Rock guitarist Joe Satriani talked in an interview with Face Culture Podcast that Steve Vai is an excellent guitarist despite his shoulder problem.
Joe Satriani and Steve Vai are friends who have inspired and supported each other for years. Satriani tutored Vai long ago when he first began his music career. They worked together on several projects like the most known G3.
In the past interviews, Steve mentioned that Joe’s musical ear is so great that he has inspired lots of musicians. Steve himself was one of these musicians influenced by Joe’s guitar skills, especially in creating vibration. Joe Satriani also mentioned in a previous interview that Steve Vai had furthered his talent with his new guitar, Hydra.
In a recent interview, Joe Satriani mentioned that Steve Vai and he met at a very young age, so both of them have seen the improvement in each other. According to Satriani, Vai is a great musician who can overcome any obstacles to retain him making music. Although Vai has had a shoulder problem recently, he has created a three-neck guitar without seeing his shoulder problem as a difficulty, as Satriani stated.
Joe Satriani explained when the interviewer asked what makes Steve Vai perfect:
“Well, I can say that as a young kid when I met him, he was 12 years old, and he had all the things that you would hope a young student would have great timing, a great ear, fantastic hands, just an unbelievable desire to learn and fantastic willpower to overcome any physical obstacle that his body would present.
No one’s perfect. We all have issues that we have to deal with, with what we’re trying to pursue, but it’s whether or not we back down or not. Everybody needs a couple of workarounds, where you work around the thing that is part of you that you know holding you back. So, you figure out a way around it, you know?
In the last couple of years, Steve is a perfect example. He’s had a lot of issues that he’s had to deal with, especially his shoulder. But it didn’t slow him down. He’s still as crazy as ever, designing a three-neck guitar; that probably is the last thing someone with a shoulder problem should be doing.”
While making pizza, Steve Vai tore a tendon in his shoulder a year ago. The musician underwent shoulder surgery after the incident. Fortunately, the procedure of repairing his shoulder was successful, and he continued making music.
You can watch the interview below.
