Joe Satriani
Iconic is perhaps the best word to describe Joe Satriani. His recordings have
sold over ten million copies, he’s toured with Mick Jagger and Deep Purple, and
taught the likes of Steve Vai and Metallica’s Kirk Hammet. We caught up with
2016 G4 Experience
Signature Guitars
+ Vintage Gear
interview by Doug Doppler
Joe just after the conclusion of his “From Surfing to Shockwave World Tour”…
COLLECTIBLE GUITAR Tell us a bit about the
G3 concert series. You want the people who
fun at the fact that sometimes specialists in any
G4 Experience and why you started it?
show up to really experience something unique
field are ridiculed for being so obsessed about
that they wouldn’t get somewhere else, and I
the details of what it is they do, and guitar
JOE SATRIANI Clinics can fall a little bit short
wanted to have the camaraderie with other
players of course get ridiculed the same way.
of their intended purpose. The artist comes in,
guitar players and musicians that you get on
People think that when we want to get technical
they play a truncated performance, they’re put
the G3 concert tours. So we figured out a way
we’re getting too technical, but in fact we deal
on the spot to do things out of their comfort
to put it together, changing the environment
with technicalities all the time. That’s our world,
zone, they take some questions, then they go.
to something extremely comfortable, casual
what kind of strings do you use, how do you
I had an opportunity to kind of fix that and sort
enough so that the artists and the students
hold the pick, what’s that cable made of, how
of remold, reconfigure the concept of a clinic.
could really hang out together. The environment
often do you warm up, how long do you warm
Calling it the experience was probably just a
had to be a kind of safe zone, it’s kind of a funny
up before a show, what kind of music do you
nod to Jimi Hendrix. Bringing in the G letter
thing to say, it’s not like there’s danger out there
listen to when you’re not working? All these that
was just a nod to the love and success of the
at clinics, but we’re using that in a way to poke
the average listener or fan is like, “Oh, I don’t
May June 2016
CollectibleGuitar.com
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