Flash Mob VaiTune #9

“Flash Mob” is an epic guitar anthem created and recorded by Steve Vai & The Vai Academy Army. The track is the New Vai Tunes single available November 12th via all digital online music stores. All proceeds from the download will be donated to The Make A Noise Foundation.

The Vai Academy Army is made up of the 6-, 7- and 8-string guitar players who attended Vai’s guitar camp, Vai Academy — Song Evolution Camp, in 2014. Recorded as part of the camp held at the Gideon Putnam Resort in Saratoga Springs, New York, “Flash Mob” features a bounty of licks and guitar solos by 155 campers that Vai skillfully mixed into one track.

The song was captured in a room set up as a giant recording studio with each of the campers playing through little practice amps. The idea for the composition came to Vai after seeing a YouTube clip of a phenomenon known as a “Flash Mob,” when a group of people plan a performance in a large public place to an unsuspecting crowd.

“I love this track, its melody and the sonority of all those teaming guitars is what 6-string dreams are made of, but perhaps the most endearing and charming thing about this track to me is the guitar solos,” Vai said. “They were so much fun to record, and to see these musicians doing what they can do is always uplifting to me. This is what comes out of the mind and off of the fingers of the myriad guitar players who are in the midst of finding themselves on the instrument. The entire camp was a remarkable experience, and whenever I listen to this track it brings me right back to that collective environment and the dedicated and enthusiastic group of people who made up the campers and production team. I’m so glad we did this.”

Vai launched Vai Academy — a unique, insightful, recurring guitar camp as part of a larger educational curriculum initiative — in 2014. Each installment of the camp incorporates a different theme, making each event an exclusive, stand-alone experience. To date, the GRAMMY Award-winning guitarist has hosted camps in 2014 (Vai Academy — Song Evolution Camp) in Saratoga Springs, New York, and 2015 (Vai Academy — All About The Guitar) in Aspen, Colorado. Details on the third Vai Academy will be announced soon here on www.vai.com and www.vaiacademy.com