Whitesnake : Live at Donnington 1990

by Trevor Portz
Staff Writer

Riding the wave of success from their latest release, Forevermore, David Coverdale and Co. are back with a new live album that celebrates both the band’s 30+ year history and ongoing presence. Oh wait, this isn’t new…this show was recorded way back in 1990. Nevermind that intro bit.

So it goes that this isn’t so much a new Whitesnake live record as it is a neat little piece of WS past. But that’s ok. Recorded during the tour in support of Slip of the Tongue, Live at Donington 1990 showcases the band at the end of their decade of huge popularity, celebrating the glitz and glamor that was eighties metal. Add to that the fact that this tour boasted the insane guitar pairing of Steve Vai and Adrian Vandenberg (arguably the finest duo the band ever had), and the result is perhaps the best live Whitesnake release since 1980’s Live… In the Heart of the City.

The set list covers everything one would expect from a mid-period Whitesnake show. In addition to the then-new Slip… material, we get the pre-metal, sex-heavy classics (“Slide It In,” and “Slow and Easy”) the band’s first major UK hit (“Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City”), and, of course, MTV favorites “Is This Love,” “Here I Go Again,” and “Still of the Night.” While fans of the first two Coverdale solo LPs and bluesy early Whitesnake may feel the set is a bit too ’80s heavy, considering the impact both the self-titled record and Slip… had, it’s still a great celebration of the band at its popularity peak.

Musically, there is nothing to complain about. Vai and Vandenberg both exemplify ’80s shred excess, but both also understand the need to pull things back at times. Even the more blues-influenced songs retain their original vibes, which is surprising. Many shredders feel the need to replace every power chord and pentatonic with a flurry of sweeping arpeggios, but the V/V team keeps everything well balanced.

As painful as it is to say, the weakest link in the chain appears to be the main man himself, David Coverdale. His voice sounds very strained and worn, and while he manages to hit the notes and deliver a reasonably effective performance, one can’t help but notice a severe lack of power. Perhaps just tired from a long tour, it’s odd to hear David—who, at 59, still sounds fantastic—shell out such a thin performance. He should be commended for not touching up the entire vocal track, however, a sad trend amongst the metal elite. On a funny side note, it is hard not to laugh when a huge number of tracks are introduced with, “here’s a song for ya!” What else would the audience expect? Magic tricks?

This album just proves that even as the musicians get older, good music truly doesn’t age. It will be interesting to see if Whitesnake ’11 will carry the same power and pomp of Whitesnake ’90. If not, it’s great to have an official record of such an important hard rock/metal band at the top of its career.

Genre: Hard Rock

Band:
David Coverdale (v)
Steve Vai (g)
Adrian Vandenberg (g)
Rudy Sarzo (b)
Tommy Aldridge (d)

Track Listing:

1. Slip Of The Tongue
2. Slide It In
3. Judgement Day
4. Slow An Easy
5. Kitten’s Got Claws
6. Adagio For Strato
7. Flying Dutchman Boogie
8. Is This Love
9. Cheap An’ Nasty
10. Crying In The Rain (featuring Tommy Aldridge drum solo)
11. Fool For Your Loving
12. For The Love Of God
13. The Audience Is Listening
14. Here I Go Again
15. Bad Boys
16. Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City
17. Still Of The Night

Label: Frontiers Records

Website: http://www.whitesnake.com/

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.8/10

Steve Vai Presents : GuitarTV

by Alissa Ordabai
Staff Writer

“Simplicity and instant gratification is what we are striving for,” Steve Vai tells me over the phone when describing how the internet age has changed the expectations of those who want to learn and to access music in the 21st century. Vai’s new project called GuitarTV, which launched on May 10, aims to answer the demands of the time by offering an online TV channel which would cater for both fans and musicians alike. New patented technology allows any viewer not only to watch vast numbers of guitar performances, lessons, and interviews, but also to access tablature for every song, to buy those songs online, as well as to learn about the instruments and the equipment used in each performance. All this without leaving the main page of the site, which at the moment has enough footage to run for three and half weeks straight without ever repeating itself.

“Some people work really hard because they are driven to perform, and then there are others who really enjoy experiencing it,” Vai says. And it seems that he had both categories in mind when developing ideas for this project. “Live” and “video-on-demand” options make it easy for any fan to explore in-depth any genre, style or decade of guitar music with additional options of buying concert tickets, viewing musicians’ biographies, linking to social networking sites, and taking part in online chats.

On the other hand, someone who also plays the guitar, will find tablature and the information about instruments, amps, and pedals practically useful. Co-creator of the site Andy Alt has gone into great lengths to research and identify the instruments and the equipment used in each video. Already partners with Amazon.com and iTunes for music, and Songsterr.com for tablature, GuitarTV has also teamed up with MusiciansFriend.com, where viewers can buy guitars and gear, as well as read up on any particular instrument or piece of equipment.

But it’s not just the celebrated guitar icons and things related to their craft that this site is focusing on. Features on guitarists who haven’t yet been discovered is something that GuitarTV plans for the future. “I am an American, obviously, and I watch American TV,” explains Vai, “and I do appreciate music shows like American Idol. It is an opportunity for unknown people who have a particular type of talent to rise to the top. But here isn’t really an outlet for wildly talented musicians as opposed to just pop singers. And this is a great form for that. There are all sorts of shows that we are going to develop that are going to cater to this, so it’s very musician-oriented.”

A musician first, and everything else second, Vai also tells me that although GuitarTV has been nothing but a “labour of love” for him, he still gets his biggest thrills from playing the guitar and from touring. With the new studio album in the works and the upcoming world tour, Hardrock Haven got a chance to talk to the maestro about the concept behind the upcoming release and things that influence his creative decisions. After all, as Vai himself says, “Technology is the product of the physical. And spirituality generates from a different dimension altogether.”

Hardrock Haven: Thank you for agreeing to do this interview with us, we really appreciate your time.

Steve Vai: No problem.

HRH: And we at Hardrock Haven are very excited about your new venture – GuitarTV.com.

SV: Oh, great!

HRH: And we’ve had a quick look online and were very impressed by the way it integrates all the resources from tablature to information about instruments and equipment.

SV: It’s pretty cool, isn’t it?

HRH: It is pretty impressive! And I guess every guitarist has this inner fan in him, this appreciation for other guitar players. And most people never lose this sense of awe for people who have inspired them. Was that what motivated you start this project, or were there other motivation behind this?

SV: You know, the motivation for me is the same thing that inspired so many people who love to play the guitar and just love to watch people playing the guitar. Whenever we see somebody doing something that’s extraordinary and shows a very gifted nature, it inspires us. It’s kind of like a great design: some people work really hard because they are driven to perform, and then there are others who really enjoy experiencing it. I know form me that whenever I would see somebody playing the guitar, it was just beautiful. The guitar was always such a beautiful instrument to me. Just the way it looks, and the way it hangs, and you put two hands on it…

And for me, when I was a teenager in the 70s, and I was listening to all this great progressive rock music of the 70s like Queen and Led Zeppelin, and Jethro Tull, and all this rock music of the 70s, I had a great appreciation for watching anyone play the guitar in any capacity. It’s ridiculous… Even when I’m at a wedding, I’m watching the wedding band guitar player play. Because it’s always fascinating to me. So I always thought it would be great to have a station, like a real television station that just has performance after performance of incredible, inspiring, and stimulating guitar players. And it didn’t exist. And I’m the kind of guy that when I see something that I want that doesn’t exist, I go about creating it. And this was something that I was really passionate about. And it was mainly because I wanted to see it.

There are great performers in every genre, and if you are sitting and you are watching, you just can’t wait to see what comes up next. So I set out to do this years ago, before the internet. Can you imagine that? Even before the internet I wanted to do this. And I actually looked into what it would take to start a cable station. The first big problem was that somebody already owned the GuitarTV name. Then they dropped out and didn’t do anything with it, so I registered it for trademark. But launching a video station was unbelievably cost-prohibitive and time-consuming. What it takes to do something like that is the same thing that took me to be able to play the instrument. So I needed good partners – people who really understood the vision and had the drive and the ambition to make this vision come to reality, and also help cultivate the vision.

So I purchased the domain name “GuitarTV” in the infancy of the internet. And even back then people were snatching up domain names. And I bought it for like 2500 dollars which at the time was unbelievably expensive for a domain name. These days you couldn’t touch it for that. But I held on to it, and I worked with various people, but nothing ever panned out because I didn’t find the right guy. And then I met Andrew Alt, a young guitar player and a really smart savvy internet person. (Laughs). And he was definitely the right guy. I discussed the concept with him, and he’s well aware of a lot great technology that the internet is capable of. We just kind of worked together on it, and were coming up with ideas. So he basically built the site.

Because the internet is such a fascinating technological revolution, there were always other things we were capable of doing. So not only do you get to be able to watch the video, but you can watch TV and see one great performance after another. But you can click and go to the performer’s Wikipedia page and the web site, you can purchase their music without even leaving the player, which actually a technology that we have developed and patented called in-EVO, and could be revolutionary design, because you can click through and purchase things without leaving the player. You can see the exact instrument that the performer is player – whether it a guitar or an amplifier. And you can purchase it on Musician’s Friend, if you like. You can see the tablature, which is extraordinary for a guitar player, and it’s all free.

We also have top 10 guitar records in all genres. You know, whenever you see these “top 10 best” whatever, you are always wondering who voted that. Usually it’s a couple of guys sitting in a room. And that never made sense to me. But how do you figure that out? So we actually had various charts. One chart is based on our decisions, what we like. Another chart is based on Soundscan sales, so you can see what are the best-selling top 10 guitar records are. And then there is another one which is user votes, so you can see what the public thinks are the best top 10. So it’s trying to be unbiased. Because if see Hank Garland playing Sugarfoot Rag, you go, “Wow, man, where can I buy it? I want the music!” And it’s all right there.

And then we have an ability to create a community were people can communicate with each other and chat online. There is going to be a vast library of performances that you can pull from. We are going to have interviews, we are going to have tips from players, we are going to show films related to the guitar, we are going to have tours of music factories. Because for a guitar player it’s really fascinating to see how a guitar is made. And there are going to be live concerts and tons of live events that we are going to be showing. All focused on the guitar.

I am an American, obviously, and I watch American TV, which can be detrimental enough, and I do appreciate music shows like American Idol and things like that. It is an opportunity for unknown people who have a particular type of talent to rise to the top. I do appreciate that. But here isn’t really an outlet for wildly talented musicians as opposed to just pop singers. And this is a great form for that. There are all sorts of shows that we are going to develop that are going to cater to this, so it’s very musician-oriented. I am at the helm, and I don’t have to worry about making this my living as far as any financial income is concerned. This is pure fantasy labour of love. I am surrounded by great people with Andy managing it. He’s put together this wonderful team of passionate people who get it, so it’s heavily policed for pop-culture goo-goo.

HRH: It’s interesting how projects like this can show you how much you can learn about the guitar and how to play it without leaving your house. Would you say that having a real-life guitar teacher still becomes important at a certain stage? Or have we now arrived at a point where it can all be done over the internet, and after that you can just go out and form your own band and start playing live?

SV: Nothing quite replaces interacting with people, seeing them play and being part of their atmosphere, and looking in their eyes, and communicating with them that way. I don’t think there will ever be a replacement of that for some people. I don’t think it’s one way or another, I think it’s both. Because some people just want to sit at home and work at their computer. And some people don’t even have an e-mail address. So I think we have to gravitate to the thing that’s most interesting to us. And I’ve always been a big proponent of finding a good teacher. If you are interested in that kind of thing. If you want to understand music, you can understand it, and you can have a better understanding of it now by going on the internet and finding out all sorts of things. But there is also that personal communication with somebody where you can sit and talk, and ask questions that, and they will answer, and you can shake their hand. I think there is always going to be a need for that.

HRH: If we forget for a moment about technology, and new ways of distribution, and the internet, and think purely in terms of craft, of what really takes to be a professional rock guitarist, do you think that there have been any significant, big changes in this profession since the time when you were growing up?

SV: There have been big changes in the music industry in general. The way that we create, record, manufacture, distribute, and listen to music has changed dramatically. When I started making records, there were no CDs. You had to go to a place, and they had to manufacture your record, and you had to get it distributed. And you had to listen to it on a record player. I’m dating myself. (Laughs). Right now you can make a record, or you can create a song (because we are moving away from record-based projects, going into a singles market) in your kitchen on your laptop, and you can put it on the internet. Right from there in all the major digital stores, and somebody can download it into their phone and listen to it on a box the size of Captain Kirk’s hand transmitter.

But the things that will always remain the same, I believe, is the need for this music and the place that it comes from. Which is… who knows.

HRH: Which is spiritual reality that remains untouched by technology.

SV: Absolutely, because technology is the product of the physical. And spirituality, I think, generates form a different dimension altogether, but it’s expressed in the physical. It’s expressed in music and all the different ways that music… But it transcends the physical, and technology will only be useful in the physical.

HRH: But do you think that guitar players face more expectations these days – both from labels and from fans – in terms of technique, and being able to write, and being able to integrate different genres and cultures into their playing, and being able to learn theory?

SV: Oh, yeah, it makes all those things a lot more accessible. And for that it’s a wonderful tool. Are you talking about the internet in general?

HRH: I’m just talking about expectations from the industry, about what it takes to be a professional rock guitar player these days.

SV: Well, it’s changing. Professional musicians these days need to be much more aware of the technology, and they are. Because they are born into the world from ground zero. They are starting with that technology that’s very different from ground zero of an artist who started ten years ago, or five years ago, or fifty years ago, or a hundred years ago. But the bottom line, the thing that remains the same, is that music still has to come from that person. And the song remains the same, so to speak, you know?

HRH: Ha-ha! Which we’ve all watched on cassette tapes back in the day, and now we can watch it on GuitarTV.

SV: Yes, and we’d be arrogant and foolish to believe that we’ve hit a pinnacle. There’s never going to be a pinnacle. You know, when the first guy put the needle on the record player, he said, “Holy mackerel, we’ve arrived!”. And we are like sitting here, having to go to a computer, which is something you have to buy in a store, and turn it on, which is going to be archaic at some point, and actually type with your fingers a code of sorts, to get anywhere. And then you have to purchase it by connecting into an account. All of this is going to seem really archaic at some point. Because what we are striving for is simplicity and instant gratification. That’s what we want. And the way that it’s now is going to seem really archaic. I am completely frustrated and bored with the way it is now. It’s really too complicated and frustrating. My computer still crashes, you know? And I still to plug stuff in. It’s a pain in the ass plugging anything in, ever. Typing in a code – I don’t want to do any of that stuff, I just want it, and I want it now. And one of these days I’ll get it.

HRH: On what basis were you selecting material for this web site? Was it your personal taste that guided you, or was it more a historical or an intellectual approach, what was seen as important, or influential in guitar music, what guided you?

SV: It’s all of it. The concept was great performers playing stimulating music. Stimulating performances. Now, I know that my taste is different from some of the public, maybe the majority of the public. So it’s not based around just my taste. As a matter of fact, I didn’t have much to do with the programming. My discussions with Andy were to get a wide range of performers and genres. From Jeff Beck to Django Reinhardt, to blah-blah-blah. The thing that it has to have is entertaining, stimulating value on the guitar.

HRH: We are also being told that you are currently working on a new album. Is this a new studio album?

SV: Yeah, finally.

HRH: Do you have a released date in mind for this record?

SV: Well, because I’m doing so many other things, it’s funny how these release dates always seem to get compromised. And they always seem for good reasons. But I’m hoping that it will be either… You know, the way that releases work for artists such as myself is that if you can’t get it out by October, you have to wait until the next year because of the Christmas rush. So I’m hoping it will come out by October. But primarily playing the guitar is my biggest thrill, and going on tour. It’s very exciting to me and that’s the most important thing. So once this record is done, I’ll be embarking on a world tour that will be pretty in-depth.

HRH: Was there a concept behind this new album or does it all come together spontaneously as you go along?

SV: Well, I come up with a title…

HRH: Would you mind sharing the title with us?

SV: Ah… I really can’t yet.

HRH: OK.

SV: But what you can do is visit my web site, because I’m slowly revealing the title there.

HRH: OK.

SV: But yeah, I’m very excited. I came up with the title, and I just think about that title, and then through the process of… I don’t know… (laughs) language osmosis the music sort of takes shape around the sentiment of the title.

HRH: So is it hard to continue being un-self-conscious in your music when you are so successful?

SV: Well, self-conscious, I think, shows itself in various ways. But I’m very self-conscious in some aspects, but for the most part I’m fiercely confident. It’s kind of like a weird dichotomy – you can hear all those little voices that say, “Oh, no, this isn’t good enough”, or, “You are not doing what everybody else is doing”, or, “People are going to think this is funny.” But that, I guess, is the aspect of being self-conscious, but at the end of the day a really good idea overpowers all those negative thoughts. When you get a great idea that excites you, nothing can stop you from making it real.

HRH: Were you ever in a position where you had to choose or compromise between making your music accessible to an as wide an audience as possible, and at the same time expressing your full self?

SV: Well, I fooled myself into thinking that at times. But basically what happens is, if you do what you can do best, that’s gonna have the biggest impact in the public. I like writing some pop music sometimes to use in my songs, but I’m not Elton John. You know what I mean? So if I try to be, I’d be in competition with people that are really doing things that are very, very suited to them. But what I have discovered is that there is a particular kind of music that really resonates with me, that excites me. When I do that, I’m in a class by myself. And that’s what I do best, and there is an audience for it. And I believe that there is an audience for any artist, if they can find the audience. But the audience is only going to be as sincere as the music that the performer is creating. If you are creating the music that’s really important to you, and not the music that you think you have to create in order to be accessible, that’s what you are going to be the most successful at. Or else you are just going to be chasing after a feather in the wind. That’s what I have discovered for me. Does that make sense?

HRH: It does, absolutely. Which leads me to my next question, which may sound a bit goofy, I hope you don’t mind.

SV: No problem.

HRH: Do you ever listen back to stuff that you wrote, or stuff you’ve just played, and go, “I didn’t know there was this aspect to my character.”? Or simply, “I didn’t know I could be like this.”?

SV: Well, no. Because I know who I am. But what I do notice that later on when you look back at the music you’ve created in the past, it’s surprising to see the person you were. Because when you create something, it’s a little snapshot of who you are at the time. And sometimes it’s startling to see who you were back then compared to how you’ve changed. But one other thing that I’ve noticed, and it may sound a little pretentious, is when I get an idea of something that I think is exciting to me, and I hear it in my head, and I go about building it, a lot of times when I’m really being sincere about it, and the more excited I am, the better it comes out. Sometimes I sit back and I listen, and I just feel waves of gratitude because it came out much better than I could have expected. And it’s deeper and richer than what I’ve set out to do.

HRH: Incredible.

SV: It’s my perception and it’s my perspective, which is privy to every artist. Our music is based on our own perception. And usually we criticise others because we see their music or their work to our own perception which is based on what we think they should be doing, which is based on what we want to do. So we are thinking, “They are not doing it like us, so they are not doing it right.” Kind of like religion, you know?

HRH: Yes, absolutely.

SV: So I kind of try to keep a healthy perspective on it and on what’s important to you. And if you are honest with it, then you will attract people who are stimulated by it, and that’s all.

HRH: Well, thank you for such a brilliant interview and for your time.

SV: Thank you.

HRH: And we are looking forward to the launch of GuitarTV, and the new album, and the tour.

SV: Thank you very much.

www.guitartv.com
www.vai.com

NAMM 2011: Anaheim

January 13 – 16, 2011 at Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA.

by Trevor Portz
Staff Writer

Every year, thousands of musicians, manufacturers, retailers, and well-connected fans coalesce in Anaheim, Calif., home of Disneyland, to terrify the families that have traveled from across the globe to meet Mickey. While in the area, however, it’s also popular to attend NAMM, one of, if not the largest, gathering of music-industry insiders in the world. While at its heart NAMM is purely a marketing tool, it has also become the place to go to mingle with rock stars, fondle $10,000 guitars, and catch some of the most amazing known and unknown players showing off their skills and wares.

The first reaction for any first-time visitor can be summed up in three words: total sensory overload. Every instrument company, large and small, can be found represented at NAMM. From the over-the-top, sometimes multi-storied booths of Dean, Fender, Paul Reed Smith, and Marshall to the boutique displays for APC Instruments (featuring Denver’s infamous Maris the Great), Lamb Drum Co., and Melodyn (makers of what are surely the finest key-tars on the market), it’s unlikely any musician or musician wannabe will walk out without an urge for bank robbery or lotto luck in order to purchase even one of the many items they’ll lust for in the coming months.

Though guitars, drums, and related equipment seemed to be most predominate, all styles and genres are represented, with large sections devoted to classical instruments, recording gear, and DJ equipment. Band kids reveled at the stick basses and Flying-V-inspired electric violins, and would-be engineers studied studio gear than spanned the most advanced digital to the never-quite-dead analog.

Metal and rock certainly seem to take center stage (no pun intended) despite the all-styles-represented nature of NAMM. Walking away from the show leaves one with the impression that the music industry is largely fueled by the rock side of things, despite what record sales may say. It would seem that even in an industry seemingly dominated by synthetic instruments and synthetic singers, good old-fashioned instruments still have a place to play (or be played).

While signings and meet-and-greets were plentiful and featured many of the most prominent rock and metal royalty, the lines were often painfully long. Luckily for those with a keen eye, most of the high-profile guests could be found wandering the maze-like halls, giving those lacking patience the chance to grab an autograph, photo, or just quick word with their musical heroes. Only the most elite seemed untouchable, with Steve Vai leading the pack of unapproachables (he was surrounded by security and wasn’t allowed to stop moving.) Luckily this was the exception rather than the rule, with the majority of celebs canoodling with anyone willing to call them out.

Spanning four days and what felt like millions of things to see, there’s certainly no way to sum up every detail of NAMM in any reader-friendly format. With that in mind, though, here are some metallic highlights from the show:

• Def Leppard’s Phil Collen demoed Agile Partners’ AmpKit app for iPad, iPod, and iTouch, showing off his still rapid soloing skills, and looking the perfect example of the rocker that does not age. Though the app he was hucking seems fun for the traveling rocker, it doesn’t seem overly useful in the live music world. Phil unfortunately laughed off a request for “Wasted,” but powered through the main riff of “Pour Some Sugar on Me” as it was the Guitar World “Lick of the Day.” He confirmed that a live Def Leppard CD is on its way in May, and will include 3 new tracks, hopefully tiding fans over until next year’s full length.

• The reclusive Vinnie Vincent made an appearance, though not so much physically as in the form of a new line of handcrafted “double v” guitar. While the price tag ($9000-$17,000) may be more than even the most die-hard fans would be able—or even willing—to pay, the quality craftsmanship could not be denied, most notably on the gold-leaf plated version. Fans can only hope that Vinnie himself will resurface at some point in the near future (though even his wife, there to promote the line, seemed unsure if and when this would ever happen).

• Frank Bello revealed that even he’s unsure when the new Anthrax record will be released, but did confirm that vocals are to be recorded in several weeks. This gives hope that Worship Music, on hold for several years, will follow soon thereafter.

Other fun sightings included George Lynch, Evan Stanley (Paul Stanley’s son), Bruce Kulick, Tracii Guns, Gene Hoglan, Tim Yeung, Kerry King, Alex Kane, Buckethead and Bootsy Collins (a perhaps the hardest-to-miss pair), Orianthi, Dave Shankle (the ultimate tour guide), and, of course, the Energizer Bunny (apparently he keeps going, even when nobody cares anymore).

What is somewhat funny about NAMM is that while almost every aspect of music creation is displayed — instruments, recording gear, sheet music, and everything necessary to use and abuse them, there is virtually no music available. Recorded music is practically nonexistent outside of unknowns passing demos to well-known. Perhaps this is good, though, and helped to inspire those in attendance to take what they have learned and acquired and apply it to creating something new rather than simply basking in that which has already been done.

So to sum up, NAMM is basically a musician’s wet dream. While exclusively for those in the industry, anyone with the desire to see what it’s all about should lie, cheat, or blow their way into getting a pass to the 2012 show. If the world is officially ending later in the year, you can bet that NAMM will be well worth the journey.

NAMM Photo Gallery

Photos provided by Trevor Portz

Steve Vai

by Alissa Ordabai
Staff Writer

A spacious, airy room overlooking London’s river Thames gives a sprawling view of the Docklands skyscrapers and lends itself perfectly to an interview with the most futuristic guitarist of our time. Vai says that he loves London and describes it as “a truly great city”. He is here for two days (June 13 and 14) to conduct two of his “Alien Guitar Secrets” masterclasses as well as to perform on stage with Phil Hilbourne, Nicko McBrain, and Neil Murray. The two performances are a part of the London International Music Show (LIMS) and feature Vai playing three songs on each day: Hendrix’s “Little Wing”, Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper” and “Goin’ Down”.

The venue for Vai’s two days in London is the famous ExCel Centre – a thoroughly modern glass construction with a hint of space-age futurism recently built in the heart of the redeveloped old dock complexes. It’s probably this mixture of modernity and history that London boasts these days which finds a particular resonance with Vai. After all, his own career has always been a combination of tradition and innovation, beginning with studying at the elite Berklee College of Music and later taking Vai from the confines of the convention into the direction of groundbreaking advancement.

“Artists are here so that people can dream while they are awake.” Steve Vai.

Unlike other musical pioneers who have no inclination to teach, Vai has always had a taste for sharing his knowledge with others. What began in the late Eighties with a seven-part series of columns in Guitar Player magazine, has now developed into 3-hour sessions packed with practical information, some stunning confessions, self-found discoveries and downright revelations that Vai shares with audiences ranging from 30 to 150 people, the latter being the case in London on both days in June.

“I’ve discovered that I really enjoyed speaking about the things that I have found to be important to me in my career,” Vai says during our interview a day before his London masterclasses. “Because I know that there are kids out there that love the instrument the way I did and do. There were so many great things that I’ve discovered when I was young, and even recently through my whole career. When I look back I see pivotal moments, and I like to discuss those things.”

During the masterclass Vai speaks persuasively and with tactful poise on general subjects such as breaking down one’s musical aspirations into bite-size goals, visualising the level of proficiency one expects to achieve, and the importance of perseverance. But he also goes in-depth on things such as ear training and specific guitar techniques.

The audience is inevitably almost one hundred per cent male with ages ranging from early teens to late 50s. At 180 pounds a pop the tickets didn’t come in cheap, but both days of London seminars have completely sold out.

As the class goes on, the ways in which Steve Vai has always been different from any other guitar player suddenly become remarkably obvious. With him it’s not only the sheer strength of his conviction and a sense of purpose he’s put into his instrument over the years but also the special kind of the love he felt for the guitar from the very start. He says he used to practice 9 hours a day when he was in his early teens. And although he gives credit to the lack of modern-day distractions such as the internet for his diligence, it still makes him sound a different breed from anyone whose attitude to the guitar has ever resembled casual.

But before you start thinking of Vai as someone whose career has been all about one enormous sacrifice, it all becomes understandable when he says, “If you are in love with it, everything else is a distraction,” delineating the difference that lies between having a hobby and being driven beyond everyday concerns.

“If you don’t know if you want to be a professional musician, if it’s an option, don’t do it,” Vai continues. “It’s a calling, it’s a gift. Everyone should play and make music. Everyone can play. But being a professional musician is something entirely different. A professional musician has no option.”

Just like his music doesn’t resemble anyone else’s, Vai’s “Alien Guitar Secrets” are as far removed from your regular rock guitar masterclass as Wright Brothers’ first flight from a space mission to Mars. With Vai, his 3-hour class is a true glimpse into the world of someone who has given his instrument all he had and in return received not only phenomenal chops, a unique ability to write, an exquisite musical ear, and fame and fortune, but also a special kind of knowledge which resides beyond the line separating chopsmen from those who are truly inspired.

One such piece of knowledge Vai shares is about being able to lock with the rhythm and to groove. “Understand what it’s like to lock and to groove,” he says to his audience. “Let go, let the groove get hold of you. Listen and let it infiltrate your spirit. Meditate on it. It’s an emotional thing. Being able to lock and to groove will change your personality. It’s like everyday Christmas.”

And he then immediately shows what he means by switching on a backing track and playing two completely different guitar parts on his white Ibanez Flo II. The difference is astounding – one version sounds stilted and dry, the other – an individable union with the groove, at times merging with it in a pulsating clinch, at times trading raucous bumps with it, and at times completely dissolving in it only to separate from it again for both to continue to circle in and out of each other like two high-voltage magnets.

Throughout the class Vai takes questions which range from the bizarre to the enlightened, answering all with equal patience, making a notable exception only once for a portly biker type who shouts from his seat in a thick Cockney accent: “What makes you laugh?” “Your accent,” Vai immediately fires back, chuckling, while the rest of the room breaks out into a spontaneous applause.

But he still draws the biggest applauses when he plays his music, performing several full-length compositions from his catalogue. He even takes requests, but doesn’t fulfil them all – there are some songs dating decades back that he says he would not be prepared to play simply because such a long time has passed since he last did. But despite the intensely vivid, poignant moments of hearing Vai play in such an intimate setting, the focus of the class remains on the nature of the creative process and his main emphasis on uniqueness.

Uniqueness is the concept that Vai elaborates on further during our interview when he says that challenges for guitar players vary depending on their goal. “It’s different for everybody,” he says. “One thing that I talk about the most, is being able to identify with the goal. It’s the importance of having a goal. Once you have a goal, then you have something that you are working towards. When you can visualise something, that’s the first step in achieving it. Your goal can be very simple – you just want to know how to play one song well, a Beatles song, or a Led Zeppelin song, or it could be that you want to be a completely unique elite world-class virtuoso. They all have different steps to get to them, but they are both goals. The important thing is keeping the vision of what that is and learning how to break it down into steps, and achieving each step before you go to the next one.”

Asked if there is a tension between the notion of establishing your own uniqueness and being able to go beyond the confines of the established self, being able to shape-shift between characters and personas as an artist, Vai says that there isn’t going to be a choice. “You can only be who you are,” he says. “And who we are are works in progress. We are constantly changing. Not all of us, but many of us have preconceived notions of what we should be. And the process of life is helping us to discover how to let go of those preconceived notions.”

It’s a process and I go though it constantly. Every year that goes by and I look back at what I’ve done and where I’m going and where I wanna go, I learn to let go more and more of preconceived notions, of stereotypes, of hang-ups and empty concerns. You just let go and this frees you up to find yourself more. And once you start finding yourself… Uniqueness exists in all of us because we are all different.”

“Now, if you hear somebody who plays an instrument the way that encourages you and you are inspired by it, you might learn to play just like that guy. That’s a statement of who you are. It’s not a bad thing. It just shows that you never took the desires to find out what you are interested in. And then there are people who don’t have a choice. They can’t play like anybody else, they can’t make music like anybody else.”

“Once you find out who you are, actually cultivating it and brining it out into the world is a personal statement, and a lot of people have a lot of hang-ups about that because we have these little voices in our head, and they tell us what we think we can’t do, what we shouldn’t do. We don’t want to be criticised. When you create something, it’s an expression of your inner self. If you are drawing a picture just like Picasso, it’s an expression of who you are. But if you are a Picasso, it’s different. So when we do these things, they are little snapshots of who we are. And really we are naked when we play an instrument. Because you don’t really have a choice. So when an artist takes their work and then puts it in the world and it’s open up for criticism, or for people’s enjoyment, or whatever, what happens is that they are not saying, “How do you like my song?”, or, “How do you like my art?” They are saying, “How do you like me?””

This accent on uniqueness doesn’t mean, however, that Vai denies his influences. During the class he names a few: Led Zeppelin, Queen, Ritchie Blackmore, Jethro Tull, and Jimi Hendrix. Talking of Hendrix, it was Vai’s rendition of “Little Wing” that became the focal point of his performances on both days at LIMS. The contrast between the poetic, transparent solos, and the poignantly outlined harmonic shape of the song, Vai’s impeccable handling of the dynamic nuances, his tone, and unpretentious grace of his performance all spoke of a seemingly innate understanding of both the original and what is required to become its successful interpreter.

Back at the masterclass, Vai demolishes the assumption anyone who’s ever heard him play live may have – that he was born great and musically perfectly formed. He admits of being insecure about his abilities when he was a teenager and says that it was hard labour that got him where he is now. “I never thought I was good enough when I was a kid,” Vai confesses to his masterclass. “I thought everybody else was better than me.” And then an even more stunning revelation follows: “Most people in this room, if they put in as much time on the guitar as I did, would probably kick my ass.”

And although over the years Vai got over his childhood insecurities and learnt to deal with fame better than most rock stars, he says that huge-scale fame wouldn’t have worn comfortable on him. “Thank god I’m not as famous as Michael Jackson”, he says during the masterclass, which, uttered just a week before Jackson’s death, sounds ominously perceptive.

Vai also says that in his early days he hasn’t been looking for fame and had low expectations not only for his very first solo album “Flex-Able”, but also for the one that followed it – the renowned “Passion and Warfare”, a breakthrough gem of an album that instantly propelled him onto the 20th century guitar hero pantheon when released in 1990. In fact, he confesses that in his youth he found the idea of fame incredibly daunting. “I was paranoid about getting famous back in the “Flex-Able” days,” he says. “The idea of fame gave me anxiety.”

Feeling uneasy about fame and, unlike 99 per cent of his peers, not being desperate for a record deal, paradoxically, allowed Vai to open up to his full potential. “If you are not expecting anything, you do better stuff than when you are attached by expectations,” Vai says during his masterclass. And as he touches upon the subject, another quote comes to mind, when back in 1989 he told Musician magazine how “…artists reach into themselves when they are young and pull out some really wonderfully originality because they don’t care. They don’t have a reputation or an image to uphold.”

Since the release of Vai’s debut “Flex-Able” back in 1984 which was recorded in his home studio, the album has sold an impressive quarter of a million copies. This year the music press is celebrating the 25th anniversary of “Flex-Able” and Vai is marking the occasion with an upcoming release of the remastered version of the album which is going to include previously unreleased bonus material recorded even earlier than “Flex-Able” itself.

This, however, isn’t the only Vai release to see the light of day in 2009. Throughout the class Vai, apart from illustrating a lot of points on his guitar, he also lets us see snippets of his upcoming DVD entitled “Where The Wild Things Are” filmed live at Minneapolis in 2007.

The DVD proves to be a startling account of the technical brilliance, versatility, and emotion of Vai’s shows. A mulligan stew of styles, techniques, and approaches, this footage makes you ponder if these days Vai is expressing highbrow culture in popular terms or the other way around. Whichever it is, it’s not just about the relationship between orchestra instruments and the electric guitar, or propulsive grooves and delicate rhythmic nuances, or constantly shifting time signatures and bona fide rock barn-burning vibe. Ultimately all this is about the relationship between heart and mind, and Vai seems to have found a perfect balance for both through his open, unconservative attitude to music.

The virtuosity with which he manipulates traditional and new practices, old technical fetishes and free-thinking innovation, can all be experienced first-had in this footage, and it startles how this diversity ultimately liberates him. This is achieved as much through balance and careful structuring as through pure emotion: on the one hand Vai doesn’t dogmatise, but on the other, his show is a firmly directed trip.

While so many bands these days cannot make their own names without referring to the established figures of the past, Vai to this day manages to remain autonomous, self-sufficient and unique. He doesn’t dose his eccentricity, and that is why artistic fascination is simply everywhere during his shows – from the music itself to the way Vai performs it on the stage, to the way the stage is designed, to what he wears. And when the time comes for the call-and-response interaction between the guitar and one of the violins, it’s all stage presence galore – a classic case where visual splendour turns great music into luxury.

Asked if he is happy with the way the DVD has turned out, Vai sounds unequivocally positive. “I am very happy,” he says. “It’s a great band because I have these two violin players who are just extraordinary, really great, they add this whole different dimension, you know. And I try to do things that a relatively unexpected and different than what might be considered the norm. It took finding the right people, and I really found them: Ann Marie Calhoun and Alex DePue, these tremendous players.”

“It really allowed me to take the music into a different dimension with them. It is still very intense Vai music, whatever it is. I didn’t record with them yet, but I’ve decided to do some smattering of touring, and we did a month in Europe and a month in America and it was really great. I recorded one of the shows, it took me forever to edit it and to get it done, and now it’s done and it’s coming out.”

Asked what things need to coincide for a great performance to happen, Vai says that the key is confidence. “The thing that generates an effective performance is the confidence you have when you are performing,” he says. “When I’m on stage, I feel like I own the world. I am fiercely confident in what I do and I know that when I am going to do it, I am demanding that people are being sucked in. It’s a process of making a connection. Because primarily what am I here for, what are we here for? I’m here to create things for the people that are interested in it to enjoy. I’m not going to change the world, my music isn’t of historical brilliance, and if it is, it’s not for me to determine, it’s for historians to determine.”

“My job is like anybody else’s. I have certain tools and I have certain gifts, and I want to do my best to create them in the most imaginative way and powerful way that I can so that other people can enjoy them. I work for other people. Artists are here so that people can dream while they are awake. That’s what you do when you watch and it takes you away, and that’s the goal for me. I want to create something that people can enjoy and be stimulated, and I want to take control of their emotional equilibrium and bring them to different places, and let them go of the world, let go of everything in their life and just enjoy this particular thing. The only way to do that effectively for me or anybody else, I think, is to find a thing that you are most comfortable with, that’s most natural to you, that seems simple to you. That is when you are going to be your most effective. I don’t work on things I’m not good at. I find things that I am good at and I exaggerate them.”

The dynamics of performing live and composing music being different, it feels important to ask Vai about the nature of his creative process. “Well, my creative process is very simple,” he says. “I don’t think it differs from anybody else’s. The impetus of an idea has to start some place. And it doesn’t start in the physical world, it starts in the mental. You get an idea for something and you see it. You do it, we all do it. The process of making idea real in the world varies. And according to the complexity of the idea or the tools that are at your disposal, that is going to determine how much work has to go into it.”

“There are various ways to expressing those ideas. When I’m just playing the guitar, a lot of things go through my head. Sometimes I’m thinking, “What’s coming up next? Am I prepared for this? Make sure you get to your pedal in time, make sure that you look good while you are doing this.” Whatever it is. Or, “Oh my god, am I in tune?” Sometimes those are all the things that are going on, but for the most part it’s just letting go and you know that you are in control.”

The same point Vai emphasises during the masterclass, when he describes how in his early years he visualised how he wanted to look and feel on stage: “I wanted it to look elegant, effortless, complete control, no barriers,” he says. “But most of all I wanted it to be entertaining.” All, this of course, has proven to be a self-fulfilling prophecy based on Vai’s firm belief that you become what you think of yourself.

While a face-to-face masterclass may not be accessible to all for various reasons, travel and fiscal considerations being just some of them, Vai is soon planning to launch a subscription site called Vai-Tunes where subscribers would have an opportunity to get guitar advice, hear some of his previously unreleased tunes and get access to plenty of other material. Asked when he is planning to see the site up and running, Vai says that the subscriptions will take a little while.

“My plan is to move into that direction,” he says. “I have so much music that I want to get out there, but it is not necessarily suited for a particular record. So the idea is to start creating a once-a-month release of a song digitally. And the subscription will include that and a whole bunch of stuff, we are still putting it together. I was thinking of presenting an entire Alien Guitar Secrets concept in bite-size chunks of ten minutes each. And it’d be endless volumes basically, but the subscription will contain one of those also. A lot of musicians are starting to think that way. Everything’s changing.”

Being in tune with the way fans are interacted with in the internet era is just another aspect of the more universal vision that Vai has for his profession. As a result, he proved to be one of those rare Eighties artists who some twenty years ago stood for all things innovative and ultra-modern and who to this day not only continue to evolve but carry on presenting new and innovative concepts.

Vai’s most recent work which integrates orchestra instruments into a rock band scenario prompts a more general question on the secret of successfully doing so, especially given that so many artists – from Metallica to Uli Jon Roth – have recently been experimenting in this area.

“I don’t think there’s any secret,” Vai says. “There are various ways of approaching it. For someone like Metallica you hand it over entirely to an orchestrator who understands orchestra music and you get this heavy metal music that has orchestra overtones. That’s one way of doing it that has a particular effect. And it’s cool, it sounds cool. I’ve seen rock bands do that and most of the times that’s what they do. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a rock band really doing something compositional with an orchestra. Usually they take their songs and they orchestrate it for strings.”

“But it takes a person that understands rock music, and orchestration, and the limitations of an orchestra, being a composer who works with orchestras, who hears things in their head. They know if they are going to mix a flute with an oboe, what it’s gonna sound like, a contrabass with a cello or a tuba. You just imagine it and they know. And when they are creating the colours of their composition, they have all these palettes to choose from.”

“Rock musicians do the same thing, but is it a clean guitar, is it a distorted guitar, is it an acoustic? So because I work with both things, I have the ability to take an overview and mix them both in a different way. I’m not saying it’s superior, its’ just different. It is more compositional.”

“The last time I heard somebody do it to where it sounded organic to me, it was Uli Jon Roth. He does it very well. He has a very singy type of tone on the guitar, so it all works. And he just knows how to kind of like… He understands, you know? But what I do is totally different because what he does is conventional classical music.”

But, after all, Vai has always been different from anyone else. He’s never been filled with nostalgia, he’s never been frightened by the unknown, and his vitality and conviction have been total.

Some twenty years ago Vai has contributed hugely to the changing aesthetics of the Western world, but he did so almost by chance because he’s never been consciously concerned with common artistic values of his contemporaries and wasn’t interested in either upholding them or demolishing them. Instead, he’s taught everyone who cared to pay attention a more important lesson, years before he began doing his seminars – that in this day and age originality is paramount to becoming a truly great artist.

Vai’s ability to harness his own uniqueness and to focus on his own inclinations without conceding to changing fashions is the main reason why his music to this day remains adequate to the contemporary reality. He can cover ground from classical music to classic rock, and be able to absorb not only what preceded him, but also go into unchartered territories, but this breadth of vision is by no means an end in itself. It is simply the result of staying true to who he is and what he wants to convey as an autonomous artist while remaining an entertainer. And it’s this combination of originality and a desire to entertain, as well as the old and the new, that Vai was able to successfully formulate. In the end his efforts brought about major rethinking not only of the place and the role of modern rock guitar, but of contemporary music as a whole.

“Trends come and go,” Vai says during our interview. “There was a time when the Beatles were really out of fashion, and people wouldn’t even say they owned a Beatles record. Or Elvis. It happened to Elvis, it happened to Led Zeppelin, it happened to Beethoven. It happens to everybody because once you so identify with the particular genre or trend, and that trend gets copied and watered down and insipid because of all the people who aren’t really inspired but they are pantomiming the genius of somebody else by creating things that their imagination is capable of more or less copying. But it doesn’t have that fine spark of brilliance that the originators had. The whole genre becomes insipid and it’s time for a chance.”

“But eventually history doesn’t remember those things. History doesn’t remember the critics who tear you apart because it’s not trendy. History remembers the genres and respects those people who were pioneers.”

“Where The Wild Things Are” DVD is out on October 5, 2009.

Photos courtesy of Alissa Ordabai