Joseph "Satch" Satriani
(born July 15, 1956 in Westbury, New York) is an American multi-instrumentalist, known as an instrumental rock guitarist, who has been nominated for Grammy Awards. Early in his career, Satriani worked as a guitar instructor, and some of his former students have achieved fame with their guitar skills. Satriani has been a driving force behind other musicians throughout his career, as a founder of the ever-changing touring trio, G3, as well as performing in temporary positions with other musicians.
In 1988, Satriani was recruited by the The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger as lead guitarist for the singer's second solo tour. [1] Later, in 1994, Satriani was the lead guitarist for Deep Purple. Satriani worked with a range of guitarists from many musical genres, including Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Eric Johnson, Larry LaLonde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Brian May, Patrick Rondat, Andy Timmons, Paul Gilbert, Adrian Legg, and Robert Fripp through the annual G3 Jam Concerts. [2]
He is heavily influenced by blues-rock guitar icons such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, [3] possessing, however, his own easily recognizable style. Since 1988, Satriani has been using his own signature guitar, the Ibanez JS Series, which is widely sold in stores. [4] He has a signature series amplifier, the Peavey JSX, and a signature Vox distortion pedal, the Satchurator
. He is currently the lead guitarist for the supergroup Chickenfoot.
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Life and career
Satriani was inspired to play guitar at 14 soon after learning of the death of
Jimi Hendrix.
[5] He has been said to have heard the news during a football training session, where he confronted his coach and announced that he was quitting to become a guitarist.
1970s
In 1974, Satriani studied music with
jazz guitarist
Billy Bauer and with reclusive
jazz pianist Lennie Tristano. The technically demanding Tristano greatly influenced Satriani's playing. Satriani began teaching guitar, with his most notable student at the time being fellow
Long Island native
Steve Vai. While he was Vai's teacher, he was attending
Five Towns College for studies in music.
In 1978 Satriani moved to
Berkeley, California to pursue a music career, and Vai moved on to study at the
Berklee School of Music, soon after graduating becoming a high profile guitarist first with
Frank Zappa, and after, other bands.
Not long after Satriani arrived in California, he resumed teaching. His students included
Kirk Hammett of
Metallica,
David Bryson of
Counting Crows,
Kevin Cadogan from
Third Eye Blind,
Larry LaLonde of
Primus /
Possessed,
Alex Skolnick of
Testament,
Rick Hunolt (ex-
Exodus), Phil Kettner of
Lääz Rockit,
Geoff Tyson of
T-Ride, and
Charlie Hunter.
1980s
When his friend and former student
Steve Vai gained fame playing with
David Lee Roth in 1986, Vai raved about Satriani in several interviews with guitar magazines.
Guitar World Magazine In 1987, Satriani's second album
Surfing with the Alien
produced popular radio hits and was the first all-instrumental release to chart so highly in many years. In 1988 Satriani helped produce the EP
The Eyes of Horror
for the
death metal band
Possessed.
In 1989, Satriani released the album
Flying in a Blue Dream
. The album sold well. "One Big Rush" was featured on the soundtrack to the
Cameron Crowe movie
Say Anything
. "The Forgotten Part II" was featured on a Labatt Blue commercial in Canada in 1993. "Big Bad Moon", one of Satriani's few songs to feature his vocals, was a minor hit in late 1989.
1990s
In 1992, Satriani released
The Extremist
, his most critically acclaimed and commercially successful album to date. Radio stations across the country were quick to pick up on "Summer Song", while "Cryin'", "
Friends" and the title track were regional hits.
In late 1993, Satriani joined
Deep Purple as a temporary replacement for departed guitarist
Ritchie Blackmore during the band's Japanese tour. The concerts were a success, and Satriani was asked to join the band permanently but he declined, having just signed a multi-album solo deal with
Sony, so
Steve Morse took the guitarist slot in Deep Purple.
[6]
G3
In 1996, he founded the
G3, a concert tour intended to feature a power trio consisting of three
instrumental rock guitarists. The original lineup featured Satriani,
Vai, and
Eric Johnson. The
G3 (tour) has continued periodically since its inaugural version, where Satriani is the only permanent member, featuring differing second and third members. Other guitarists who have performed in such a G3 configuration include among others:
Steve Vai,
Eric Johnson,
Yngwie Malmsteen,
John Petrucci,
Kenny Wayne Shepherd,
Robert Fripp,
Andy Timmons,
Uli Jon Roth,
Michael Schenker,
Adrian Legg and
Paul Gilbert.
In 1998 Satriani recorded and released
Crystal Planet
, which went back to a sound more reminiscent of his late '80s work. Planet was followed up with
Engines of Creation
, one of his more experimental works featuring the 'Electronica' genre of music. During the subsequent tour, a pair of shows at the Fillmore in
San Francisco were recorded in December 2000 and released as
Live in San Francisco
, a two-disc live album and
DVD.
thumb, and
John Petrucci, as G3 Melbourne, 2006 Photo Mandy Hall.
2000 and beyond
Over the next several years, Satriani regularly recorded and released evolving music, including
Strange Beautiful Music
in 2002 and
Is There Love in Space?
in 2004.
In 2006 Satriani recorded and released
Super Colossal
and
Satriani Live!
, another two-disc live album and DVD recorded May 3, 2006 at the Grove in Anaheim, CA.
On August 7, 2007 Epic/Legacy Recordings re-released
Surfing with the Alien
to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its release. This was a two-disc set that includes a
remastered album and a
DVD of a previously never-before-seen live show filmed at the
Montreux Jazz Festival in 1988.
[7]
Satriani's newest album, titled
Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock, was released on April 1, 2008.
[8]
Controversy
On December 4, 2008 Satriani filed a
copyright infringement suit in
Los Angeles federal court against
Coldplay, claiming the
Coldplay song "
Viva la Vida" includes "substantial original portions" of the Satriani song "If I Could Fly" from his 2004 album,
Is There Love in Space?
. The Coldplay song in question received two
Grammy Awards for "Song of the Year".
[9] Coldplay has denied the allegation,
[10] which has resulted in further legal action from Satriani.
[11] [12]
Other work
Satriani is also credited on many other albums, including guitar duties on
Alice Cooper's 1991 album
Hey Stoopid
,
Spinal Tap's 1992 album
Break Like the Wind
,
Blue Öyster Cult's 1988 album
Imaginos
, band members
Stu Hamm and
Gregg Bissonette's solo albums. Interestingly, he was credited with singing background vocals on the 1986 debut album by
Crowded House. In 2003, he played lead guitar on
The Yardbirds's
CD release
Birdland
. In 2006 he made appearances on tracks for Deep Purple vocalist
Ian Gillan's solo CD/DVD dual disc
Gillan's Inn
. On
Dream Theater's 2007 album,
Systematic Chaos
, Satriani contributed spoken lyrics to the song "
Repentance". Satriani contributed a guitar solo to
Jordan Rudess' 2004 solo release
Rhythm of Time
.
He is featured in the Christopher Guest film,
For Your Consideration
, as the guitarist in the band that played for the late-night show.
Chickenfoot
It was revealed on May 29, 2008 that Satriani is involved in a new
hard rock band called
Chickenfoot
with former
Van Halen members
Sammy Hagar and
Michael Anthony, and
Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer
Chad Smith. The band features Hagar on
vocals, Satriani on
guitar, Anthony on
bass and Smith on
drums,
[13]. Their
debut album was released on June 5, 2009.
[14] The first single and video released from this album is the track "Oh Yeah", which was also played on the Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien on June 5, 2009. On his website Joe announced that he will release a live DVD featuring his 2008 tour. It will be called "Live in Paris".
Satriani received a writing credit on each of the songs featured on the band's self-titled debut album.
[15]
Technique and influence
Satriani is recognized as a technically advanced rock guitarist, and has been described as a
virtuoso.
[16] [17] He has mastered many
performance techniques on the instrument, including
legato, two-handed
tapping and
arpeggio tapping,
volume swells,
harmonics, and extreme
whammy bar effects. One of his trademark compositional traits is the use of
pitch axis theory, which he applies with a variety of modes. During fast passages, Joe favors a legato technique (achieved primarily through hammer-ons and pull-offs) which yields smooth and flowing runs. He is also adept at other speed-related techniques such as speed picking (a rapid form of
alternate picking) and
sweep picking, but does not often use them.
Satriani has received 15
Grammy nominations
[18] and has sold more than 10 million
albums worldwide.
[19] Many of his fans and friends call him "Satch," short for "Satriani".
An influential guitarist himself,
[20] Satriani has many influences, including
jazz guitarists
Django Reinhardt,
Wes Montgomery,
Allan Holdsworth and
Charlie Christian,
[21] and rock guitarists
Jimi Hendrix [22] and
Ritchie Blackmore.
[23]
Equipment
Satriani has endorsed
Ibanez's
JS Series guitars, and
Peavey's
JSX amplifier. Both lines were designed specifically as signature products for Satriani. The Ibanez JS100 was based on and replaced the Ibanez 540 Radius model which Satriani first endorsed. However, Satriani uses a variety of gear. Many of his guitars are made by
Ibanez, including the JS1000, and JS1200. These guitars typically feature the
DiMarzio PAF Pro (which he used up until 1993 in both the neck and bridge positions), the
DiMarzio Fred (which he used in the bridge position from 1993 to 2005), and the Mo' Joe and the Paf Joe (which he uses in the bridge and neck positions, respectively, from 2005 to present day). The JS line of guitars is his signature line, and they feature the Edge Pro, which is Ibanez's exclusive vibrato system, although he's always used the Original Edge unit on his guitars. The guitar with which he was most often associated during the nineties was a chrome-finished guitar nicknamed "Chrome Boy" (this instrument can be seen on the
Live in San Francisco
DVD). However, the guitar used for most of the concert was in fact a lookalike nicknamed "Pearly", which featured
Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates pickups.
Satriani uses a number of other JS models such as the JS double neck model, JS700 (primary axe on the self-titled CD and seen on the 1995 tour "Joe Satriani", which features a fixed bridge,
P-90 pickups, and a matching mahogany body and neck), JS600 (natural body) , JS1 (the original JS model), JS2000 (fixed bridge model), a variety of JS100s, JS1000s and JS1200s with custom paint work, and a large amount of prototype JSs. All double locking bridges have been the original Edge tremolo, not the newer models, which point to a more custom guitar than the "off the shelf" models. Joe played a red 7-string JS model, seen in the "G3 Live in Tokyo" DVD from 2005.He also has a prototype 24-fret version of the JS which he has used with Chickenfoot.
Satriani has used a wide variety of
guitar amps over the years, using
Marshall Amplification for his main amplifier (notably the limited edition blue coloured 6100 LM model) up until 2001, and his Peavey signature series amps, the Peavey JSX, thereafter. The JSX began life as a prototype Peavey XXX and developed into the Joe Satriani signature Peavey model, now available for purchase in retail stores. Joe Satriani has used other amplifiers over the years in the studio, however. Those include the Peavey 5150 (used to record the song '
Crystal Planet'),
Cornford, and the
Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ (used to record the song '
Flying in a Blue Dream'), amongst others. He also has a prototype 24-fret version of the JS which he has used with Chickenfoot.
His
effects pedals include the
Vox wah,
Dunlop Cry Baby wah, RMC Wizard Wah,
Digitech Whammy, BK Butler Tube Driver, BOSS DS-1, BOSS CH-1, BOSS CE-2, BOSS DD-2 and a standard BOSS DD-3 (used together to emulate reverb effects), BOSS BF-3, BOSS OC-2, Barber Burn Drive Unit, Fulltone Deja Vibe,
Fulltone Ultimate Octave, and
Electro-Harmonix POG (Polyphonic Octave Generator), the latter being featured prominently on the title cut to his 2006
Super Colossal
.
Satriani has partnered with Planet Waves to create a signature line of guitar picks and guitar straps featuring his sketch art.
Although Satriani endorses the JSX, he has used many amps in the studio when recording, including the Peavey Classic. He used Marshall heads and cabinets, including live, prior to his Peavey endorsement. Most recently Satriani used the JSX head through a Palmer Speaker Simulator. Joe Satriani has also released a Class-A 5-watt tube amp called the "Mini Colossal".
He is currently working with
Vox on his own line of signature effects pedals designed to deliver Satriani's trademark tone plus a wide range of new sounds for guitarists of all playing styles and ability levels. The first being a signature distortion pedal titled the "Satchurator", and recently, the "Time Machine" which will be a delay pedal, with more to follow in 2008, including a wah pedal called the "Big Bad Wah".
[24]
Recurring themes
Satriani's work frequently makes references to various
science fiction stories and ideas. "Surfing with the Alien", "Back to
Shalla-Bal" and "The Power Cosmic 2000" refer to the comic book character
Silver Surfer, while "Ice 9" refers to the secret government ice weapon in
Kurt Vonnegut's
Cat's Cradle
. "Borg Sex" is a reference to
Star Trek
, which features a
homogeneous cybernetic race known as the
Borg. His albums and songs often have other-worldly titles, such as
Not of this Earth
,
Crystal Planet
,
Is There Love in Space?
, and
Engines of Creation
.
On the album
Super Colossal
the song titled "Crowd Chant" was originally called "Party on the Enterprise". "Party on the Enterprise" featured
sampled sounds from the
Starship Enterprise from the
Star Trek
TV show. But as Satriani explained in a
podcast, legal issues regarding the samples could not be resolved and he was unable to get permission to use them.
[25] Satriani then removed the sounds from the song and called it "Crowd Chant."
"Redshift Riders", another song on the
Super Colossal
album, is "based on the idea that in the future, when people can travel throughout space, they will theoretically take advantage of the cosmological
redshift effect so they can be swung around large planetary objects and get across [the] universe a lot faster than normal," Satriani said in a
podcast about the song.
[26]
On the album
Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock
the song "I Just Wanna Rock", is about a giant robot on the run who happens upon a rock concert.
[27]
Philanthropy
In 2006, Satriani signed on as an official supporter of
Little Kids Rock, a non-profit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in underserved public schools throughout the U.S.A. Satriani has personally delivered instruments to children in the program through a charity
raffle for the organization and, in common with
Steve Vai, sits on its board of directors as an honorary member.
Awards and nominations
Nominations
Satriani has the most
Grammy Award nominations of any artist (15) without winning.
[28] [29]
Year
| Album
| Category
|
1989
| Always With Me, Always With You
| Best Pop Instrumental Performance
|
1989
| Surfing with the Alien
| Best Rock Instrumental Performance
|
1990
| The Crush of Love
| Best Rock Instrumental Performance
|
1991
| Flying in a Blue Dream
| Best Rock Instrumental Performance
|
1993
| The Extremist
| Best Rock Instrumental Performance
|
1994
| Speed of Light
| Best Rock Instrumental Performance
|
1995
| All Alone
| Best Rock Instrumental Performance
|
1997
| (You're) My World''
| Best Rock Instrumental Performance
|
1998
| Summer Song (Live)
| Best Rock Instrumental Performance
|
1999
| A Train of Angels
| Best Rock Instrumental Performance
|
2001
| Until We Say Goodbye
| Best Rock Instrumental Performance
|
2002
| Always With Me, Always With You (Live)
| Best Rock Instrumental Performance from Live in San Francisco
|
2003
| Starry Night
| Best Rock Instrumental Performance
|
2006
| Super Colossal
| Best Rock Instrumental Performance
|
2008
| Always With Me, Always With You (Live)
| Best Rock Instrumental Performance from Satriani Live!
|
Discography
Solo albums
- 1986 - Not of This Earth
- 1987 - Surfing with the Alien
- Platinum (USA) [30]
- 1989 - Flying in a Blue Dream
- Gold (USA)
- 1992 - The Extremist
- Gold (USA)
- 1993 - Time Machine
- Gold (USA)
- 1995 - Joe Satriani
- 1998 - Crystal Planet
- 2000 - Engines of Creation
- 2002 - Strange Beautiful Music
- 2004 - Is There Love in Space?
- 2006 - Super Colossal
- 2008 - Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock
EPs
- 1984 - The Joe Satriani EP
- 1988 - Dreaming #11
- Gold (USA)
- 2000 - Additional Creations
Compilations
- 1993 - The Beautiful Guitar
- 2003 - The Electric Joe Satriani: An Anthology
- 2005 - One Big Rush
- 2008 - Joe Satriani Original Album Classics
Live albums
- 1993 - Time Machine
- 2001 - Live in San Francisco
- 2006 - Satriani Live!
With other artists
Year
| Artist
| Album
|
1986
| Crowded House
| Crowded House
|
1986
| Greg Kihn
| Love And Rock And Roll
|
1987
| Danny Gottleib
| Aquamarine
|
1988
| Stuart Hamm
| Radio Free Albemuth
|
1991
| Alice Cooper
| Hey Stoopid
|
1992
| Spinal Tap
| Break Like the Wind
|
1997
| Steve Vai / Eric Johnson
| G3: Live in Concert
|
1997
| Steve Vai / Alex Lifeson / Joe Perry
| Merry Axemas Volume 1
|
2003
| Steve Vai / Yngwie Malmsteen
| G3: Rockin' in the Free World
|
2003
| The Yardbirds
| Birdland
|
2005
| Steve Vai / John Petrucci
| G3: Live in Tokyo
|
2006
| Ian Gillan
| Gillan's Inn
|
2007
| John 5
| The Devil Knows My Name
|
2007
| Dream Theater (spoken voice only)
| Systematic Chaos
|
2008
| Funtwo
| Youtube live
|
2009
| Chickenfoot
| Chickenfoot
|
References
- Joe Satriani's G3 rounds up another trio of guitar slingers
- Joe Satriani Biography
- Joe Satriani Interview
- Ibanez JS Joe Satriani Guitar Specs
- ''Hard N Heavy Video Magazine'' interview - 1989
- Satriani's Offer of a Future with Deep Purple Accessed February 21, 2009
- joe satriani - discography > surfing with the alien
- NEW MUSIC BLOG: Joe Satriani | musicradar.com
- http://grammy.com/grammy_awards/51st_show/list.aspx
- http://www.coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=242, retrieved 10 December 2008.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7766683.stm
- Coldplay Sued By Joe Satriani For Allegedly Plagiarizing 'Viva La Vida' Melody », ''peoplestar.co.uk'', Retrieved on 2008-12-06.
- http://allthingsloud.blogspot.com/
- Van Halen, Red Hot Chili Peppers Launch New Project | News @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com
- Joe Satriani home news
- Rock Guitar World: Joe Satriani
- CANdYRAT Records
- joe satriani - home > news
- Joe Satriani Interview
- ''Harmony Central'' April 21, 2008Real "Guitar Hero" Joe Satriani turns Teacher at WorkshopLive.com
- http://www.steveadelson.com/index.php?sec=reports&sub=interviews&tmp=interview.php&f=%2Fcontent%2Fin
- http://www.beat-a-go-go.com/story/2006/5/3/111454/0700
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/tyne/music/2004/06/satriani_interview.shtml
- joe satriani - gear > 2008-01-18 vox announcement
- http://www.sonymusic.com/artists/JoeSatriani/podcast/super_colossal/13_crowd_chant_podcast.mp3
- http://www.sonymusic.com/artists/JoeSatriani/podcast/super_colossal/04_redshift_riders_podcast.mp3
- http://myplay.com/artists/joe-satriani/bio#review-form
- Rock On The Net: Grammy Awards: Best Rock Instrumental Performance
- Rock On The Net: Grammy Awards: Best Pop Instrumental Performance
- http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS