Steve Vai is an American guitar virtuoso. In addition, he managed to realize himself as a composer, vocalist, producer and brilliant actor.
The musician managed to find fans on both sides of the ocean. Steve organically manages to combine the virtuoso technique of performance and the bright presentation of musical material in his work.
Childhood and youth Steve Vai
Steve Vai was born on June 6, 1960 in the provincial town of Carl Place, New York. He was raised by immigrants John and Teresa Wai. Music haunted Steve since childhood.
At the age of 5, he fell in love with the sound of the piano, and even tried to master playing this musical instrument. But one day he heard the sound of a guitar. And since then, the guy really wanted to learn how to play the instrument.
The formation of Steve Vai's musical taste was influenced by the fact that music often sounded in the parental home. One of the favorite records of the future virtuoso was the soundtrack to the movie West Side Story.
As a teenager, Steve suddenly discovered a new musical direction. He was fascinated by rock. Among the bands that influenced the desire to create was the cult band Led Zeppelin. Soon Vai took guitar lessons from musician Joe Satriani.
Steve Vai earned his first money by working as a musician in local bands. The musician admitted that the idols of his youth were: Jimmy Page, Brian May, Ritchie Blackmore and Jimi Hendrix.
Steve didn't do well in school. Naturally, he was interested in music, and spent most of his time rehearsing and performing. But still in 1978 he became a student at Berkeley College in Boston.
The creative path of Steve Vai
In his youth, being a fan of Frank Zappa, Steve arranged the track The Black Page. Vai took a chance and sent the edited recording to his idol. Frank appreciated the efforts of the young talent. In the late 1970s, he invited Steve to commission arrangements for several collections, among which was the famous three-act rock opera Joe's Garage.
Steve Vai did an excellent job. This greatly increased his authority in the music world. After that, the musician was invited to the Zappa group as a session musician. Together with the team, Steve went on a large-scale tour. During performances, the musician asked to give him any score. He brilliantly played unknown compositions from the sheet.
Frank called Steve Vai "a musician from God." In 1982, Steve left the band and moved to California. It was in this city that he began work on his solo record Flex-Able.
Steve realized himself not only as a solo singer. He played in several bands, taking the place of a session musician. In the mid-1980s, he played several parts in the band Alcatrazz, and then participated in the recording of the album Disturbing the Peace. In the same 1985, he entered the project of David Lee Roth, who previously worked in the Van Halen team.
And in 1986, Steve Vai made his debut as a film actor. His debut game can be seen in the movie "Crossroads". In the film, viewers could watch the difficult fate of the American bluesman. Almost immediately after the film's release, Steve received a lucrative offer from John Lydon, who had previously been part of the cult punk band the Sex Pistols.
John and Steve presented a joint LP, which was called the Album. Four years passed, and Vai left the project, moving to the Whitesnake team. In the new team, he replaced first Vivian Campbell, and then Adrian Vandenberg, who injured his hand.
Creativity Steve Vai in the 90s
Soon another significant event took place. The musician, along with the first teacher Joe Satriani, recorded the song Feed My Frankenstein, which was included in the Alice Cooper record Hey Stoopid. In the early 1990s, Steve Vai presented the solo single For the Love of God. The guitar part from the presented composition took the 29th position among the 100 famous guitar solos of all time according to Guitar World Magazine.
The 1990s were marked by an interesting collaboration with a well-known contemporary artist Ozzy Osbourne. In the mid-1990s, Steve received the prestigious Grammy Award for his performance of Sofa. She entered the repertoire of Frank Zappa.
Creativity in the 2000s
In the 2000s, Vai received the same award, but this time he won with the song Tender Surrender.
In 2002, another equally significant event in the musical biography of Steve Vai took place in Tokyo. The artist held a concert with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. Interestingly, the composer Ichiro Nodaira wrote the original score especially for this event.
2010 is marked by collaboration with Orianthi Panagaris. But in 2011, the name of Steve Vay was listed in the Guinness Book of Records. The musician was noted as the creator of the longest online guitar lesson.
In 2013, Steve Vai visited the capital of Russia. In Moscow, the musician not only pleased the fans of his work with a concert, but also visited the Evening Urgant program. On the show, Steve played a duet with the host of the program Ivan Urgant.
Three years later, Steve Vai attended the Inspiration festival, where the musician performed his best ballads. The artist continued to write original arrangements, among which Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen deserves considerable attention.
Steve Vai's personal life
Despite the fact that the creative biography of Steve Via is very stormy, his personal life has developed quietly and harmoniously. While still studying in Boston, he met Pia Myakko (former bass player of the band Vixen).
In the 1980s, the artist's wife starred in the movie Strong Bodies. The couple got married in 1988. Two children were born to this union: Julian and Fire.
Steve Vai: interesting facts
- Steve Vai is a beekeeper. He breeds bees, pumps out honey on his own and sells a natural delicacy.
- The musician has long excluded animal products from his diet.
- Steve Vai loves classical literature. The best rest for him is reading books.
- One of Steve's best collections is Passion and Warfare. The record expanded the lexicon of the electric guitar and ushered in the era of guitar virtuosos in the 1990s.
- The artist does not refuse the opportunity to give a lecture to schoolchildren about the joys of beekeeping.
Steve Vai today
Steve Vai dedicated 2020 to concerts. Some performances of the artist had to be postponed to another date due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The poster of performances is posted on the official website of the artist.
