STEVE VAI
“Wanna see something cool?” Steve Vai offers shortly after we arrive in his aptly named Harmony Hut studio space in Encino, California. Guitars adorn almost all available wall space, including various incarnations of his iconic JEM signature model. There are PIA models, too, the newest in his signature line, a little more sophisticated and a little more dressed up than its predecessor. However, it is toward the centre of the live room that we are being ushered, where a very out-of-place, drab-looking grey towel is covering something obviously different, something ominous, and by the playful glint in Vai’s eye, it’s something he is excited to reveal.
Vai exudes a calming confidence and awareness – instantly talkative and eager to share, yet measured and articulate whenever he jumps into a subject. He also has tremendous awareness of his craft, not just from a guitar player’s perspective but also an understanding that he is an entertainer, too. A prominent part of the Vai brand is not just the creativity in his guitar playing but the glitter and showbiz he brings to the genre. “I’m a ham,” he openly admits. “I’m a performer, and I like stuff like that.”
As he carefully pulls back the towel, like a magician unveiling his latest trick (or more so, Dr Frankenstein revealing his monster), Vai’s latest creation does not disappoint. It’s a multi-necked, part-fretted, partfretless part-guitar, part-bass, part-harp, part-creature. It’s like if Game Of Thrones were an instrument, not just the throne itself but the whole damn series. There are simply too many strings to count. It’s awesome, in the proper sense of the word. No sooner than it’s revealed, Vai is behind it, playing a series of riffs encompassing each part of the beast, a beast we can’t imagine anyone else attempting to tame.
Vai admits
