Joe Satriani Rock musician Date of Birth: 15.07.1956 Country: USA

1. Joe Satriani - The Guitar Virtuoso
2. Early Life and Career
3. The Squares and Greg Kihn Band
4. G3 and Later Career
5. In 2009, the debut album of the band Chickenfoot was released.

Joe Satriani - The Guitar Virtuoso

Joe Satriani is an American guitar virtuoso who holds a special place among the guitar virtuosos that emerged in the music scene in the 1980s. He possesses not only impeccable technique, creative boldness, and perseverance, but also pedagogical talent. Fate brought him together with many talented young guitarists who were obsessed with the instrument, and some of them grew up to become outstanding masters, equal to their teacher. His relationship with the guitar is like a passionate romance that will last a lifetime. "I would like to play until the end of my days," Satriani confesses. "I hope I never get tired of it and always manage to turn everything I experience and feel in real life into music. I hope the guitar will always be by my side."

Early Life and Career

Joe Satriani grew up in the small town of Carle Place. 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. Hendrix so mesmerized 14-year-old Satriani that he forgot about the drums he had already started to learn and switched to the guitar. It seemed like he was simply born for this instrument. His training progressed rapidly, and soon he was so skilled with his six-string that he could teach others a thing or two. His first students were students from the same school he attended. Among them was an incredibly talented boy - Steve Vai, a future star of the guitar scene. Satriani confessed that he only started teaching because he needed money. He had to work as a gardener, bricklayer, and seller of ready-made clothes. But he only enjoyed teaching, especially since he couldn't imagine any other profession for himself besides music. Soon after graduating from high school, Satriani moved to San Francisco. Continuing to improve his playing technique and finding many people eager to benefit from his talent as a backing musician, Joe Satriani also had no shortage of students. For nearly ten years, while working part-time at a music store, he taught aspiring guitarists. Through his skilled hands passed notable figures of the rock community such as Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Larry LaLonde (Primus), David Bryson (Counting Crows), and jazz fusion master Charlie Hunter. Just this list of students made Satriani a legendary figure in the guitar scene.

The Squares and Greg Kihn Band

Throughout his time in San Francisco, Satriani was almost always involved in one rock band or another. The most enduring project was the band The Squares, in which drummer Jeff Campitelli played. He would become Satriani's most loyal companion and spend many years by his side. In the early 1980s, Satriani found a place in the backing band of renowned performer Greg Kihn. He participated in the musician's studio sessions and toured with him. The materials from this period were only released in 1996 on the album "King Biscuit Flower Hour". In the early 1980s, Satriani began to consider a fully independent career. In 1984, he recorded his debut EP "Joe Satriani" at his own expense. With no advertising, it is not surprising that the release did not attract any attention. The situation changed in 1986 when one of Satriani's best students, Steve Vai, thanks to his successful work with David Lee Roth, gained media attention and overnight became a trendy guitarist. In interviews with leading American publications, Vai spoke highly of his wonderful teacher and good friend, Joe Satriani. In the guitar community, Satriani's figure began to attract wide interest. This unplanned promotional campaign coincided with the release of his debut solo album "Not of this Earth" in the same year. Naturally, there was a much greater response to this album than to the first mini-disc. In any case, it did not leave his fellow guitarists indifferent. This was just the beginning, as even greater success awaited Satriani in 1987 with the release of his second studio album "Surfing With the Alien". It seemed like the public had a sudden revelation, and within days Joe Satriani transformed from a modest musician into one of the top guitarists of the modern era. "Surfing With the Alien" sold half a million copies in the United States alone, reaching number 29 on the pop chart. It was the first instrumental guitar album to enter the top 30 of the Billboard 200 chart. At the end of 1987, the most prestigious guitar publications in the world placed Satriani at the top of their lists of the best of the best. Gaining a growing fan base, Satriani was invited by Mick Jagger to accompany him on a tour of Australia and Japan. A year later, he released the EP "Dreaming #11", which combined studio compositions and live tracks. Another year later, his third studio album "Flying in a Blue Dream" (1989) was released. This solid album, with its masterful guitar solos, showcased Satriani in a new light - as a vocalist. However, he only decided to sing in a few tracks. The music community received the album very well, and interest in it grew even more after the song "One Big Rush" was featured on the soundtrack of Cameron Crowe's popular film "Say Anything". While Satriani's singles never caused a sensation on the pop charts, they had much greater success on the mainstream rock charts. The track "One Big Rush" reached number 17, and the single "The Crush of Love" climbed to the 6th position on the rock chart.

G3 and Later Career

In the late 80s and early 90s, Satriani became inspired to create his own guitar. In collaboration with Ibanez, he developed the JS (Joe Satriani) model. Work on new material progressed slowly, and his new album was only released in 1992. It was titled "The Extremist" and achieved his best result in the American charts - reaching number 22 on the Billboard 200. The composition "Summer Song" was expected to have the greatest success and entered the top five rock hits. A year later, a double album called "Time Machine" was added to his discography: new compositions, live recordings, and the almost unknown debut EP "Joe Satriani".

In 1994, the rock band Deep Purple invited Satriani to temporarily fill the role of departed lead guitarist Ritchie Blackmore during their tours. Satriani's performance met with no objections, so the members of Deep Purple offered him a permanent position in the band. However, Satriani had other plans, even very ambitious ones. After the 1995 album "Joe Satriani", the musician began working on a promising guitar project called G3 - it was intended to feature three bright and distinctive guitarists. "I noticed that Steve and I never arrive in the same city at the same time. Managers never allow it, as if we are supposed to compete with each other. But guitarists love to meet and jam together, and such opportunities are extremely rare," Satriani explained. "So, I decided to organize something like a guitar festival." Finding complete understanding and support from Steve Vai, Satriani embarked on the first G3 tour in 1996 with Vai and Eric Johnson. The concerts were highly successful. The "G3" festival transformed from a one-time event into an annual show marathon featuring Satriani and Vai, joined by a new guitarist each time. From 1996 to 2003, Satriani shared the stage with Michael Schenker and Uli Jon Roth, Adrian Legg and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Robert Fripp and John Petrucci from Dream Theater. In 1997, an audio account of the first "G3: Live in Concert" tour was released. Although the album did not break into the top 100 of the pop chart, its sales eventually exceeded one million copies.

In 1998, Satriani released his next studio album, "Crystal Planet" (Top 50 US), followed by continued travels with the three guitarists. In 2000, he released the album "Engines of Creation", which was his boldest release to date, heavily influenced by electronics. This marked a new phase in his musical journey, which had not been characterized by monotony. Satriani never limited himself to the confines of pure blues, rock, or heavy metal. He was equally interested in experimenting with pop music, jazz, and now electronic styles. The album "Engines of Creation", like almost all of his previous albums, was nominated for a Grammy (over his twenty-year career, Satriani had been a Grammy nominee thirteen times, although he had never won).

Following this, Satriani released the live album "Live in San Francisco" (2001), which received a gold certification. The results of his new studio exploration were presented to the public in 2002 with the release of "Strange Beautiful Music". In addition to his own work, Satriani always had the opportunity to play in other bands, as he never lacked invitations. However, he consistently declined them but never turned down the opportunity to help with studio sessions. His guitar found its place on albums such as "Hey Stoopid" by Alice Cooper, "Radio Free Albemuth" by Stuart Hamm, "All Sides Now" by Pat Martino, and "Break Like the Wind" by Spinal Tap. He also had the opportunity to tour with his studio proteges, including Cooper and the band Spinal Tap.

In 2004, Satriani prepared the studio album "Is There Love in Space?". Although its commercial performance left much to be desired, Joe Satriani's reputation remained unaffected. Furthermore, fans were in for another surprise - Satriani presented himself in a slightly different role. "People have already heard me play blues, metal, and techno," the guitarist explains. "On this album, I play rock." He sang in two tracks, something he hadn't done in fifteen years. Satriani was supported in the studio by a reliable team he had worked with for many years: his constant drummer Jeff Campitelli, bassist Matt Bissonette, and keyboardist/guitarist Eric Caudieux.

In 2005, the DVD "G3 - Live In Tokyo" was released. It featured a performance by G3 in Japan, with John Petrucci joining Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. In early 2006, Satriani released his next studio album, "Super Colossal". After recording this album, Satriani, along with his new lineup (bassist Dave LaRue replaced the departed Matt Bissonette), embarked on a world tour in support of the new album. Russia was not included in the list of countries where Satriani performed concerts. On October 31, 2006, the double DVD/CD "Satriani LIVE!" was released, featuring a concert from the Super Colossal tour. The disc also included various bonuses such as photographs, videos, and a concert from Joe Satriani's India Tour.

In December 2007, Joe was once again nominated for a Grammy for his live performance of his composition "Always With Me, Always With You". 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 June 8, 2008, as part of the world tour, Joe Satriani and his band performed in Moscow. Guitarist Dmitry Chetvergov performed as the opening act for the maestro.

In 2009, the debut album of the band Chickenfoot was released.

On February 2, 2010, the new DVD/CD "Live In Paris: I Just Wanna Rock!" was released, recorded in March 2008 during the "PROFESSOR SATCHAFUNKILUS TOUR". In 2010, he also participated in the "2009 EXPERIENCE HENDRIX" tour.

Satriani's fourteenth studio album, titled "Black Swans And Wormhole Wizards", was released in the US on October 5, 2010, and one day earlier in the rest of the world. The album was released on the Epic Records label.

On August 5, 2012, the G3 concert took place in Moscow as part of their European tour.