Photo: Mark Lloyd
"That was really good, it could have been Joe!" I've just watched one of Joe Satriani's roadies having a noodle in the corridors which link the myriad rooms backstage in Manchester Apollo. "No one’s better than Joe," he says bluntly in return. And he's right.
Meeting someone who's equally bedazzled by his spectacular playing is a subtle reminder that you don’t get two Joe Satrianis. His genius can only be hinted at on paper. He taught Kirk Hammet and Steve Vai and slotted in on guitar for Mick Jagger and Deep Purple. He founded the multi-guitarist travelling experience G3 that saw him share the stage with friends Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Robert Fripp, and designs guitars with Ibanez. He runs the greatest instrumental guitar band ever, and manages to stay sane in a band with Sammy Hagar, the former lead singer of Van Halen, called Chickenfoot.
He is simply inimitable, and a true visionary in the musical world. Being offered this time with him is the guitarist’s equivalent of a pianist being offered a chair with Beethoven.
You wouldn’t tell though, by sitting next to Satriani, that he’s got the most extraordinary resume in rock n roll. He's a completely ego free character - which defies the lead guitarist stereotype. The new album, Shockwave Supernova, which he’s currently touring, explores this dynamic of being someone who isn’t a natural fan of being centre stage, but finds coping mechanisms.
“To get the new album rolling, I developed this little funny comedy in my head about me and myself arguing with each other," he explains. "One guy is the flamboyant teeth playing guy who wears the glasses and the other guy is this guy here who just wants to write some really cool melodies.
"This was a concept I kept to myself while making the album, and it facilitated a more melodic approach than any of the other records I’ve made, which meant I could pick the songs to support a journey like that. With melody and harmony you can make subtle changes and suddenly it’s a different world." It's these contrasts in the music that represent the emotional contrast he deals with - from having to be the showman to being the gentle, generous person he is off-stage.
Satriani’s ability to tell a story like this with such vivid musical colours heightened at age 19: "I needed to find something special or get a job, but I didn’t have a back-up plan as my parents suggested, so when I moved to Berkeley California I hit a turning point, and although I was the beginning of ten years of extremely rough living, I felt like creatively I was onto something. I just couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I just knew that it had to do with melody and that the guitar was under represented."
Listen to 'On Peregrine Wings' below
Before even this point, he was already incredibly accomplished. After he picked up the guitar aged 12 in response to the tragedy of Hendrix’s death, he practised hard. He shared a room with his brother, but - as he was the youngest of five - he soon had free reign of the house, and would have band practices in the basement. He developed quickly, learning theory at public high school, and by the time he was 15 he was giving lessons. Famously, Steve Vai was one of his first pupils.
Beyond that, Satriani was a full time session musician before leaving home. But it was the session playing in a cover band that nearly broke him. "I started out touring when I was about 17 or 18. It was mainly east coast in the US so when I got back I realised I was seriously thinking about not being a musician because it was seriously demoralising being in a disco band and playing clubs for five sets a night and nobody paying attention to you,” he remembers.
Luckily, he found his direction soon enough, and with serious determination he has delved head first into devoting his life to crafting sublime and mostly instrumental guitar music, leaving a legacy of 15 studio albums: including six gold and platinum releases. His second album, 1987's Surfing with the Alien, was the catalyst for all this commercial success, and the one that convinced Mick Jagger to hire him. Success hasn't relented since, and he's one of the hardest working musicians around and the full house at Manchester Apollo tonight reflects how important Satriani remains through all these years.
To prepare for tonight's show, Satriani has Sunday dinner being served, and he kindly invites me to join the band in a very civilised pre-show ritual. It seems this healthy eating routine is keeping up spirits within the crew, and the atmosphere is that of a family dinner. Evidently, Satriani has built a crew of people he trusts and gets on with, to make the tour as incredible as it is.
Beyond eating, he says, not playing too much before hand is important in order to get the best out of him on the night. "I save the playing for the audience. I’m not in hotel rooms recording albums. It all happened in front of the audience."
This pre-show focus epitomises the professionalism with which Satriani goes about his work. There's never an inkling of doubt that he won't achieve the best he can night after night, and for the audience, it's a fantastic spectacle to witness Satriani on top form, often surpassing the flair with which he laid down his original recordings, and dazzle from behind his mysterious trademark sunglasses.
See Satriani's remaining UK tour dates below. For tickets and more info, click here.
Tue November 03 2015 - GLASGOW Royal Concert Hall
Wed November 04 2015 - SHEFFIELD City Hall
Thu November 05 2015 - CARDIFF St Davids Hall
Sat November 07 2015 - SOUTHEND Cliffs Pavilion
Sun November 08 2015 - BRISTOL Colston Hall
Mon November 09 2015 - PORTSMOUTH Guildhall
Tue November 10 2015 - LONDON Eventim Apollo
