Steve will be performing with Living Colour at the Sunset Stage in Rock in Rio Brazil September 2021.
Full details on tickets will follow.
DiMarzio & The Green Meanie
Nov
24
2020
DiMarzio released this beautiful digital booklet about Steve’s Green Meanie guitar. It includes photo’s made by Larry DiMarzio himself and our very own Mike Mesker. You can check it out here!
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Exclusive Live Stream Interview with Legendary Guitar Virtuoso Steve Vai
Nov
11
2020
Join the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for a free exclusive live stream interview with legendary guitar virtuoso, songwriter and producer Steve Vai on wednesday, November 18th at 7 p.m. EST on the Rock Hall’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
Vai will discuss his career, current projects, and legacy, which is celebrated in the Rock Hall’s Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll exhibit. The program will be hosted by Andy Leach, the Rock Hall’s Senior Director of Museum & Archival Collections.
Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll showcases iconic instruments used in rock & roll that had a profound impact on the art form that forever changed music. On display in the exhibit is Vai’s “Bones” electric guitar that has a sharpened Stratocaster-style body, humbucking pickups, and a locking vibrato system, solidifying the “Superstrat” style of instrument that began with Eddie Van Halen’s “Frankenstein” guitar. Vai introduced a pronounced cutaway that allows access to all twenty-four frets on the fingerboard, a floating vibrato design, and his signature “monkey grip” handle in the guitar’s body. “Bones” was designed by Vai before he started working with Ibanez and is one of four original Jem prototypes. The exhibit is open through December 2020.
Vai has awed fans of all genres with his exceptional guitar skills and musicianship for decades. He has toured the world as a solo artist, as a member of G3, Generation Axe, and with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Frank Zappa, Inductee David Lee Roth (just after Roth left Van Halen), Alcatrazz, and Whitesnake—at the peak of its popularity. Vai’s full discography encompasses more than 60 albums, including many with Zappa, others from stints with Roth and Whitesnake, as well as live releases, collaborations, compilations, and orchestral works. Highlights include 1990’s groundbreaking Passion and Warfare, and 2007’s Sound Theories Vol. 1 & 2, performed with the Netherlands’ Metropole Orkest. More than three decades, over 15 million in album sales, and three GRAMMY® Awards later, Vai has proven himself, in his own right, to be one of the music’s true originals.
About the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Rock Connects Us. Our mission is clear: To engage, teach and inspire through the power of rock & roll. We share stories of the people, events and songs that shape our world through digital content, innovative exhibits, live music, and engaging programs. Join the millions who love it as much as you do. Experience us live or online – Visit rockhall.com or follow the Rock Hall on Facebook (@rockandrollhalloffame), Twitter (@rockhall), Instagram (@rockhall) and YouTube (youtube.com/rockhall). Long Live Rock!
King Edward
Oct
07
2020
Feeling deep sadness and overwhelming appreciation.
The appreciation and love for him is bigger though.
Let’s take a minute and try to imagine our world if he never showed up.
It’s unthinkable.
Thank you King Edward. You are deeply loved and will be missed.
Candle Power!
Jun
06
2020
Hey Folks, Vai here. I wanted to challenge myself for my 60th birthday and decided to record a simple trio track. I gave myself some parameters to work within. I told myself I would use a Strat style guitar, (tougher for me to play then a Jem) use a very clean tone, (not conventional for me) no whammy bar, (that’s like losing a body part for me) and no pick, just fingers (way out of my comfort zone). I also had this idea for a particular type of riff that can only really be played on a guitar with no whammy bar. It’s a technique that I call “joint shifting.” This is where you bend a note while fretting another, but I wanted to do this technique with a combination of double and triple stop single note bends while fretting other notes and releasing bends. After considerable experimenting, I discovered it created a unique sounding passage. You can hear this technique on a few sections of the song. I certainly hope other ambitious guitar player see the potential in this technique and take it to the moon! We shot this quick little video of me performing the track at my Harmony Hut studio. During this period, the world is slowly starting to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Many people are still facing challenges and are eager to find entertainment on the internet. I have seen the best come out in many people during this challenging time. When people join together with a common positive intention, the power surge they create within the collective is the healing element that is most needed. Like many little candles coming together to burn as bright as a star. I needed a title for the song, and with the above in mind, and the fact that it’s my 60th, I choose the title “Candle Power.” We are even issuing a commemorative “Candle Power” candle in the new vai.com merch store that also comes with a high-quality download of the song. Enjoy!
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Birthday Stream! Alien Guitar Secrets Epsiode 8, June 6th
Jun
01
2020
Hey folks,
join me on June 6th at Noon PST for a special 60th Birthday Facebook Live Celebration Edition of Alien Guitar Secrets where I will be premiering a new song and video! This livestream is also to benefit Extraordinary Families, supporting children and youth in foster care.
Thanks!
Facebook Live Sessions
Apr
09
2020
Hey Folks, I’ve been enjoying the two weekly Facebook Live sessions we’ve been holding. Our Tuesday at noon (PST) “Alien Guitar Secrets: Live” has been geared towards music, and guitar-related things, and our Thursday (noon PST) “Under It All: Hard Questions” sessions are focused on more esoteric principles, and I will perhaps not be playing the guitar in these episodes. Through the years, I occasionally get requests to talk about meditation, which is a subject I’ve been practicing through the years. So I thought it would be nice that for this Thursday’s “Under it All” session (April 9) I discuss concepts and practices of various meditations that may be helpful. Meditation is the practice of focusing the power of your attention. At one level, when we are engrossed in something such as the creative process, playing an instrument, etc. it’s a form of meditation in the realm of doing. Understanding some of these principles can be very helpful in the creative process. The deeper forms of meditation are focused on discovering the true reality of what you are directly. If you feel this kind of discussion may be of interest to you, please join us.
You can find the archives of past live sessiosn right here on Vai.com under ‘Live Podcasts’ and you can choose Alien Guitar Secrets and Under It All