Steve Vai Interview - www.licklibrary.com

[McMinnManiac]

Vai is ...wow...like the Godfather of MetalFusion Guitar .And i guss Yngwie is the Hitman ..Lol

[Nameless742]

If I was to have anyone's talent alive today. It'd be Vai.

I wish I had that knowledge.

[Rockyroopam]

he sounds like steve jobs

[Kingding6]

early 90s??? bad place??? SHAWN LANE???!!!

[TCreationGtr1603]

@Kingding6 All in all it was a bad time for guitar playing but as the interviewer said people like vai and shawn carried on the torch. John Petrucci too.

[closetome]

Good questions...

[toonlink916]

OMFG HE TOUCHED VAI'S HAND

[bl2d77]

jem77 FP shirt !!!

[anival2sorto]

Lol steve shall give me for a dollar every time he says'Ya know"xD

[SeTorsken]

@anival2sorto You'll get rich quick ya know!

[EmoGuitarSceneKidxP]

his music may be "weird" but thats why we love it ... no-one else does that which is cool and interesting

[IsraeliMusicChannel]

i have sunglass like steve :O

[liamzuid]

Wow that shirt from steve is nice!

Anyone knows what kind of shirts those are?

[10Dante4]

finally an artist....no a successful artist who's not a psycho and also he seems like a nice guy

[MeteoraXV]

Yeah best interviewer in years

[MrAppolo777]

his Italian background just slips through his ascent, I bet he sorted out his business with the help of lots of wise guys form his Italian block, some Tonys and Frenkies helped him becoming one of the worlds greatest and most renowned guitar musicians, if that’s so then he's a guitar playing Frenk Sinatra. . .

[DannyInDaHouse]

steve is awesome :D

[SunsetMediaPL]

Interesting.

[barret2378]

i love how the first 3 digits in the views are 666 :o

[kotdrauf]

stuart bull the best

[ilrs]

His hands are fucking massive.

[kotdrauf]

stuart bull is so cool xD his interviews are so funny

[goonyougoodthing]

6 lol

[rg320tom]

close your eyes, the bald bloke sounds like paul merton

[ajayg514]

google "themusicage com"

[gtq838]

I can never get enough of listening to vai talk...

I always expect him to be jacked up from massive drug use like all the others from that time...

plus I always expect him to sound weird because his music is so unique and weird...

he seems like such a normal guy

[woodsterix]

steve is pretty wierd he does some pretty strange stuff.

BUT WHAT AN EPIC PLAYER

[kaligula11]

I agree with what he says about musical trends changing. Technical playing had been developing until it reached its physical end, where you couldn't go any further. No wonder many younger musicians reacted by doing the opposite. Guys, what in your opinion is today's main trend of rock music? And where is it going?

[312chicagoadam]

Buckethead.

[jordno]

punk pop i think is very popular and dam site awful and i dont think it will go very far, rock bands and decent guitar players are dieing out again ive heard many bands say there arent enough rock bands around anymore mainstream has alot of control now and alot of kids want the money not because of a passion its sad and this is coming from a 17 year old haha

[turtleygirl]

I agree. It's getting to the stage where theres a lot of confusion between teens about what 'rock' actually is. That's really sad. And THIS is coming from a 15 year old.

[cynicaldemon]

Who cares about the name of a genre?

Geez. People are too focused with genres rather than music. Open your ears and be open to all music.

[fortunateson08890]

@cynicaldemon Sorry man, stuff like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry is junk food for the soul, and as suchs hould be avoided.

[dickdogginit]

keep it the way it is and you will never loose your fan base.

[Stisy1992]

vai has humour!!

[JesseGuitar07]

cool.thanks for sharing!

[Thelavendel]

good interviewer

[AtanasL]

indeed.

[ahmedsamy]

ditto

[BeatBay]

@Thelavendel Stuart is an awesome guy!

[hellbadger84]

@Thelavendel he's also interviewed, & jammed with, Mark Tremonti if ur interested.

[nemogre]

me myself got into guitar music (and never got off lol) at around 99-2000 so i was too young to have witnessed the guitar music demise in the early 90's but to me i never thought that it lost momentum and popularity. I MEAN the audience of such music is mostly musicians and musicians always exist and so there is always an audience... for me it was always the same

[heavymetalguy21]

i wish i could meet him

[masterlech]

what was that about elton john and iron maiden in the toilets?

[Beefo23]

I'm guessing he means that they didnt have a greenroom / backstage room at some clubs and therefore had to use the toilets to change into their conert outfits.

[eurue]

interesting guy

[Panchonancho]

minutes 8:30-8:40 "I dont want to spend a lifetime

[ExtremeBogom]

he's too cool man

[petar870602]

i have 3 sixes in my social security number too and i am a gemini too

[MastaRoyal]

i got 3 sixes in a row in my social security number and i'm a gemini.... should i be scared? lol

[person55554]

yeah, steve is the man

[ExtremeBogom]

Yeah man what a cool dude.

[nilk17]

talking about evolution of music...just pondering how jimi hendrix' music would have evolvled....

[peaceonearth777]

Nice guy. I thought he was a poser in the day but he is right on!

[Geetar2112]

We all love SV but let´s not forget SB too! I met him once - such a nice bloke!

[1972peteman]

It is very nice to see a musician still down to earth as he is. If you read in his liner notes that comes with the cd's he thanks GOD for his musicial talent. Also he plays quite a few instuments on the older albums.

[5ptCALVIN]

is Vai gay ? COME ON DUDE ! He is married with children . What an absolute class act . Someone who is IMO a top ten guitarist of all time and he stays grounded . For being engaging you think he is gay ? What is that ? Who cares if he was anyway . While I totally disapprove of the lifestyle I loved Queen knowing Freddie Mercury was gay . The music was outstanding regardless . Ignorance is rampant , wow .

[DimebagFarrell]

But still, he's a very flamboyant guy. Which is great! Not afraid to be himself at all. On the G3 live in Tokyo DVD, there's a part where he literally skips across the stage. He has such a great attitude to life. Easily "the" person I'd most like to meet.

[Fungwabus117]

its ignorant to dissaprove of the lifestyle

[luismbamazona]

loko hueco

ajjaja

[mickiew4]

dude steve sounds so laid back.

[guitaristshobi]

from 00.46 to 01.18 i like da way he smiles guyz he is great not just of his playing but he is not proudy at all dats the thing which is missing in todays` world specially in celebrities love u steve u r wicked absolutely wicked

[darklord6645]

one talented guitarist

&vai&

[kerem8800]

is steve vai a gay??:D

[tommyk77]

haha, no he's married to an ex-member of the band, Vixen. John Petrucci was married to another ex-member too but he's divorced now.

[subjulio]

????????

Pia Vai was a model non a rocker...you're a lot confused!!

Rena Petrucci was the guitar player of Meanstreak, the other from that band was Mike Portnoy's wife!!!

Man, thing before posting shit!!!

P.S.: Petrucci's not divorced from Rena!!!!!

[DarthSalazar]

Pia Vai is the former bassist of the band Vixen. Vai and Pia met at Berklee College Of Music when both of them were going there.

[khbgkh]

you're so confused.

[prashanthosur]

He is one of the most intelligent gguitarists around!

[verdi2202]

Look at Steve´s fingers... no wonder that he play that good.

[zero2kx]

I think Vai is the only one that wear that shirt and make it look good.

[pagboy529]

hahhahaah so true

[rangachangchang]

i love this guy. he's an amazing guitarist, and his first album is the best. long live the amazing people.

[zackvanhalen]

With Dave, he was propelled to superstar status, with Zappa not so much. He didn't shine with Zappa, with Dave he did. End of Story.

[DVincentW]

He did shine with Zappa, I disagree.

Or have you ever heard the Public Image

"Album" 1984?

No? ok.

[v2vroth]

Steve Vai seems like a very humble down to earth type guy. Not enough of these type folks left in the world!!

[sasukesama14142]

@v2vroth Mate, you're seeing an interview. Steve's actually well known for being anthipathetic. My uncle knows him as his friend, and he knows him well.

[cinnful1]

@v2vroth both times I've met him he was very humble and very approachable, didn't have the ego that some might presume he has...what blew me away is he always seemed like giant on stage and when I met him, I was looking down and not UP...I always thought the guy was like 6'7 or something....he looks so TALL on stage...

[lgontop]

i love hem he is the best.

mike groisman (youtube)

[topperspoppers]

i would have liked to have heard the answer to the last question

[LeftyRobb]

He answer would have been "Zappa" hands down without even seeing the rest of this interview.

[BanjoBoog]

He's an incredible musician. He reminds me of Jimi Hendrix ... just the way the guitar is like a part of his body.

[rcpotts513]

I think Hendrix is way over-rated. Yeah he was way ahead of his time, but that's what dropping acid will do for you. Vai and Satriani are true masters. Watching/listening to them play kind of ruined listening to other "guitar" players. I always thought Paige was the best. Don't get me wrong he is still great, just not the best.

[xypher2]

I sense some bias in that.

Page is the best at some stuff, cant deny that.

[BlowBackBenny]

Shut up.

He died in 1970 for christ sake, you think he wouldn't have invented more?

[h1ckfil]

Agreed. I mean, Jimi Hendrix was a practical genius at guitar. Listen to the Star Spangled Banner and his rendition of it. Yeah, Eddie Van Halen may have revolutionized tapping, but Jimi Hendrix simply destroyed all of the methods of guitar that came before.

[MrBlackBone82]

rcpotts, they are great musicians too. but unlike hendrix, they did not revolutionize music like he did.

for example...satriani,petrucci, and vai all loved hendrix, and were influenced by him.

[khbgkh]

satriani vai really did revolutionize the guitar though, people just don't acknowledge it. they took things like finger tapping and pick tapping and whammy bar dives and changed them from parlor tricks to bonefied musical techniques. van halen popularized finger tapping, which was a major step forward. satriani and vai and especially buckethead take it to its max potential. why isn't this considered revolutionary just like hendrix and van halen?

[BakedWalnut]

Because their careers are far from over. And they're alive.

[HenneB]

very good

[pooprscupr]

seriously. youve got a good point

[BradE17]

rcpotts....saying that hendrix is over-rated is probably the number one comment made by 14-year-olds who think they know about the guitar greats....

[JammyTom]

I think Clapton gets dissed the most but I hear you

[khbgkh]

while thats true, its also said by some very well informed guitarists. not everyone who says it is trying to be rebellious. i for one find hendrix's playing to be overrated, though its definitely better than i can do.

[GetOutOfMyYard]

It was revolutionary. No one had ever seen anything like it before.

[arrowaine]

hahaha, nice interview

[arieVH]

hear his music, hear how his come up with note, you will understand why he success in music and bussiness as well because he is smart and creative. his willingness to learn is superb :D

[zackvanhalen]

Well, the answer to the last question better be David Lee Roth.

[Elmancho02]

Nah, Frank Zappa.

[metallicat420]

Satriani

[KollassinK2TonToos]

vai's the man

[rodrigocastrofoto]

This is really a great interview. Great to hear great musicians impressions and thoughts about music as an artistic expression (what it in fact is) , and not just technical aspects. Some people make confusion between music and athletic performances. Vai is much more than a technic master, he is some kind of Picasso or Salvador Dali that plays instead of painting.

[deliasfinest]

barry panpipe is a flute player and he's amazingly down to earth, he plays alot of notes and pipework yet hes really easy to get along with. why not join barry down at the beach for a tomato salad and crab icecream. god bless barry panpipe

[liaserethguitarist12]

vai rules

[spooner1957]

im not a massive fan of steve vai but i respect him more than most musicians and people in general

[ravensmead]

....you're right he's a human being!!....love him

[acula1982]

had a masterclass with steve once, nice guy man

[Gotguitar44]

i think Vai is a guitar God ever since ive seen him in concert

[callieland]

i had no idea steve was so well spoken and kind and just plain nice. good goin steve.

[beaverliqour]

I have that Birthday too ha

[MuSiCsAvEs29476]

is he a satanist?

[CMRbuzz7]

No, and it's called being pegan.

[kalamanik]

as far i know hes a buddhist

[foxhoundoscuro]

you know...you know...you know

[kwikkash2]

LOL i noticed it too

[osowagora]

OK OK ... but is sounds better than 'D'ya know woa I mean?' :]

Anyway he's oracle of guitar... And he can talk whatever he likes.

[giglywiglygo]

you know....129387987951241 times repeated

[NJLax101]

vai is definetely one of the best out there and probably the nicest gutarists

[SkidRoses98]

Yeah, some of them are really arrogant and think they are the best (MALMSTEEN MALMSTEEN!!!) but Steve is really down to Earth, helpful and just seems a nice guy. STEVE RULES!!!

[Ollyknkn]

randy rhoads is the nicest

[NJLax101]

their both nice hb that

[mikemossgr]

I wish i could have the power to see over trends and shit and get the whole picture! i admire men like vai... truly amazing in his simplicity. alongside paul of course. they have a natural talent to be calm and larger than life man!

[manisierra]

Wealth of Information for serious artists.

[mcpopperinos]

hes such a fucking beast

[JEZFLYNN]

i've got three 6s in mine, i always thought it was a curse

[jazzmaster3000]

Steve seems like someone who makes fun of guys who wear sun glasses indoors. tsk tsk...

[stitcha123]

I love vai, but the two most true comments ive heard about his look are this:

'he looks like a rat'.

'he looks like sonia from alan partridge'.

haha, classic

[JEZFLYNN]

lol

[dapunkof1975]

Steve Vai is a well-spoken person.

[blueredfred2]

my dad was born on the same day as him. i told my dad this, he wasnt too interested for some reason. :P

[robster1185]

pRobably because hes not a assbag

[blueredfred2]

what?

[UltraVai92]

devils child here lol

[hateoprah49]

thanks for the upload. i'm getting into music myself, so steve's input really helped me out. thanks

[miniman06070]

in 6.6.66. I turned six at 1:00, but it was 6:00 somewhere.

[agilbo1]

dude

[zyhz]

I do agree, "Steve`s magnificent and he is still the most down to earth and honest man", sure!!! he is so unique.Thank you very much licklibrary for sharing such an interesting interview!

[CHR15VTR]

What i like about vai is even though hes the best hes still the most down to earth and honest guy.

propa chap

[MadTeal]

Interestingly open interview. Typical Vai. Very open and genuine.

[DeepSevenfold]

wat an awesome guitarist

[rockleerocks1o1]

wat.

[RnFR4L]

wat?!

[SkidRoses98]

WHAT!!!!!!!! lol. STEVE RULES!!!