Joe Satriani Lends His Musings On ‘Musterion’

By: Chris Peary

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I’ve had the opportunity on several occasions to see Joe Satriani perform live, and it’s always an unforgettable event. But nothing can top the brutally hot summer night I saw him, Steve Vai and Kenny Wayne Sheppard perform at Philadelphia’s Electric Factory on the 1998 G3 tour.

As a fellow musician, I’ve also observed him grow and mature as an artist through the years. His new album Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock, his 12th solo record, is emotionally charged with interesting melodies and furious technique. I briefly checked in with Satriani via e-mail during the European leg of his current tour, which treks through South America and Mexico in July and August, then returns to North America in October. It seems that the guitarist known for surfing with the alien is starting to turn his eye to another sci-fi character: robots.

I’ve enjoyed the mix of influences you’ve culminated over the years, from your techno sounds on Engines of Creation to your straight-forward rocking on Strange Beautiful Music. It sounds like you’re reaching into the funkadelic sounds of the ’70s with this album. Will you elaborate why you decided to go for such a sound?

Joe Satriani: I wanted to have a fatter, in-the-pocket feel to the record. I wanted a warm and dynamic sound that would get bigger as you turned it up. And, I wanted it to swing and not be stiff. These elements make up an important part of what makes me happy when I’m playing music, and it’s the bedrock of modern music.

TKW: You envisioned this album only being a recording of 10 songs. Was it hard to stick to this format?

Satriani: Not really, because it allowed each of the 10 songs to be more uniquely developed and different from each other. That made the process more exciting for me.

TKW: The song Revelation is very inspiring, and I understand that it originally started as a composition in honor of a friend’s father [guitarist Steve Morrison], but then you realized it was turning into a dedication to your own father. Would you describe how that transition occurred?

Satriani: It just happened as I worked on the song, and it hit me in the form of a revelation, that I was writing about my experience and not entirely my friend’s.

TKW: Which song on the new album is really being well received by critics and fans alike?

Satriani: It appears the new song Andalusia, with the acoustic intro, is currently a fan favorite, both live and on the CD.

TKW: On your song I Just Wanna Rock you invited over three dozen friends and family members to record the chorus. What was the atmosphere like in the studio?

Satriani: As you can see from the bonus DVD that came with the special release of the new album, we had fun with the whole idea of the song itself. I dressed up as a robot, with aluminum foil, and kept it all loose. [The song is about a robot hitting a rock concert.—Ed.]

TKW: On your official Web site you stated that there was a scheduling difficulty with your longtime bass player, Matt Bissonette, being on the tour. Though you’ve collaborated with Stu Hamm in the past, were there any challenges bringing him up to speed on the new material?

Satriani: Stu is a pro, he can play anything, and he brings a tremendous amount of energy to the group.

TKW: Will Matt be joining you any time during the tour?

Satriani: Matt is no longer interested in extensive tours that leave the U.S.A. and we tour the world. So, there you go.

TKW: I know you’re a big fan of conceptual music, and you’ve explored ideas ranging from aliens to robots. With the advent of downloading only select songs from an artist via the Internet to iPods and MP3 players, is the art form of a concept album dying?

Satriani: The art form hasn’t died, just the appreciation of it.

TKW: The modern composer John Adams once stated, “We are in a post-stylistic era, where we find a combination of styles,” such as hip-hop violin or punk/jazz. What are your thoughts on today’s music related to this topic?

Satriani: I think much could be said about any era.

TKW: Violinist Jean-Luc Ponty has recorded Frank Zappa material, and Al DiMeola has recorded the music of the great tango composer Astor Piazzola. Are there any artists that you might want to collaborate with in the future to create a new sound?

Satriani: Ron Wood.

TKW: While in England, you toured with Paul Gilbert. What is it like to have him on this part of the tour?

Satriani: Paul and his band are great fun onstage and off. They play great individually and together. Not many people can match Paul’s expertise on the guitar.

TKW: As a student in the ’70s, what instrumental songs influenced your initial style?

Satriani: It was actually Jimi Hendrix’s Third Stone From the Sun in ’67 that influenced me the most. It’s an amazing instrumental song and performance.

TKW: What was your first instrument? And how did you acquire it?

Satriani: A small Ludwig drum set, purchased one piece at a time over a period of two years when I was 9 years old.

TKW: What was your initial learning experience with written music notation?

Satriani: Drum lessons at 9, music instruction at Carle Place Public High School, in N.Y., and, starting in 11th grade, music theory. My theory teacher, Bill Westcott, was a genius.

TKW: You’ve written in various music publications about your concept of modal cycling in a song structure. Is there any particular piece of music that really hits the mark for being a descriptive example of this technique?

Satriani: Not of This Earth and With Jupiter in Mind rely on the pitch axis theory most heavily, as do the songs A Piece of Liquid and Lords of Karma.

TKW: Have you been teaching your son ZZ these ideas? Or are you waiting to see what he’ll develop on his own?

Satriani: He’s pretty busy teaching himself at the moment . . . and doing quite well.

TKW: And last but not least, the new Vox Satchurator distortion pedal is poised to be a best seller once it reaches the market. What’s the next frontier in manufacturing you’ll take on?

Satriani: I’m interested in robotics.

http://www.satriani.com

Chris Peary is a longtime music instructor/independent artist who works in New Jersey.