It's more than a known fact at this point that Steve Vai has spent his career collaborating with some of rock's most legendary musicians – Frank Zappa, Billy Sheehan, David Lee Roth, and Joe Satriani, to name a few. But one experience had eluded him until recently: playing alongside another Zappa alumnus, Adrian Belew. That opportunity finally came with Beat, the project dedicated to performing King Crimson's ‘80s-era classics. The lineup also included bass legend Tony Levin and Danny Carey of Tool on drums.
In a conversation with Ultimate Classic Rock, Vai reflected on what it was like to perform with his fellow bandmates, especially Belew, whom he holds in high regard.
"Adrian Belew is a totally unique artist," Vai said. "He has really great ears and intonation, but his ability to create unique sounds from a guitar and make them musical and appropriately fit them into a piece of music is quite amazing."
Watching Belew perform night after night was a revelation for Vai, who admired the guitarist's ability to craft sounds that few – if any – had attempted before: "I'd just marvel at him every night, you know, because he's so different than anybody or anything I've ever co-created or worked with. Nobody's like anybody else, really. But there's nobody even in Adrian Belew's playground. There's nobody even trying."
Vai was equally awed by the powerful rhythm section formed by Levin and Carey, praising their musicianship and individuality.
"Tony, you've got to hear those parts. You have to listen to them in solo in order to realize that he's playing what he's playing. It's just fantastic," Vai said. "There's so much personality [the way he plays the Chapman] Stick. All of the phrases, they have an attitude to them. And what a wonderful man, my goodness."
And when it came to Carey, Vai was blown away by the drummer's depth and unpredictability: "It's the same thing with Danny. I knew Tool, and I was aware. I loved the music.There's something very rich and deep in it. But Danny is a marvel. I mean, he can play all of the complex stuff. But the most remarkable thing I would see him do was when he would solo. This is a guy that he just never repeated himself."
The chemistry between the musicians has sparked something in Vai, who expressed openness to creating original music with Beat in the future
"We touch on it, of course. Right now, the goal is to honor this King Crimson music the best we can and play anywhere that'll take us," he explained in a recent interview with the UCR Podcast. "But that has a shelf life, obviously. Because once you've toured the world with it, I wouldn't want to go back out and tour the whole world again doing the same thing. Because there's way too many things to do."
If that happens, it would be a dream lineup pushing boundaries the way only musicians of their caliber can.
