Steve Vai's Tour Wont Be A 'Wank-fest'

"When I put a set-list together, it's a creative process,” laid-back guitarist/songwriter/producer Steve Vai explains from southern California. “I try to put a show together that I would like to see. First and foremost I want to be a great entertainer, because if the people are going to take the time and spend the money to come to a show, I want them to feel like they're getting some great value – that at the end of the day they feel somewhat uplifted by what they saw. There's times where it's extremely intense and maybe aggressive, and there's times where it's extremely intimate and delicate.”

It's this contrast which has helped the American sell 15 million albums, take home three Grammy Awards and earn widespread acclaim during his three decade-plus career. It's also aided him in forging an appeal that extends beyond merely guitar aficionados. This includes live performances, which he aims to appeal to the musically-inclined, as well as be palatable to those who don't know the difference between a pentatonic scale and their bathroom scale.

“It's nice when it does,” he comments of translating to various punters. “When I play the guitar, I like to have all the different elements. I've always wanted to have it all; I wanted to be able to play relatively effortlessly with great chops, but have great tone and great phrasing. The kind of things that even a non-guitar player may find fascinating, interesting and something that's accessible to them. But you can't please everybody. Some people, a guitar solo just sounds like a series of Morse code, because they're tone deaf. What they respond to are other things. Most people respond to the confidence of the performer, and I'm fiercely confident when I'm on stage. Some people respond to the beat, groove, the lyrics, staging, lights, sound. You can't satisfy everybody, but if you're open-minded there's definitely something there for anybody.”

On the performance front, Vai has been no stranger to our shores lately. He has visited as part of the G3 juggernaut, Zappa Plays Zappa and Masterclass clinics. He'll be joined by Dave Weiner on guitar, Jeremy Colson (drums), Philip Bynoe (bass) and Michael Arrom (keyboards). Vai reveals sections of the show will have a theatrical bent, as well as songs fans are yet to hear him play live.

“I think 2004 was the last time I brought my rock band to Australia. The full show is definitely a different experience. There's obviously a lot of guitar playing, but I try to balance it out with the other musicians and stuff, so it's not just a two-and-a-half hour wank-fest,” he laughs. “There's a section of the show that I like to keep very spontaneous. It's becoming a favourite; I call it 'build me a song'. That's where I bring people up from the audience, a couple of people, to build a song right there on the stage that we play. It's really fun, and I've been shocked at some of the things that have happened. When I first thought of the idea, I wasn't quite sure… Nah, I was quite sure that it would be fun and it would work. Because I knew that I can kind of Svengali it, and make it work, no matter what happened. I've had 12-year-old little girls on stage, and I'd say, 'sing a bass part', or 'sing a drum part'. They go, 'I can't do that'. Then I would take what they said,” he says, humming a drum beat, “and that's a drum beat, you know?” he laughs again.

More.