STEVE VAI – Seven Things We Learned From His Renman Live Guest Appearance

Renman Music & Business, the music industry mentoring website founded by longtime industry veteran Steve Rennie (aka “Renman”), spoke with guitar legend Steve Vai on Wednesday, February 11th. GuitarPlayer.com has posted a list of seven things we learned about Vai from his guest spot. An excerpt is available below:

– Steve discovered music via a spinet organ at his aunt’s house when he was a child: “It wasn’t like a choice of saying, ‘I’m gonna be a musician. I never was at a point when I made a conscious decision. It was just a function and interest.”

– He had a fear of becoming famous: “Somebody said if you become famous, you become crazy. So this was kind of like a concern. So being a musician was my own little secret. And I would just constantly, all day long, be a musician, but as far as the idea of trying in the world, no way!”
 
– Steve began taking lessons from Joe Satriani when he 12 and Joe was 16: “He was always great. My lessons with Joe were paramount.”

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Vai has announced Vai Academy 2015 – All About The Guitar, the ultimate guitar experience music camp. It will be held in Vail, Colorado August 2nd – 6th.

The immersive 4-day experience features master classes by Vai, and very special guests Eric Johnson and Sonny Landreth. This is a hands-on education in all things guitar, featuring informative sessions, evening jams with the students/teachers, informal chats, food and friends. For complete information, to reserve your spot visit VaiAcademy.com

Vai’s recent Musicians Institute interview is available below. He discusses the perils of ego, the addiction of monogamy and why he always avoids drugs. He also shares some inspiring insight into his creativity and playing, discusses touring, what he looks for in bandmates, composing for orchestras, and playing with Zappa back in the day.

For the final Story Of Light tour date, Vai was sought out to perform his original orchestral compositions at the Grand Opening of the Szczecin Philharmonic Symphony Hall in Poland:

“It was truly a magical evening with the 72 piece orchestra and Steve showcasing a range of imaginative music, ranging from absolutely monstrous to perfectly subtle and delicate.”

Vai’s setlist on the night was as follows:

“Frangelica Pt. I” (without Vai)
“Racing The World”
“The Murder”
“Velorum”
“Gentle Ways”
“Answers”
“Whispering Prayer”
“The Attitude Song”
“I’m Becoming”
“Salamanders In The Sun”
“The Crying Machine”
“Lotus Feet”
“Bangkok”
“The Fire Garden Suite”

Encore:
“Liberty”
“For The Love Of God”