Steve Vai releases 'Vai/Gash' after 30 years to honor friend
Grammy-winning guitarist Steve Vai will make a stop at Revel ABQ on Wednesday, July 19.
Steve Vai has traveled the world many times over the course of his decades-long career.
The guitarist recently wrapped a tour in Latin America, where he played a festival in Brazil.
鈥淲e also went to Chile and Costa Rica,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 cover all the nooks and crannies around the world. Though, I鈥檇 really love to perform in Tahiti. I haven鈥檛 done that yet because it鈥檚 rough getting gear to the island. I鈥檝e been there on vacation.鈥
The Grammy-winning musician is slated to bring his current tour to Revel ABQ on Wednesday, July 19.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been awhile since I鈥檝e been back to Albuquerque,鈥 he says. 鈥淚鈥檝e been enjoying my time on the road. It鈥檚 always felt like my home.鈥
Over the past two years, Vai released a new studio album titled 鈥淚nviolate鈥 and a record titled 鈥淰ai/Gash,鈥 which he had been holding in his archive for three decades.
Vai recorded the album in 1991 during a stream of consciousness while he was engulfed by the biker culture alongside his friend Johnny 鈥淕ash鈥 Sombrotto.
鈥淲hen he was 21, Gash climbed a high tension tower and was hit with a bolt of electricity to where he fell 30 feet on a barbed wire fence and caught fire,鈥 Vai says. 鈥淗e burned 60% of his body ... (At the time) I was making the music. When it came time to put a vocalist on it, I tried to sing and it was a failure. I got Gash into the studio and I couldn鈥檛 believe what came out of his mouth. He would have made a great rock star. He had the lead singer DNA 鈥 an East Coast tough Italian biker.鈥
After recording with Sombrotto, Vai held onto the record. In 1998, Sombrotto died in a motorcycle accident and Vai locked it deeper into the vault.
鈥淭hrough the years, I would listen to it,鈥 Vai admits. 鈥淚t has the energy and it was very uplifting. I thought about releasing it one day. Last year, I released it the way it was sent to Mike (Frazier), who mixed it. It鈥檚 a time capsule that I鈥檓 sharing with everyone. I didn鈥檛 want to release it back then, because in the 1990s, it would have been completely buried by all the music. Now is a good time and I have fans that are interested in everything I do. It鈥檚 done well since its release.鈥
With more than 40 years worth of music, Vai continues to blaze his own path through music.
He says for his setlists, he covers a lot of bases.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important to have a set that has a dynamic flow to it,鈥 he says. 鈥淜eeping the energy levels up so that there鈥檚 not too many ballads. With 鈥業nviolate,鈥 I wanted to make a record that I could take on the road. The songs are challenging to perform. I enjoy the challenges of the road.鈥
Vai admits that his love for performance has changed throughout the years because of his outlook.
鈥淚 refuse to see shows as work,鈥 he says. 鈥淓ach is a blessed opportunity to be with people for a couple of hours. I鈥檓 inspired by every audience, and it becomes an exchange of energy. I鈥檓 also a seeker of spiritual truths. That鈥檚 always the key to releasing resistance to yourself.鈥