Vai first 30 years documentary free online

I think there’s only a small handful of (known) people who could pull something like that off. I mean, the dude was transcribing Zappa music for fun. I can barely listen to Zappa at all, never mind get a kick out of figuring out every single note of every instrument in a Zappa song. :D

Transcribing Zappa's solos (which are notoriously insane) for fun at age 17.
 
I find it so interesting to learn of all the various connections between musicians that I'll sometimes go to Wikipedia just to see who an artist has worked with. It's almost like you could pick any 2 people, and trace a connection between them, with no more than 4 intermediate people.

Sometimes I'll choose 2 people that I think I can't connect, like say, Simon Le Bon and Jimmy Page. Let's see...
Warren Cuccurullo, Zappa, Vai, Coverdale. Sometimes it surprises me.
Find the History Of Rock Music In 500 Songs podcast for a huge dose of all the connections between artists, and music biz people in general. Also a big reminder of how close a lot of cover versions are to the originals they're based on. Super interesting to me.
 
I basically could sell all my kidneys (and a liver included) for this experience...

It was very cool but we went to the show to see Yngwie. Seriously, the crowd was yelling profane insults at Steve. He is an amazing talent to not only pull that off with little time to prepare, but then perform it in front of a crowd like that.
 
It was very cool but we went to the show to see Yngwie. Seriously, the crowd was yelling profane insults at Steve. He is an amazing talent to not only pull that off with little time to prepare, but then perform it in front of a crowd like that.
Did you see the Carvins before you knew YJM wasn't there?
 
I watched this tonight. I have a connection with Steve Vai in some ways. I saw his 1st show with Alcatraz in Riverside Ca. Didn't expect to see him there but he impressed me big time, playing all of Yngwie's licks in front of a hostile crowd. I also saw him play with David Lee Roth in LA. When Passion and Warfare came out, my father was dying from lung cancer. I bought the tape, and brought it with me when I got the call to fly out. I don't really know any of you people but I will share this. My dad was terminal. I had a day to talk with him, and after that he was doped up on morphine and running out the clock. When the time came and he was passing on, I played For the Love of God on my Sony Walkman. I just now listened to it again. That song will always move me. I wanted to connect that song to my fathers passing. A little weird but that's what I wanted to do at the time, and I'm glad I did it. I was pulling the night shift, it was just me and my pop for the last time.

That was a good documentary. I didn't know Elwood Francis worked with Vai, I only knew of him from Billy Gibbons. Thanks for sharing the link.
Thank you for sharing! Means a lot and while not same person, I relate to the connection of tunes and times and events. They compliment themselves very well and allow us to experience the memory in more vivid and explosive ways. Going deep and not waving a peace sign currently, but really liked your post.
 
Did you see the Carvins before you knew YJM wasn't there?

I can’t remember that. Haha too far back. I bought a Carvin X100B. Those sponsorships work lol. Still have it but it became a build platform for me. It wasn’t a bad amp at all. Right now it’s a jumped 1987ish amp.
 
I find it so interesting to learn of all the various connections between musicians that I'll sometimes go to Wikipedia just to see who an artist has worked with. It's almost like you could pick any 2 people, and trace a connection between them, with no more than 4 intermediate people.

Sometimes I'll choose 2 people that I think I can't connect, like say, Simon Le Bon and Jimmy Page. Let's see...
Warren Cuccurullo, Zappa, Vai, Coverdale. Sometimes it surprises me.
When I was young I kept a sort of "genealogy" of bands I liked and traced links and connections between them. There were a lot!

Speaking of those Wikipedia references, I discovered a few years back that Robben Ford and Jimmy Haslip both had credits on a KISS album! Might have been Creatures of the Night.

Talk about mind blown :)
 
Finally watched the whole documentary, and I enjoyed it, for me having been a big SV fan initially when he joined FZ and seeing many, many FZ shows with SV, and also saw the DLR and WS tours, I found myself glued to the doc, lots of stuff to keep me interested throughout the show. Would have liked to see some G3 stuff too...
 
When I was young I kept a sort of "genealogy" of bands I liked and traced links and connections between them. There were a lot!

Speaking of those Wikipedia references, I discovered a few years back that Robben Ford and Jimmy Haslip both had credits on a KISS album! Might have been Creatures of the Night.

Talk about mind blown :)
Yes you're right. Thanks for remembering that. As a Kiss big fan I read it a while back but I totally forgot (https://kiss.fandom.com/wiki/Creatures_of_the_Night_(album)
And by the way the record was mixed by the one and only Bob Clearmountain
From the Wiki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creatures_of_the_Night):
"Kiss had used "ghost players" on previous albums, most notably Bob Kulick (Alive II and Killers) and Dick Wagner (Destroyer), but Vincent handled most of the lead guitar as a session player and co-writer before being added as the full-time replacement for Frehley, though as an employee and not a full member (like Carr). Blues guitarist Robben Ford, a friend of the album's producer Michael James Jackson, contributed two solos in what he described as one of his weirdest gigs.[12] Mr. Mister guitarist Steve Farris (who was considered as a replacement for Frehley but was thought to not have "the right look") provided the solo and lead fills to the title track".
 
not to take this off the rails, but stumbled on this vid with SV and IM, looks like they are using FAS gear too,
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