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He's still winless. The
Flaming Lips won this year for "Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon
(Utopia Planitia)," extending Satriani's losing streak to 13.
Satriani, who was born in New York in 1956, first established himself on
the San Francisco music scene during the early 1980s as a guitar
instructor. He quickly became one of the most recognized teachers in the
area, attracting students such as Metallica's Kirk Hammett, Larry LaLonde
of Primus and acclaimed guitarist Steve Vai.
He released his first all-instrumental EP, the self-titled "Joe Satriani,"
in 1984. Two years later, "Not of This Earth" won critical praise and an
immediate fan following. 1987's "Surfing With the Alien" is one of the few
all-instrumental albums to reach the Top 40.
Besides the Grammy-nominated "Starry Night," songs on "Strange Beautiful
Music," Satriani's 11th album, include "Chords of Life" and "Seven
String."
"The last record had me exploring an organic rock and roll band sound with
sort of hyper-melodic songs. I want to maintain a rock 'n' roll vibe,"
said Satriani, when asked about his next CD.
"A lot of the songs I'm writing now are heavy in the rhythm guitar
department. So the next record may be a stronger, harder, more gritty kind
of thing from the guitar part of it."
1. After the success of Santana's Grammy-winning "Supernatural," would you
consider pairing with vocalists?
Satriani: I'm not quite sure it would be as artistically satisfying
because I really do concentrate on development of melody and harmony. I
just really like focusing on that. So I need a lot of time and control to
work on the compositions on the records.
But having said that, it's difficult to shake a stick at selling 15
million records and the artistic freedom that follows that. Record sales
generally purchase you this huge artistic license to do whatever you like
for the next couple of records. That would always be great.
2. Do you find it odd that you've taught some of the biggest names in the
industry and they've become more of a household name than Joe Satriani?
Satriani: I don't find it odd at all. It's like me asking, `Do you know
who Bill Gates' professor was?' Civilization moves forward because the
students leapfrog the teacher. If the greatest achievements stopped with
the teacher, we'd be in deep trouble. Once the elders passed away, we'd be
finished.
3. What approach do you take with your students?
Satriani: When you're a teacher and you see a 16-year-old Kirk Hammett
sitting across from you and he wants to know what key is this in and how
can I make a really cool song, you really have to surrender everything you
know... You hope someday they pass it on to the younger generation. That
way things move forward and we can hope there will be a new Jimi Hendrix
every generation.
4. How do you choose your next project?
Satriani: There are so many projects that I have written down in this book
I carry around with me. It's in a little tattered book that seems to
follow me around the world. It's been with me for a long time and some
very cool records have come out of that little book. Halfway through a
tour promoting one record, I start to think about what I'm going to do
next and I pull out the book, add to it and then review the crazy schemes
I've come up with.
5. Where do you get the comfort to try new things?
Satriani: It's probably just in my nature to be that way. Part of me can't
help but notice that some of my contemporaries, not just guitar players,
have a hard time doing the same thing over five years let alone 20 years.
We can't help but notice what our next-door neighbor is doing, and you
make a judgment on it. You think, `Would I do that? Is that fun?' Maybe
it's like how I got attracted to snow-boarding. It looked fun, I loved it,
and I keep doing it. The same thing happened with the guitar. So I'm off
on this journey to do it as many different ways as I can think of.
On the Net:
Joe Satriani Web site:
http://www.satriani.com
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