MAILBAG ARCHIVES:

- September 20, 2000

- July 04, 2000

- June 09, 2000

- May 18, 2000

- March 05, 2000

- January 11, 2000

- December 27, 1999

- November 02, 1999

- September 18, 1999

- August 27, 1999

- March 16, 1999

- January 30, 1999

- October 22, 1998

- April 26, 1998

- March 30, 1998

- March 17, 1998

April 26, 1998:

Well, here I am!

My name is Maria Paola, I'm 22 and I study philosophy in Bologna and I really love Steve's music and visions and his positive energy. I hope Steve will not see my photo (that's a big lie, but I'm shy in some way or I am something else I couldn't say, because I gotta keep it clean...) and I hope also that he will never want to listen to me playin' his “Bangkok” or “The Crying Machine” with my soprano sax (another lie).

About the photo: It shows 3 different dimensions through mirrors, left to right; PAST (when I was not yet born), PRESENT (where I am now, even if I don't realize why...), and FUTURE (what I will be, maybe, and if my face does not appear in the future it's because I'm not strong enough to face my future...but I'm still growing and I will use my inner strength to find the answer, one of these days...)

Are you still there?

Hi! My name is Denis Hebert from Stratford (Quebec). I'm pretty happy to have talked with you at the aftershow at Montral (Centre Molson) last summer. The G3 show was so cool!!! I hope you will come again soon. Take care, peace :)

Denis Hebert

Here is photo of my band...Liquid Numb. Steve is the inspiration for the guitar player, Scott Sill.

BubaMeat

Hello, Steve!

This is about something weird that happened in 1995: I was in the audience in Brazil looking at you playing incessantly - I can't remember which song of 'Alien Love Secrets' - and I felt completely alone, I couldn't see anybody around me (it's not a case of drugs, oh, no!!!). I only felt my vision increasing - as I was very near the stage. Well, at that moment I saw you shining... a beautiful and warm aura around your body.

A bluish silver aura....

Just try to believe and never stop to play, "Starshining" !

Much peace and love for you and your family,

Paula Pedroso, Brazil

Hi Steve, My name is Jeremy Krull, I am 12 years old and have been playing guitar for 6 years. I use Ibanez Guitars. I am attending the national guitar summer workshop at which Mike Keneally is supposed to be teaching this year! I have family in CA, so next time I'm there, I'll look for your house. Steve, you are the most amazing thing in music since the invention of the guitar.

P.S. I've met and jammed with Jon Finn and Les Paul!

Jeremy Krull

Dear Mr. Vai,

I just wanted to write and explain myself. My name is Anthony Vincent, I am 16 years old and I have been playing guitar seriously for about 6 but have been close friends with the instrument and a few others all my life. I have been closely studying you and your beautiful music for a while now, but you know wanna something that I had never expected? I never expected you to seem like a nice guy, or to seem like a good father. I thought you would just be some self-absorbed star who knew that he was good, and I find myself now wanting to be like you in many ways. I am studying chord structures, theory, and composition and I intend to make beautiful music just like you when I get older. I have already decided that I will attend college to learn as much as I possibly can about the machine, I have taught myself "The Crying Machine" and most of "The Attitude Song" by ear and have a thorough repertoire of all the techniques you use. I am having a slight bit of trouble with two hand tapping on more than one string but I am confident that I will succeed. So here's to you and your wonderful family, I wish nothing but the absolute best to you and your amazing gift. Keep up the great work and keep inspiring others to get good.

Warm Regards,
Anthony Vincent

It was a warm afternoon. We had just driven 6 hours to see G3 in Portland. We got lost, but finally arrived. We walked in, got our 'meet & greet' stickers, and we were in. It was the usual atmosphere of a rock concert and I loved it! As we turned the corner and saw the stage, my body filled with adrenaline. I could've jumped to the moon, but being at a Vai concert, I was much higher. For the whole drive over to Portland, my friend had been talking about what he called "the Vai experience". He tried to explain how when Mr. Vai walks out on stage, everyone has this unexplainable feeling of excitement. But we couldn't understand until it really happened. Kenny Wayne Shepherd finished his set in which he played the most incredible version of the old Hendrix tune "Voodoo Chile". And a few minutes later we heard the air raid sirens. And out came Vai. My friends and I started doing the old "we're not worthy" thing and Mr. Steve Vai laughed at us. It was amazing! He was actually REAL. Until this point he was a mythical figure that my friends and I would talk about and listen to his music constantly. He played awesome! I don't remember hearing even one mistake. The best part was when he played 'Tender Surrender', at the end he played a little bit of "The Sound of Music"'s 'These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things'. It was so cool. At the end jam with the other G's, everyone rushed the stage, and my friend and I were the leaders. I can only imagine how funny it must have looked to see three idiots simultaneously jumping above the crowd making ugly faces. Mr. Vai and KWS were both laughing at us. Thanks for inspiring young musicians like me to actually learn the guitar past the power chord lesson. By the way, that suit with the Japanese writing on the sleeve kicked some serious ass!

Jake Terry,
Eric and Shane Wintch

People,

Excellent website! It made me realize that I am not the only one with messed up musical dreams and alien ideas. I guess the thing that struck me most was how much Steve's passion for music/guitar comes across. It makes me feel like a freaking cop out for not persuing music and instead becoming a, gulp, TELECOMMUNICATIONS & NETWORKING engineer! How blah... how boring... how pathetic... how TYPICAL! Playing music is so much better than designing the roads on the information highway. Well, at least "breeyark" is a cool name, even though it does sound like a Martian projectile vomiting a wet roll of toilet paper.

Anyways, the reason I was writing was to relate my Vai story. Well, it really doesn't involve Steve (directly), and I haven't met him either, and well, I've only seen him once in concert (G3, Montreal). Man, I was HOPING to see a jam with Michel Cusson's Wild Unit. Steve, Joe and Michel jamming with a funky HORN section. THAT would have been something to see....)...so, what is this email about??

Well, it's really about my mother, who I lost last year to cancer. She was the sweetest thing. I have her on an old cassette tape singing Greek songs from the 50's, when they had these big bands backing the singers. My mom used to love singing acapella, because she had problems finding the key with other instruments! But, I can remember her soft vibrato, her controlled tone, and the songs she sang about the crazy kind of love people fall into (mom, I STILL don't think it exists!!)....

While I was in university, studying engineering, I used to NEVER STUDY. I would instead play guitar for 8-10 hours a day. How I passed, I will never know. The amp would be in my room, and I would have this long cord that would snake out to my brothers room, who had the stereo. There, I would jam along to various guys, Steve being one of them, sometimes playing along, most times improvising my own stuff. The levels were perfect between the rooms when I had the amp cranked just right, it would sound like I was in the band.

No matter how much I played, not matter how long, my mother never complained. Not even once. She would be downstairs, fighting with the after-effects of another chemo session, while I was upstairs playing along with "For the Love of God", or "Always with Me, Always with You", or "Giant Steps", or "Sofa". It never crossed my mind whether I was playing like crap or like genius... I just played. I cherish that time I spent playing THAT freely...

A few years later, after finishing school and deciding to do the engineering thing, I was out on one of my first business trips, and when I came back, my mom had this wicked gleam in her eye, like she always had just before she was going to laugh at you. She started to recount this story about her walking past my room and her hearing crying coming from it. She had such a serious look on her face, I was like so INTO her story at that point. She had me hooked... I was wondering to myself who was crying in my room while I was away??

So, while she's telling me about the crying, we're walking toward my room, and she opens the door. She ends up with, "I heard your WIFE crying for you!!", and she grabs the headstock of my beaten, cigarette burned, chipped, yellowed, white Universe. She breaks out into this HYSTERICAL laughter, all the while saying that she had me fooled (I must've had this concerned look on my face...), that I had NO idea WHO she was refering to as my wife (me?? MARRIED??)...etc... I hadn't seen her laugh so hard in years. Chemo tends to quell one's sense of humor.

Then, she told me something I will never forget. She asked me to put on the guitar and just play. Turn on the stereo and play, honey, she told me. After all those years of hearing me every day, she missed hearing the sounds coming from my bedroom. My brother would later tell me that my mom would tell him while I was playing, "your brother is really good, isn't he?". THAT compliment was the BEST compliment I had ever gotten.... you can bring back ANY of the heavies I admire (Miles, Frank, Trane, Bird, Jimi...) to compliment my playing, but it wouldn't even come close to what my mom said.

And I just wanted to thank Steve. Thanks man, for being one of the reasons for me to pick up the guitar. Thanks for providing the inspiration; so that my mom could hear me play and feel a little better. When I lost her last year, I lost my biggest hero, but I know she's better where she is. In fact, I'm pretty sure she's somewhere right now, pulling the same stunt she pulled on me to Frank. But, Frank is lucky. He gets to hear her laugh.

Sincerely,

Dennis "breeyark" Sarlis

How are you? I'm sending a Steve cartoon and a picture of him that I took in Brazil when he came here. I hope you enjoy it.. :-)
Peace,

Ricardo Bello

Hey there! Just calling in from the UK... Man, the G3 tour rocked... well, come back to the UK soon, from all the guitar lovers here!!
Thanks

Craig Phillips

Hi, my name is Alberto Palomo, and I am part of the Greasy Kid's Stuff fan club. This photo was obtained in the Radio Station WFM when Steve was going to his hotel, and I stopped the car and said please one more photo. And Steve smiled and stopped the car for us.

Thank You, Steve, for giving to the world the best of you!!!
Your disciple,

Alberto Palomo