Wow - he is definitely one of the nicest musicians I've ever heard interviewed. While he knows what an incredible guitar player he is, he also knows how fortunate he has been. There are many talented guitar players out there who never get discovered, but everything keeps falling into place for him (obviously because he deserves it). No wonder he's been married for almost 30 yrs.
My friends and I saw him with Coverdale in 1990.We went because Stevie Vai was gonna be there-pure and simple.A lot of Vai fans I knew bought that record! The show was at Red Rocks. It is one of the greatest venues on Earth,but there was an awful problem with the weather..it rained and it got terribly cold.You could see Vai blowing on his hands and his breath and all that-the band was freezing just like the crowd was and they put on a hell of show anyway! God bless you Sir-a gentleman...
You say discipline I say obsess. There has to be some level of compulsion to work 13-16 hours a day as a teen. There has to be some kind of deep routed need to be able to deny yourself sleep and food until you can execute something perfectly. He was my hero growing up and one of the reasons I am a musician today.
Steve Vai happening to Whitesnake was absolutely a GOD SEND because they ruled and sold out Arena's and Stadium's just check out the Whitesnake,Donington Park Concert because if you didn't see that Slip of the Tongue Concert Tour you really missed out, what a Truly Classic greatness of Great Musicians, Simply the Best!!!***
Whitesnake peaked with John Sykes and the Whitesnake 1987 album. While Vai is a genius guitarist and also entertaining to watch, Slip of the Tongue was at least couple steps back musically. While I enjoyed a few songs on SOTT (“Wings of the Storm,” “Judgement Day,” and the re-recorded “Fool for Your Loving”), there was just too many songs that seem fit for lesser talented run-of-the-mill hair bands: “Kittens Got Claws,” “Cheap an’ Nasty” 🤮. And “Slow Poke Music”? Seriously?
@@spacejockey4746Coverdale was writing songs like Slide it in and Slow and easy way before Slip of the Tongue. Whitesnake has always been changing. I don’t understand why so many hated on this album.
Steve Vai joining Whitesnake = essentially becoming the best hard rock guitarist ever, which is ironic since he was always pulling away so hard from the 80's vibe. But still, with his rhythm guitar (and lead guitar work) in Whitesnake he's the best hard rock guitarist to me who's ever lived. Slip Of The Tongue is on a different level guitar-wise compared to the bands around the same time.
I always loved Vai but I gained a new level of respect for him on "Slip of the Tongue" -- he is a brilliant and under-rated rhythm guitar player and proves it on this album
A guy as good as Steve Vai doesn't need "rhythm guitar". His "rhythm" playing is like lead playing and he's amazing. Steve Vai is a guitar genius although Sykes fit the band just a little better.
Saw Steve when he was in Alcatrazz at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, CA. He had trouble with some of Yngwie's original guitar parts, but it was still a cracking show.
I've met him twice and got to watch him work and he is one of the most conceded people I have ever met. I also think he has quite severe OCD. Satch on the other hand is the complete opposite!
I don't know for sure, but I think differently. I think the reason Vai chose to use "split" instead of "left" was because both sides did agree to do so.
According to Dave, (from his book), Steve HATED the "dance music" feel to "Skyscraper". and did not like "Just Like Livin' In Paradise" at all !! So, Steve booked it , but they say they parted on good terms.
Steve couldn't do a couple of eightballs and bang groupies until the wee hours, then get up and hit the gym like nothing ever happened, for months on end. That's why Dave left Van Halen. The rest of that band wanted to stay home and mentally/physically/spiritually recover for a while. Dave needed the road and the attention.
Nothing has ever been downhill with Steve Vai. From the early day even, frank was not Steve. And the music frank Zappa played does not at all reflect Anyone else.he hasn't lost an arm, crashed a car speeding Had mutable DUI, he and pia have been together for more than 30 Years, and is baby's have been safe from would be poporats.
We'll never know, but I would love to have heard Slip Of The Tongue the way Vandenberg intended it. In a recent interview with Classic Rock magazine, he was very diplomatic about it but you do get the impression he wasn't impressed with Vai's work on his songs. Listening to the band he, Sarzo and Aldridge formed after the band split, Manic Eden, you get the impression it would have been far bluesier and far more Whitesnake. Vai used the band as a stepping stone for his own work.
Vai is an artist, too 'big' for the confines of a band really, and it showed at times. Great, great work of course, but he had/has much more to say as a musician
I drove 300 miles to see Whitesnake in 89. Only cuz Vai was in the band. Tommy Aldridge did a drum solo with his bare fekking hands. Vandenberg's solo was killer. But I still remember, can still hear the note Vai left ringing on a broken mirror covered guitar that left his had and twirled up into the rafters as red lasers bounced off it. Too bad David Covertune and Rudy Sarzo had to be there preening and fixing their hair... and that 90% of the songs licked...
Digger, there is a clear picture of it on his website in the gear section. It was code for a song although I can't think which one. The one marked 'Love' was the preset for 'Fool for your loving'
There's something about his enunciation that reminds a lot of Vito Bratta - possibly growing up around Italian native speakers and it's effect on someone who's mostly English speaking , but can converse in Italian , too .......????? Just a thought.
I remember when I heard Steve had joined up with Whitesnake, I said out loud "That won't last long, his style doesn't fit their music" so I wasn't surprised when it ended.
THE ALBUM IS SLIP OF THE TONGUE IT IS A GREAT ALBUM AND GREATS STEVE VAI GUITARS WITH GREAT VOICE OF DAVID COVERDALE, ONE OF THE BEST DUO GUITAR PLAYER AND SINGER EVER IN ROCK MUSIC
I have mad respect for Steve Vai, but the dude's ego seemed ridiculous at the time. "Right now Steve Vai is a member of the band Whitesnake." ...3rd person, really?
Lydok Nikki Suicide Yeah...as a friend of Steve's I can tell you you couldn't be more wrong. It's obvious the interviewer asked him what he's doing (he had planned on working on PASSION AND WARFARE full time after leaving Roth's band). Taken out of context, it sounds odd...but Steve is the antithesis of an ego maniac.
i also like to speak as in the 3rd person...coworkers told me to stop...so i said...so why is it ok for Elmo? ....we can't argue with you there..... he still speaks in the 3rd person.
0:40 The green meanie guitar, top right corner with the floyd on! I thought he ripped out the whole floyd out of it by accident in 1986 and then that he retired it for good, but here it's 1989 and its still in one piece... strange
@Thirdgen83 have to agree, vai's a great guitarist, but white snake was more of a blues rock band, and vai himself has said he never got the blues, liked em better solo dlr and with zappa
Joey Satriani taught Steve Vai how to play guitar not Frank Zappa and Vai also is the one who taught Dweezel Zappa which is Frank Zappa's son just some info for you.
Vai is great, but he wasn't right for White Snake. I think they sounded best with John Sykes. I also think the current lineup is really good with Reb Beach and Doug Aldrich...
I think he was doing some kind of 'training' exercises for his hands and actually ended up messing up his hands doing these hand exercises. Something about the nerves in his hands got messed up or something like that. But long story short, he did hand exercises and those exercises ultimately made it painful for him to play the guitar. He then basically moved back to his Dutch town and did some painting and put music on the back shelf for a while. He has in recent years made a very occasional appearance with Whitesnake and will play a song or two with them, usually when Whitesnake is doing a concert in his Dutch neck of the woods. I think he is the one (and only?) guitarist Coverdale has 'kept' over the years. Check out Coverdale and Vandenberg's unplugged Tokyo. Stunning, beautiful work, from about 1997.
Love Vai, and I love Whitesnake, but Vai was a horrible choice for this band. His distinctive use of pitch shifting/harmonizer, over the top whammy hijinx, and other Vai-isms, just don't work well with Whitesnakes stripped down blues rock sound.
I still think the part about Adrian 'injuring' himself is a bunch of baloney. It was probably more like "We want Vai but Vai doesn't want you Adrian. Be happy with the writing credits and STFU or you won't get to tour".
Not the right vehicle for Vai. He's much too sophisticated and artistic in nature and playing. Having said that what he bought to 'Skyscraper' was terrific!
I suppose I get where you're coming from; you meant he is obsessive, which puts a negative spin on an ability most people envy; that of focusing on one's goals steadily enough to rapidly achieve mastery. But OCD, though it contains the word "obsessive", is a clinical diagnosis for almost the opposite syndrome: intrusive, fearful thoughts that constantly interrupt one's ability to maintain a focus on anything. Not quite what I believe you meant to imply. I still say he isn't at all conceited.
Wow - he is definitely one of the nicest musicians I've ever heard interviewed. While he knows what an incredible guitar player he is, he also knows how fortunate he has been. There are many talented guitar players out there who never get discovered, but everything keeps falling into place for him (obviously because he deserves it). No wonder he's been married for almost 30 yrs.
My friends and I saw him with Coverdale in 1990.We went because Stevie Vai was gonna be there-pure and simple.A lot of Vai fans I knew bought that record!
The show was at Red Rocks. It is one of the greatest venues on Earth,but there was an awful problem with the weather..it rained and it got terribly cold.You could see Vai blowing on his hands and his breath and all that-the band was freezing just like the crowd was and they put on a hell of show anyway!
God bless you Sir-a gentleman...
Great show they put on at Red Rocks, was there, too, the cold and rain definitely made it crazy and memorable!
You say discipline I say obsess. There has to be some level of compulsion to work 13-16 hours a day as a teen. There has to be some kind of deep routed need to be able to deny yourself sleep and food until you can execute something perfectly. He was my hero growing up and one of the reasons I am a musician today.
there are no words that could describe the influence that this man has had on my life as a musician....
Thank you Father Vai......
+Jody Mcclure Ok, the guy's an influence and a Guitar God but that's a little creepy.
he was paid 1$ million to join whitesnake,worth every penny,1 of the best guitarist the world has ever known.
Just watched Steve in Walter Hill's underrated blues drama Crossroads (1986) last night.
Steve is such a nice person
interesting that everybody seems to be to shitting on the slip of the tongue album but that's my favourite one
ppmalmsteen right? Wtf... this album is awesome imo
And still a great album today.
Me too
@@fifahmi My least favourite Whitesnake album. People shit on it for a reason...
Gets better with time. Thought it was plain weird when it came out but now it sounds great and fresh 30 years on.
The greatest guitarist that ever lived, and that's a tough category to be the king of.
Steve Vai happening to Whitesnake was absolutely a GOD SEND because they ruled and sold out Arena's and Stadium's just check out the Whitesnake,Donington Park Concert because if you didn't see that Slip of the Tongue Concert Tour you really missed out, what a Truly Classic greatness of Great Musicians, Simply the Best!!!***
Whitesnake peaked with John Sykes and the Whitesnake 1987 album. While Vai is a genius guitarist and also entertaining to watch, Slip of the Tongue was at least couple steps back musically. While I enjoyed a few songs on SOTT (“Wings of the Storm,” “Judgement Day,” and the re-recorded “Fool for Your Loving”), there was just too many songs that seem fit for lesser talented run-of-the-mill hair bands: “Kittens Got Claws,” “Cheap an’ Nasty” 🤮. And “Slow Poke Music”? Seriously?
@@spacejockey4746 Whitesnake peaked in 1981
@@spacejockey4746Coverdale was writing songs like Slide it in and Slow and easy way before Slip of the Tongue. Whitesnake has always been changing. I don’t understand why so many hated on this album.
STEVE you're the best guitar player in the world....
what a humble guy. so cool.
Love how he talks about himself in 3rd person terms 🙌💪😅
He's a true musician and performer.
yeah agreed. that's Vai for you. always walking on the fine line. lucky to be born like that.
and 2 years later came one of the most epic guitar albums ever
Steve Vai joining Whitesnake = essentially becoming the best hard rock guitarist ever, which is ironic since he was always pulling away so hard from the 80's vibe. But still, with his rhythm guitar (and lead guitar work) in Whitesnake he's the best hard rock guitarist to me who's ever lived. Slip Of The Tongue is on a different level guitar-wise compared to the bands around the same time.
I always loved Vai but I gained a new level of respect for him on "Slip of the Tongue" -- he is a brilliant and under-rated rhythm guitar player and proves it on this album
A guy as good as Steve Vai doesn't need "rhythm guitar". His "rhythm" playing is like lead playing and he's amazing. Steve Vai is a guitar genius although Sykes fit the band just a little better.
Shaunt Avakian Umm, okay, whatever
Saw Steve when he was in Alcatrazz at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, CA. He had trouble with some of Yngwie's original guitar parts, but it was still a cracking show.
I've met him twice and got to watch him work and he is one of the most conceded people I have ever met. I also think he has quite severe OCD. Satch on the other hand is the complete opposite!
He really loves words extravaganza and beautiful venue :D
"Guitar extravaganza album."
That's the brilliant groundbreaking Passion & Warfare album.
He looked goosebump and intense.
Vai is the best innovator!
Slip of the tongue its a masterpiece!!!
We love you Steve Vai
I was not even born ,when Steve Vai was the Hercules of the guitar..(I was born in 1991),...but now he is the Zeus of the guitar!!!
The look he gave when talking about splitting with Roth was an interesting look. Seems like it wasn't very friendly or laughable.
I don't know for sure, but I think differently. I think the reason Vai chose to use "split" instead of "left" was because both sides did agree to do so.
Timur Shaitanov Coverdale's very good at "stealing" guitarists from other acts. Wish Vito Bratta was one.
According to Dave, (from his book), Steve HATED the "dance music" feel to "Skyscraper". and did not like "Just Like Livin' In Paradise" at all !! So, Steve booked it , but they say they parted on good terms.
@@johndrake2729 Vito was great! White Lion!
Steve couldn't do a couple of eightballs and bang groupies until the wee hours, then get up and hit the gym like nothing ever happened, for months on end.
That's why Dave left Van Halen. The rest of that band wanted to stay home and mentally/physically/spiritually recover for a while. Dave needed the road and the attention.
#SteveVai is LOADED.
Super cool video. The guitar solo album he's talking about is of course Passion & Warfare.
I seen the show;And let me tell ya,..He was spot on with the show!
when he says "for the future...who knows?" that just makes me think "OMG YOU JUST WAIT, YOU WILL DO SO MUCH CRAZY SHIT AND IT WILL BE AMAZING!!"
What a Power Hunk, in control of his own destinty
vai,hottest guitarist of all time!
Your picture is pretty hot!!!
God, he's so good-looking.
@MrCold012 which one so i can buy it? i only know the song for the love of god
Steve Vai
+ Whitesnake = One of the best albums of all times ! Slip of The tongue !!
Nothing has ever been downhill with Steve Vai.
From the early day even, frank was not Steve.
And the music frank Zappa played does not at all reflect
Anyone else.he hasn't lost an arm, crashed a car speeding
Had mutable DUI, he and pia have been together for more than 30
Years, and is baby's have been safe from would be poporats.
We'll never know, but I would love to have heard Slip Of The Tongue the way Vandenberg intended it. In a recent interview with Classic Rock magazine, he was very diplomatic about it but you do get the impression he wasn't impressed with Vai's work on his songs. Listening to the band he, Sarzo and Aldridge formed after the band split, Manic Eden, you get the impression it would have been far bluesier and far more Whitesnake. Vai used the band as a stepping stone for his own work.
Third person references are always a good measure of one's sanity.
Walter Mirren ya he seemed a little full of himself
When you start speaking of yourself in third-person, it's time to check your ego.
If you knew anything about steve you would no that he is not an egotistical person at all, far from it in fact
@@jarydstewart1885 true he's a down to earth guy, simple and do what he loves best
He's down to earth now. Back in the 80s, being Steve Vai, must have been hard not to talk about yourself in third-person to be honest.
@@palonazo He was young, still humble in a way. But the man is amazing, as a person as well as a musician and composer.
What are you all talking about. Vai has stated many times his ego was out of control
Vai is an artist, too 'big' for the confines of a band really, and it showed at times. Great, great work of course, but he had/has much more to say as a musician
was a nice time for the Rock Stars....
he is so awesome;just so real,not to mention brilliant guitar player.wish he would've stayed,along with adrian,who is just as fab.and hott.
A God of guitar
He sounds just like Zappa in this... the way he talks.
Is there anymore of this interview?
I drove 300 miles to see Whitesnake in 89. Only cuz Vai was in the band.
Tommy Aldridge did a drum solo with his bare fekking hands. Vandenberg's solo was killer. But I still remember, can still hear the note Vai left ringing on a broken mirror covered guitar that left his had and twirled up into the rafters as red lasers bounced off it. Too bad David Covertune and Rudy Sarzo had to be there preening and fixing their hair... and that 90% of the songs licked...
Digger, there is a clear picture of it on his website in the gear section. It was code for a song although I can't think which one. The one marked 'Love' was the preset for 'Fool for your loving'
Actually, the one marked "Love" was the preset for "For The Love of God" which he played as his guitar solo on the Whitesnake Tour in 1990.
This record had to be done, badabim badabum.
There's something about his enunciation that reminds a lot of Vito Bratta - possibly growing up around Italian native speakers and it's effect on someone who's mostly English speaking , but can converse in Italian , too .......????? Just a thought.
He plays on the HALO 2 theme it is so epic
Yes he is i never Evin knew he played with these guy after he left Zappa,Thank GOD he went to the school f Zappa hu
I remember when I heard Steve had joined up with Whitesnake, I said out loud "That won't last long, his style doesn't fit their music" so I wasn't surprised when it ended.
The Whitesnake and Slip of the Tongue albums were all "image based" per Vivan.
Very good
Look at #SteveVai practicing that Moorish Science!
Peak Ego.
His looks reminds me of Vito Brada right a way!
ROFL , Steve Vai refers to himself in the 3rd person.
Hey look TheAgentAssassin made a comment.
Well, this is a Steve Vai I really like, modest and professional, not too show off, like these days...yup, but I like him anyway...
Was there in Little Rock
Unsurprisingly he has very large hands and long fingers
THE ALBUM IS SLIP OF THE TONGUE IT IS A GREAT ALBUM AND GREATS STEVE VAI GUITARS WITH GREAT VOICE OF DAVID COVERDALE, ONE OF THE BEST DUO GUITAR PLAYER AND SINGER EVER IN ROCK MUSIC
he played all guitars on album not just the solos
George likes his chicken spicy
I have mad respect for Steve Vai, but the dude's ego seemed ridiculous at the time. "Right now Steve Vai is a member of the band Whitesnake." ...3rd person, really?
Yeah, you can always tell when someone talks about themselves in 3rd person that they have been swimming a bit too long in Lake Me.
Lydok Nikki Suicide Yeah...as a friend of Steve's I can tell you you couldn't be more wrong.
It's obvious the interviewer asked him what he's doing (he had planned on working on PASSION AND WARFARE full time after leaving Roth's band).
Taken out of context, it sounds odd...but Steve is the antithesis of an ego maniac.
BHAKTI BROPHY It does come across that way when you listen to it. But...since he is a 'brand' in and of himself, I can kinda understand him doing it.
lolololol
Nico Pohjola Mike Clink is the guy who worked on the first GnR album: Appetite for Destruction. GnR rocks but Whitesnake kinda sucked.
VAISNAKE!!
i also like to speak as in the 3rd person...coworkers told me to stop...so i said...so why is it ok for Elmo? ....we can't argue with you there..... he still speaks in the 3rd person.
His hands are huge.
@scott sailer. Not even close Sparky. Mick Moody might take exception to your statement as well as Vai.
That's Frank Zappa talkin'. All of it.🤘
0:40 The green meanie guitar, top right corner with the floyd on! I thought he ripped out the whole floyd out of it by accident in 1986 and then that he retired it for good, but here it's 1989 and its still in one piece... strange
It feels like Steve is psycic and knew Passion and Warfare was going to be a hit
wow you can hear a bit of his new York accent in this one
tnbourne is entertained by TheAgentAssassin's observation.
David Coverdale broke up Whitesnake after the tour for Slip Of The Tongue and then went to work with Jimmy Page.
Next to his teacher Frank Zappa,Thats were he went to school
Look at those spindly alien hands.
The stuff Vai did with Whitesnake and even the stuff he did with Roth proves he is more than just a noodler.
@Thirdgen83 have to agree, vai's a great guitarist, but white snake was more of a blues rock band, and vai himself has said he never got the blues, liked em better solo dlr and with zappa
Joey Satriani taught Steve Vai how to play guitar not Frank Zappa and Vai also is the one who taught Dweezel Zappa which is Frank Zappa's son just some info for you.
" I am very content :| "
I meant Via and Frank lol
It's called jealousy.
Are you a fan of Seinfeld? He's clearly "the Maestro"...or "Jimmy". ;-)
@themayhem696 I guess it's "Bigger".
0:20 Ups! (I said something that might get me in trouble)
Vai is great, but he wasn't right for White Snake. I think they sounded best with John Sykes. I also think the current lineup is really good with Reb Beach and Doug Aldrich...
LOL had me laughing
@MrRandomshite passion and warfare
What about Wandenberg's hands? What wrong with them?
I think he was doing some kind of 'training' exercises for his hands and actually ended up messing up his hands doing these hand exercises. Something about the nerves in his hands got messed up or something like that. But long story short, he did hand exercises and those exercises ultimately made it painful for him to play the guitar. He then basically moved back to his Dutch town and did some painting and put music on the back shelf for a while. He has in recent years made a very occasional appearance with Whitesnake and will play a song or two with them, usually when Whitesnake is doing a concert in his Dutch neck of the woods. I think he is the one (and only?) guitarist Coverdale has 'kept' over the years. Check out Coverdale and Vandenberg's unplugged Tokyo. Stunning, beautiful work, from about 1997.
@themayhem696 It actually says BIGGER.
Love Vai, and I love Whitesnake, but Vai was a horrible choice for this band. His distinctive use of pitch shifting/harmonizer, over the top whammy hijinx, and other Vai-isms, just don't work well with Whitesnakes stripped down blues rock sound.
I still think the part about Adrian 'injuring' himself is a bunch of baloney. It was probably more like "We want Vai but Vai doesn't want you Adrian. Be happy with the writing credits and STFU or you won't get to tour".
Oh yeah lol i knew he wouldnt do somethin like that =P
Not the right vehicle for Vai. He's much too sophisticated and artistic in nature and playing. Having said that what he bought to 'Skyscraper' was terrific!
petewoodroffemusic 'Skyscraper' was a turkey compared to 'Eat Em And Smile', in my view.
@themayhem696 hahaha i think it's gigger
Wow we are so arrogant when we’re young
I suppose I get where you're coming from; you meant he is obsessive, which puts a negative spin on an ability most people envy; that of focusing on one's goals steadily enough to rapidly achieve mastery. But OCD, though it contains the word "obsessive", is a clinical diagnosis for almost the opposite syndrome: intrusive, fearful thoughts that constantly interrupt one's ability to maintain a focus on anything. Not quite what I believe you meant to imply. I still say he isn't at all conceited.