Steve Vai and Israeli guitar hero trade shop talk

July 3, 2009 - 9:02 AM by David · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General, Music, Pop Culture, coexistence

With the media touting doomsday scenarios at every opportunity about a fracture between the Israeli government and US administration regarding the peace process, it’s nice to know Israelis and Americans can still make beautiful music together.

Legendary American hard rock guitar virtuoso Steve Vai was in town this week, presenting his Alien Guitar Secrets masterclass to a Tel Aviv auditorium full of 1,500 adoring fans. While not my cup of musical tea, Vai, who in addition to an illustrious 20-year solo career, has played with everyone from Frank Zappa to David Lee Roth, was simply dazzling – both his guitar playing and his personality.

Accompanied by an Apple computer that spewed out pre-recorded backing tracks louder than Black Sabbath, the tall, lanky Vai simply wailed on his custom Ibanez axe. But the main part of the three and a half hour evening was Vai simply sitting and talking – telling stories about his childhood and career, fielding a multitude of questions from the audience, providing life philosophy on God, meditiation, goals as related to finding your inner ear to enable you to play guitar, if not like him, then at least like you, and simply providing a life-affiriming motivational pep talk to aspiring guitar players in the crowd. Vai was gregarious, self deprecating, funny, and wholly entertaining.

Sometimes he’d be talking about a certain style, technique or passage from one of his songs, and he’d smile and say, “wait, let me show you.” It was tres cool.

And he also talked about Israel, saying “People told me there’s fighting and tension and watch out. But I got here yesterday and my hosts graciously have taken me around Tel Aviv and we also drove to Jerusalem. And I have to say that this is simply a beautiful country. And you know what? I’m going to go back home and tell everyone! And next time, I’m coming back here with my band.”

To compensate for the lack of human collaboration, Vai and a half dozen lucky audience members (some handpicked by the promotor, some who won a lottery, and some Vai chose from the crowd) closed the evening by jamming on a guitar duel. Vai graciously toned down his prowess to let the local players show their stuff, but even he was dazzled by studio veteran Avi Singolda, who’s appeared on the albums of some of Israel’s top performers.

It was a rousing capping to a uniquely inspiring evening that will ‘vie’ as one of the most enjoyable ever spent in a Tel Aviv auditorium.

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