the G3 was born. If memory serves, my manager came up with the name. At first, the project was not so hot in what demand. Managers and promoters were intimidated by the mere idea of ​​a guitar competition. Nevertheless, I managed to convince everyone of the expediency of G3, and the reaction of the fans was not long in coming.

Joe, what's it like to be on the same stage with musicians like Steve Vai or Yngwie Malmsteen? Is there a spirit of rivalry between you - who is cooler?

So that was the bet! When several musicians get together, their enthusiasm rises sharply. Steve and I have known each other for many years. When we start playing together, amazing things start to happen. It happens that one of us “cuts down” something, and the other is surprised: “Wow! How did you do this?". All the guitarists who played in G3 are close to us in spirit. They are confident in themselves and are not afraid to give a piece of themselves to the listener. If this is called a competition, then I think it's great!

What inspires you?

Daily life, people around me. I never cease to amaze with simple things! There is something to write about, something to think about, something to hope for... I can say from myself: you play well only when you empathize with the music. I'm not the kind of person who just sits down and writes a record “on order”. Not my style. It is important to let the music pass through you.

"The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing", "Surfing With The Alien", "Flying In A Blue Dream"... Where do you find such marvelous titles for your compositions?

You need to know the places (laughs)! Experience, experience and more experience! When you sit down to compose a song, you focus on its title. "Surfing With The Alien" I dreamed about. Funny name, to which I immediately composed a melody. "The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing" went off in my head while talking to my brother on the phone. I thought for a long time what this phrase means (laughs).

You once said that you were a Deep Purple fan when you were young. And now, after Ritchie Blackmore recoiled, you were invited to take his place. You played the '94 tour with Deep Purple. How does it feel?

Feelings are ambivalent. In fact, I replaced Blackmore HIMSELF. Then I think to myself: “Wait a second! Ritchie Blackmore is irreplaceable!" I saw the faces of the audience, who were looking at the stage with awe, but I understood that I was not one of Deep Purple. There were several songs in the repertoire that are better than Blackmore to play. Then I was given live recordings to listen to, and I realized that some of Blackmore's parts changed radically from concert to concert. He was constantly looking for ways to improve the song. And now, already being a member of the group, I took over this baton. The "fit" was mostly about new material that we were touring with. They liked my game, I liked playing with them. The team is just fantastic!

"On a permanent basis" invited?

Invited invited, but had to refuse. First, the mass of unrealized own material. Secondly, contractual obligations. I couldn't take everything and leave. And one more thing... I didn't want to talk about it. It always scared me that I was perceived as a Brit in Deep Purple. I am Italian-American and very proud of it. Anyway, thanks to the Dippe Swimmers for everything! Cool, but not really my thing. And then I began to look for a replacement and advised Steve Morse (Steve Morse).

What advice can you give to young musicians taking their first steps in show business?

First of all, you should not equate music and show business. If we talk about show business, get a cool haircut and get a good lawyer - success is guaranteed (laughs)! If you want to succeed as a musician, everything is very simple: practice, work on yourself. Don't be afraid to be original. This is exactly what the public expects from you. We all want to be surprised. Many musicians think they will succeed by imitating others. This position, in my opinion, is fundamentally wrong. Don't look around. Listen only to your heart and play only the music to which the soul lies.

Can you remember the most curious case from your concert practice?

As much as you like! Once I was invited by Alice Cooper (Alice Cooper) to participate in his "solo album". In the hall - about 10 thousand. And then Alice announces the song, I go on stage. The song starts, and I didn't have time to check the readiness of my equipment. The composition has already been playing for several minutes, and I am fiddling with an amplifier that flatly refuses to work. So he stood on the stage like an idiot, without playing a single note, and in order to somehow justify his presence, he bowed in the final (laughs).

Name your favorite musicians.

Deftones, Jet, Jimi Hendrix, Beatles, Stones, Tom Morello and Audioslave, Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery, Alan Holdswoth...

Well, these are all people, time-tested. And what about contemporary musicians? Who can be singled out?

There are some great guitarists out there. I'm afraid I can't remember all of them. Here, for example, Mathias Eklund (Mathias Eklund) from Sweden. Killer little one! There is also a guitar freak from New Jersey. His name is Ron Thal. Plays fretless guitar. In addition, I want to mention the guitarist of The Mars Volta Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (Omar Rodriguez-Lopez). All these guys do not fit into the “format” at all, but I am sure that the future is theirs!

If you had the opportunity to create your own dream team, who would you invite?

Jimi Hendrix. Just Jimi Hendrix and me on guitars. We would improvise, creating music that is not limited by form or time.

What do you think is the secret of your creative longevity?

I don't even know what to answer. Apparently, people like what I do.

And under the curtain. What to expect from Joe Satriani in the foreseeable future?

I can only promise that I will stay true to myself.

Joe Satriani is an outstanding musician who has made a huge contribution to the history of guitar music... Hm, you'll agree - this is how people often write about the deceased. But no, we're lucky. We can, as contemporaries, enjoy the live concerts of this genius and closely observe the evolution of his work. Joe Satriani is great in the combination of his three manifestations: teacher, guitarist, composer. He is amazing as a person too. We tried to compose this story in such a way that you could get to know the musician from different sides, whose name has long become a textbook.

Creative translation from English: Anton Ivlev

Nothing is more impressive than skill
Satriani to make something great out of nothing.
Bruce Maag

SATRIANI - TEACHER

Satriani's students included Steve Vai, Kirk Hammet (Metallica), Larry LaLonde (Primus), David Bryson (The Counting Crows), jazzman Charlie Hunter and many others...

Satriani: The teacher should not discriminate against the student, but rather inspire him. It is necessary to prepare the ground (teach some chords and so on), and if the student decides for himself that he wants and is ready to move on, then he can be dumbfounded by something like that. I had students from 9 to 60 years old - lawyers, already aged, but it is always important to find out what the student wants to achieve.

Did teaching practice help you later?

Teaching music helped me realize that for a student you have to give all your best, to open up yourself. You must make sure that your thoughts and desires merge. You can lose a student if you can't explain a thought correctly. Then, when I began to speak in front of an audience, I realized that this is the same thing. You will lose your audience if you can't get your point across.

Some of your wards have become very famous musicians...

Yeah (laughs), I wish they could all be as successful as Kirk Hammet and Steve Vai.

How old was Steve Vai when he started with you?

He was 12. I'm 15, so he's twelve. I remember he came with a guitar and a pack of strings in his hands. Steve was great, very gifted. I did music only one year more than him.

Perhaps no one makes such a vivid impression on young people as you do. Where do you get this feeling of the young generation?

Don't know! Most strange. I've taught for many years, so I know the feeling when a person comes to you with a fresh mind and a fierce desire to learn how to play, and maybe with a little bit of talent. You are obliged to tell the truth and convey the knowledge that you can give. And you need to know how to pass it on to the younger generation. Perhaps this is the answer. I guess I'm just used to it, but when you think about it, you get a strange feeling, because I'm still a teenager myself, who is completely into Jimi Hendrix and who still wants to find an idol in some cool guitarist. In general, I don't know. Rather, I didn't have to think about it. It's just a feeling.

Guitarists play in E minor too often.
Joe Satriani

SATRIANI - COMPOSER. WORK ON ALBUMS

"Crystal Planet"

Satriani: I wanted to make an album that would absorb everything that I had created earlier. This phrase - "crystal planet" - came from somewhere, and I thought that it could become a metaphor for the album, as the embodiment of only my world, in which I could play whatever I want. I wanted to take every chord, every phrase, style and technique with me into my world, my crystal planet.

The entire Crystal Planet album was written with only a notebook and a metronome. The recording technology was next. First, I didn't make demos. After all the songs were written down on paper, Jeff and Stewart (Jeff Campitelli - drums, Stu Hamm - bass) and I rehearsed them as if it were a live concert. After that, producer Mike Fraser joined us. After listening to the arrangements, he added a few things and made some suggestions, and then we went into the studio. In the studio we played live on two tracks, 24 tracks or 48 analog tracks, as well as directly to the computer's hard drive. So we could improvise and invent wherever we wanted. The work took place between the G3 tours, so the timeline was very tight, six weeks, which also helped a lot. We did not try to play the same place a hundred times, but creatively, "on the fly", spontaneously tried to feel the right mood. Each of us supported each other and encouraged to experiment, so the music in the album reflects our individual traits and style, as during a concert performance. From here, it seems to me, the album turned out to be very lively. The main grain of the Crystal planet album is three musicians.

This album I wrote and finished in nine months and tried to work in a completely new way, not the way I worked before. I recorded the album on instruments that I usually don't play myself, and in general turned everything upside down ... The album did not receive any name, it was recorded in three studios at the same time. Nothing was planned. I just went into the studio with some ideas and, without correcting mistakes, recorded the first developments. Everything was different from usual: from the brand of film and the string sizes to the location of the studio and the hours of work in it. It was like I deliberately set myself off guard in everything from the writing to the actual recording.

"Engines of Creation"

Engines Of Creation is unlike any of my albums. I see that he has gained popularity with a new audience for me. On the other hand, I would like to warn my old fans that this album may not be what they expect from me. The album does not contain songs like Summer Song or Satch Boogie. This is what is written for today, and today we have the year 2000 ...

Engines of Creation is a techno album. I wrote music not on an acoustic guitar, but on a keyboard. When the MIDI files were ready, I sent them to my partner Eric Caudieux, who processed and mixed them in Logic Audio Platinum.

When trying to replicate the album's electronic sound for live performance, we experimented quite a lot in the studio with Moogerfooger, Electro-Harmonix Micro Synths and Bass Micro Synths pedals, also Hafler Triple Giant preamps, but in rehearsals it turned out that if we turned up the volume, all our fancy chains cease to be stable, and therefore unsuitable for a concert. So I decided that I would do as I always did, as perhaps Hendrix would have done. I will make an album for the studio, and I will take very powerful amplifiers, a couple of pedals to the concert and I will make music from scratch.

SATRIANI - GUITAR OR JOE'S IDEAS

"Borg Sex"

If you throw out all the electronic overdubs and strange guitar sounds, then you can see that this song can be played on Dobro. So we ditched all the sequencers and synths at the show, and instead Stu Hamm plays the bass parts. Also, when playing this song, Eric (second guitarist) practically doubles all the lead parts with me, he plays the rhythm, and plays all the parts of the female Borg, so there is a dialogue between the two guitars. As a result, the composition takes on a very sexy, bluesy tone, with a rich rhythm. A studio recording at a concert can be very interesting to interpret.

I've found that a Fulltone Ultimate Octave pedal works well in concert instead of studio equipment. When recording "Borg Sex" in the studio, Eric uses an Electro-Harmonix pedal, and at the concert he changes it to Fulltone. The Fulltone pedal is more stable, it always sounds the same, but the Electro-Harmonix is ​​unique in its own way and can sound different every night. This unpredictability sometimes creates problems.

Beginning of "Rasperry Jam Delta-V"

Played with two fingers. Strangely enough, but in my own defense, I found an acceptable option for the performer. It is necessary to hold the note si with the right hand on the third string of the fourth fret, and the first string of the seventh fret. The melody is played with the left hand. Basically it's hammer on and pull off on the first three strings in the mixolydian mode. The open B string and those notes held with the right hand are used in the melody. Higher octaves are achieved with the whammy pedal.

"Surfing With The Alien"

It's blues, like most of my stuff. The structure of the composition is very much from the 50s, 60s, but I added a pedal, a lever, two-handed tapping and it turned out to be a modern guitar style (1987). However, during a live performance, we make a slightly husky, bluesy sound.

Space solo composition "Up In The Sky"

The idea of ​​Up In The Sky is the transformation of a man into an eagle and his flight. I have to say that I will never be able to reproduce this piece exactly, because I have no idea where this sound came from, but the solo can be played in several ways. The composition was originally recorded for the album "Joe Satriani", but I didn't like the result, so this song was only included in the bonus of the Japanese edition of the album. And the sound of this option, just, I like the most: electronic, analog-electronic whimsical tone. The recording was done through a Wizard 5150 amplifier and in some places through a Marshall 6100 with a Boss DS-1. Then we applied a DigiTech effect to the guitar, resulting in a sound similar to the floating tuning of a guitar. With the Fulltone Ultimate Octave pedal and the wobbly amps, I was able to create a good overdrive. I hit the strings somewhere around the fifth fret and got a cool overtone. After the recording, I asked Mike Fraser if there was any solo or nothing but strange noise, but now I'm very satisfied!

"Down, Down, Down"

I have never had a more stoned, retarded, lazy composition...

"Ceremony"

Ceremony tells about a fantastic vision of some kind of holiday, perhaps at midnight, in the middle of an endless enchanting prairie or a delightful valley ... somewhere where the Earth holiday suggests itself, and where everything around is captivating and enchanted.

"House Full of Bullets"

A blues composition that does not really pretend to be spiritual fabrications. I imagined that Martin Scorsese was filming a video for me, and that he put me in a house with my silver guitar, and this house was poured with bursts of bullets, and I dodged them. The camera floats out of the house, and then it becomes clear who made all this mayhem. Basically, only critics, musicians and commentators don't understand why I love making these kind of records.

SATRIANI ABOUT GUITARISTS

Steve Vai:

Reckless. I know that he likes to see himself that way. I can talk a lot about him because I know him very well. He developed and developed before my very eyes.

In your world. Eric is a complex musician, I apologize for the ambiguous definition. On stage with him, non-soloing performers constantly have a feeling of disbelief in what they hear. I remember the G3 rehearsal. There was Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Steve Vai and Eric, whom I hadn't seen in years. We each checked our equipment, and I, as the leader of the group, nodded my head. Eric started his solo. As soon as the first sounds were heard, Kenny and I looked at each other and realized that our thoughts were the same: "what the hell"! The sound of his guitar obviously did not belong to this world, it came from some other space of the universe!

Kenny Wayne Shepherd:

Blues! This guy can be given such a capacious definition. And on stage, he is always 100 percent Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Kenny has never been ashamed to celebrate his blues roots. Free spirit and outstanding guitarist.

Robert Fripp:

cathartic. I don't know if this is the right word to describe how I feel about his music, but the last time I listened to his album, after 30 minutes I was overcome by a feeling of deep reflection on my life. It's just that such thoughts don't often cross one's mind.

I played some of his works for many years. Since the 70s, the sound, the tone of his guitar has been constantly changing and growing. I can't think of anyone else who has had this happen to me. Page, Clapton didn't grow (by and large). They've stayed constant, perhaps matured, and Beck is amazing, a wizard."

Jimmy Hendrix

I always think about him. Every song, every recording of his guitar sounded new. He was never a selfish guitarist, if you know what I mean. He did not impose his sound on anyone. Hendricks reflected the world and what happens in it with art. He could turn his guitar into a huge monster and a tiny moth, but you always get pleasure from his music. Yes exactly. His legacy still enchants, he left us amazing music that changed the world.

EMOTIONAL JOE

Satriani: Honing your style, working on phrasing is a constant, endless process. It is a technique, but it cannot be called a technique alone. This is the hardest feeling to work on because there is no exercise for it. The problem is that every day we are different people. Our emotions and experiences change, and we look at life in different emotional states differently. This is important for me, because in music I reflect my emotions. If it doesn't work out for me, I get bored and stop playing the guitar. When recording one solo for the new album, I just sat down and played, over and over again, not thinking about fingering, but just trying to capture the emotions that I had during the recording.

Since childhood, I have adored music and have always been in it, in its endless labyrinths and bizarre diversity. As the fifth and youngest child in the family, I saw how my relatives studied music. We have always had music in our house. At the age of nine, I started playing drums seriously and always saw myself as a musician, never losing that feeling. The most beautiful thing in the world for me has always been to play music, to study it, to have fun with it, to show it to people or hide it in myself. Now I always enjoy going on tour or recording albums with other musicians.

How did you start?

It all happened in a very strange way, mostly by chance. I was doing some home recordings for myself, and suddenly I started playing with bands, someone suggested to me that something might come out of my records, because he himself had just received a contract. That is, one after another was pulled, then I signed a contract, and they asked for more and more, and I myself was absolutely inexperienced in all this. The second record I did with Relativity Records was Surfing With the Alien, and that was the first year I started performing - performing in front of people, just playing guitar for a couple of hours. Even now it is strange to remember. It was a good time. It seems like Michael Jackson and Motley Crue were vying for the top spot on the hit lists back then, and I was somewhere off the field doing my thing.

How do you feel about pirated recordings made by fans at the concert?

Oh, I love them. This is great. It's true that you have to distinguish between these records and pirated studio recordings, but if people resell their own material, I don't think it's a serious commercial conflict.

It seems that commercial success is of little concern to you ...

Just recently a writer approached me asking for an interview for his book. I replied that I wanted to sell my records and play live, which allowed me to continue playing the guitar, but I was not at all tempted to become a "quoted" figure. So don't catalog me in Love Connection, Hollywood Squares or Regis & Kathy Lee. I don't want people to think that I coexist side by side with Cher, Richie Sambora and others who aspire to this circle of show business. It is unlikely that I will succeed in such a field.

Does that mean it's hard for you to be in public, to be a guitar hero?

I can't say it's discouraging, but it's a little weird if I look at myself as a guitar hero. Of course, becoming a musician is also partly an actor, although in reality I am a little shy and reserved. It turns out that I do not like to be in the crowd, but in the end I find myself in front of a thousand people (laughs).

Where is the line between a musician and a showman for you?

This question is easy to answer, because I am not a showman at all, like some of my friends, for example. I figured it out when I was a kid listening to Hendrix. Then I asked myself, "What lesson, Joe, can you learn from this man's life"? And he came to the conclusion that he fell into the trap of show business. I said to myself, "Well, if you, Joe, are going to be in this business, then try to never lose yourself." Then there will be no strain, no artificial transition from the hotel to the stage, from the interview to the work in the studio, from the home environment to the atmosphere of a concert tour. Then I saw that the creative process can be easy. No need to write about things that others make you believe. No need to write for this artificial rocker, fictional character. There is only you, and it is always you. I still carry this understanding in myself, and it helps me to be myself.

Joseph "Joe" Satriani is a world-famous outstanding guitar virtuoso, composer and music teacher from the United States. Although the musician has Italian roots, he was born Joe Satriani July 15, 1956 near the largest American city of New York. The musician-instrumentalist is also known among his friends and admirers under the nickname "Satch" (The Satch). According to numerous critics and authoritative music publications, Mr. Satriani deservedly occupies a leading position in the list of the greatest guitarists of all time. For my musical career Joe Satriani recorded about 20 solo albums, which were sold with a total circulation of more than 10 million copies.

Joe Satriani

Great Sutch is the founder and mastermind behind the G3 Guitar Festival. The musician owns numerous clips and concert recordings, as well as a large number of his collaborations with other performers. Talented guitarist Joe Satriani holds an impressive number of top-level awards.

Biography of Joe Satriani

Joe was born into a poor Italian-American family. From early childhood, Satriani became interested in music. Already at the age of nine, he began to learn to play the drum kit, but after 2 years he abandoned the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bbecoming a professional drummer. At the same time, he was captivated by the work of Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, which was the starting point when Satriani took up the guitar thoroughly. In high school, Joe Satriani mastered the instrument so well that he even started giving lessons. Among his first students, the virtuoso Steve Vai is especially noted. Satriani continued to develop actively and received in-depth professional knowledge of music theory, while performing in clubs at the same time. After school, Joe finally made up his mind and at the age of 16 he firmly decided to become a professional musician. Then Joe Satriani moves to the city of San Francisco, gets a job in a music store, continues to teach, plays in various bands as a session musician and constantly hones his skills and playing technique. So almost 10 years have passed. Kirk Hammett of Metallica, a talented jazz fusion artist Charlie Hunter and many other prominent musicians became Satriani's students of that period.

The beginning of a solo career

At the very beginning of the 1980s, Joe thinks about a solo career. He independently records his debut album, but this work does not cause much attention from the audience. Everything changed only in 1986, when a student of Satriani named Steve Vai, who had become popular by that time, mentioned his friend and teacher more than once in his numerous interviews. At that time, Satriani had already released the album "Not Of This Earth", which became of interest, and the release of the next work called "Surfing With The Alien" in 1987 brought Joe Satriani well-deserved recognition and fame.

Joe Satriani

The result was an invitation to tour with The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger, which only cemented Joe's position.

Joe Satriani in the 80s

Joe Satriani - Surfing With The Alien (1989 Live)

Cooperation with Ibanez

In 1987, the outstanding guitar virtuoso Satriani began fruitful cooperation with the well-known company Ibanez. The end of the year was the starting point when Ibanez, Joe Satriani and Mr. Gary Brawer, who was a guitar guru, luthier, technician and just a good friend of Joe, started creating a series of signature guitars. Thus the JS series (Joe Satriani) was born. The result was Joe Satriani's first signature guitar, the JS 1, later renamed the JS 1000. The ideas, preferences, wishes, and achievements of the talented musician formed the basis for the creation of the instrument.

The prototypes for the JS guitar were the Ibanez Pro 540 Radius models and the Ibanez S-series guitars. The recording of "Surfin With The Alien", which coincided with Joe's rising popularity, featured instruments from Ibanez Raduis and Kramer Pacer. Satriani had already noticed that he was not particularly comfortable playing guitars that weighed a lot and were shaped with edges that put pressure on the ribs.

The shape of the JS guitars became aerodynamic, which made it possible to forget about the inconvenience and focus for hours only on music and playing technique. Another feature of the JS guitars is the multi-radius neck, reminiscent of the feel of top-of-the-line Fender Stratocaster necks due to its D-shape. Such a neck profile, shape, design features of the guitar and high-quality fittings ensured an unprecedented ease and comfort when playing.

Satriani traditionally uses various models of the JS series guitars in concert and in the studio: JS1000, JS700, JS900, JS 1200 and JS 2000.