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Chatting with Joe Satriani for Live in Paris: I Just Wanna Rock
by Reg Seeton
When it comes to great guitar players, Joe Satriani
is a living legend. While Satriani currently celebrates
the February 2 release of his new album, Live
in Paris: I Just Wanna Rock, the veteran guitar
great is still pushing musical boundaries as he
looks ahead to another solo album and a second
Chickenfoot CD with former Van Halen members Sammy
Hagar and Michael Anthony and Red Hot Chili Peppers
drummer Chad Smith. In between projects, Joe Satriani
found time in 2008 to record Live in Paris: I
Just Wanna Rock at the The Grand Rex Theater in
Paris, France, which is now available as a two-disc
CD and DVD and stands as proof that after three
decades Satriani is just as great live as he is
in the studio.
So why France as the location to record Live in Paris, Joe Satriani's fourth full length live album four years removed from Satriani Live! in 2006? "It just worked out that way," Satriani told TheDeadbolt in a recent exclusive interview, "but what a great city! We have wonderful fans in Paris; I always have a great time there." After taking to the stage to record three previous live albums beginning in 1993 with Time Machine, followed by Live in San Francisco in 2001, and Satriani Live!, we wondered whether Joe Satriani was more nervous when playing in front of cameras to record Live in Paris or if the cameras had any impact on him at all. "No nerves," admitted the living guitar legend, "just great anticipation for what I knew would be a fantastic show. The Grand Rex Theater is so beautiful; you really feel great just being there." However, after the experiences of past live albums to playing Live in Paris in 2008, Joe revealed that he and his band do make a few key adjustments and decisions in terms of options. "We concentrate more on expanding the set list, the arrangements and the light show when we are being filmed."
A fifteen time Grammy nominee and the first
instrumental solo guitarist to ever crack the
Top 40 Billboard charts, Joe Satriani has always
let the music speak for itself, rarely adding
lyrics to any of his songs. So do great instrumental
guitar based tracks like the acclaimed 1992
hit "Summer Song" actually have lyrics to Joe
Satriani? Do lyrics change in Satriani's mind
from gig to gig, or is it more of a lyrical
feeling? "Not traditional lyrics," Joe revealed,
"but words and phrases that are more of a guide
for me. They help me stay focused on the story
behind the songs, and keep me from overplaying."
 Heavily
influenced by the sound and talent of the late
great Jimi Hendrix, Satriani began playing guitar
not long after the untimely death of Hendrix
in 1970. So, with Live in Paris: I Just Wanna
Rock now out to fans, how does Joe Satriani
view the live-album experience in relation to
Hendrix's Band of Gypsys and the live magic
of a classic Jimi Hendrix track like "Machine
Gun"? "Everything is so different these days,"
Satriani confessed. "The Band of Gypsys recording
is one of my favorite live albums, and has Jimi
laying down the greatest live guitar performance
ever on 'Machine Gun'."
But as an artist whose had such a major creative impact on the industry and many people in the post Hendrix years, how difficult has it been to balance perceptions that some may have of Joe Santriani "The Legend" and Joe Satriani the real guy who simply loves what he does? Interestingly, unlike some "legends" with big personas around their music, Satriani is grounded with his fame. "I don't think about that stuff. I'm just me," said the guitar great also known as Satch. "My friends know that, and I think my fans do to."
After twelve solo albums and four live albums over twenty five years, which now includes Live in Paris: I Just Wanna Rock, Joe Satriani has connected over two decades of fans and guitar players through his music in a way very few artists get the chance to do in their careers. Although younger fans may not know the name Joe Satriani, there's no doubt they've felt the impact of Satriani through some of their favorite bands and guitar players.
 When
you look at the list of guitar players who have
studied under Joe Satriani, it's a who's who
of shredding elite that includes Steve Vai,
Kirk Hammett of Metallica, Tom Morello of Rage
Against the Machine, Kevin Cadogan from Third
Eye Blind, Alex Skolnick of Testament, Counting
Crows' David Bryson and jazz guitar great Charlie
Hunter. That's also not to mention the numerous
guitar greats and bands Satriani has worked
with over the years, which include Mick Jagger,
Blue Oytser Cult, Alice Cooper, Brian May, Joe
Perry, The Yardbirds, Deep Purple, Yngwie Malmsteen,
Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and many more. So how
does Joe Satriani feel that he's benefiting
today as an artist from the impact he's made
in music over the past twenty five years? For
Joe Satriani, it's all about the fans and the
music. "I'm so fortunate to have an audience
that listens to my music. I don't ever take
that for granted. Not one day goes by that I
don't feel blessed."
For more on Joe Satriani Live in Paris: I Just Wanna Rock, head to www.satriani.com. Also, for a chance to win a signed Ibanez guitar, a Vox Satchurator pedal, the Joe Satriani discography and more, hit "I Just Wanna Rock Paris" Trivia Sweepstakes.
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