Vai, a former stunt guitarist for Frank Zappa is considered one of the greatest rock musicians. Steve Vai and Joe Satriani were the pioneers of rock guitar virtuosity during the 1980s. Vai was born June 6, 1960 in Carle Place, New York. He was raised there and became interested in guitar playing through legends like Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. He began lessons at the school’s older players, Joe Satriani, when he started high school. Vai began playing in local bands and soon learned how to play the guitar. By the age of 18, Vai was attending the Berklee School of Music. Vai was a student at the Berklee School of Music and transcribed many of Frank Zappa’s most technical compositions for guitar. He even sent Zappa a copy of “Black Page” as a transcription. Zappa was so impressed by the young guitarist, that he invited Vai into his band. Vai was soon touring the world with Zappa, earning him the nicknames “Stunt guitarist” and “Little Italian Virtuoso”. He also played on albums such as 1981’s Tinsel Town Rebellion, You Are What You Is and 1982’s Ship Arriving too Late, 1983’s Man from Utopia and 1984’s Thing-Fish before deciding to go it alone. Flex-Able Leftovers and Flex-Able Leftovers were his first solo albums. They were self-financed and recorded in 1984. Both showcased Vai’s songwriting and guitar playing skills, but they also heavily influenced Zappa. Due to Van Halen’s huge hard rock/pop crossover success in the mid-80s, Vai was replaced by Yngwie Malmsteen and Alcatrazz (which included former Rainbow singer Graham Bonnett), performing on their 1985 album Disturbing The Peace. Vai also made a guest appearance in Crossroads that year. He played the Devil’s guitarist, and he was playing with Ralph Macchio in a guitar duel. In 1986, Roth’s debut album, Eat ‘Em and Smile was released. It went on to be one of the most popular hard rock albums of the year. Vai and Sheehan rose to stardom thanks to their musical talents. They won top honors in many guitar magazines over the years. Skyscraper Despite their great potential, Sheehan left the band shortly after Skyscraper was released in 1988. The album, which was more pop-oriented than the predecessor, became another huge hit. Roth and Vai were both co-producing the album. Vai also released his own line, the Jem777 series of snazzy electric guitars via the Ibanez company. Vai was ready to leave Roth’s tour in 1988. He was also working on a solo album and was offered to join the chart-topping pop-metallists Whitesnake. Slip of the Tongue was his first and only album, and he also released Passion and Warfare in 1989. This mostly instrumental album was inspired by dreams Vai had as a teenager. It became a huge hit and earned Vai gold certification. Vai also created the seven-string Ibanez guitar around this time. The instrument was not popular at first, but it did catch on in the mid- to late 1990s when guitarists from metal bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit used the instrument to tune to extremely low levels. Sex
