Watch And Listen Closely

"When I put a set-list together, it's a creative process,” laid-back guitarist/songwriter/producer Steve Vai explains from southern California. “I try to put a show together that I would like to see. First and foremost I want to be a great entertainer, because if the people are going to take the time and spend the money to come to a show, I want them to feel like they're getting some great value – that at the end of the day they feel somewhat uplifted by what they saw. There's times where it's extremely intense and maybe aggressive, and there's times where it's extremely intimate and delicate.”

It's this contrast which has helped the American sell 15 million albums, take home three Grammy Awards and earn widespread acclaim during his three decade-plus career. It's also aided him in forging an appeal that extends beyond merely guitar aficionados. This includes live performances, which he aims to appeal to the musically-inclined, as well as be palatable to those who don't know the difference between a pentatonic scale and their bathroom scale.

“It's nice when it does,” he comments of translating to various punters. “When I play the guitar, I like to have all the different elements. I've always wanted to have it all; I wanted to be able to play relatively effortlessly with great chops, but have great tone and great phrasing. The kind of things that even a non-guitar player may find fascinating, interesting and something that's accessible to them. But you can't please everybody. Some people, a guitar solo just sounds like a series of Morse code, because they're tone deaf. What they respond to are other things. Most people respond to the confidence of the performer, and I'm fiercely confident when I'm on stage. Some people respond to the beat, groove, the lyrics, staging, lights, sound. You can't satisfy everybody, but if you're open-minded there's definitely something there for anybody.”

On the performance front, Vai has been no stranger to our shores lately. He has visited as part of the G3 juggernaut, Zappa Plays Zappa and Masterclass clinics. He'll be joined by Dave Weiner on guitar, Jeremy Colson (drums), Philip Bynoe (bass) and Michael Arrom (keyboards). Vai reveals sections of the show will have a theatrical bent, as well as songs fans are yet to hear him play live.

“I think 2004 was the last time I brought my rock band to Australia. The full show is definitely a different experience. There's obviously a lot of guitar playing, but I try to balance it out with the other musicians and stuff, so it's not just a two-and-a-half hour wank-fest,” he laughs. “There's a section of the show that I like to keep very spontaneous. It's becoming a favourite; I call it 'build me a song'. That's where I bring people up from the audience, a couple of people, to build a song right there on the stage that we play. It's really fun, and I've been shocked at some of the things that have happened. When I first thought of the idea, I wasn't quite sure… Nah, I was quite sure that it would be fun and it would work. Because I knew that I can kind of Svengali it, and make it work, no matter what happened. I've had 12-year-old little girls on stage, and I'd say, 'sing a bass part', or 'sing a drum part'. They go, 'I can't do that'. Then I would take what they said,” he says, humming a drum beat, “and that's a drum beat, you know?” he laughs again.

The Australian tour falls within a hectic schedule for Vai. Last year, he toured for four months on latest disc The Story Of Light, the second instalment of the Real Illusions trilogy. He also took time off to compose music recently performed with the North Netherlands Orchestra. Additionally, the latest itinerary included a tour of several countries with the Romanian Orchestra, followed by a week off. Then he heads to Australia, signalling the beginning of about six months on the road with the rock band format. Offers are already pouring in to visit Africa, India, Dubai, Israel and Russia throughout 2014.

If this wasn't exhausting enough, there's recording projects on the horizon. “The next thing I'm probably going to work on is taking all this orchestra music and creating a Sound Theories part three, and releasing that. Then I'll go back to work on the rock record. [I have started writing] elements of it [the final part of the trilogy]. There's sketches of ideas, tracks that were recorded that weren't used in previous incarnations of it. But by the time I go lay it down, I don't know when that's going to be.”

The axeman has seemingly had a predisposition for keeping busy throughout his lengthy career. At age 12, he started taking lessons from Joe Satriani and by 18 had begun his professional music career transcribing for, and eventually playing, recording and touring with Frank Zappa. In 1984, Vai branched out on his own before joining Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth's solo band and Whitesnake, quickly earning guitar superstar status. His prolific creativity has built an extensive discography of more than 60 albums featuring solo works, contributions to film soundtracks, as well as appearing on numerous albums by fellow artists.

He's also helped launch a few careers along the way; namely Canada's metal mad scientist, Devin Townsend, who provided vocals for Vai's 1993 full-length, Sex & Religion. The guitarist says he believed “HevyDevy” possessed great potential, but for various reasons wasn't able to harness it then.

“Back then, after I'd finished (1990's) Passion And Warfare… my roots were more based in traditional rock bands with lead singers and stuff. So I wanted to do something that was very heavy, very intense, that incorporated some of the compositional things that I do, within a band that had a lead singer. I needed a really special kind of a lead singer. Devin was very young at the time; he was like 17 or something when I met him and we started working together. He was… really intense; very talented singer, obviously. I didn't realise how deeply talented he was at the time, musically. I didn't know anything about his inner vision.

“But I knew that there was something there. Unfortunately for him he was confined by my parameters... But then when he started making music and I started listening to it, I was stunned. Then when he just exploded, he found his freedom… It was like he found his torment, and he found his solace. I personally think he's one of the most brilliant musicians in the world. I really feel that, because he's completely present, and he continues to evolve and his music is just… for me, totally inspired. I never miss anything he does. Everything he does carries the fragrance of his brilliance. Even when it's tremendously tormented music, there's always this light to it. There's always this redemption quality of sorts that comes (from) deep within him.”