There is a multitude of amplifiers, effect pedals and processors a guitarist can use, but you still have to be Joe Satriani if you want to make your guitar sound like a cat. In his most recent album, What Happens Next — which released in January — Satriani plays like never before in his fuzzy, groovy song called ‘Catbot’. While the tones and style might surprise a new listener, fans of the American guitar virtuoso know that he is just dancing down his usual path of strange, beautiful music.
When asked about composing ‘Catbot’, Satriani — who is scheduled to perform at the Bacardi NH7 Weekender on December 8 in Pune — says it was fun to work on. “I was smiling ear to ear as I got closer and closer to creating that signature sound,” he remembers.
Active since the 1980s, he has worked with a range of big-ticket names, from Sammy Hagar (formerly of Van Halen) to Alice Cooper and Mick Jagger. Today, he is arguably the most well-known guitarist there is. You might mention Steve Vai, but then Satriani was Vai’s teacher. It probably explains why soulful instrumental guitar rock never sounded better than when the two perform together at G3, the live tour series started in 1995 by Satriani.
With signature guitar albums such as Surfing with the Alien, Flying in a Blue Dream and Strange Beautiful Music , Satriani has become the world’s top axeman, always experimenting with sounds. “Going back to my first full length LP, Not of this Earth, I’ve always been interested in stretching the boundaries of what an electric guitar can sound like,” he says. “My next set of sounds are kept closely guarded until they are ready to be introduced to the world.”
In an interview with Weekend, Satriani talks music, virtual on-stage jams with Vai, Indian travel adventures, and more. Excerpts:
It has been quite a while since your first India tour in 2005. What is the one India memory that still remains with you?
Hearing the entire audience in Mumbai sing the melody to ‘Flying in a Blue Dream’ as I played it on my guitar. Wow! The memory still gives me chills. I hope to create more like that this time around.
“My next set of sounds are kept closely guarded until they are ready to be introduced to the world,” says Satriani
I read about how the Kolkata show was cut short back then. How often has that happened in your career, where you are on stage doing your thing but things around you start going south?
I don’t remember why it was cut short. Weather? Crowd safety concerns? A few years ago, we were playing a festival in Ontario, Canada, when a tornado came right up the middle of the audience and destroyed the main stage. Our friends, Cheap Trick, were performing at the time. They escaped unhurt, but their stage and ours buckled and crumbled under the might of mother nature. We were next up to perform when it happened. You never forget close calls like that.
You made a virtual appearance during Steve Vai’s set last year at NH7 Weekender. What are your thoughts on audio-visual live shows like that?
That was so much fun to do! Steve is my closest buddy and I would do anything for him. So, maybe we will both do a hologram tour someday!
Can you imagine a G3 Hologram tour decades down the line?
Ha! Better sooner than later, I say. But maybe something else will come along even cooler than holograms?
This time in India is going to be much more different than the tour because it is a festival. What are your plans in the country outside of the performance?
I want to make our appearance at the festival the best of all our India shows so far. I hope it will kick off more returns to the country for more shows. It seems like I never have enough time to vacation while on tour. I’ll have to work that into my future schedules.
NH7 Weekender will be held in Pune from December 7 to 9. Performers include Joe Satriani, The Contortionist and Salim-Sulaiman. Tickets, priced between ₹2,000 and 4,000, are available on insider.in
