Creative, technical, and talented, but lacking emotion IMO.

[nathan a]

Okay, because I know you have all been wondering, my opinion on Vai:

I don't believe that he is actually arrogant (at least from interviews I have read), but I do think he appears that way on-stage. I think his faces are annoying and that he ends up looking full of himself. But from what I have read, he seems to be a reasonably humble guy in real life. I remember hearing he let groups of super-fans backstage before a show or some kind of event, and he talked to them and let them hold / play one of his Jem guitars. Pretty neat.

I am usually uninspired by his music, though I appreciate that he tries to incorporate non-Western elements. They often sound gimmicky, but he tries. I liked his tone on some tracks of the Real Illusions / Reflections record, though it is not my style and not something I ever try to emulate. His lyrics are so amazingly bad, his singing not good but I defend his right to sing on his records! I would get tired of just playing and never singing too.

All that said, I very rarely actually choose to listen to him. But I don't dislike Vai as much as I do some of the other uber-shredders like Petrucci, Bettencourt, Malmsteen, Satriani (who also seems like a pretty decent guy, I just hate his music).

Yep.

 

[Death by Uberschall]

You don't like Satriani???  

[youtube=425,350]fAHRoeiOt-s[/youtube][youtube=425,350]U-zjnVmuTzs[/youtube]

[youtube=425,350]e-OK7sS855M[/youtube][youtube=425,350]4vqJCOO5im4[/youtube]

[youtube=425,350]6yc8xyL0Xxo[/youtube][youtube=425,350]CgUwD9e8uNM[/youtube]

 

[MUYFUE]

IMO Keeping an open mind is a quality of good people in general.

An even better quality is the ability to hear someone say, "X sucks" without taking it personally, and in turn, getting
all butt-hurt and "offended"... especially when you're talking about guitar players and music in general.

Awesome! That's what I'm saying.

 

[Superlizard]

I hope you were able to read the sarcasm in my emails on this subject... I really don't care what my fellow dutchman thinks of Steve Vai...  :-\

My comment wasn't pointed at anyone; I was saying in general.

Myself, I tire of the mindset whereupon, "you shouldn't say anything negative about anybody or anything", because that's BS - honesty is what counts.  If one thinks something sucks or is good, one should be able to say so either way.

I have far more respect for someone who can say something sucks as opposed to the facetious bastard who pretends everything is "good".  :icon_biggrin:

 

[GoDrex]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQQIT4SJHpY

made me think of Mayfly :icon_thumright: :laughing7:

 

[Return of Guitlouie]

Greg Koch is great. Anytime I see a lesson by him in a magazine, I try to check it out.  He has a sense of humor that also helps you to remember what he was trying to get across in the lesson.

 

[m4rk0]

He has a Mayfly style guitar!
he sounds like mayfly
he looks like mayfly
It IS mayfly!

 

[m4rk0]

All that said, I very rarely actually choose to listen to him. But I don't dislike Vai as much as I do some of the other uber-shredders like Petrucci, Bettencourt, Malmsteen, Satriani (who also seems like a pretty decent guy, I just hate his music).

I used to have kind of the same thing with Petrucci, its not that I disliked him, but never got into the music. Until I heard their latest album!! it is one of the best I heard this year!!
Bettencourt I can appreciate too. not the greatest tone, but he definitely has his own unique style. absolutely not your standard 13 in a dozen shredder.
Now Satriani, I agree that he is extremely talented, but somehow he sounds a bit too generic to me.. some songs I like, but overall he doesn't do it for me.

 

[buckallred]

Greg Koch is great. Anytime I see a lesson by him in a magazine, I try to check it out.  He has a sense of humor that also helps you to remember what he was trying to get across in the lesson.

Agreed. His playing ability is fantastic, but his creativity (e.g. combining bluegrass and Led Zep, and making it awesome!) and the fact that he's having fun and loves what he is doing is contagious. That's what music should be all about.

 

[vic108]

Reminds me of the time =CB= and I (along with a van full of friends from Maryland)
went to see B. B. King live. The first note he played was one that was perfect.
I could have left then and said WOW! WHAT A CONCERT!
But he said more with that one note than most guys can in an entire month...

 

[MUYFUE]

Man, what I would give to see B.B.!
I love his vibrato...so nice!

 

[Death by Uberschall]

I don't really see Vai as an arrogant guy. Seems pretty down to earth considering how many huge acts he recorded and played with.

 

[stubhead]

The very best musicians in the world got to be that way with a certain amount of natural talent, a certain amount of luck but mostly by being really bloody single-minded at what they do. I don't consider "arrogance" to even be a rational word to use for how they have to behave to get where they are. Tennis players, golfers, artists, hey - the happy, tolerant mellow ones are just pretending. Happy hippies Jerry Garcia and Duane Allman used to rehearse their bands till they dropped. Then give 'em speed and rehearse some more.... I get annoyed when someone who worked that hard takes it upon themselves to try to "correct" other artists, though - they do know better. A lot of musicians keep their press coverage extremely limited and controlled, cause when they yak too much they might let people know what they really think. I myself am a great enigma, too. :help:

(Do you think it would be easier to play bass in Nickelback, or for Derek Trucks? My bet's on Nickelback..... :toothy12: bomp, bomp. bomp.)