Hey Steve, did you know that there is a tribe in West Africa with the name Vai? Also, I was interviewing David Ocker over the internet for a research paper on Zappa’s instrumental music, and he mentioned that you had written some orchestral music but nothing ever came of it. I’d love to know if you’ve written any classical music, and I’d also be very grateful if you’d “verify my suspicions.”
Sincerely,
– Justin
Steve responds;
“That’s funny, there’s a tribe of wild Vais in my living room right now. Their names are Julian and Fire”
Regarding the orchestral music, Steve has written orchestral scores of several pieces both familiar and unheard, including “For The Love Of God”, “Call It Sleep”, “Little Green Men”, “Lotus Feet”, “Memories Of A Silent Rose” and others. Steve, backed by 2/3 of his Fire Garden touring band and a 65-piece orchestra led by Joel Thome, performed these arrangements for a live audience in Rochester, New York in September of 1996. The show was dubbed Soundcurrent, but was not recorded for release. Steve would very much like to do a tour like this, using different orchestras in each city, but that’s a HUGE undertaking and it takes a LOT of time, and Steve is simply too busy juggling everything else at this point. It’s something close to his heart though, so cross your fingers.