G4 guitar joe satriani biography

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It was starting all over, and there were no distractions, no one telling me that what I was playing wasn't relevant."

Returning to the States in 1977, Satriani settled in Berkeley and set up shop teaching guitar--a part-time job that helped pay the bills and soon established him as the whiz who had coached Vai and Metallica's Kirk Hammett.

With no advertising, it is not surprising that the release did not attract any attention. He would become Satriani's most loyal companion and spend many years by his side. At home, during marathon practice sessions, he would play along with records, absorbing styles and techniques from Hendrix, Beck, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, the Who, the Stones, and Johnny Winter.

"His writing, arranging, and production kept the guitar center stage," Guitar Player noted, "with tones ranging from dentist drills and record-scratch rubs to crunch metal and the squeaky clean." He also outdid himself in the recording process. Deep Purple tapped into Satriani's mastery when he assumed lead guitar position in the band for its 1994 tours of Europe and Japan.

In collaboration with Ibanez, he developed the JS (Joe Satriani) model. Whatever is considered standard operating procedure, I generally try to go the other way, just to see what happens--usually with good results. There was probably no teenager in the 1960s who was interested in rock music and remained indifferent to the spectacular performances of guitar legend Jimi Hendrix.

In the same year, the album "Surfing With The Alien (Legacy Edition)" was reissued, with all the tracks from the original 1987 album reworked and recorded.

In March 2008, Joe released his new studio album, "Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock", and then went on a world tour. "On this album, I play rock." He sang in two tracks, something he hadn't done in fifteen years.

In interviews with leading American publications, Vai spoke highly of his wonderful teacher and good friend, Joe Satriani. "(You're) My World" was nominated for a Grammy.

October 1996
The G3 Tour, featuring Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Eric Johnson, played 24 dates to 90,000 fans in North America.

May 1997
G3 featuring Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Adrian Legg, tours Europe.

June 1997
G3 Live In Concert CD and video released.

Steve Vai is one of his first students.

September 1972
High School Music teacher Bill Wescott introduces Joe to pitch axis theory.

1974
Self taught for the last four years, Joe takes lessons for three weeks with Billy Bauer in Glen Cove, NY. The same year studies with Lennie Tristano in Queens, NY, for two months.

1978
Begins a 10-year stint teaching at Second Hand Guitars in Berkeley, CA; students include David Bryson (Counting Crows), Kirk Hammett, Charlie Hunter, Larry LaLonde, Alex Skolnick, and others.

1979
Forms pop band The Squares in San Francisco with Jeff Campitelli on drums and Andy Milton bass.

1984
Releases five-song, EP Joe Satriani on the independent label he names after his wife, Rubina.

Their vision proved correct: Not of This Earth, which they released in 1986, sold 30,000 copies--no small feat for an all-instrumental LP. While most mainstream listeners unknowingly passed the album by, musicians were flipping over it, hailing its maker, according to the Los Angeles Times, as "the new king of the two-handed tap technique." But as Joe wrote in the album's liner notes, the best was yet to come: His next effort would "turn heads" and "drop jaws."

He was right, of course.

This marked a new phase in his musical journey, which had not been characterized by monotony. He was equally interested in experimenting with pop music, jazz, and now electronic styles. In 2000, he released the album "Engines of Creation", which was his boldest release to date, heavily influenced by electronics. "My father taught me discipline," he told Pulse! "If he knew I didn't practice one day, he'd wake me up in the middle of the night and march me downstairs in my pajamas to sit there and practice."

It wasn't long before Satriani was playing local gigs on Long Island.