Strange Beautiful Music

by Joe Satriani

  As the session dates were approaching, I sent Mike Fraser all the songs I was working on and asked, "Which ones do you like, which ones do you think suck, and which ones do you think I'm crazy to even attempt?" because I was at that point where I needed some feedback.

  I hadn't really decided who was going to play on the record until the last minute. I had to go with my gut on which group of guys would be the best to record the album with. It wasn't clear-cut to me this time around because my whole system of not bringing the demos out on the road kind of worked against me in this respect. Had I done so, a lot of that work of deciding who would play on the record would have been figured out. Then, by the time I arrived home, I could have told Mike exactly whom I wanted. It’s dangerous to wait until the last minute because sometimes the players you want aren't available. I can't really explain why I felt that Chris Chaney, Vinnie Colaiuta, and Mike Keneally would work well together. I took a big chance that there would be some unusual chemistry between them. It really did turn out to be a very fruitful decision, because those guys clicked, played so well together, and injected so much life into the material.

  Vinnie Colaiuta and Chris Chaney writing charts at Skywalker in '13

  PHOTO BY ARTHUR ROSATO

  Vinnie Colaiuta has such a different personality and groove from any drummer I've ever played with. His musicianship is awesome, and his timing is the most natural thing you've ever heard in your life. It’s uncanny. My digital editor, Mike Boden, had first suggested Jane’s Addiction’s Chris Chaney on bass. We didn't know if we could get him, but we did, and he wound up being the perfect bassist for the sessions. He was fun, artistic, and had a huge bass sound. Mike Keneally was the last guy I chose. He was quite busy with his producing gigs and his work with Dethklok, and although he plays guitar most of the time, I was hiring him just to play keyboards. He’s a brilliant guitarist and keyboardist, and he can flow between the two. He can see the guitar in his head when he’s playing piano and vice versa. Mike seems to be free of any kind of methodical or didactic keyboard approach. He’s an amazingly pure musician, and extremely creative.

  Vinnie Colaiuta at Skywalker in '13

  PHOTO BY ARTHUR ROSATO

  The level of professionalism with all these guys was really amazing. They came prepared, could change direction at the drop of a hat, and always gave tremendous performances.

  Mike Fraser: These guys had amazing musicianship. I don't believe they had even heard the songs we were doing until probably an hour before we tracked the song. They'd sit there with their little earbuds on listening to Joe’s demo. Chris would chart the song out, and Vinnie would listen to the song once or twice, and then say, "Okay, let’s try this," and on almost every take, he'd take a different groove until he'd figured out in his mind what he wanted to play. By the time we'd hit take six or seven, he'd know exactly what he wanted to do and nail it. So again, it was a very quick process, and nobody got bogged down and tired of doing the same song all day long. It was a really fresh venture, and they all interplayed off each other, and there was just all this intuitive stuff that was amazing to watch! To see Joe off in his little guitar corner with a big grin on his face the whole time—it was a magical record!

  When you make a record, there’s all sorts of things that you're trying to manage: production, the musicians, choosing the right gear, and then there’s your playing and the songs themselves. Then you try to pull everything together and hope that it has that je ne sais quoi that makes it sparkle. What was fun about making this album was that all the elements fell into place in an exciting and natural way. The two weeks we spent in Vancouver mixing the album were emotionally thrilling because I knew I was moving forward into a new creative phase, and I had a great record as proof!

  Conclusion: 2013 and Beyond

  Once a new record is mixed, I don't spend a lot of time listening to it. I really need to focus on the live performance versions. Just looking at 2012 alone, I had to play "Satch Boogie," "Flying in a Blue Dream," "Crowd Chant," and many other fan favorites hundreds of times. What keeps things interesting is finding new ways to be expressive every night onstage. I try to find ways to apply who I am today to the songs I recorded ten, fifteen, or twenty-five years ago. When I listen to my older material, it’s more confusing than illuminating because it’s not how I experience those songs every night on stage. I do know those versions are what my fans relate to. The studio versions are in their playlists, so that’s what they're relating to day after day. That’s the total opposite of how I experience those songs. I'm living the "live" versions and hardly ever listen to the studio versions once they're done.

  It’s very difficult to say whether I prefer the studio or live versions of songs. One time in 2004, we were playing an outdoor gig in a town square in Wroclaw, which is in southwestern Poland. It was on this weekend where they have live music for almost twenty- four hours straight, all the way until sunrise, in this beautiful square that looks like it must have been built eight hundred years ago. We didn't really know what to expect when we went on. We started doing "Crowd Chant," which was making its first appearance on tour that year, and all of a sudden this crowd of twenty thousand people was synched up with the band and singing this song with us. It was just amazing. I couldn't believe that this little idea I had in my studio was now being chanted by twenty thousand people on this beautiful summer night in Poland! There have been so many nights like that all around the world, where an audience has come to the party with one particular song in their heads, or where they sing the melodies I'm playing on every song. When an audience is with you like that, it’s a very powerful experience.

  Throughout my career, all of my records have been cathartic to a large degree, because I made an unconscious decision way back during my first album that I would concentrate on material that was an expression of my feelings, experiences, and memories. I didn't turn on the radio, listen to the Top 20, and say, "Okay, now write your version of that." I know people who do that and are very good at it, but at the time, I knew this was such a long shot. I was not going to try to break down the door of the music business doing the trendy thing; I knew I had to follow my own path. Whether it sold well or not, I needed to be happy with it artistically. I still feel that way.

  Leonardo da Vinci said, "Art is never finished, only abandoned." I believe this to be true. It’s the letting go of a record, a song, or even a solo that still remains so very difficult for me, and the act is so very cathartic, even after all these years. I still, however, find the process completely exhilarating. I was born to make music in a time when musicianship and originality were celebrated, and they still are— that’s good fortune.

  I wish I could go back and rewrite, rerecord, and replay so much of my music, but I've learned to respect the gift of time over the years. One’s early recordings are like outrageous candid photos taken at a crazy party you wish you could forget, but there they are, reminders of who you were at a specific place and time. They reveal things about yourself that perhaps you missed the first go-round.

  Writing this book has been cathartic enough for me, but not nearly as intense as reviewing John Cuniberti’s wonderful remastering of my studio catalog. He has injected new life into the albums and made them sound more alive and exciting. Even though it’s quite thrilling to undertake such a sweeping retrospective, I still prefer moving forward and not looking back. As I write this passage, I'm only halfway through the Unstoppable Momentum tour, and my fingers are still itching to reinterpret the new material onstage. I want to wrestle with the complexity of "Lies and Truths." And I look forward to being immersed in the emotion of "I'll Put a Stone on Your Cairn" night after night.

  Looking back on almost thirty years of being a "solo artist," I am humbled by and grateful for all the love and support granted me by my fans, fellow musicians, managers, agents, promoters, record companies, press agents, and, most of all, my family. To be able to follow one’s heart and pursue one’s passion in life is truly a gift to
be thankful for. Thank you!

  The Gear: Album by Album

  The Joe Satriani EP 1984: '54 Fender Stratocaster, '83 Kramer Pacer, homemade Boogie Body and Rubina- painted Strat-type electrics, '67 Marshall Super Lead, '78 Marshall MKII 100 watt-head, Roland JC-120, Boss DS-1, OD-1, and CE-1 pedals, EH Big Muff Pi pedal, Echoplex Tape Delay, MXR Flanger, Maxon Digital Delay

  * *

  Not of This Earth 1986: '83 Kramer Pacer, Boogie Body and Rubina-painted Strat-type electrics, '67 Marshall Super Lead, '78 Marshall MKII 100-watt head, Roland JC-120, Scholz Rockman, silverface Fender Princeton Reverb amp, Boss DS-1, OD-1, BF-2, and CE-2 pedals

  * *

  Surfing with the Alien 1987: two '83 Kramer Pacers, Boogie Body and Rubina-painted Strat-type electrics, vin- tage Coral Sitar, '67 Marshall Super Lead, '78 Marshall MKII 100-watt head, Roland JC-120, Gorilla practice amp, Scholz Rockman, original Chandler Tube Drivers, Cry Baby wahs, Boss DS-1, DD-2, OD-1, and CE-2 pedals

  * *

  Dreaming #11 EP 1988: Ibanez JS1 Prototype "Black Dog," Scholz Rockman, '64 Fender P-Bass; live rig: Ibanez JS1; '67 Marshall Super Lead, '78 Marshall MKII 100-watt

  head, Cry Baby wahs, Boss DS-1, DD-2, and CE-1 pedals

  * *

  Flying in a Blue Dream 1989: Ibanez JS1 Prototype "Black Dog," white Ibanez JS1, '83 Kramer Pacer, Boogie Body Strat-type electric, Fender '63 reissue Stratocaster, '64 Fender P-Bass, '71 Marshall Super Lead, '78 Marshall MKII 100-watt head, Roland JC-120, Gorilla practice amp, Scholz Rockman, Mesa Boogie Mark llc 100-watt head, Deering 6-string banjo, Cry Baby wahs, Boss DS-1, OD-1, and CE-2 pedals

  * *

  The Extremist 1992: Ibanez JS6, JS1, and "Black Dog" guitars, '83 Kramer Pacer, Boogie Body Strat-type electric, Gibson Chet Atkins Nylon String Electric, '69 Marshall full stack, Marshall 6100, Roland JC-120, '64 Fender Vibrolux Reverb, Soldano 100-watt head, Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier head, Deering 6-string banjo, vintage National dobro, Gibson mandolin, Zoom headphone amp, '65 Gibson Hummingbird, Cry Baby wahs, Boss DS-1, OD-1, and CE-2 pedals

  * *

  Time Machine 1993: Ibanez JS guitars and Marshall 6100s for '90s live rig; '88 live rig: '67 Marshall Super Lead; studio tracks: Boogie Body Strat-type electric, Wells amp, Soldano, Marshall 6100, Roland JC-120, 5150 head, '58 Fender Esquire, Fender custom shop Stratocasters, Cry Baby wahs, Boss DS-1, DD-2, and CE-2 pedals

  * *

  Joe Satriani 1995: Ibanez JS guitars, '58 Fender Esquire, Deering 6-string banjo, vintage National dobro, '58 Gibson Les Paul Jr., '84 Gibson Flying V, Wells amp, Marshall 6100, Roland JC-120, Peavey 5150 head, Peavey Classic combo, vintage Gibson Discover Tremolo amp, '53 Fender Deluxe, vintage Rickenbacker lap steel, Chandler Baritone guitar, Cry Baby wahs, Boss DS-1, OC-2, BF-2, and CE-2 pedals, Fulltone Ultimate Octave, Digitech Whammy

  * *

  Crystal Planet 1998: Ibanez JS guitars, '58 Fender Esquire, '58 Fender Stratocaster, '58 Gibson Les Paul Jr., '84 Gibson Flying V, '83 Kramer Pacer, Wells amp, Marshall 6100, Roland JC-120, Peavey 5150 head, Gibson Lab Series combo, SansAmp rack and plug-in, Cry Baby wahs, Boss DS-1, DD-2, and CE-2 pedals, Fulltone Ultimate Octave, Digitech Whammy

  * *

  Engines of Creation 2000: Ibanez JS guitars, '58 Fender Stratocaster, '64 Fender P-Bass, Wells amp, Marshall 6100, SansAmp rack and plug-in amp, '64 Fender Bassman, Hafler Triple Giant rack-mount head, Cry Baby wahs, Boss DS-1, and CE-2 pedals, Fulltone Ultimate Octave, Digitech Whammy, Moogerfooger pedals, EH Micro Synth

  * *

  Strange Beautiful Music 2002: Ibanez JS guitars, Boogie Body Strat-type electric, '58 Fender Esquire, '58, '60, '61, and '69 Fender Stratocasters, '64 Fender P-Bass, '58 Gibson Les Paul Jr., Martin '48 000-18 acoustic, Deering 6-string banjo, '84 Kramer Pacer, '95 Gibson Les Paul, Wells amp, Marshall 6100, Roland JC-120, Peavey 5150 head, Jerry Jones, Coral Sitar, Chandler Baritone guitar, Cornford prototype heads, Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier head, Cry Baby wahs, Boss DS-1 and CE-2 pedals, Full- tone Ultimate Octave, Digitech Whammy, Echoplex Tape Delay, RMC wah pedals

  * *

  Is There Love in Space 2004: Ibanez JS guitars, Ibanez JS 7-string prototypes, '66 Fender Electric XII, Ricken- backer 360 12-string electric, '58 Fender Esquire, Fender custom shop Stratocaster, '64 Fender P-Bass, '48 Martin 000-18 acoustic, '50 Martin D-28, Wells amp, Marshall 6100 and '71 Super Lead heads, Roland JC-120, Peavey 5150 head, Peavey JSX head and cabinets, Vox AC30, Chandler Baritone guitar, Peavey Mini Colossal, Corn- ford prototype heads, Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier head, Cry Baby wahs, Boss DS-1, DM-2, DD-2, and CE-2 pedals, Fulltone Ultimate Octave, Digitech Whammy, Roger Mayer Deja Vibe

  * *

  Super Colossal 2006: Ibanez JS guitars, '58 Fender Esquire, '66 Fender Electric XII, Rickenbacker 360 12-string electric, Fender custom shop Stratocaster, '64 Fender P-Bass, '73 Fender P-Bass, '48 Martin 000-18 acoustic, Wells amp, Marshall 6100, Peavey 5150 head, Wizard 100-watt head, Peavey Mini Colossal, Doctor Z Mini Z, Cry Baby wahs, Boss DS-1 and CE-2 pedals, Full- tone Ultimate Octave, Digitech Whammy, EH POG pedal

  * *

  Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock 2008: Ibanez JS guitars, '58 Fender Esquire, Fender custom shop Stratocaster, '64 Fender P-Bass, '73 Fender P-Bass, '48 Martin 000-18 acoustic, '06 Gibson Gold Top Les Paul, Wells amp, Marshall 6100, JMP, and 800 heads, Roland JC-120, Peavey 5150 head, Wizard 100-watt head, Ben Fargen JS prototype head, Peavey Mini Colossal, Cry Baby wahs, Vox Big Bad Wah and Satchurator prototypes, Fulltone Ultimate Octave, Digitech Whammy, Boss OC-2 pedal, Roger Mayer Octavia

  * *

  Chickenfoot 2009: Ibanez JS guitars, '58 Fender Esquire, Fender custom shop Stratocaster, '48 Martin 000-18 acoustic, Rickenbacker 360 12-string electric, '06 Gibson gold top Les Paul, '06 Gibson JJP #1, Wells amp, Marshall 6100, Peavey 5150 head, Peavey JSX head and cabinets, Peavey JS prototype 100-watt head, Jerry Jones, Coral Sitar, Peavey Mini Colossal, Vox Big Bad Wah and Satchurator, Fulltone Ultimate Octave, Digitech

  Whammy, Roger Mayer Deja Vibe, Way Huge pedals

  * *

  Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards 2010: Ibanez JS guitars, '58 Fender Esquire, '69 Fender Stratocaster, '64 Fender P-Bass, '73 Fender P-Bass, '48 Martin 000-18 acoustic, '06 Gibson JPP #1, Jerry Jones Coral Sitar, '59 Gibson L-5, Wells amp, Marshall 6100 and '73 Super Lead, Peavey 5150 head, Wizard 100-watt head, Marshall JVM410HJS head prototype, '64 Fender Bassman, Two Rock Classic Reverb amp, Vox Big Bad Wah and Satchurator, Fulltone Ultimate Octave, Digitech Whammy, Roger Mayer Deja

  Vibe, Way Huge pedals, Sustainiac pickup system

  * *

  Chickenfoot III 2011: Ibanez JS guitars, '58 Fender Esquire, '06 Gibson JPP #1, '59 Gibson 335, '55 Gibson Les Paul gold top, Rickenbacker 360 12-string electric, Marshall JVM410HJS amps, '59 Fender Twin amp, '53 Fender Deluxe amp, Two Rock Classic Reverb amp, Vox Big Bad Wah and Time Machine pedals, EH POG pedal

  * *

  Unstoppable Momentum 2013: Ibanez JS guitars, Boogie Body Strat-type electric, '58 Fender Esquire, '06 Gibson JPP #1, '83 Gibson 335, '61 Fender Stratocaster, Marshall JVM410HJS amps, '59 Fender Twin amp and assorted '50s Fender amps, Peavey 5150 head, Wizard 100-watt head, Roland JC-120, Fargen Retro Classic, '64 Fender Bassman, Two Rock Classic Reverb and 10th Anniversary amps, Vox Big Bad Wah and Time Machine pedals, Boss DM-2 and OC-2 pedals, Digitech Whammy, Sustainiac pickup system

  Acknowledgments

  This book started out as a crazy idea from the mind of author Jake Brown. He felt that even after fourteen studio albums much about my creative process was still a mystery to my fans and that they would love to have me shed some light on that process. As we brain- stormed the project it blossomed into something much bigger and more comprehensive than I could have imagined. I'm glad it did, and I thank Jake for coming to me with his idea.

  I actually tried writing an autobiography a few years ago, but found the whole thing to be too cathartic. I felt it was a bit too early in my life to be looking back on everything with such scrutiny, and so it fell by the wayside. This time around, J
ake’s idea made more sense to me. We would concentrate on the studio albums, the work that goes into making a record, the creative process, the gear, and the colorful cast of characters who joined me along the way. Jake tirelessly interviewed not only me, but also everyone else who played a major role in helping me record my studio albums. He spoke with the musicians, engineers, producers, record company executives, etc. I must admit, I learned a thing or two about myself reading through the transcripts of those interviews.

  However streamlined Jake’s idea was, I found the whole process cathartic anyway. There was no escaping it in the end. The photographs alone brought back vivid memories both good and bad. Writing this book has proven to be hard work, too, but worthwhile and artistically reaffirming. It seems I've spent my whole life with a guitar strapped around my neck, trying to move forward, not looking back, always jumping into new musical territory. It’s been immensely interesting, artistically satisfying, and fun! Music helps me make sense of the world. I guess it always has. It’s taken a bit of brooding to sort things out along the way, but that process of digging deep into my soul everyday has defined a large part of my life, and has been the method behind my creativity.

  I would like to thank Jake Brown; Glenn Yeffeth and all the good people at BenBella Books; my manager, Mick Brigden; my agent, Wayne Forte; and all my friends and musical cohorts who contributed their precious time and effort into making this book truthful, accurate, and fun to read.

  My parents John and Katherine Satriani must have seen very early in my life that I was crazy about music, and they supported and nurtured me through it all. There is no way to thank them enough. My siblings deserve an apology for all the noise I made growing up, and a big thank-you as well, as they too helped and guided me on my musical adventures.