By Steve Newton I did my first interview with American guitar legend Steve Vai on May 31, 1990, eleven days after the release of his second album, Passion & Warfare--you know, the one with "For the Love of God". Seven months earlier Vai's former guitar teacher, Joe Satriani, had released his third album, Flying in … Continue reading That time I asked Steve Vai if he had any desire, like his buddy Satch, to try his hand at vocals
Tag: Steve Vai audio excerpt 1990
That time Steve Vai told me that his body language changes a lot when he’s playing rock ‘n’ roll
By Steve Newton When I did my first interview with Steve Vai, back in May of 1990, he had just released his sophomore solo album, Passion and Warfare, a technically dazzling instrumental guitar opus. At the same time, he was also touring with Whitesnake, whose straightforward, radio-friendly rock tunes were not nearly as challenging to … Continue reading That time Steve Vai told me that his body language changes a lot when he’s playing rock ‘n’ roll
That time Steve Vai told me that he had to make Passion and Warfare when he did make Passion and Warfare
By Steve Newton When I did my first interview with Steve Vai, back in May of 1990, he was touring with Whitesnake while at the same time promoting his new solo album, Passion and Warfare. As he explained to me quite vehemently, it was the album that he had to make at that time. I … Continue reading That time Steve Vai told me that he had to make Passion and Warfare when he did make Passion and Warfare
That time 29-year-old Steve Vai told me that a teenage out-of-body experience inspired his Passion and Warfare
By Steve Newton Steve Vai blew a lot of guitar freaks away when he released his Passion and Warfare album back in May of 1990. I was one of them. Just as the album hit record-store shelves I interviewed the 29-year-old fret master and asked him about the "dream state" experience that inspired it. Have … Continue reading That time 29-year-old Steve Vai told me that a teenage out-of-body experience inspired his Passion and Warfare
That time Steve Vai told me what was so great about Ibanez guitars
By Steve Newton The first time I interviewed Steve Vai, back in May of 1990, he had just released his Passion and Warfare album and was on the covers of all the top guitar mags clutching an Ibanez guitar. So at one point in the conversation I asked him about the Ibanez seven-string and what made … Continue reading That time Steve Vai told me what was so great about Ibanez guitars
That time Steve Vai told me that there never will be another musician like Frank Zappa
By Steve Newton I'm embarrassed to say that I don't know much about Frank Zappa's music. One day I need to sit down and absorb some of that guy's massive body of work, I reckon. What I do know is that many of the finest musicians I've interviewed over the past 40 years or so … Continue reading That time Steve Vai told me that there never will be another musician like Frank Zappa
That time 29-year-old Steve Vai told me that he suffered making “For the Love of God”, but that blowjobs also do the trick
By Steve Newton I did my first interview with Steve Vai when he was touring with Whitesnake in May of 1990, but I was more interested in talking about his brand-new solo album, Passion and Warfare. I was particularly blown away by the track "For the Love of God", which still stands up as one … Continue reading That time 29-year-old Steve Vai told me that he suffered making “For the Love of God”, but that blowjobs also do the trick
That time I asked Steve Vai if he was daunted by stepping into Eddie Van Halen’s shoes with David Lee Roth
By Steve Newton I did my first interview with Steve Vai in May of 1990, when he was just 29. He had just released his solo album Passion and Warfare, and was touring with Whitesnake, which was then basking in the glory of its multiplatinum Slip of the Tongue album. Before Whitesnake Vai had played … Continue reading That time I asked Steve Vai if he was daunted by stepping into Eddie Van Halen’s shoes with David Lee Roth