Now think of all the 9 to 5ers that put in their entire formative years learning their craft just to be another wheel in the machine. Depression is RAMPANT for the creative mind stuck trying to survive the mundane world.
Yeah that's bang on. If you're a creative person you owe it to yourself I think to pursue that idea rattling around in your brain, even if it doesn't work out like you planned.
Steve is the best guy ever. He was my son's hero and I took him to meet Steve when he was ten and Steve treated him like a king. will always love him for that!
I did security for Whitesnake and watched Steve’s dressing room . He was one. If the nicest people in music industry I ever met … Coverdale was actually decent as well .
I met Steve Vai once. Back in the mid 90s I was working in a mall in Oklahoma City. One day he was shopping and just walked into my store. Super nice guy, we talked for about an hour. We talked about music and the fact that my bad did covers of his music. He thought that was interesting and gave me his phone number, email address, and a PO box number to send him recordings of us covering his music. We even corresponded for a few years after.
"If anybody was difficult, it was me." I don't think I've ever heard any other stone cold killer rock guitarist utter a sentiment like that. I think this kind of objectivity is the mark of a wise old soul, regardless of one's age.
Same sort of sentiments talked about by Rik Emmett of Triumph. He wanted to honor his craft, be true to himself and chose to leave Triumph. He talks about it in Triumph: Rock and Roll machine. There aren't many true authentic artists but Steve and Rik are a couple of them.
It's very difficult for people to come around and not live entirely in service to their false ego, but rather admit seeing that frailty. To be stronger by admitting your weakness. Then when you're tough with yourself, the world and what critics and bullies may say can't really hurt you.
The premadonna attitude is a stigma society loves to label people when they know nothing about them and all it takes to be them. DLR was labeled this intensely but few consider the vultures he had to constantly deal with in the beginning and throughout his career. At some point they learn to deal with them and being a nice guy isn’t the way to do it. Even without the vultures, if you want to succeed in any business let alone trying to get famous, you need thick skin to get where you want.
Overall I don't like Vai's solo work. I think he's better in a "regular" band, because his little gimmicks and crazy stuff just pop better. But PaW is just awesome. And yes, absolutely can stand up to the contemporary stuff out there.
Saw Steve in concert last year in an old, refurbished theatre in concert and he was simply outstanding. Took my teenage kids who never understood why I hold Steve in such high regard as one of the greatest guitarist ever. Two instant fans.
He is an intelligent man, I can tell. It is his self awareness, his confidence and his ability to be humble for being such a brilliant guitar player. Seems like an all around good guy.
Such a class act. He still speaks very highly of both front man that he’s worked for. He called David Lee Roth one of his mentors. Very open and honest about what he learned from him. And yes, God dammit! David Coverdale is a freaking monster vocalist and he does deliver like a boss! Gets up on that fucking stage, rears up and shouts “are you ready?” and you know you’re in for it. The man does not disappoint.
Every Whitesnake album was practically a different band. Whitesnake's biggest album, 'Whitesnake' was even a different band from recording, to the time they toured. When you watch the videos, it's hilarious that the only one that was on the actual recording was Coverdale.
I always like the way Vai discusses art and the creative process but doesn’t shy away from talking about the business and career aspect of playing music. He sees all the angles.
I saw Steve in concert with Whitesnake on the slip of the tongue tour. The most incredible concert next to VH I have ever seen and I have seen a lot. His duelling with Vandenburg behind a silhoutte was a masterpiece. Can't wait to see Vai in Edmonton in August!
Eat Em & Smile is a perfect record and Skyscraper is great. That DLR band was pure fire. The Whitesnake record was pristine and left me wanting a follow-up. Sadly, that never happened.
The Whitesnake album (Slip Of The Tongue) was terrible! I've still got the LP in pristine condition. I can understand him leaving the Yankee Rose band though, as live it was pretty much a VH cover band.
@@goodquestion1105 I disagree. I've been a long time Whitesnake fan and actually find the Slip of the Tongue album, as a whole, far more enjoyable than 1987 (especially the expanded version). There's also the problem of the rhythm section on 1987 which is pretty terrible. Neil Murray is a great bassist but doesn't really fit on this album, and the drummer Aynsley Dunbar is crap and just doesn't hold a candle to Tommy Aldridge. Slip of the Tongue has much better production and a better mix as well. No ill will towards your feelings - I can certainly understand why people would hate it, but that's just not the case for me - back then or now.
@@Warstub fair enough and TBH I don't own 1987. I just remember being a big Vai/Roth fan and buying SOTT and feeling let down. Skyscraper on the other hand I really enjoy as Dave Roth always had a wink and a nod in his delivery compared to the more serious Dave C.
I met Steve when I was a very young teenage boy in the 1980s. He displayed Ibanez guitars at a local music store. I knew who he was even then and looked up to him. I didn't dare approach him even though he came right next to me to play the guitar because I was very shy. Still a very beautiful memory.
You do know it's not fair to taunt the rest of us with those kind of nirvana like experiences, right? lol That is awesome. Thank you for posting that. You get our vote for internet post of the month. ;)
@@eriklarson9137 We didn't talk to Ronnie Dio while standing talking with Craig G. Would agree with MrC's sentiment. We sure as heck DID NOT try to force approaching Doro when she walked right past us through the lobby of the club they were playing on a bill with Malmsteen & Dio. We didn't try and stop Till and Flake to force a conversation when they walked 6 inches past while we were talking to Richard. Definitely would have been slightly intimidated. He's a big guy. At least we could chat with Richard about guitars. We didn't get to talk with Joe Elliot or Rick Allen while Phil C was walking us over to talk with Viv past Rick. I didn't crank about not getting to talk with Chris D while we were talking with Scott R. G. Lynch is a reserved gent. Growing up he was the maann. The reason I picked up a six string machine. When I asked him if he would sign a piece art on the first LM tour (which was amazing) that I had done a few years before that in High School with him with the Dokken logo in the background. He was a little disappointed. Totally knew why. Didn't push it. He cut his teeth with EVH when they both started out. Didn't fuss when we didn't get to talk with Michael B when we were talking with The Call's guitarist. Didn't even dream of asking G Thorogood's sax guy if we could meet Mr. Bad To The Bone while he was telling us about being on tour with SRV. Believe he was talking about being on tour with them when the horrible events happened. Maybe the example of why MrCarama is TOTALLY right and makes all the sense in the world, is when we asked Chris Isaak's lifelong drummer what happened that the original rock solid super talented guitarist JC Wilsey left the band. Kenney DJ told us to ask Chris. You can bet a thousand yt troll posts we DID NOT ask Chris about J Calvin Wilsey. We kind of just thanked Chris, let him know through our body language and trying not to say something stupid that we genuinely appreciated what he did for everybody making the music he kept giving everyone. Somehow, you'll probably find something wrong with this too. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't force him to drink and not make dumb@$$ comments. Or have the humility or wisdom to say they were wrong, let alone say I see your point. MrC, you go right on telling us any more stories of folks that came through that store. This yt'r would love to hear more if you got 'em. ;)
"Slip of the tongue" has been one of my absolute favorite albums since it came out. It still makes me feel the same way today as a in 1989. One of the best shows I've been as well
That was an incredible time! Steve having a massive tour and album with Whitesnake while simultaneously releasing Passion and Warfare was insane! It’s so cool to hear him talk about it with such humility.
I am one of those that got Passion & Warfare when it came out & listened to almost nothing else for a long time. When he toured for it in 2016 I was lucky to see him play it from front to back & some other new stuff from front row almost center in a small place so Steve was 10 ft in front of me. To see him play it from that close was amazing. THE GREATEST OF ALL THE GREAT INSTRUMENTAL ALBUMS EVER IN MY OPINION.
Steve Vai MADE that band special! He was immediately embraced. I remember we were all thinking my God where did David Lee Roth find HIM, he's another Eddie with the tricks, Flash and charisma. It was a very glamorous, Rockstar self-indulgent time . Those videos were a lot of fun and eased the pain of Dave not being in VH
I didn't really like VH with Sammy. I liked Sammy's solo stuff, and I like Roth in VH but VH without Roth was like Black Sabbath without Ozzy. It was still most of the amazing musicians but it wasn't really the same thing anymore. IMO of course.
@@1eviledy I've never really liked the decades long sentiment that people feel like they had to choose. Personally, I like both. I honestly can't say I like one over the other. What I don't think can be denied, even if you are a DLR fan, is that Sammy has a better singing voice and range. But you can still like the DLR songs more.
@@ronnie_5150 I wouldn't imply that a choice needed to be made. Music is subjective. Trying to differentiate one musician / singer to another is like saying chocolate is the best flavor of ice cream.
Whitesnakes " Slip of the Tongue" album is one of my favorites of all time...every song flows one into another seamless...Very emotional and has the ability to help me draw those memories from my past in the best way...Best times of my life when this album came out
In other words he was hottest guitarist for hire at the time and had some lucrative offers he couldn't refuse. Personal music was a pleasure playing for others was a job. Well done!
Steve Via's work is all AWESOME. His move to Whitesnake was great, as was his work with Dave. "The Deeper The Love" , has one of the best solos ever. It had, by far, the most emotional content of any solo.
I love John Sykes' guitar work on 1987, but the songs on Slip of the Tongue are, overall at least, a lot better thanks to Adrian Vandenberg's songwriting. And Vai's guitar work just takes the entire album to a whole new level - I still prefer the original Fool For Your Loving (great solo!), but Vai's solo actually works just as well.
@@Warstub Their solo stuff and projects they moved on to show a lot of their style. Blue Murder was amazing, especially when the three guys hit the road starting off. Vandenberg's more recent stuff has an incredible classic rock/70's hard rock/metal feel to it that we need more of. And each of Steve's projects has distinctive aspects to it that are hard to imaging the other guys even trying to jump into because it's who Steve is and it's just not their style. One of John's strengths, though, just like Steve Clark from Def Lep, they both can take some simple fret work, open chording and decades later, as one person put it recently regarding the Still Of The Night riff. It's not only one of the most recognizable riffs in rock, it's one of the best riffs in the history of metal. Seeing George Lynch perform the song live with a lot of his shows now really nails the point home. Every one of the guys have their own special touch. Like Steve was talking, it comes from their heart and no one else can do it. It's hard to see any of the other guys go down the path of the solo stuff Steve has. It's just distinctive to his playing. At some point, we're just darn lucky to have them all. ;) Having said that, when the Donnington WS performance was released, was kind of blown away at how effortlessly Steve floated up and down the frets. Amazing style from a really great guy. We're fortunate he's been committed to staying true to himself and sharing the music inside with the rest of us who have wanted to hear it and really appreciated it through the past 5 decades.
I love the namechecks for Ah Via Musicom and Surfing with the Alien. I saw Steve Vai with Eric Johnson and Joe Satriani on the original G3 tour way back in the day. Guitar nerd heaven - Satriani's balls-out rock, Johnson's bluesy, almost violin-like tones, and Vai's insane virtuosity. It was an amazing night.
I've been a Vai fan since Eat'em And Smile came out. It was the first cassette tape I actually bought, I was in middle school and I heard Yankee Rose and was hooked. I still think it's one of the greatest RnR albums of all time. I had the honor of seeing Steve on a G3 tour with Satriani and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. We were on the second row and my brother got Steve's pick. Still has it. Poor Kenny was out of his depth during the jam. Steve and Joe bowed like samurai warriors and smoked the place. Awesome show!
What a great personality and one of the most successful musicians with a very long career. His biography on UA-cam is such a great illustration of a driven person. But not at the expense of others-which I find is rare among the elite of any class.
I think we also have to give due recognition to the interviewer. It takes a special personality and skill to make an interview flow like this one did. It looks effortless and natural because there's skill and talent behind it. This is an instant like and join.
Steve you are awesome you have the whole package and then some, my god your music your solo's are so explosive there like charged with dynamite. I mean what i said when you are in your solo zone damn no one comes close or near you .BRAVO !!!!!! such emotion and passion ! ✌👏🤟👍
I once shared the same publicist as David Coverdale and I spent an afternoon listening to him doing local radio interviews. He was tireless, charismatic and no question was beneath him.
He's being polite and diplomatic not honest. DLR didn't allow Steve Vai and Billy Sheehan to do a proper follow up to eat'em and smile he brought in the keyboardist and ruined the Yankee Rose band. He also didn't split the money evenly paying them a salary. Insulting. DLR and Coverdale blew it.
All of Steve's records are awesome I like him because his style is quirky. I saw him at a club in Miami called The Button South when Sex And Religion came out Steve had Devin Townsend singing with him. It was the loudest club concert I'd seen.
I saw him at place called FUBAR in Ft Lauderdale, 98' or 99'.The only band louder than Vai was Motorhead. He brought a local 12 year old kid and they tore it up together 🤘
P&W was an amazing album. I had all the albums he mentioned. He's right, they were all brilliant and in a sense all from the same genre of rock guitarist side projects but you couldnt really compare them to each other
What a great interview, I love Steve’s insight, especially the depression comment. I was at the Lucky strike gig, and everyone was so excited for the show, it was such a bummer when I got shut down. Management was walking around asking if people would leave so that the show might go on and we just kind of all looked at each other like “I don’t wanna go and miss this!”
I'm a big fan of the DLR Band. They're what I would call a 'supergroup.' Each member a top tier talent at his instrument Too bad they didn't last, they could've really given VanHagar a run for the money.
I thought they should have kept the original line up with Billy Sheehan. Vai/Sheehan was a killer team. Come on, Sheehan practically plays LEAD bass. :)
He was so gracious as to allow a friend of mine hang out and talk/jam guitars in his room @ the Ramada on 98 in Lklnd. during the DLR Skyscraper tour. I saw Greg Bissonette outside & Dave inside then downstairs.
Slip of the tongue is to this day one of my favorite albums.... And that guitar is a major reason why. I wish he'd made 2 or 3 more albums like that... I never heard another album quite like that since.
Steve did it like Zappa. Play to make the money to do what you really wanted to do. Frank made money so he could compose. Steve made money so he could record his own music. Both legends.
I listened to P&W endlessly when it came out. Saw Vai a few times (Eat'em and Smile, G3 a couple times) and then he toured playing P&W start to finish in 2016 I think. It was an amazing show, so glad I saw it, especially since it was in a smaller room.
Great stories, these experiences are an important part of making him who he is today. He’s great because he is wonderful composer, virtuoso player, and, a great “ front man “.
I had the honor of seeing STEVE VAI at a tiny little venue in Winston Salem NC during one of the G3 tours....$20 in the door!! It was Vai, Satriani, and Malsteen....so close to the stage, and maybe 75 people in the place....lots of joking around with Yngwie being the butt of most of the joking.....but when the playing began, it was utterly professional, like right off the record.....I'll never forget the night I breathed the same air as Steve Vai.....
We had the chance to see Blue Murder on their first tour after John left WS. Was really interesting to see and hear WS's Donnington show. How S Vai glided through the songs up and down the strings to John's chunky riffs. Never seen anything like it. Two amazing players with TOTALLY different approaches to rock guitar, soloing and songwriting.
I just got home from Steve Vai in Monterey an hour ago. A lot of people on the streets because it is Car Week and the big car auction was just two blocks down the street.
Passion and Warfare was the right move - No question. That's our Dark Side of the Moon for the guitar world. That was an eye opener for any kid with a guitar.
I'm a long time drummer, never had an interest in playing guitar. But I tell you what, PAW had me absolutely hooked. And I've been a huge Steve Vai fan ever since.
@@isaiahmarquez9717 I get what you are saying....There were no "Wish you were here" songs on the album.....but what it did have was one great scale choice over a given chord change almost every bar and those choices were , in small slices, great musical ideas. Those specific achievements were every bit as magical to me as anything.....and every 5 seconds, the music was blowing you away with fabulous picking, fingering and harmonic nuances. I can't say enough about the boundaries it broke. ..But I do agree, it was not a "songwriting" achievement in the strict sense.
@@metricdeep8856 they aren't even songs, it's an instrumental album, steve is a composer not a songwriter, the album is a masterpiece in my opinion, his magnum opus.
I remember clearly the Passion and Warfare era. Wonderful album. However I had no idea that Vai played for Whitesnake during that era. But I did get to see Vai live on stage when he was with David Lee Roth. Good times!
Check out the Live At Donnington concert with Steve and Adrian. Their guitar playing in some of the first few songs was like two swans/fighter airplanes floating and diving in and around one another in flight. It is really something. Highlight suggest playing it through your car stereo driving around a few times before watching the video. Hearing what they do before being distracted by anything visual takes things to a whole new level. Which is really something given how much flash, style and appearance counted for back in the day. Awesome times. For sure. Enjoy friend!
It was great to see Steve with the short collaboration with young and adorable Ellen Alaverdyan. Cutest face ever aside, she is well on her way to being a monster bass player. She is already amazing.
He walked into the record store I was working at while in Buffalo for the Whitesnake show in 1990. It was so awesome to meet him. He talked about Passion and Warfare and inquired if we had any old Queen albums on CD. I knew we didn't, but decided to walk around the store with him to check anyway. 😂 A great memory... we had a Whitesnake promotional poster which he signed for me but I've since lost.
Steve is like a religion to guys like me "late 40s" we grew up on him,cut out teeth,all that good stuff. That's why we still watch these kind of videos all these years later, regardless of if we've heard it all a thousand times over🤦🤣 Long live Steve,,my hero,my idol🙏
Watch the FULL interview with Steve Vai here: ua-cam.com/video/7jZglalGUr0/v-deo.htmlsi=KRSZNModzJBEl2lO
"You have to honor your creative impulses, or you slip into depression" - beautifully and truthfully said, Steve!
Now think of all the 9 to 5ers that put in their entire formative years learning their craft just to be another wheel in the machine. Depression is RAMPANT for the creative mind stuck trying to survive the mundane world.
Yeah that's bang on. If you're a creative person you owe it to yourself I think to pursue that idea rattling around in your brain, even if it doesn't work out like you planned.
Yeh, never a truer word said...
That should be the 11th commandment. And a constitutional right!
@@JedNadin No reason you can't get creative after 5 if you can't be creative in that 9 to 5.
Steve is the best guy ever. He was my son's hero and I took him to meet Steve when he was ten and Steve treated him like a king. will always love him for that!
That's great to hear, and also not surprising based on what I've seen of him in interviews and heard from fans glad your son had that thrill.
I did security for Whitesnake and watched Steve’s dressing room . He was one. If the nicest people in music industry I ever met … Coverdale was actually decent as well .
I met Steve Vai once. Back in the mid 90s I was working in a mall in Oklahoma City. One day he was shopping and just walked into my store. Super nice guy, we talked for about an hour. We talked about music and the fact that my bad did covers of his music. He thought that was interesting and gave me his phone number, email address, and a PO box number to send him recordings of us covering his music. We even corresponded for a few years after.
He seems genuine
I saw the slip of the tongue tour, it was the end of the 80's, Bonner springs Kansas I was 23
People always say the same thing about rock stars: they are nice, until they are not.
@@jimpennington3824yeah right and then even my ass clapped
"If anybody was difficult, it was me." I don't think I've ever heard any other stone cold killer rock guitarist utter a sentiment like that. I think this kind of objectivity is the mark of a wise old soul, regardless of one's age.
Same sort of sentiments talked about by Rik Emmett of Triumph. He wanted to honor his craft, be true to himself and chose to leave Triumph. He talks about it in Triumph: Rock and Roll machine. There aren't many true authentic artists but Steve and Rik are a couple of them.
It's very difficult for people to come around and not live entirely in service to their false ego, but rather admit seeing that frailty.
To be stronger by admitting your weakness. Then when you're tough with yourself, the world and what critics and bullies may say can't really hurt you.
Blackmore????? hah hah
And him being “difficult” probably means he just asked for water while everyone else was drinking beer
The premadonna attitude is a stigma society loves to label people when they know nothing about them and all it takes to be them. DLR was labeled this intensely but few consider the vultures he had to constantly deal with in the beginning and throughout his career. At some point they learn to deal with them and being a nice guy isn’t the way to do it. Even without the vultures, if you want to succeed in any business let alone trying to get famous, you need thick skin to get where you want.
'Passion and Warfare' still holds all these years later. One of the greatest rock guitar instrumental recordings!
Absolutely
Overall I don't like Vai's solo work. I think he's better in a "regular" band, because his little gimmicks and crazy stuff just pop better. But PaW is just awesome. And yes, absolutely can stand up to the contemporary stuff out there.
Yes!! When Steve has artistic control he delivers every time.
Passion and warfare was one of my favorite tapes I had Steve Vai you are the best😇👹💫👁️💦🔥🌟
Steve is so incredibly humble and a great story teller. #legend
But needs somebody to interview him.
Saw Steve in concert last year in an old, refurbished theatre in concert and he was simply outstanding. Took my teenage kids who never understood why I hold Steve in such high regard as one of the greatest guitarist ever. Two instant fans.
He is an intelligent man, I can tell. It is his self awareness, his confidence and his ability to be humble for being such a brilliant guitar player. Seems like an all around good guy.
Such a class act. He still speaks very highly of both front man that he’s worked for. He called David Lee Roth one of his mentors. Very open and honest about what he learned from him. And yes, God dammit! David Coverdale is a freaking monster vocalist and he does deliver like a boss! Gets up on that fucking stage, rears up and shouts “are you ready?” and you know you’re in for it. The man does not disappoint.
He said the same about Zappa and talks about how Frank basically gave him a song over the course of 3 jam sessions.
Every Whitesnake album was practically a different band. Whitesnake's biggest album, 'Whitesnake' was even a different band from recording, to the time they toured. When you watch the videos, it's hilarious that the only one that was on the actual recording was Coverdale.
I always like the way Vai discusses art and the creative process but doesn’t shy away from talking about the business and career aspect of playing music. He sees all the angles.
Steve is such a smart and humble guy,rock on brother🤟
Passion and Warfare was amazing.... 🙏
100%. That album just blew me away. One of my all time favorites.
I saw Steve in concert with Whitesnake on the slip of the tongue tour. The most incredible concert next to VH I have ever seen and I have seen a lot. His duelling with Vandenburg behind a silhoutte was a masterpiece. Can't wait to see Vai in Edmonton in August!
Eat Em & Smile is a perfect record and Skyscraper is great. That DLR band was pure fire. The Whitesnake record was pristine and left me wanting a follow-up. Sadly, that never happened.
DLR Eat Em & Smile is a PERFECT record?!? Wow...I seriously must have missed something! To each his/her own I guess....whew....
The Whitesnake album (Slip Of The Tongue) was terrible! I've still got the LP in pristine condition. I can understand him leaving the Yankee Rose band though, as live it was pretty much a VH cover band.
@@goodquestion1105 I disagree. I've been a long time Whitesnake fan and actually find the Slip of the Tongue album, as a whole, far more enjoyable than 1987 (especially the expanded version). There's also the problem of the rhythm section on 1987 which is pretty terrible. Neil Murray is a great bassist but doesn't really fit on this album, and the drummer Aynsley Dunbar is crap and just doesn't hold a candle to Tommy Aldridge. Slip of the Tongue has much better production and a better mix as well.
No ill will towards your feelings - I can certainly understand why people would hate it, but that's just not the case for me - back then or now.
@@Warstub fair enough and TBH I don't own 1987. I just remember being a big Vai/Roth fan and buying SOTT and feeling let down.
Skyscraper on the other hand I really enjoy as Dave Roth always had a wink and a nod in his delivery compared to the more serious Dave C.
P
I met Steve when I was a very young teenage boy in the 1980s. He displayed Ibanez guitars at a local music store. I knew who he was even then and looked up to him. I didn't dare approach him even though he came right next to me to play the guitar because I was very shy. Still a very beautiful memory.
You do know it's not fair to taunt the rest of us with those kind of nirvana like experiences, right? lol That is awesome. Thank you for posting that. You get our vote for internet post of the month. ;)
@@RockDawg77 lol. He didn't even talk to him. How is that a big deal? Makes no sense.
@@eriklarson9137 We didn't talk to Ronnie Dio while standing talking with Craig G. Would agree with MrC's sentiment. We sure as heck DID NOT try to force approaching Doro when she walked right past us through the lobby of the club they were playing on a bill with Malmsteen & Dio. We didn't try and stop Till and Flake to force a conversation when they walked 6 inches past while we were talking to Richard. Definitely would have been slightly intimidated. He's a big guy. At least we could chat with Richard about guitars. We didn't get to talk with Joe Elliot or Rick Allen while Phil C was walking us over to talk with Viv past Rick. I didn't crank about not getting to talk with Chris D while we were talking with Scott R. G. Lynch is a reserved gent. Growing up he was the maann. The reason I picked up a six string machine. When I asked him if he would sign a piece art on the first LM tour (which was amazing) that I had done a few years before that in High School with him with the Dokken logo in the background. He was a little disappointed. Totally knew why. Didn't push it. He cut his teeth with EVH when they both started out. Didn't fuss when we didn't get to talk with Michael B when we were talking with The Call's guitarist. Didn't even dream of asking G Thorogood's sax guy if we could meet Mr. Bad To The Bone while he was telling us about being on tour with SRV. Believe he was talking about being on tour with them when the horrible events happened.
Maybe the example of why MrCarama is TOTALLY right and makes all the sense in the world, is when we asked Chris Isaak's lifelong drummer what happened that the original rock solid super talented guitarist JC Wilsey left the band. Kenney DJ told us to ask Chris. You can bet a thousand yt troll posts we DID NOT ask Chris about J Calvin Wilsey. We kind of just thanked Chris, let him know through our body language and trying not to say something stupid that we genuinely appreciated what he did for everybody making the music he kept giving everyone.
Somehow, you'll probably find something wrong with this too. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't force him to drink and not make dumb@$$ comments.
Or have the humility or wisdom to say they were wrong, let alone say I see your point.
MrC, you go right on telling us any more stories of folks that came through that store. This yt'r would love to hear more if you got 'em. ;)
Wowwwwwww I am sooooo impressed! Wish I'd realized just how cool this man is back in the day
He's a smart, cultured man.
"Slip of the tongue" has been one of my absolute favorite albums since it came out. It still makes me feel the same way today as a in 1989. One of the best shows I've been as well
Steve Vai is a God in rock music and just called himself out for being a prima donna when recording with Whitesnake. Legend.
Skyscraper tour was one of the best shows I ever saw.
That was an incredible time! Steve having a massive tour and album with Whitesnake while simultaneously releasing Passion and Warfare was insane! It’s so cool to hear him talk about it with such humility.
This is actually his best and most honest interview ever.
I am one of those that got Passion & Warfare when it came out & listened to almost nothing else for a long time. When he toured for it in 2016 I was lucky to see him play it from front to back & some other new stuff from front row almost center in a small place so Steve was 10 ft in front of me. To see him play it from that close was amazing. THE GREATEST OF ALL THE GREAT INSTRUMENTAL ALBUMS EVER IN MY OPINION.
I'm partial to Al DiMiola's " Splendido Hotel"
I got to see Steve in 1994 also 10 feet away, thank God I brought ear plugs, I had to put them in after the second song
Vai is the realest man. You gotta appreciate how genuine he is. And it goes without saying what a monster player he is.
Steve Vai MADE that band special! He was immediately embraced. I remember we were all thinking my God where did David Lee Roth find HIM, he's another Eddie with the tricks, Flash and charisma.
It was a very glamorous, Rockstar self-indulgent time . Those videos were a lot of fun and eased the pain of Dave not being in VH
But then Show-Ya showed up and that destroyed it all.
Women from a tiny island did it all better than squabbling blokes.
I didn't really like VH with Sammy. I liked Sammy's solo stuff, and I like Roth in VH but VH without Roth was like Black Sabbath without Ozzy. It was still most of the amazing musicians but it wasn't really the same thing anymore. IMO of course.
@@1eviledyit's essentially a different band. Think of it as 'Van Hagar' and you will like it more
@@1eviledy I've never really liked the decades long sentiment that people feel like they had to choose. Personally, I like both. I honestly can't say I like one over the other. What I don't think can be denied, even if you are a DLR fan, is that Sammy has a better singing voice and range. But you can still like the DLR songs more.
@@ronnie_5150 I wouldn't imply that a choice needed to be made. Music is subjective. Trying to differentiate one musician / singer to another is like saying chocolate is the best flavor of ice cream.
Whitesnakes " Slip of the Tongue" album is one of my favorites of all time...every song flows one into another seamless...Very emotional and has the ability to help me draw those memories from my past in the best way...Best times of my life when this album came out
ok, ok...
He's the greatest one. Not only such an amazing and unique guitarist but also a great man as well. Long Live Vai.
In other words he was hottest guitarist for hire at the time and had some lucrative offers he couldn't refuse. Personal music was a pleasure playing for others was a job. Well done!
Steve Via's work is all AWESOME. His move to Whitesnake was great, as was his work with Dave. "The Deeper The Love" , has one of the best solos ever. It had, by far, the most emotional content of any solo.
I love John Sykes' guitar work on 1987, but the songs on Slip of the Tongue are, overall at least, a lot better thanks to Adrian Vandenberg's songwriting. And Vai's guitar work just takes the entire album to a whole new level - I still prefer the original Fool For Your Loving (great solo!), but Vai's solo actually works just as well.
@@Warstub Their solo stuff and projects they moved on to show a lot of their style. Blue Murder was amazing, especially when the three guys hit the road starting off. Vandenberg's more recent stuff has an incredible classic rock/70's hard rock/metal feel to it that we need more of. And each of Steve's projects has distinctive aspects to it that are hard to imaging the other guys even trying to jump into because it's who Steve is and it's just not their style. One of John's strengths, though, just like Steve Clark from Def Lep, they both can take some simple fret work, open chording and decades later, as one person put it recently regarding the Still Of The Night riff. It's not only one of the most recognizable riffs in rock, it's one of the best riffs in the history of metal. Seeing George Lynch perform the song live with a lot of his shows now really nails the point home. Every one of the guys have their own special touch. Like Steve was talking, it comes from their heart and no one else can do it. It's hard to see any of the other guys go down the path of the solo stuff Steve has. It's just distinctive to his playing. At some point, we're just darn lucky to have them all. ;) Having said that, when the Donnington WS performance was released, was kind of blown away at how effortlessly Steve floated up and down the frets. Amazing style from a really great guy. We're fortunate he's been committed to staying true to himself and sharing the music inside with the rest of us who have wanted to hear it and really appreciated it through the past 5 decades.
I love the namechecks for Ah Via Musicom and Surfing with the Alien. I saw Steve Vai with Eric Johnson and Joe Satriani on the original G3 tour way back in the day. Guitar nerd heaven - Satriani's balls-out rock, Johnson's bluesy, almost violin-like tones, and Vai's insane virtuosity. It was an amazing night.
As much as I like his album Flexible, Passion & Warfare album’s music blew me away when I was a teenager.
-- Flexible, LEFTOVERS is great as well....... I believe that's the name.
Good talk Steve. Filling in the gaps. I saw Whitesnake in Europe. Great performance. Big crowds. Glory days.
I've been a Vai fan since Eat'em And Smile came out. It was the first cassette tape I actually bought, I was in middle school and I heard Yankee Rose and was hooked. I still think it's one of the greatest RnR albums of all time. I had the honor of seeing Steve on a G3 tour with Satriani and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. We were on the second row and my brother got Steve's pick. Still has it. Poor Kenny was out of his depth during the jam. Steve and Joe bowed like samurai warriors and smoked the place. Awesome show!
Beautiful soul and true gentleman
Met Vai around 1990. Super humble guy. When I asked him for advice he told me to memorize “ heartbreaker “ by zeppelin.
I prob listened to passion & warfare 1000 times. Perfect album ....perfect art/ album cover ...For the love of god amazing.
thank you steve for taking your time to share be safe there
Love Steve Vai. My beautiful wife got me tickets for the current tour.... Can't wait!
Enjoy!
What a great personality and one of the most successful musicians with a very long career. His biography on UA-cam is such a great illustration of a driven person. But not at the expense of others-which I find is rare among the elite of any class.
You have to respect Steve saying that basically if anyone was difficult it was himself. You don't hear that humility too often in musicians. 😎
I have always wondered about this decision.
That Whitesnake album with Steve was brilliant. Passion and Warfare blew my mind and my guitar teacher's mind.
Steve threw his guitar pick in summer of 88 Bham, Al(Skyscraper Tour). I was fortunate enough to catch it.
Definitely one of the most creative guitar gods out there today
I think we also have to give due recognition to the interviewer. It takes a special personality and skill to make an interview flow like this one did. It looks effortless and natural because there's skill and talent behind it. This is an instant like and join.
Thank you 👍 👍
What a fantastic interview. Steve was in an expansive mood. And man, what a humble guy. One of the most gifted musicians ever, IMO.
Steve Vai is probably the only man who calls him "Dave Roth." 😂
I think he was doing that to distinguish between David Lee Roth and David Coverdale.
He was credited as Dave Roth on the first VH album.
Can tell them apart when they open their mouths. Ones a vocalist the others an entertainer.
Yeah, everybody else calls him asshole. Steve is just a nice guy.
Growing up during the hair band/ heavy metal era I can honestly say Steve was a freaking genius with his playing. One of the top 5 during that time
Steve you are awesome you have the whole
package and then some, my god your music
your solo's are so explosive there like charged
with dynamite. I mean what i said when you
are in your solo zone damn no one comes
close or near you .BRAVO !!!!!! such emotion
and passion ! ✌👏🤟👍
With Dave Roth, you learn... you learn certain things.
😂😂
I would think you’d learn A LOT of things.
I once shared the same publicist as David Coverdale and I spent an afternoon listening to him doing local radio interviews. He was tireless, charismatic and no question was beneath him.
I really appreciate Steve's openness and honesty ❤
He's being polite and diplomatic not honest. DLR didn't allow Steve Vai and Billy Sheehan to do a proper follow up to eat'em and smile he brought in the keyboardist and ruined the Yankee Rose band. He also didn't split the money evenly paying them a salary. Insulting. DLR and Coverdale blew it.
Passion and Warfare is such a splendid title for an album
All of Steve's records are awesome I like him because his style is quirky. I saw him at a club in Miami called The Button South when Sex And Religion came out Steve had Devin Townsend singing with him. It was the loudest club concert I'd seen.
I saw him at place called FUBAR in Ft Lauderdale, 98' or 99'.The only band louder than Vai was Motorhead. He brought a local 12 year old kid and they tore it up together 🤘
@@davediamond245 That is amazing. Did anyone get video of it?
P&W was an amazing album. I had all the albums he mentioned. He's right, they were all brilliant and in a sense all from the same genre of rock guitarist side projects but you couldnt really compare them to each other
What a great interview, I love Steve’s insight, especially the depression comment.
I was at the Lucky strike gig, and everyone was so excited for the show, it was such a bummer when I got shut down. Management was walking around asking if people would leave so that the show might go on and we just kind of all looked at each other like “I don’t wanna go and miss this!”
I'm a big fan of the DLR Band. They're what I would call a 'supergroup.' Each member a top tier talent at his instrument Too bad they didn't last, they could've really given VanHagar a run for the money.
I thought they should have kept the original line up with Billy Sheehan. Vai/Sheehan was a killer team. Come on, Sheehan practically plays LEAD bass. :)
I always thought the same thing lol
@2216sammy - Too bad record sales, concert ticket sales and songs on the charts don't agree with you.
@Swordsfor200Alex
Right, just like McDonald's makes the best food in the world.
@Swordsfor200Alex Record sales, concert ticket sales, songs in the charts...NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE AMERICAN PEOPLES'S APPETITE FOR CRAP.
He was so gracious as to allow a friend of mine hang out and talk/jam guitars in his room @ the Ramada on 98 in Lklnd. during the DLR Skyscraper tour. I saw Greg Bissonette outside & Dave inside then downstairs.
Slip of the tongue is to this day one of my favorite albums.... And that guitar is a major reason why. I wish he'd made 2 or 3 more albums like that... I never heard another album quite like that since.
Steve did it like Zappa. Play to make the money to do what you really wanted to do. Frank made money so he could compose. Steve made money so he could record his own music. Both legends.
I agree. True artists. I saw Zappa 5 times in the seventies, at the Uptown Theater in Chicago. Great shows.
I was lucky enough to see Steve on that tour.
You have guitar virtuoso’s then a guy like Steve Vai , This dudes from another planet 🌏!
The Oppenheimer of rock 'n' roll, maybe. 🤔
A really nice interview. Thank you! ❤
Great interview this, got to make time to watch it all.
Smart Move Steve - Good To see you again-since the Clinics
Damn-a virtuoso rock legend with humility
GREAT JOB ALL...THANX 4 MAKING Tee with LIONS NAMED LEO the music worldwide.
LOVE YOU ALL...!!!
When Steve talks, we all listen....
We should because he writes from his spirit and not his own head. Steve's really, more than just his music.
I listened to P&W endlessly when it came out. Saw Vai a few times (Eat'em and Smile, G3 a couple times) and then he toured playing P&W start to finish in 2016 I think. It was an amazing show, so glad I saw it, especially since it was in a smaller room.
Great stories, these experiences are an important part of making him who he is today. He’s great because he is wonderful composer, virtuoso player, and, a great “ front man “.
I had the honor of seeing STEVE VAI at a tiny little venue in Winston Salem NC during one of the G3 tours....$20 in the door!!
It was Vai, Satriani, and Malsteen....so close to the stage, and maybe 75 people in the place....lots of joking around with Yngwie being the butt of most of the joking.....but when the playing began, it was utterly professional, like right off the record.....I'll never forget the night I breathed the same air as Steve Vai.....
Incredible experience, so good to see these sorts of stars do their magic up close in small venues. And what a bargain entry price too!!
What a great time in Music, P&W - Slip of the Tongue! Great memories! The concert was amazing. Steve did do "For the Love of God" on that tour.
I love that you don't have a long intro! ❤
Steve doing what he truly wants is a testament to his l love for his craft , kudos!
I remember back then that he got a BIG paycheck upfront from Coverdale to record slip of the tongue and do the tour
Exactly. He was a hired gun not a member of Whitesnake like this foolish video title suggests.
Glad to say I bought passion and warfare when it first came out. Cool that it worked out so well for him. 😊
Maybe it’s just me, but the room that Steve is being interviewed in reminds me of the room in Frank Zappa‘s house, where he did his interviews.
We had the chance to see Blue Murder on their first tour after John left WS. Was really interesting to see and hear WS's Donnington show. How S Vai glided through the songs up and down the strings to John's chunky riffs. Never seen anything like it. Two amazing players with TOTALLY different approaches to rock guitar, soloing and songwriting.
I just got home from Steve Vai in Monterey an hour ago. A lot of people on the streets because it is Car Week and the big car auction was just two blocks down the street.
Passion and Warfare was the right move - No question. That's our Dark Side of the Moon for the guitar world. That was an eye opener for any kid with a guitar.
I'm a long time drummer, never had an interest in playing guitar. But I tell you what, PAW had me absolutely hooked. And I've been a huge Steve Vai fan ever since.
I didn’t like it at all. Great playing. The songwriting just wasn’t there.
@@isaiahmarquez9717 I get what you are saying....There were no "Wish you were here" songs on the album.....but what it did have was one great scale choice over a given chord change almost every bar and those choices were , in small slices, great musical ideas. Those specific achievements were every bit as magical to me as anything.....and every 5 seconds, the music was blowing you away with fabulous picking, fingering and harmonic nuances. I can't say enough about the boundaries it broke. ..But I do agree, it was not a "songwriting" achievement in the strict sense.
@@metricdeep8856 they aren't even songs, it's an instrumental album, steve is a composer not a songwriter, the album is a masterpiece in my opinion, his magnum opus.
Amazing musician. It is very great that you followed your intuition and heart, 💪
I saw that tour at Irvine Meadows and it was badass.
Thank goodness he joined white snake. That first album with him was amazing.
Love all of Steves work....such a unique sound and style
Passion and Warfare was never nothing! Steve it was something awesome and will always be one of my favorite albums of all time.
So well spoken!
Love, love, love Steve Vai!!! So smart, so talented, so down to earth. Just a great human!
Passion & Warfare was worth to let the Rockstar career go. It´s a gift to humanity. Especially to those who play guitar 🤘
Steve choose the right way.
I remember clearly the Passion and Warfare era. Wonderful album. However I had no idea that Vai played for Whitesnake during that era. But I did get to see Vai live on stage when he was with David Lee Roth. Good times!
Check out the Live At Donnington concert with Steve and Adrian. Their guitar playing in some of the first few songs was like two swans/fighter airplanes floating and diving in and around one another in flight. It is really something. Highlight suggest playing it through your car stereo driving around a few times before watching the video. Hearing what they do before being distracted by anything visual takes things to a whole new level. Which is really something given how much flash, style and appearance counted for back in the day. Awesome times. For sure. Enjoy friend!
It was great to see Steve with the short collaboration with young and adorable Ellen Alaverdyan. Cutest face ever aside, she is well on her way to being a monster bass player. She is already amazing.
I saw Steve at the House of Blues in Chicago almost a decade ago. Show of a lifetime...
He walked into the record store I was working at while in Buffalo for the Whitesnake show in 1990. It was so awesome to meet him. He talked about Passion and Warfare and inquired if we had any old Queen albums on CD. I knew we didn't, but decided to walk around the store with him to check anyway. 😂 A great memory... we had a Whitesnake promotional poster which he signed for me but I've since lost.
What a great story and memory to cherish! Shame about the poster though. Thanks for watching 🤘🤘
Class Act all the way, really enjoyed when he was part of Whitesnake!
Steve is like a religion to guys like me "late 40s" we grew up on him,cut out teeth,all that good stuff.
That's why we still watch these kind of videos all these years later, regardless of if we've heard it all a thousand times over🤦🤣
Long live Steve,,my hero,my idol🙏
you can tell how intelligent Steve is and how it all comes from experience.
That Whitesnake tour was sooo good!!
i still listen to p a w on casette, I fckn love that album
That's Steve Vai, what a nice little boy... Love you Mr Vai!
He mentioned my 3 favorite albums at the time: Ah via musicom -EJ, Flying in a Blue Dream -Satch, Passion and Warfare -Vai
Love this!!! thanks