Joe Satriani and Steve Vai are about to drop the debut song from the SatchVai Band, and Guitar Player has an audio exclusive of the new track.
Titled “I Wanna Play My Guitar,” the tune is a blistering tribute to guitar shred and hard rock, featuring the SatchVai Band — Satriani and Vai, rhythm guitarist Pete Thorn, bass guitar player Marco Mendoza and drummer Kenny Aronoff — with Glenn Hughes on vocals.
The track is a monster whose theme is perfectly suited to a group that features not one but two electric guitar virtuosos, riffing and playing lead work in precise, tight tandem.
“When I started writing this song I had no idea how important the contributions from Glenn and Steve would be,” Satriani says. “What they brought to the track made it all happen.”
As Satch reveals, he originally intended Hughes and the Darkness singer Justin Hawkins would share vocals.
“I got this crazy idea on the Monsters of Rock Cruise where Glenn and Justin were both performing,” he explains. “Unfortunately, when I got back from the cruise I tested positive for COVID and I entered into a 10-day fog, forgetting if I had sent the invitations to collaborate.
“When I finally recovered, I heard back from Justin‘s people that the Darkness was going to be releasing a record at the same time and he wouldn’t be able to contribute to the song, so, I sent a rough demo to Glenn and he was into it.
“I pray no one ever hears that demo of me singing into my iPhone!”
For Vai, “I Wanna Play My Guitar” encapsulates the single-mindedness of his and Joe’s youth as budding guitarists.
"This song depicts all that Joe and I used to think about as teenagers. All of the things we loved about pounding rock and roll and the glorious guitar,” he says. “It is an absolute phenom for us to be able to present to you now our teenage aspirations in this song.
“I remember those days and how absolutely exciting it was to play the guitar. Our whole world revolved around it as if it was a mysterious monolith, as it is, and I know that there are teenagers right now that are feeling the same thing about this sacred instrument when they play it.
”It feels like freedom and joy and I recommend everybody find some time in their life to play the guitar. And to be able to hear the mighty voice of one of our childhood heroes on this track, the great Glenn Hughes is more than the icing on the cake, enjoy!”
Satriani and Vai announced the SatchVai Band in December 2024. The musical union came about after the guitarists and their respective bands played their first tour together — outside of their G3 dates — earlier in the year.
The SatchVai Band marks the first time in their musical careers that the two electric guitar virtuosos and lifelong friends have performed in a band and composed together.
The duo released a brief clip of the band's rehearsal footage in April. The tantalizing minute-long video featured Vai soloing over Satriani’s "If I Could Fly," before both guitarists performed the iconic two-hand-tapped run in Satch's "Always With Me, Always With You."
The duo then harmonized on Vai's "For the Love of God" before the clip ended with them performing the main riff from Metallica’s "Enter Sandman." The tune was a staple on the G3 reunion tour and a significant cut, considering that Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett was, like Vai, once one of Satriani’s guitar students.
The SatchVai Band will undertake their debut road show, the Surfing With the Hydra tour, this summer. The road show kicks off June 13, in York, England, with dates scheduled in the U.K. and Europe through August 2.
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