JOE SATRIANI
MARCH 2020 TOTAL GUITAR39
Itmight be something that requires an
approach you haven’t explored before.
Spirits, Ghosts And Outlaws felt like a
different approach for me. It could just
come from a production angle, a song
like Teardrops took concentration to stay
truetoitsmeaningandpushmyself
intoa differentstyle.It wasanother
firsttake that I decided to leave alone.
Sometimes you just don’t know how a
song is going to inspire you. I thought if
the melody was going to be gospel-like,
I wanted the solo to be like one of David
Bowie’s bridges – the story of the song
but from a different viewpoint.”What do you think about the next
generation of guitarists? Who is
currently impressing you?
“Seeing all the amazing players at
NAMM reminded me how the guitar
world is very much alive and well. Look
at Guthrie Govan – he’s just so good.
You can’t help but be amazed because
he plays so well and comes from a place
of pure love. We had the guys from
Polyphia at Steve Vai’s NAMM jam,
those guys were remarkable and it was
interesting to see them so out of their
element. You can throw guys like me,
Steve and Paul [Gilbert] anywhere and
we’ll improvise like always we do. These
guys come from a completely different
discipline but they’re incredible
guitarists. I was so impressed they were
brave enough to stand next to some old
guys and see what happens!”And vice versa, it must be great to
hear other players think of things you
might not yourself...
“Playerscomealongandchallenge
whatyou thought was possible, coming
from new angles. I was listening to
Philip Sayce – I don’t think I’ve ever
heard someone go that crazy in that
direction for a long time. Yvette Young
is another,shecomesfromanentirely
differentworldof playing,butyou
can’thelpbeblownawaybywhat
she’sdoing.There’sroomfor
everybody.There’sroomforwhoever
wantstositinthe corner and play
something beautiful and there’s room
for Zakk Wylde... we need him just as
much! You meet new players and realise
they have this special gift in areas that
aren’t part of your makeup. What
makes me go ‘Wow, this person was
born to do this!’ is when I hear someone
with a beautiful yet different form of
expression – they find beauty in
something I missed and start runningSATRIANI’S
DISCIPLES
NICK JOHNSTON
C
anadian virtuoso and Schecter signature artist
Nick Johnston has been melting minds since his
2011 debut. Much like Satch, he’s lauded thanks
to his knack for choice – sometimes unusual –
notesthatfeelinfinitelymoredramaticthanbusierlines.
“BeforelisteningtoJoe,I don’tthinkI understood
howimportant a role the melodies played in building
compositions," Nick says. "He would place the solo in a
different spot than everyone else, and open his songs in
different ways, he would play the melody refrain in a higher
octave,hewoulduseeffectsdifferentlyandwasn’tafraid
tobedynamicandpullemotionoutofthreenotes.As
Idovedeeper,I realisedhewastheguywho’dreallyfigured
it out– thebalanceoftechnique,tone,melodyand
production.WhileplayerswerelearningbluesfromHendrix
andClapton,Iwas learning them from Satriani.”LARI BASILIO
B
orn to a musical family in São Paulo, Suhr
endorsee Lari Basilio has been recording her own
music since 2011 and has gained some serious
online traffic thanks to her exquisitely rhythmic
fingerstyle approach. Not only does Satch himself make
an appearance on her latest full-length, Far More, but he
also invited her to be part of the 2019 G4 Experience
tour, making her the first female artist to do so. She
says, “Flying In A Blue Dream is probably the song from Joe
SatrianithatI listenedthemostin mylife.I remember
listeningtoit onthebusonmywaytomyguitarclass
andfeeling so inspired. Besides his amazing skills and
technique,hismelodicsensewaswhatcaughtmy
attentionin thefirstplace.Hisapproachtowriting
thesebeautifulsongsandmelodiesis souniquethat
Iimmediately learned that there were ways to make the
guitar really sing. It all brought me a new perspective
about instrumental music and definitely was a huge
influence to me, since the formation of my style to this day.
Satriani’s melodies are a true gift to this world and we’re
are blessed to have them to listen to!”PLINI
A
ustralian guitarist Plini released his debut solo
record, Handmade Cities, in 2016 to high acclaim.
Steve Vai described the album as “one of the
finest, forward-thinking, melodic, rhythmically
and harmonically deep, evolution of rock/metal
instrumental guitar records I have ever heard” and the
27-year-old Strandberg player was named MusicRadar’s
Best Prog Guitarist the following year...
“Joe Satriani was one of my first guitar heroes. I learned
so much from him – phrasing, approaches to melody and
harmony, tone... the list is endless. Learning The Journey
wasthefirsttimeI cameacrossalltheprettychordsyou
canmakefromleavinga coupleofstringsopenwhile
movingothersimple two- or three-note shapes around.
His song Revelation is one of the most beautifully written
and articulate guitar songs I’ve heard, with the best tone!
What I found different in Joe’s playing is his ability to craft
simple and catchy melodies and phrase them so perfectly
that he doesn’t have to rely on (but can still bust out)
flashy passages and cool tricks to keep the instrumental
song format interesting. I hope we get to jam some day!”