Episode 197 with Steve Vai

The guitar legend chats with us about his 2024 plans

On June 4, 2022, Steve Vai began a world tour that has now staged 194 performances in 51 countries across the globe. Some of these markets he had never appeared in prior, amongst which are Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Kaohsiung (Taiwan), Zallak (Bahrain), Bangalore and Kolkata (India), Mumbai, Macedonia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, alongside six new markets in China (Foshan, Xi’an, Chengdu, Chongqing, Nanjing and Hefei). Throughout this worldwide odyssey, Vai stepped foot on every continent other than Antarctica.

Now back at home after this marathon 19-month tour, Vai is ready to fill up his 2024 with more touring and to share new music. Earlier this month, he began the year by staging his annual Vai Academy. Titled A New Breed Of Virtuosity, Vai Academy 7.0 was staged at the Omni Championsgate Resort in Orlando, Florida.

He chats with us about the upcoming G3 Reunion Tour with Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson as well as his Satch-Vai Tour with Satriani. He also talks about new music that includes his passion project of orchestral songs and teases a big tour announcement for the fall.

“The last year and a half was the Inviolate Tour. So it was the full show that I do, but now for 24, it’s more condensed now that I’m out with Joe and Eric Johnson for G3 for a good handful of shows. We kick off in about ten days,” Vai tells us. “And then finally, it’s so nice, Joe and I are going to do a tour together, just the two of us. And that’s something — we’ve toured together a lot, but we’ve never toured as just the two of us. And for the first time, we’ll also have some music that we recorded together, working on a couple of tracks there. So that’s exciting. And it’s really nice because it’s kind of the end of a huge touring cycle, and I get to do it with Joe. I mean, we’ve known each other since we were little kids, you know? I started taking lessons [from Satriani] when I was like 12. We’ve been joined at the hip ever since, but we’ve never really done anything like this together. So it’s very nice.”

The G3 tour kicks off on January 22nd and runs through February 10th, and then The Satch-Vai Tour will be staged from March 22nd in Orlando, FL through May 12th in Santa Rosa, California, featuring an extensive itinerary that will stage 38 appearances. This marks the first time that the long-time friends have toured as a duo-bill. It is also the first time they’ve collaborated on new music, which will be premiered just before the tour heading out.

Conceived in 1995 by the multi-Grammy nominated guitarist, Joe Satriani, the inaugural G3 Tour took place in 1996 bringing together three of the most iconic and virtuosic guitarists of their time: Satriani, Eric Johnson and Steve Vai. Known for their incredible technical prowess, musical innovation and unique styles, the G3 tour was a celebration of guitar mastery and proved extremely popular, captivating audiences worldwide. Though the line-up has continually changed over the last 29 years since its inception, Satriani is celebrating G3 in 2024 by reuniting the original trio: Satriani, Johnson, and Vai. The tour is set to begin on January 23rd in Tucson, AZ staging 13 performances ending with a pair of shows at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles which Vai says will be filmed.

Satch and Vai’s musical careers have been intertwined since their very early days. Satriani served as Vai’s guitar teacher during their teenage years on Long Island, New York. Their connection has continued to evolve over the years, even sharing record labels, starting at Relativity Records in the late 80’s, to both calling Sony/Epic Records home for a significant portion of the 90’s. Together, they have also frequently teamed up with a third guitarist on multiple occasions throughout 29 years, participating in the semi-annual G3 Tours, both in the US and abroad.

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Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn