There are guitar players, and then there is Joe Satriani, a man for whom the epithet ‘virtuoso’ is something of an understatement. Satch – or as he is more ridiculously known, Professor Satchafunkilus – is the guitar player’s guitar player.
In a varied career, he has made 18 solo albums, performed with singer Sammy Hagar in and out of rock supergroup Chickenfoot, played as a touring guitarist with Mick Jagger and Deep Purple and worked as a tutor for a number of famous rock guitarists, most notably Steve Vai and Metallica’s Kirk Hammett.
In a 2010 interview with Classic Rock, Satriani told some of the funnier stories from his life in music, and began by discussing his attitude towards vintage guitars.
He laughed: “Don’t you hate that, when someone starts telling you they’ve got the original screws for a ’62 Esquire? Actually I keep pretty tight-lipped about all that stuff. I just want to play. I’m more concerned about writing a good song.
“Having said that, I do appreciate the idea that only a special tool will work for a special job, and sometimes you do need that ’66 electric Fender 12-string! If you’re reading an article about Jimmy Page and he happens to let slip the guitar he used on a song that you think is the Holy Grail, you have to play that thing!”
Satriani recalled the guitar lessons he gave to Kirk Hammett – first, when Hammett was a raw and undiscovered teenager, and later when he was an established star with Metallica.
He explained: “In the beginning, Kirk knew exactly what he liked, which is so important. He was into Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hendrix, Uli Jon Roth, Michael Schenker.
“I taught him music theory and it was up to him to decide what to use – that was the key to my lessons.”
Asked why Hammett was still taking lessons from him in 1988, four albums into Metallica’s career, Satriani replied: “Kirk is a very smart individual. He always acted on what he felt he needed to do.”
He talked about the importance of finding your own identity as a guitarist.
“Really, personality has so much to do with what you play,” he said. “The one thing I can do that nobody else can is be myself, and write those weird songs that I write. I don’t know if that’s a good thing.”
Satriani also confessed to two of the most embarrassing moments in his career.
He recalled – in detail – the worst review he ever had.
“I remember this so vividly,” he said. “It was 1987, and Surfing With The Alien [his second solo album] had just come out. Every morning I’d go for a cappuccino at this little café, and I read a review of my album in a magazine.”
He elaborated: “This guy did not like me, did not like my guitar playing, and did not like the music. He said it was the worst record he’d ever heard, and finished by saying that if you’re one of those people that likes to fill up the back of a pickup truck with a case of cheap beer, drive into a parking lot alone, turn up the music and get drunk, then this is the record for you. When I read that I peered over the top of the magazine to see if anyone knew that I was the culprit!”
He also admitted to one major artistic failure during the sessions for his classic 1989 album Flying In A Blue Dream.
“There was a song I wrote for the Flying In A Blue Dream record,” he said. “I spent hours in the studio, went through three bass players, pummelled it to death! I just couldn’t make this song work until finally I realised it was the worst piece of crap ever.
“I probably spent $10,000 trying to get it to work. That’s a lot of money!”
