Steve Vai

Bio:

Guitar legend Steve Vai will release his concert film and live album Live In Minneapolis - Where The Wild Things Are on September 29th, 2009 through Favored Nations Records. The show was recorded and filmed at the State Theatre in Minneapolis, MN before a sold-out audience as part of Vai’s successful "Sound Theories” world tour.

Vai is widely known for both his unprecedented guitar playing techniques and the unique design of his signature series Ibanez Jem guitar. But his fans have become inextricably drawn to his melodic depth, and dynamic stage performance. The continued evolution of his craft is made apparent in the astonishing musicianship presented in Live In Minneapolis - Where The Wild Things Are. The 2 hour and 40 minute set contains several new tracks and re-orchestrated pieces culled from his rich catalog. His guitar-wielding extravaganza in ‘The Murder’ is an artistic performance piece that must be seen to be believed.

The addition of virtuoso violinists Alex DePue and Ann Marie Calhoun add a dazzling dimension to Vai’s compositions and stage show, delivering fans the unexpected edge they always expect. Other world-class musicians chosen for Vai’s band are: Bryan Beller (bass), Jeremy Colson (drums), Dave Weiner (guitar and sitar) and Zack Wiesinger (lap steel).

"When I put a band and a show together I try to create an entertainment experience that I would like to have if I was sitting in the audience,” explains Vai. "I like to witness great musicianship but nothing too cerebral or overindulgent, I like to be stimulated by a large dynamic range of emotional intensities and melodic richness, I enjoy when people love their instrument and it shows by their oneness with it, I like to feel as though I’m part of a family with the audience and the band, and I like to walk away feeling uplifted and not beat up by somebody’s ego or the things they hate about themselves and the world. And of course I want a cool t-shirt.”

Live In Minneapolis - Where The Wild Things Are is available on DVD, Blu-ray, and audio CD on September 29th.

Steve Talks about the DVD and more!

Tell us about the DVD.
SV: I had just finished a year and a half of work on a double live orchestra CD and DVD with the Metropole Orkest called Sound Theories and Visual Sound Theories that came out in 2007.

I was itching to perform so instead of jumping right back into the studio to make a new studio record, I booked a tour of Europe, USA, and South America to satiate the fingers and the ego for a while. I wanted to put a unique band together that could bring a different kind of life to my catalog of diverse musical tracks.

I always like the idea of having a violin player in the band but during auditions I started to have serious concerns because I could not find one violin player that could play in tune and melodiously. Many were shrill sounding metal shredders or classically trained players that sounded wimpy when plugged in.

Then the skies opened up and Alex DePue and Ann Marie Calhoun came into my life. Two elite virtuosos that can play challenging music, but also understand the attitude dynamic of rock music. They have complete control of their instruments and look amazing doing what they do.

What do you look for in a musician for your band?
SV: I've been touring for 30 years and the first thing I look for in a band member is a person who will be road-able. A tour is a little chunk of your life and when you are living with people in a highway submarine, there are no secrets at sea. No matter how successful a record or tour, if there’s a jerk on the bus the whole experience can be hell so the first thing I look for is people who are essentially good people. They have to be able to do something special on their instrument too.

It helps if they can read music or at least have an understanding of it. The opening song on the DVD is in a brisk 25/32 time signature. It’s an extremely complex piece but tremendously heavy. When I brought it into rehearsal the music for each part stretched close to 25 feet. Poor Jeremy Colson had a full on anxiety attack. But I knew that they would be able to play it and I’m an expert at rehearsing complex music. We took it piece by piece and gave our patience and our soul quite the work out. The end result is a glorious artistic metal track that is melodic, seamless, entertaining and flows very naturally. The band performs it with fierce confidence.

The Gods of good band Karma shone loud and clear on me regarding this band and tour. I put together an extravaganza and hit the road. We traveled the world, living and loving the life and enjoying each other and the enthusiastic audiences that shared our stage nectar. This nectar was captured in high-definition in Minneapolis at the State Theater.

Why did you choose Minneapolis?
SV: The city of Minneapolis spun its spell on me years ago. A magnificent metropolis that’s clean, cultural, and although cold and wet sometimes, the people are warm and friendly.

What can we expect to see in this DVD?
SV: When I put a band and a show together I try to create an entertainment experience that I would like to see if I was sitting in the audience. I like to see great musicianship but nothing too cerebral or overindulgent, I like to be stimulated with a large dynamic range of emotional intensities, I enjoy when people love their instrument and it shows by their oneness with it.

I like to feel as though I’m part of a family with the audience and the band. I want to walk away feeling good and uplifted and not beat up by somebody’s ego or the things they hate about themselves and the world. I would love a free t-shirt but Vai would never go for that.

There are basically two elements that go into performing a piece of music, regardless of its level of difficulty. One of them is the technical side of being able to perform the piece on the instrument, and the other is the emotional investment a performer has with the music. I strive to find an equilibrium between the two because I believe that it takes both elements to be an effective performer. Technical ability and emotional investment walk hand in hand. Of course you have to employ your imagination muscle too.

There’s a very colorful piece on the DVD called "The Murder.” It’s more of a performance art piece. At the concert, I wielded the guitar around like a wizard and then in the studio I put all sorts of digital video FX and audio sweetening on it. I saw the whole thing in my head before I stepped on stage. It took many hundreds of man-hours to make it turn out as it did. But hey… what am I here for?

Will the show be available on Blu-ray?
SV: Yes, absolutely. I know that there are relatively few rock concerts released on Blu-ray at this time but I believe that the medium, or at least the high-definition quality, will become very popular. After watching this on Blu-ray, hearing the 5.1 mix and seeing the brilliant colors just popping off the screen, regular DVDs seems very lackluster.

There will also be a single live audio disc released from the show. It consists of tracks that have never been released in live versions before such as "Oooo", "Tender Surrender", "Taurus Bulba", and "Now We Run".

Read more of the interview HERE.

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