In rock guitar circles, Steve Vai is the type of personality that Entertainment Tonight might giddily term hot. Monday, December 12, $35-$75 $160-$375 for VIP.ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 7, 1990 Steve Vai, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 E. You’re going to get more of it when you understand the vital aspects of being a musician.” “I share things that you don’t really learn about by reading or taking a class online or buying a book. Vai says he wants others to know the secrets behind his “amazing career as an independent musician.” In January, it’s based on guitar technique, playing the instrument and finding your inspiration. I’ve had people like Eric Johnson, Vernon Reid, Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter. “Then, I have these great artists who come and teach classes. “Usually, there are 150 to 250 ‘campers.’ It actually takes place in a really lovely resort setting. For more information, visit or e-mail camp is great,” Vai says. He is hosting his third Vai Academy guitar camp-Vai Academy 3.0 “Passion and Technique”-at the Asilomar Center in Carmel, California, January 2 to January 6, with special guests Al DiMeola, Zakk Wylde, Carlos Alomar and others. Vai is big on sharing his talents with fledgling instrumentalists. During this program, Vai shares methods to help guitarists unlock their musical identities, and offers overviews with select playing examples for each of the songs on “Passion and Warfare.” To go along with the album release and tour, TrueFire presents Steve Vai’s Alien Guitar Secrets: Passion and Warfare interactive video masterclass is available at. “However, its success was a pleasant surprise because I thought I was ending my career,” he adds with a laugh. Vai admits that defying expectations was a little nerve wracking. Others expected me to do a record maybe in the genre of that metal kind of ’80s rock thing. “I worked with very successful artists before ‘Passion and Warfare’-all big rock ‘n’ roll stuff. “It’s easy to fall into the trap of catering to other people’s expectations and what you think other people want from you. “When you’re that young, it’s easy to have expectations,” he says. The album allowed him to spread his wings. “Passion and Warfare” was a passion project for Vai, a former guitarist for David Lee Roth, Alcatrazz and Whitesnake. But it’s a blessing to be able to tour with this years later and actually have people who are still interested in hearing it.” “On another level, it seems like yesterday. “In one way, it seems like a really long time ago,” he says. The 25th anniversary, he says, came quickly. It’s fun when you hook up with the right people.” We jam on video with (Joe) Satriani, (John) Petrucci, Frank Zappa and some others. “We had to build video content for every song, so we have to do a good portion of the show with click tracks. It was tricky, too, to rehearse because the show has corresponding video. It’s a bit of the kick in the pants because my style was a little different, and I had to remember it all.” “However, it is challenging because I had to recall all that material more than two decades ago.
They’re real professionals and very well prepared when the time comes. “I just give them songs and they just eat them up. “It’s not challenging because my band is excellent,” he says. “Modern Primitive” includes previously unreleased material that was either recorded or written after Vai’s first solo record, “Flex-Able,” and prior to the writing and recording of the music on “Passion and Warfare.”įor the tour, Vai is playing the album from front to back, something he says is somewhat challenging. Sony Music Entertainment and Legacy Recordings recently released Vai’s “Modern Primitive/Passion and Warfare” 25th anniversary edition. There is deep appreciation from us in having the opportunity to honor this record with this tour and we are smiling every moment of it.” The collective support for the PAW 25th, ‘Modern Primitive’ and this show is humbling.
“It’s actually to the point of being verklempt. “The enjoyment that the band is having and the audience response to the shows we are playing in Europe has taken us a bit by surprise,” Vai says. He says the response to his 25th anniversary “Passion and Warfare” tour has been overwhelming.