Steve Vai
| Steve Vai | |
|---|---|
Vai in 2007
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Steven Siro Vai |
| Born |
June 6, 1960 Carle Place, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Instrumental rock, hard rock, heavy metal, progressive rock, progressive metal, experimental rock |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Labels | Favored Nations, Relativity, Epic, Urantia Records, Akashic Records |
| Associated acts | Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Paul Gilbert, Frank Zappa, Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth, Whitesnake, Meat Loaf, Zappa Plays Zappa, Devin Townsend, Billy Sheehan, G3, 2Cellos |
| Website | vai |
| Notable instruments | |
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Ibanez JEM Ibanez Universe |
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Steven Siro "Steve" Vai (/vɑːɪ/; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, singer, songwriter, and producer. He was voted the 10th "Greatest Guitarist" by Guitar World magazine, and has sold over 15 million records. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of 18 as a transcriptionist for Frank Zappa, and joined his band from 1980 to 1983. He embarked on a solo career in 1983 and has released eight solo albums to date. He has recorded and toured with Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth, Whitesnake, as well as having recorded with artists such as Mary J. Blige, Spinal Tap, and Ozzy Osbourne. Additionally, Vai has toured with live-only acts G3, Zappa Plays Zappa, the Experience Hendrix tour, as well as headlining international tours.
Vai has been described as a "highly individualistic player" and part of a generation of "heavy rock and metal virtuosi who came to the fore in the 1980s". The launch of the Ibanez JEM guitar developed and co-designed by Vai was described as the "exact moment the entire guitar landscape was reshaped". He also designed the first commercially produced seven-string guitar, the Ibanez Universe, which was used by nu metal artists in the 1990s. He released his first solo album Flex-Able in 1984, while his most successful release, Passion and Warfare (1990), was described as "the richest and best hard rock guitar-virtuoso album of the '80s".
Steve Vai, a descendant of Italian immigrants, was born in Carle Place, New York on June 6, 1960. He is the fourth son of John and Theresa Vai. He described his first experiences with music as, "at the age of five I walked up to [a] piano, hit a note, and noticed that to the right the notes go higher and to the left the notes go lower. In that very moment, I had a full-on epiphany. I was flooded with the instinctual realization of how music was created and how it worked from a theoretical standpoint—the whole language of music was very obvious. I also understood immediately, instinctually, and unequivocally something that has only deepened through the years that the creation of music is an infinite personal expression. I realized that I could do this, I could make music, and it could be whatever I want."
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Wikipedia