Guitar legend Steve Vai has shared the following message via social media:
"We’ve recently completed our tour of China. We performed in six cities and visited eight. The entire experience was fantastic and beyond our expectations.
What I have discovered from touring this planet for the last 43 years is, you can learn about a culture or place in school, history books or the news, but you never can really understand another culture unless you go there and explore it. You find what you are looking for, and when I tour I look for all the things I enjoy such as the different foods, architecture, art, people, fans, etc. and I find them. I am not a politically charged person so I usually never directly experience those things. I know that madness exists everywhere, but I prefer to look for those things that enhance my experience of life.
Most people feel that they should be doing more to help save the world, but everybody can only give back effectively with the tools and gifts they have. I assume my contribution is in the music I create and go and play in the various places I visit. I believe I’m best being an entertainer and I love my job. An entertainer gives people an opportunity to escape and just be lifted up and taken away by the performance for a while. I know I feel that way whenever I am witnessing an inspired performance or most anything I see people do that they love doing.
The cities we visited on this tour of China were fascinating. They are vast! The smallest city we played had several million more citizens than New York City. The cities were clean and the architecture and lighting was stunning. I did not experience even the slightest bit of racism, but more of a fascination from people at the way we looked. The people I met were charming, respectful, polite, engaging, and sort of wholesome. The fans at the shows were magnificently supportive. We visited so many landmark places, the Great Wall, the Terra-cotta soldiers, various temples and so much more as we explored the rich artistic history and. Culture of China. We ate unique and fantastic food. There’s a lot more to eat than fried scorpions and spiders.
The fact that China is a heavily policed state did loom in our awareness. You just don’t do anything that compromises others or the governments protocol and all is well. Every country has its various dynamics but on this trip, we experienced all great stuff.
Perhaps a perfect society is one where the freedoms of others are never compromised and diversity is celebrated but there is no need for the policing of it. It’s just a natural understanding of mutual respect for all. Of course this doesn’t exist in our time, (that I know of). But perhaps at some distant time in the future this will be the case. The way we get there is to imagine what it would be like to already have it.
I want to thank all the fans who attended our shows in China for making the entire experience one that myself, my band and crew, and my family will cherish."
