Steve Vai

Latest about Steve Vai

Steve Vai performs at Fox Theater on April 04, 2026 in Oakland, California.
Steve Vai says guitar-playing excellence is within every player’s reach. But there’s a catch

By Phil Weller Published

The former Frank Zappa and David Lee Roth guitarist calls virtuosity an “intellectual exercise”

Guitarists
A photo of Joe Satriani (keft) and Steve Vai (right) performing onstage
Win tickets to see the SatchVai Band and Animals As Leaders perform in Northern California at Guitar Player Presents

By Jimmy Leslie Published

Joe Satriani and Steve Vai’s Surfing With the Hydra tour stops at the Fox Oakland on April 4

Guitarists
Matteo Mancuso performs September 27, 2023
Matteo Mancuso on why he plays fingerstyle on electric — and how he got Steve Vai to work with him

By Jimmy Leslie Published

The Sicilian virtuoso spoke with us on a rare visit to the United States

Guitarists
LEFT: Frank Zappa with Jimi Hendrix's burned and restored Stratocaster from the 1968 Miami Pop Festival, featured here on the cover of Guitar Player's January 1977 issue. RIGHT: Steve Vai with his Ibanez JEM 7 guitar, taken on June 15, 2009.
Steve Vai on the radical guitar mods he learned from Frank Zappa

By Phil Weller Published

Zappa was never a conservationist when it came to his guitars. That lit a fuse under a young Steve Vai

Guitarists
Steve Vai performs during the G3 Tour at The Tabernacle in Atlanta, Georgia on July 19, 2001.
“I was embarrassingly inexperienced.” Steve Vai on the guitarist who “saved his bacon” with a vital piece of gear when he was a greenhorn in David Lee Roth’s band

By Phil Weller Published

Vai had the talent to launch the Roth’s solo career, but it took a more experienced hand to help him out

Guitarists
Joe SATRIANI and Steve VAI and Brian MAY; L-R Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Brian May performing on stage at Guitar Legends Expo
How Steve Vai shocked Brian May by revealing their early 1970s encounter

By Phil Weller Published

Vai has been gifted a highly customized take on May’s iconic Red Special, and it’s sent him down memory lane

Guitarists
American musicians Steve Vai (left), on guitar, and Frank Zappa (1940 - 1993) perform on stage at the Palladium, New York, New York, October 31, 1981.
Steve Vai on Frank Zappa's prophetic words about his career

By Phil Weller Published

Vai had was a young, awestruck kid when he joined Zappa's band. Frank saw something else

Guitarists
Steve Vai (right) with an image of Allan Holdsworth (left). Holdsworth has been outline-cut from the photo and question marks have been placed across the background to leave readers guessing who is depicted in the image
Steve Vai on the one guitarist he considers more revolutionary than Jimi Hendrix

By Phil Weller Published

Vai says most players aren’t ahead of their time — but one guitarist definitely was

Guitarists
LEFT: Xan McCurdy of CAKE performs at Jack's 10th Show at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on June 20, 2015 in Irvine, California. RIGHT; Joe Satriani of SatchVai performs onstage during a concert at the Eventim Apollo on June 14, 2025 in London, England
Joe Satriani taught guitar wizards like Steve Vai, Kirk Hammett and Alex Skolnick. But one player didn't get along with his methods

By Phil Weller Published

Satriani has taught some of the greatest shredders in the game, but this alt-rock guitarist believed he had his intentions all wrong

Guitarists
LEFT: Composer, musician, singer-songwriter Frank Zappa, Italy, 1988. RIGHT: Steve Vai photographed during a portrait shoot for Guitarist Magazine/Future via Getty Images, July 16, 2012.
Steve Vai on the theft that got him Frank Zappa’s number — and the job that changed his life

By Elizabeth Swann Published

Vai was just 16 and called Zappa repeatedly over the next year until he got through to him, putting his guitar career on the launch pad

Guitarists
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