AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
''.
Rovi Corporation
TiVo Corporation, formerly known as the Rovi Corporation and Macrovision Solutions Corporation, was an American technology company. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company is primarily involved in licensing its intellectual property ...
. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and guitar teacher. Early in his career, Satriani worked as a guitar instructor, with many of his former students achieving fame, including
Steve Vai
Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for ...
,
Larry LaLonde
Reid Laurence "Larry" LaLonde (born September 12, 1968), also known as Ler LaLonde, is an American musician best known as the guitarist for Primus, a position that he has served since 1989, where he is known for his experimental accompaniment t ...
, Rick Hunolt,
Kirk Hammett
Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist and a contributing songwriter for heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Before joining Metallica, he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, ...
,
Andy Timmons
Andy Timmons (born July 26, 1963) is an American guitarist who has played in the bands Taylor Bay Band, Danger Danger, Pawn Kings, and Andy Timmons Band (ATB). He has also released several solo albums and has worked as a session guitarist.
H ...
,
Charlie Hunter
Charlie Hunter (born May 23, 1967) is an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. First coming to prominence in the early 1990s, Hunter plays custom-made seven- and eight-string guitars on which he simultaneously plays bass lines, chords, a ...
,
Kevin Cadogan
Kevin Rene Cadogan (born August 14, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and guitarist. A founding member of the band Third Eye Blind, he performed with the band from 1993 to 2000. He co-wrote some of Third Eye Bl ...
, and
Alex Skolnick
Alex Skolnick (born September 29, 1968) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and one of the songwriters of the thrash metal band Testament and has played with several other bands, including The Alex Skolnick Trio, Tra ...
; he then went on to have a successful solo music career. He is a 15-time
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
nominee and has sold over 10 million albums, making him the bestselling
instrumental rock
Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes musical instruments and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style. Instru ...
guitarist of all time.
In 1988, Satriani was recruited by
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
as lead guitarist for his first solo tour. Satriani briefly toured with
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...
, joining shortly after another departure of
Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar ...
from the band in November 1993. He has worked with a range of guitarists during the
G3 tour
G3 is a concert tour organized by guitarist Joe Satriani featuring him alongside two other guitarists. Since its inception in 1995, G3 has toured most years and has featured many guitarists, including Steve Vai (Satriani's former student), Er ...
, which he founded in 1995. Satriani has been the guitarist for the supergroupChickenfoot since joining the band in 2008.
Early life
Satriani was born in
Westbury, New York
The Incorporated Village of Westbury is a Village (New York), village in the North Hempstead, New York, Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York (state), New York, United States. It is located a ...
of Italian descent. His paternal grandparents were from
Piacenza
Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...
and
Bobbio
Bobbio ( Bobbiese: ; lij, Bêubbi; la, Bobium) is a small town and commune in the province of Piacenza in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is located in the Trebbia River valley southwest of the town Piacenza. There is also an abbey and a dioc ...
, while his maternal grandparents were from
Bari
Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...
. He was raised
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
. He was inspired to play guitar at age 14, after hearing of the death of
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
. Satriani heard the news during football practice, where he then announced to his coach that he was quitting to become a guitarist.
Satriani graduated from
Carle Place High School
Carle Place Middle/High School is a six-year comprehensive public high school located in the hamlet of Carle Place in the Town of North Hempstead, Nassau County, New York.
As of the 2016–17 school year, the school had an enrollment of 652 st ...
. In 1974, he studied music with
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
guitarist
Billy Bauer
Billy Bauer (November 14, 1915 – June 17, 2005) was an American jazz guitarist.
Life
William Henry Bauer was born in New York City. He played ukulele and banjo as a child before switching to guitar. He played with the Jerry Wald band and r ...
and with reclusive jazz pianist
Lennie Tristano
Leonard Joseph Tristano (March 19, 1919 – November 18, 1978) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and teacher of jazz improvisation.
Tristano studied for bachelor's and master's degrees in music in Chicago before moving to New Yo ...
. The technically demanding Tristano greatly influenced Satriani's playing. He began teaching guitar, with his most notable student at the time being fellow
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
native
Steve Vai
Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for ...
(both also went to Carle Place). While he was teaching Vai, he was attending
Five Towns College
Five Towns College is a private college in Dix Hills, New York. The college's degree programs focus on music, media, and the performing arts.
History
Founded in 1972, Five Towns College holds an Absolute Charter issued by the New York State ...
for studies in music. In 1978, Satriani moved to
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...
, to pursue a music career. Soon after, he resumed teaching. His students included
Kirk Hammett
Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist and a contributing songwriter for heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Before joining Metallica, he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, ...
of
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
,
David Bryson
Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist Mi ...
of
Counting Crows
Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist Mil ...
,
Kevin Cadogan
Kevin Rene Cadogan (born August 14, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and guitarist. A founding member of the band Third Eye Blind, he performed with the band from 1993 to 2000. He co-wrote some of Third Eye Bl ...
from
Third Eye Blind
Third Eye Blind is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1993. After years of lineup changes in the early and mid-1990s, the songwriting duo of Stephan Jenkins and Kevin Cadogan signed the band's first major-label reco ...
,
Larry LaLonde
Reid Laurence "Larry" LaLonde (born September 12, 1968), also known as Ler LaLonde, is an American musician best known as the guitarist for Primus, a position that he has served since 1989, where he is known for his experimental accompaniment t ...
Possessed
Possessed may refer to:
Possession
* Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else
** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body
*** ...
,
Alex Skolnick
Alex Skolnick (born September 29, 1968) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and one of the songwriters of the thrash metal band Testament and has played with several other bands, including The Alex Skolnick Trio, Tra ...
Exodus
Exodus or the Exodus may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible
* The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan
Historical events
* Ex ...
), Phil Kettner of
Lȧȧz Rockit
Lȧȧz Rockit was an American thrash metal band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1981. They are most notable for their association with the Bay Area thrash metal scene of the 1980s, and they are considered to be one of the scene's so cal ...
,
Geoff Tyson
Geoff Tyson (also referred to as Jeff Tyson) played guitar for T-Ride, whose debut album shared the same title. He was a student of Joe Satriani, and one of two students Satriani has said 'Graduated' from his lessons (the other being Steve Vai). S ...
of
T-Ride
T-Ride was an American, San Francisco-based heavy metal band, which was noted for its complex instrument and vocal arrangements. Their eponymous debut album was released in 1992. The band was compared to Queen and Van Halen, and the album rece ...
,
Charlie Hunter
Charlie Hunter (born May 23, 1967) is an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. First coming to prominence in the early 1990s, Hunter plays custom-made seven- and eight-string guitars on which he simultaneously plays bass lines, chords, a ...
, and
David Turin
David Edmund Turin (born 8 September 1965), known as Emit Bloch, is an American songwriter and musician.
Background
Emit Bloch is a singer, songwriter and musician known for field recordings and lo-fi music production. His parents are George L ...
.
Music career
1980s–2000
Satriani started playing in a San Francisco-based band called Squares, which he formed with his brother-in-law Neil Sheehan in the late 1970s. He was later invited to join
the Greg Kihn Band
The Greg Kihn Band is an American band that was started by frontman Greg Kihn and bassist Steve Wright. Their most successful singles include "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" ( ''Billboard'' Hot 100 #15) and "Jeopardy" (''Billboard'' H ...
, who were on the downside of their career, but whose generosity helped Satriani pay off the overwhelming credit card debt from recording his first album, '' Not of This Earth'', released in 1986.
The same year, he also sang backing vocals on the self-titled ''Crowded House'' album.
In 1987, Satriani's second album, ''
Surfing with the Alien
''Surfing with the Alien'' is the second studio album by American rock guitarist Joe Satriani. It was released on October 15, 1987, by Relativity Records. The album is one of Satriani's most successful to date and helped establish his reputation ...
'', produced radio hits and was the first all-instrumental release to chart so highly in many years. The track "Crushing Day" was featured on the soundtrack of a low-budget film titled '' It Takes Two''. ''Surfing with the Alien'' is his most acclaimed work, according to aggregator
Acclaimed Music
Acclaimed Music is a website created by Henrik Franzon, a statistician from Stockholm, Sweden in September 2001. Franzon has statistically aggregated hundreds of published lists that rank songs and albums into aggregated rankings by year, deca ...
. In 1988, Satriani helped produce the EP ''
The Eyes of Horror
''The Eyes of Horror'' is an EP by American death metal band Possessed. It was released on May 31, 1987. It was produced by guitarist Joe Satriani.
Track listing
Personnel
*Jeff Becerra - bass, vocals
*Larry Lalonde - lead guitar
*Mike To ...
'' for the
death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...
band
Possessed
Possessed may refer to:
Possession
* Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else
** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body
*** ...
. That same year, he also released an EP titled ''Dreaming #11'', which featured the song "The Crush of Love". In 1989, Satriani released the album ''
Flying in a Blue Dream
''Flying in a Blue Dream'' is the third studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on October 30, 1989 through Relativity Records. It is one of Satriani's most popular albums and his second highest-charting release to date, reaching No. 23 o ...
''. It was said to be inspired by the death of his father, who died in 1989 during the recording of the album. "One Big Rush" featured on the soundtrack to the
Cameron Crowe
Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American journalist, author, writer, producer, director, actor, lyricist, and playwright. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at '' Rolling Stone'' magazine, for w ...
movie '' Say Anything...''. "The Forgotten Part II" was featured on a
Molson Dry
The Molson Brewery is a Canadian based brewery company based in Montreal which was established in 1786 by the Molson family. In 2005, Molson merged with the Adolph Coors Company to become Molson Coors.
Molson Coors maintains some of its Can ...
commercial in Canada in 1993. "Can't Slow Down" featured in a car chase sequence in the
Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...
-starring show '' Nash Bridges''. "The Bells of Lal (Part One)" was featured in an eerie scene in the 1996
Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker and musician. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller ''One False Move'', and received international attention after writing, directing, a ...
movie ''
Sling Blade
A sling blade or kaiser blade is a heavy, hooked, steel blade at the end of a long (around ) handle that is usually made of wood. The blade is double-edged, and both sides are usually kept sharp. It is used to cut brush, briar, and undergrowth. ...
'', while Karl is sharpening a lawnmower blade to kill the menacing Doyle Hargraves, played by
Dwight Yoakam
Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and film director. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerabl ...
.
In 1992, Satriani released ''
The Extremist
''The Extremist'' is the fourth studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on July 21, 1992 through Relativity Records The album is one of Satriani's most popular releases and his highest-charting to date, reaching No. 22 on the U.S. ''Bil ...
'', his most commercially successful album to date. The album was certified Gold in the United States and peaked at number 22 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Radio stations across the US picked up "Summer Song", which got a major boost when
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
used it in a major commercial campaign for their
Discman
Discman was Sony's brand name for portable CD players. The first Discman, the Sony D-50 or D-5 (depending on region), was launched in 1984. The brand name changed to CD Walkman, initially for Japanese lineups launched between October 1997 and Ma ...
portable CD players. "Cryin'", "
Friends
''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...
", and the title track were regional hits on radio. In late 1993, Satriani joined
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...
as a temporary replacement for departed guitarist
Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar ...
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 multialbum solo deal with Sony, and
Steve Morse
Steve J. Morse (born July 28, 1954) is an American guitarist, best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs and as the lead guitarist of Deep Purple from 1994 to 2022. Morse has also enjoyed a successful solo career and was briefly a member of ...
took the guitarist slot in Deep Purple.
In 1996, Satriani founded G3, a concert tour intended to include a rotating trio of guitarists. The original lineup featured Satriani, Steve Vai, and
Eric Johnson Eric Johnson may refer to:
Music
*Eric Johnson (guitarist) (born 1954) an American guitarist and recording artist
* Eric D. Johnson (born 1976), member of multiple indie-rock bands including Fruit Bats, The Shins and Califone
Politics
* Eric Joh ...
. The G3 tour has continued periodically since its inaugural version, with Satriani the only permanent member. Other guitarists who have performed in G3 include
Yngwie Malmsteen
Yngwie Johan Malmsteen ( ; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, 30 June 1963) is a Swedish guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 22 studio albums in a career spanning ov ...
,
John Petrucci
John Peter Petrucci (born July 12, 1967) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. He produced or co-produced (often with former member Mike Portnoy before he departed the band in 201 ...
,
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Kenny Wayne Shepherd (born Kenny Wayne Brobst; June 12, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has released several studio albums and experienced significant commercial success as a blues artist.
Life and career
Shepherd wa ...
,
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...
,
Andy Timmons
Andy Timmons (born July 26, 1963) is an American guitarist who has played in the bands Taylor Bay Band, Danger Danger, Pawn Kings, and Andy Timmons Band (ATB). He has also released several solo albums and has worked as a session guitarist.
H ...
,
Uli Jon Roth
Uli Jon Roth (born Ulrich Roth; 18 December 1954) is a German guitarist who became famous for his work with the hard rock band Scorpions and is one of the earliest contributors to the neoclassical metal genre. He is also the founder of Sky Aca ...
,
Michael Schenker
Michael Schenker (born 10 January 1955) is a German guitarist. He played in the rock band UFO and leads the Michael Schenker Group. He was an early member of the hard rock band Scorpions, a band co-founded by his elder brother Rudolf Schenker ...
,
Adrian Legg
Adrian Legg (born 16 May 1948) is an English guitar player who has been called "impossible to categorize". He plays custom guitars that are a hybrid of electric and acoustic, and his fingerstyle picking technique has been acknowledged by the re ...
Steve Morse
Steve J. Morse (born July 28, 1954) is an American guitarist, best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs and as the lead guitarist of Deep Purple from 1994 to 2022. Morse has also enjoyed a successful solo career and was briefly a member of ...
, and Steve Lukather. In 1998, Satriani recorded and released ''
Crystal Planet
''Crystal Planet'' is the seventh studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on March 3, 1998 through Epic Records.Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Erlewine, Stephen Thomas"Crystal Planet - Joe Satriani" ''AllMusic''. RhythmOne. Retrieved April 17, ...
'', followed by ''
Engines of Creation
''Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology'' is a 1986 molecular nanotechnology book written by K. Eric Drexler with a foreword by Marvin Minsky. An updated version was released in 2007. The book has been translated into Japanese, F ...
'', one of his more experimental works featuring the
electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...
genre. Two shows at the
Fillmore West
The Fillmore West was a historic rock and roll music venue in San Francisco, California, US which became famous under the direction of concert promoter Bill Graham from 1968 to 1971. Named after The Fillmore at the intersection of Fillmore Str ...
in San Francisco were recorded in December 2000 and released as '' Live in San Francisco'', a two-disc live album and DVD.
Is There Love in Space?
''Is There Love in Space?'' is the tenth studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on April 13, 2004, through Epic Records. The album reached No. 80 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
,
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
, and
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
. In 2006, he recorded and released ''
Super Colossal
''Super Colossal'' is the eleventh studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on March 14, 2006, through Epic Records.Theakston, Rob"Super Colossal - Joe Satriani" ''AllMusic''. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-03-14. The album reached No. ...
'' and ''
Satriani Live!
''Satriani Live!'' is a live album and DVD by Joe Satriani. It was recorded on May 2, 2006, in Anaheim, California, and released on October 31, 2006.
Track listing
All songs written by Joe Satriani.
Disc 1
#"Flying in a Blue Dream" - 8:38
#"The ...
'', another two-disc live album and DVD recorded May 3, 2006, at the Grove in
Anaheim, California
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
. In 2006, Satriani signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in underserved public schools throughout the US. The artist has personally delivered instruments to children in the program through a charity
raffle
A raffle is a gambling competition in which people obtain numbered tickets, each of which has the chance of winning a prize. At a set time, the winners are drawn at random from a container holding a copy of each number. The drawn tickets are che ...
for the organization, and like Steve Vai, sits on its board of directors as an honorary member.
On August 7, 2007, Epic/Legacy Recordings re-released ''
Surfing with the Alien
''Surfing with the Alien'' is the second studio album by American rock guitarist Joe Satriani. It was released on October 15, 1987, by Relativity Records. The album is one of Satriani's most successful to date and helped establish his reputation ...
'' to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its publication. This was a two-disc set that includes a
remastered
Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used.
Mastering
A ...
album and a DVD of a never-before-seen live show filmed at the
Montreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
Van Halen
Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
members
Sammy Hagar
Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...
and Michael Anthony, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. They released their debut, self-titled album on June 5, 2009. A second album, titled ''Chickenfoot III'', followed on September 27, 2011.
On December 4, 2008, he filed a
copyright infringement
Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...
suit against
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...
in the
United States District Court for the Central District of California
The United States District Court for the Central District of California (in case citations, C.D. Cal.; commonly referred to as the CDCA or CACD) is a Federal trial court that serves over 19 million people in Southern and Central California, m ...
. Satriani's suit claims that the Coldplay song "
Viva la Vida
"Viva la Vida" (, ; ) is a song by British rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, ''Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends'' (2008). The lyrics to the song contain historical and Christian refe ...
" includes "substantial original portions" of the Satriani song "If I Could Fly" from his 2004 album, ''
Is There Love in Space?
''Is There Love in Space?'' is the tenth studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on April 13, 2004, through Epic Records. The album reached No. 80 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
s for Song of the Year. Coldplay denied the allegation. An unspecified settlement was reached between the parties.
The artist released a live DVD recording of a concert in Paris titled '' Live in Paris: I Just Wanna Rock'' and a companion two-CD set on February 2, 2010. In March 2010, he participated with other guitarists in the Experience Hendrix Tribute Tour, performing music written and inspired by
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
.
In May 2010, Satriani announced he was about to enter the studio to record a new album, and dates were released for an autumn tour. He also said that demos had been recorded for a second Chickenfoot record. Satriani released his 13th studio album, ''
Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards
''Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards'' is the thirteenth studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on October 5, 2010 through Epic Records. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas"Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards - Joe Satriani" ''AllMusic''. All Media Netw ...
'', on October 5, 2010.
He issued the DVD/Blu-ray of his three-dimensional concert film '' Satchurated: Live in Montreal'' on April 24, 2012, after its limited showing in theaters. The film was shot in December 2010 in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
and was directed by award-winning filmmakers François and Pierre Lamoureux. ''Satchurated 3D'' is the first Blu-ray concert film available with
Dolby TrueHD
Dolby TrueHD is a lossless, multi-channel audio codec developed by Dolby Laboratories for home video, used principally in Blu-ray Disc and compatible hardware. Dolby TrueHD, along with Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC-3) and Dolby AC-4, is one of the i ...
7.1.
On May 7, 2013, Satriani released his 14th studio album, titled ''
Unstoppable Momentum
''Unstoppable Momentum'' is the fourteenth studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on May 7, 2013 through Epic Records. The album reached No. 42 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200Joe Satriani: The Complete Studio Recordings'', which contains remastered editions of every studio album from ''Not of This Earth'' to ''Unstoppable Momentum'' was released on April 22, 2014. A book titled ''Strange Beautiful Music: A Memoir'' was also published, to coincide with the release of the box set.
In August 2014, Satriani participated in the G4 Experience—a weeklong guitar camp—with fellow guitarists Paul Gilbert and
Andy Timmons
Andy Timmons (born July 26, 1963) is an American guitarist who has played in the bands Taylor Bay Band, Danger Danger, Pawn Kings, and Andy Timmons Band (ATB). He has also released several solo albums and has worked as a session guitarist.
H ...
, and keyboardist
Mike Keneally
Michael Joseph Keneally (born December 20, 1961) is an American session guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist and composer.
Early years and musical influences
Keneally started playing music at the age of 7 when he received an electric organ for h ...
.
In February 2015, the first dates were announced for the Shockwave World Tour, in support of Satriani's 15th studio album, slated for release in July. ''
Shockwave Supernova
''Shockwave Supernova'' is the fifteenth studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on July 24, 2015 through Sony Music Entertainment. It features bassist Bryan Beller and drummer Marco Minnemann of The Aristocrats, as well as progressive ro ...
'' was released on July 24, 2015. The album was conceived after Satriani found himself playing guitar with his teeth a lot during the ''Unstoppable Momentum'' tour, and had a daydream about an alter ego, "Shockwave Supernova", making him do it.
On September 16, 2017, Satriani teased his upcoming 16th studio album, ''
What Happens Next What Happens Next may refer to:
* ''What Happens Next?'' (film), 2012 documentary film about Dan Mangan
* What Happens Next? (band), American thrashcore band
* ''What Happens Next'' (Gang of Four album), 2015
* ''What Happens Next'' (Joe Satriani ...
'', through social media. The album was released on January 12, 2018. He collaborated with former Deep Purple bassist Glenn Hughes and
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...
drummer
Chad Smith
Chad Gaylord Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who has been the drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Smith is also the drummer of the ...
, two
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
members.
On April 5, 2019, the guitarist released an eponymous retrospective collection of songs he had recorded in the 1970s with his band Squares. The following April, he published his seventeenth solo album, ''
Shapeshifting
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, Magic (paranormal), sorcery, Incantation, ...
''.
On January 19, 2022, Satriani released "Sahara" as the first single from his eighteenth album, ''The Elephants of Mars''. The record was released on April 8, 2022, by
earMUSIC
Edel SE & Co. KGaA is a German independent media company based in Hamburg. As a label and publishing group, it also operates marketing and sales for artists and smaller music labels. The repertoire of the Edel labels includes dance, rock and po ...
, making it Satriani's first since his 1995 self-titled album to be released by a label other than
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
or its parent company,
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...
.
In late 2022, Satriani announced a continuation of his G3 touring project, under the title ''G4 Experience V6.0'', which is set to take place on January 3–7, 2023. The event will be led by Satriani, together with
Peter Frampton
Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...
—among his final performances before retirement, Steve Lukather, and
Steve Morse
Steve J. Morse (born July 28, 1954) is an American guitarist, best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs and as the lead guitarist of Deep Purple from 1994 to 2022. Morse has also enjoyed a successful solo career and was briefly a member of ...
, and will include workshops and jam sessions by
Alex Skolnick
Alex Skolnick (born September 29, 1968) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and one of the songwriters of the thrash metal band Testament and has played with several other bands, including The Alex Skolnick Trio, Tra ...
,
Andy James
Sacred Mother Tongue was a four-piece British heavy metal band from Northampton initially formed in 2004. The line up consisted of Darrin South (vocals), Andy James (guitar), Josh Gurner (bass guitar) and Lee Newell (drums). In October 2013, ...
,
Cory Wong
Cory Wong (born c. 1985) is a Grammy-nominated American guitarist, bassist, songwriter, podcast-host, and producer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has released many works as a solo artist and in partnership with others. His background spans ...
,
Eric Gales
Eric Gales (born October 29, 1974), also known as Raw Dawg, is an American blues rock guitarist, originally hailed as a child prodigy. , Gales has recorded nineteen albums for major record labels and has done session and tribute work. He has a ...
,
John 5
John 5 is the fifth chapter of the Gospel of John of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It relates Jesus' healing and teaching in Jerusalem, and begins to evidence the hostility shown him by the Jewish authorities.Plummer, A. (1902)Cambri ...
,
Mateus Asato
Mateus Asato (December 29, 1993) is a guitarist from Campo Grande, Brazil. He rose to fame by posting videos of himself playing guitar on Instagram, and has since amassed over one million followers. He has toured with several pop stars as a gu ...
, and
Nili Brosh
Nili Brosh is an Israeli-American guitarist and songwriter. She has performed and/or recorded with Danny Elfman, Cirque du Soleil, Dethklok, Steve Vai, Tony MacAlpine, Paul Gilbert, Andy Timmons, Guthrie Govan/The Aristocrats, Stu Hamm, Drago ...
.
Chickenfoot
In May 2008, Satriani joined hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot, composed of former
Van Halen
Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
members
Sammy Hagar
Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...
drummer,
Chad Smith
Chad Gaylord Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who has been the drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Smith is also the drummer of the ...
. The band features Hagar on vocals, Satriani on guitar, Anthony on bass, and Smith on drums. Their eponymous debut album was released on June 5, 2009. The first single and video released was the track "Oh Yeah", which was played on ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'' on June 5, 2009. Satriani received a co-writing credit on all the songs on the band's debut album. ''Broken Records'' magazine asked Satriani about his new band, and he enthusiastically mentioned, "it was great fun" and it gives him a "kick in the music bone" to play with such great talent. He said it felt natural to step back and play more rhythm than solo guitar. Chickenfoot's second album, '' Chickenfoot III'', was released on September 27, 2011. The album's first single was the track "Bigfoot".
Other work
Satriani is credited on many other albums, including guitar duties on shock rocker
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
's 1991 album, ''
Hey Stoopid
''Hey Stoopid'' is the twelfth solo studio album by American rock singer Alice Cooper, released on July 2, 1991, by Epic Records. After his smash 1989 hit album '' Trash'', Cooper attempted to continue his success with his follow-up album, which ...
Break Like the Wind
''Break Like the Wind'' is a 1992 album by the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap. The songs include a range of genres, from the glam metal anthem "Bitch School" down to the skiffle satire of "All the Way Home". The title, and the album's tit ...
'',
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American Rock music, rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla ( ...
's 1988 album, ''
Imaginos
''Imaginos'' is the eleventh studio album by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult. It was released in 1988, and was their last recording with their original record label, CBS/Columbia Records.
The album took nearly eight years to c ...
Gregg Bissonette
Gregg Bissonette (born June 9, 1959) is an American jazz and rock drummer and vocalist. He is the brother of bassist Matt Bissonette, with whom he frequently collaborates. He has played on albums by dozens of recording artists, including David ...
's solo records. He was credited with singing background vocals on the 1986 debut album by
Crowded House
Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later ban ...
. In 2003, he played lead guitar on
The Yardbirds
The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwell ...
's release '' Birdland''. In 2006, he made appearances on tracks for Deep Purple vocalist
Ian Gillan
Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is a British singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice.
Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan ...
's solo CD/DVD dual disc, ''
Gillan's Inn
''Gillan's Inn'' is an album by Ian Gillan in celebration of his 40 years as a singer. The first release was a DualDisc composed of both a CD and a DVD side. The CD featured re-recorded tracks from all eras of Ian Gillan's singing career. In ...
''.
On
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of the ...
's 2007 album, ''
Systematic Chaos
''Systematic Chaos'' is the ninth studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater. Released on June 4, 2007 in the United Kingdom and June 5, 2007 in the United States, ''Systematic Chaos'' was the band's first release through Road ...
'', Satriani contributed spoken lyrics to the song "
Repentance
Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better.
In modern times, it is generally seen as involving a co ...
". He also contributed a guitar solo to
Jordan Rudess
Jordan Rudess (born Jordan Charles Rudes; November 4, 1956) is an American musician, software developer and composer best known as a member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater and the progressive metal supergroup Liquid Tension Experi ...
' 2004 solo release, ''
Rhythm of Time
''Rhythm of Time'' is an album by Jordan Rudess recorded and released in 2004.
In order to create the album before he went on tour with Dream Theater in 2004, Rudess lived in complete seclusion from the rest of the world for 14 days. With no te ...
''. He composed much of the soundtrack for the racing video game '' NASCAR 06: Total Team Control'', while his song "Crowd Chant" was featured in ''
NHL 2K10
''NHL 2K10'' is an ice hockey sports video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports, part of the ''NHL 2K'' series. It was released on September 15, 2009 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360. Randy Hahn and ...
'' and ''
Madden NFL 11
''Madden NFL 11'' is an American football video game based on the National Football League, published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 22nd annual installment in the bestselling ''Madden NFL'' video game franchise. It was releas ...
''. In 2009, he played two characters in
season three
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
dult swim
Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...
and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...
's ''
Metalocalypse
''Metalocalypse'' is an American adult animated television series, created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha, which premiered on August 6, 2006, followed by a musical one-hour special, '' Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem'', on October 27, 2 ...
''.
Satriani has starred in several movies, including the 2006 Christopher Guest film '' For Your Consideration'', as the guitarist in the band that played for the late-night show. He appeared as himself in the film '' Moneyball'', playing "
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...
".
The ''
American Dad
''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. ''American Dad!'' is the first televisio ...
'' episode "Why Can't We Be Friends" featured the song "Always with Me, Always with You". The song was also sampled in the
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...
single "
Right Thru Me
"Right Thru Me" is the second official single from rapper Nicki Minaj's Young Money debut album, ''Pink Friday'' (2010). The song was released as a digital download on September 24, 2010, before being serviced to urban and rhythmic radio on Octob ...
".
Satriani joined Chickenfoot in voicing themselves in the ''
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
''Aqua Teen Hunger Force'' (also known by various alternative titles), sometimes abbreviated as ''ATHF'' or ''Aqua Teen'', is an American adult animated television series created by Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro for Cartoon Network's late ni ...
'' episode "IAMAPOD".
Style and influence
Satriani is considered a highly technical guitarist, and has been referred to as a top guitar
virtuoso
A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...
legato
In music performance and notation, legato (; Italian for "tied together"; French ''lié''; German ''gebunden'') indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly and connected. That is, the player makes a transition from note to note wit ...
, two-handed
tapping
Tapping is a playing technique that can be used on any stringed instrument, but which is most commonly used on guitar. The technique involves a string being fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion. This is in contrast to stand ...
and
arpeggio
A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves.
An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played ...
harmonics
A harmonic is a wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the '' fundamental frequency'', the frequency of the original periodic signal, such as a sinusoidal wave. The original signal is also called the ''1st harmonic'', ...
, and extreme
whammy bar
A vibrato system on a guitar is a mechanical device used to temporarily change the pitch of the strings. Instruments without a vibrato have other bridge and tailpiece systems. They add vibrato to the sound by changing the tension of the stri ...
effects. During fast passages, Satriani favors a legato technique (achieved primarily through
hammer-on
A hammer-on is a playing technique performed on a stringed instrument (especially on a fretted string instrument, such as a guitar) by sharply bringing a fretting-hand finger down on to the fingerboard behind a fret, causing a note to sound. This ...
s and
pull-off
A pull-off is a stringed instrument playing and articulation technique performed by plucking or "pulling" the finger that is grasping the sounding part of a string off the fingerboard of either a fretted or unfretted instrument. This intermediate- ...
s) that yields smooth and flowing runs. He is also adept at other speed-related techniques such as rapid
alternate picking
Alternate picking is a guitar playing technique that employs alternating downward and upward strokes in a continuous fashion. If the technique is performed at high speed on a single string or course voicing the same note, it may be referred to ...
and
sweep picking
Sweep picking is a guitar playing technique. When sweep picking, the guitarist plays single notes on consecutive strings with a 'sweeping' motion of the pick, while using the fretting hand to produce a specific series of notes that are fast a ...
.
Satriani was influenced by
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
and by English rock guitarists such as
Brian May
Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Fredd ...
,
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...
,
Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...
,
Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar ...
, and
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...
. He was also influenced by jazz fusion guitarist
Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth (6 August 1946 – 15 April 2017) was a British jazz fusion and progressive rock guitarist and composer.
Holdsworth was known for his esoteric and idiosyncratic usage of advanced music theory concepts, especially with respe ...
.
Equipment
Satriani endorses
Ibanez
is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as ...
's JS Series guitars and th Marshall JVM410HJS guitar amplifier. Both lines were designed specifically for him as signature products. The Ibanez JS1 (the original JS model) was based on, and replaced, the Ibanez 540 Radius model that Satriani first endorsed. Many of his guitars are made by the company, 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 has used in the bridge and neck positions from 2005 to the present). He has more recently introduced th Satch Track single-coil pickup that he used in his Humbucker/Single coil-equipped signature Ibanez guitars. He has since replaced the Satch Track with th Sustainiac
The JS line of guitars is Satriani's signature line, with the JS1000, JS1200, JS2400, JSBDG, and JS20th using Ibanez's original Edge double-locking tremolo bridge. The JS100 and JS120s both use Ibanez's Edge 3 tremolo bridge. The JS1600 is a fixed-bridge guitar with no tremolo system. The guitar he was most associated with during the 1990s 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
Seymour Duncan is an American company best known for manufacturing guitar and bass pickups. They also manufacture effects pedals which are designed and assembled in America. Guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and Cathy Carter Duncan foun ...
Pearly Gates pickups.
Satriani uses a number of other JS models, such as the JS double neck model, JS700 (primary axe on his self-titled CD, seen on the 1995 ''Joe Satriani'' tour, which features a fixed bridge,
P-90
The P-90 (sometimes written P90) is a single coil electric guitar pickup produced by Gibson since 1946. Gibson is still producing P-90s, and there are outside companies that manufacture replacement versions. Compared to other single coil desi ...
pickups, and a matching mahogany body and neck), JS6/JS6000 (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 number 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. Satriani 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, now called the JS–2400, which he has used with Chickenfoot. He has also used other prototypes featuring a Sustainiac or a JS model with three single coil-sized humbucker pickups.
Satriani's guitars are usually equipped with his signature DiMarzio humbucker pickups, Mo' Joe and PAF Joe, and his 24-fret JS model features a signature single-coil-sized humbucker called the Satch Track in the neck position. Some of his guitars are still equipped with the pickup models he favored in the past, the DiMarzio FRED and PAF Pro pickups.
Satriani has used a wide variety of
guitar amps
A guitar amplifier (or amp) is an electronic device or system that strengthens the electrical signal from a pickup on an electric guitar, bass guitar, or acoustic guitar so that it can produce sound through one or more loudspeakers, which ar ...
, with
Marshall
Marshall may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria
Canada
* Marshall, Saskatchewan
* The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia
Liberia
* Marshall, Liberia
Marshall Islands
* Marshall Islands, an i ...
being his main amplifier (notably the limited-edition blue-colored 6100 LM model) up until 2001, and his Peavey signature series amps, the Peavey JSX, up until his time with Chickenfoot.
The JSX began life as a prototype Peavey XXX and developed into the Joe Satriani signature Peavey model. However, Satriani still used distortion pedals with the clean channel rather than the built-in overdrive channels. He has used other amplifiers over the years in the studio, such as the Peavey 5150 (used to record the song "
Crystal Planet
''Crystal Planet'' is the seventh studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on March 3, 1998 through Epic Records.Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Erlewine, Stephen Thomas"Crystal Planet - Joe Satriani" ''AllMusic''. RhythmOne. Retrieved April 17, ...
"), Cornford, and the
Mesa/Boogie
Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969.
Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a sm ...
Mark IIC+ (used to record the song "
Flying in a Blue Dream
''Flying in a Blue Dream'' is the third studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on October 30, 1989 through Relativity Records. It is one of Satriani's most popular albums and his second highest-charting release to date, reaching No. 23 o ...
"), among others. He later switched to the Marshall JVM series, having used a modified JVM 410H in his ''Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards'' tour in 2010 and with Chickenfoot in 2010 and 2011.
These modified JVM Marshall amps were prototypes for a signature amp that Marshall scheduled for release in 2011. They replaced the
reverb
Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abso ...
with
noise gate
A noise gate or gate is an electronic device or software that is used to control the volume of an audio signal. Comparable to a compressor, which attenuates signals ''above'' a threshold, such as loud attacks from the start of musical notes, no ...
s that eliminate lag when switching channels. The clean channel was replaced by the clean channel of a 6100 LM model, which Satriani likes as an option to use
distortion pedal
Distortion and overdrive are forms of audio signal processing used to alter the sound of amplified electric musical instruments, usually by increasing their gain, producing a "fuzzy", "growling", or "gritty" tone. Distortion is most commonly ...
s with. The orange
od channel
OD or Od may refer to:
Education
* Old Diocesan, a former pupil of Diocesan College
* Old Dunelmian, a former pupil of Durham School
Medicine
* OD or o.d., an abbreviation used in medical prescriptions for or "once daily" both meaning "take o ...
and the modern red overdrive channel have been better matched with each other as Satriani claims to prefer the organic overdrive of the JVM over pedals. The red overdrive channel was modified for a beefy rock rather than a
nu metal
Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...
sound. The effect loop has been simplified to be serial only.
Satriani 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. Recently, he used the JSX head through a Palmer Speaker Simulator. He has released a Class-A 5-watt tube amp called the "Mini Colossal". In 2009, Satriani split from Peavey and returned to using Marshall amps. Live, he has been using a Marshall JVM410JS since 2009.
His
effects pedals
An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing.
Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in ele ...
DigiTech Whammy
The DigiTech Whammy is a pitch shifter pedal manufactured by DigiTech. It was the first widely used effects pedal that could do foot-controlled pitch shifting effects. The pedal emulates sounds that a guitarist normally makes using the vibrato ...
, 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
''Super Colossal'' is the eleventh studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on March 14, 2006, through Epic Records.Theakston, Rob"Super Colossal - Joe Satriani" ''AllMusic''. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-03-14. The album reached No. ...
''. He has collaborated with Vox on a range of signature-effect stompboxes. These include the "Satchurator" and "Ice 9" distortions, the "Time Machine" delay, and the "Big Bad Wah".
Satriani's 2000 guitar rig has been documented in detail.
Musical themes
Satriani's work frequently makes references to various
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
stories and ideas. "
Surfing with the Alien
''Surfing with the Alien'' is the second studio album by American rock guitarist Joe Satriani. It was released on October 15, 1987, by Relativity Records. The album is one of Satriani's most successful to date and helped establish his reputation ...
", "Back to
Shalla-Bal
Shalla-Bal is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Publication history
The character first appeared in ''Silver Surfer'' #1 (August 1968).
Fictional character biography
Shalla-Bal is the Empress o ...
", and "The Power Cosmic 2000" refer to the comic book character
Silver Surfer
The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...
, while "Ice 9" refers to the secret government ice weapon in
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...
's ''
Cat's Cradle
Cat's cradle is a game involving the creation of various string figures between the fingers, either individually or by passing a loop of string back and forth between two or more players. The true origin of the name is debated, though the fi ...
''. "Borg Sex" is a reference to ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'', which features a
cybernetic
Cybernetics is a wide-ranging field concerned with circular causality, such as feedback, in regulatory and purposive systems. Cybernetics is named after an example of circular causal feedback, that of steering a ship, where the helmsperson ma ...
race known as the
Borg
The Borg are an alien group that appear as recurring antagonists in the ''Star Trek'' fictional universe. The Borg are cybernetic organisms (cyborgs) linked in a hive mind called "the Collective". The Borg co-opt the technology and knowledge ...
. His albums and songs often have otherworldly titles, such as '' Not of this Earth'', ''
Crystal Planet
''Crystal Planet'' is the seventh studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on March 3, 1998 through Epic Records.Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Erlewine, Stephen Thomas"Crystal Planet - Joe Satriani" ''AllMusic''. RhythmOne. Retrieved April 17, ...
'', ''
Is There Love in Space?
''Is There Love in Space?'' is the tenth studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on April 13, 2004, through Epic Records. The album reached No. 80 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200Engines of Creation
''Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology'' is a 1986 molecular nanotechnology book written by K. Eric Drexler with a foreword by Marvin Minsky. An updated version was released in 2007. The book has been translated into Japanese, F ...
''.
On the album ''
Super Colossal
''Super Colossal'' is the eleventh studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on March 14, 2006, through Epic Records.Theakston, Rob"Super Colossal - Joe Satriani" ''AllMusic''. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-03-14. The album reached No. ...
'', the song titled "Crowd Chant" was originally called "Party on the Enterprise". It would have featured
sampled
Sample or samples may refer to:
Base meaning
* Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set
* Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal
* Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...
sounds from the ''
Starship Enterprise
''Enterprise'' or USS ''Enterprise'' (often referred to as the "starship ''Enterprise''") is the name of Spacecraft in Star Trek, several fictional spacecraft, some of which are the main craft and setting for various television series and fi ...
'' from ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
''. But as Satriani explained in a
podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
, legal issues regarding the samples could not be resolved, and he was unable to get permission to use them. He then removed the sounds from the song and called it "Crowd Chant". Its ending theme was inspired by composer
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
and
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
teams, including the
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...
(NHL),
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...
(NHL), and
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...
(MLS). The song is also used in the
2K Sports
2K is an American video game publisher based in Novato, California. 2K was founded under Take-Two Interactive in January 2005 through the 2K Games and 2K Sports labels, following Take-Two Interactive's acquisition of Visual Concepts that same m ...
hockey video game ''NHL 2k10''.
"Redshift Riders", another song from ''
Super Colossal
''Super Colossal'' is the eleventh studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on March 14, 2006, through Epic Records.Theakston, Rob"Super Colossal - Joe Satriani" ''AllMusic''. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-03-14. The album reached No. ...
'', is "...based on the idea that in the future, when people can travel throughout space, they will theoretically take advantage of the cosmological
redshift
In physics, a redshift is an increase in the wavelength, and corresponding decrease in the frequency and photon energy, of electromagnetic radiation (such as light). The opposite change, a decrease in wavelength and simultaneous increase in f ...
effect so they can be swung around large planetary objects and get across heuniverse a lot faster than normal", according to Satriani. 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 to stumble upon a rock concert.
Awards and nominations
California Music Awards
Originated by the now-defunct magazine '' BAM'' in 1977 as the Bay Area Music Awards, the "Bammies" were expanded and renamed in 1998 to honor music across California.
, -
, 1991 , , Joe Satriani , , Outstanding Guitarist , ,
Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards
, -
, 2015 , , Joe Satriani , , The Maestro , ,
Grammy Awards
Satriani has the fourth-most
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
nominations (15, after
Brian McKnight
Brian Kelly McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, radio host and multi-instrumentalist. He is most recognized for his strong head voice, high belting range and melisma.
McKnight is known for h ...
,
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...
, and
Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Mehta's father was the foun ...
Surfing with the Alien
''Surfing with the Alien'' is the second studio album by American rock guitarist Joe Satriani. It was released on October 15, 1987, by Relativity Records. The album is one of Satriani's most successful to date and helped establish his reputation ...
'' (1987)
* ''
Flying in a Blue Dream
''Flying in a Blue Dream'' is the third studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on October 30, 1989 through Relativity Records. It is one of Satriani's most popular albums and his second highest-charting release to date, reaching No. 23 o ...
'' (1989)
* ''
The Extremist
''The Extremist'' is the fourth studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on July 21, 1992 through Relativity Records The album is one of Satriani's most popular releases and his highest-charting to date, reaching No. 22 on the U.S. ''Bil ...
'' (1992)
* ''
Time Machine
Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...
'' (1993)
* ''
Joe Satriani
Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". '' AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and guitar teacher. Early in his ...
'' (1995)
* ''
Crystal Planet
''Crystal Planet'' is the seventh studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on March 3, 1998 through Epic Records.Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Erlewine, Stephen Thomas"Crystal Planet - Joe Satriani" ''AllMusic''. RhythmOne. Retrieved April 17, ...
'' (1998)
* ''
Engines of Creation
''Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology'' is a 1986 molecular nanotechnology book written by K. Eric Drexler with a foreword by Marvin Minsky. An updated version was released in 2007. The book has been translated into Japanese, F ...
Is There Love in Space?
''Is There Love in Space?'' is the tenth studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on April 13, 2004, through Epic Records. The album reached No. 80 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200Super Colossal
''Super Colossal'' is the eleventh studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on March 14, 2006, through Epic Records.Theakston, Rob"Super Colossal - Joe Satriani" ''AllMusic''. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-03-14. The album reached No. ...
Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards
''Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards'' is the thirteenth studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on October 5, 2010 through Epic Records. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas"Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards - Joe Satriani" ''AllMusic''. All Media Netw ...
'' (2010)
* ''
Unstoppable Momentum
''Unstoppable Momentum'' is the fourteenth studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on May 7, 2013 through Epic Records. The album reached No. 42 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200Shockwave Supernova
''Shockwave Supernova'' is the fifteenth studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on July 24, 2015 through Sony Music Entertainment. It features bassist Bryan Beller and drummer Marco Minnemann of The Aristocrats, as well as progressive ro ...
'' (2015)
* ''
What Happens Next What Happens Next may refer to:
* ''What Happens Next?'' (film), 2012 documentary film about Dan Mangan
* What Happens Next? (band), American thrashcore band
* ''What Happens Next'' (Gang of Four album), 2015
* ''What Happens Next'' (Joe Satriani ...
'' (2018)
* ''
Shapeshifting
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, Magic (paranormal), sorcery, Incantation, ...