Satriani

Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg
"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography"
. '' AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and guitar teacher. Early in his career, Satriani worked as a guitar instructor, with many of his former students achieving fame, including Steve Vai, Larry LaLonde, Rick Hunolt, Kirk Hammett, Andy Timmons, Charlie Hunter, Kevin Cadogan, and Alex Skolnick; he then went on to have a successful solo music career. He is a 15-time Grammy Award nominee and has sold over 10 million albums, making him the bestselling instrumental rock guitarist of all time.

In 1988, Satriani was recruited by Mick Jagger as lead guitarist for his first solo tour. Satriani briefly toured with Deep Purple, joining shortly after another departure of Ritchie Blackmore from the band in November 1993. He has worked with a range of guitarists during the G3 tour, which he founded in 1995. Satriani has been the guitarist for the supergroup Chickenfoot since joining the band in 2008.

Early life

Satriani was born in Westbury, New York of Italian descent. His paternal grandparents were from Piacenza and Bobbio, while his maternal grandparents were from Bari. He was raised Roman Catholic. He was inspired to play guitar at age 14, after hearing of the death of Jimi Hendrix. Satriani heard the news during football practice, where he then announced to his coach that he was quitting to become a guitarist.

Satriani graduated from Carle Place High School. In 1974, he studied music with jazz guitarist Billy Bauer and with reclusive jazz pianist Lennie Tristano. The technically demanding Tristano greatly influenced Satriani's playing. He began teaching guitar, with his most notable student at the time being fellow Long Island native Steve Vai (both also went to Carle Place). While he was teaching Vai, he was attending Five Towns College for studies in music. In 1978, Satriani moved to Berkeley, California, to pursue a music career. Soon after, he resumed teaching. His students included Kirk Hammett of Metallica, David Bryson of Counting Crows, Kevin Cadogan from Third Eye Blind, Larry LaLonde of Primus and Possessed, Alex Skolnick of Testament, Rick Hunolt (ex-Exodus), Phil Kettner of Lȧȧz Rockit, Geoff Tyson of T-Ride, Charlie Hunter, and David Turin.

Music career

1980s–2000

Satriani started playing in a San Francisco-based band called Squares, which he formed with his brother-in-law Neil Sheehan in the late 1970s. He was later invited to join the Greg Kihn Band, who were on the downside of their career, but whose generosity helped Satriani pay off the overwhelming credit card debt from recording his first album, '' Not of This Earth'', released in 1986.

The same year, he also sang backing vocals on the self-titled ''Crowded House'' album.

In 1987, Satriani's second album, '' Surfing with the Alien'', produced radio hits and was the first all-instrumental release to chart so highly in many years. The track "Crushing Day" was featured on the soundtrack of a low-budget film titled '' It Takes Two''. ''Surfing with the Alien'' is his most acclaimed work, according to aggregator Acclaimed Music. In 1988, Satriani helped produce the EP ''The Eyes of Horror'' for the death metal band Possessed. That same year, he also released an EP titled ''Dreaming #11'', which featured the song "The Crush of Love". In 1989, Satriani released the album '' Flying in a Blue Dream''. It was said to be inspired by the death of his father, who died in 1989 during the recording of the album. "One Big Rush" featured on the soundtrack to the Cameron Crowe movie '' Say Anything...''. "The Forgotten Part II" was featured on a Molson Dry commercial in Canada in 1993. "Can't Slow Down" featured in a car chase sequence in the Don Johnson-starring show ''Nash Bridges''. "The Bells of Lal (Part One)" was featured in an eerie scene in the 1996 Billy Bob Thornton movie '' Sling Blade'', while Karl is sharpening a lawnmower blade to kill the menacing Doyle Hargraves, played by Dwight Yoakam.

In 1992, Satriani released ''The Extremist'', his most commercially successful album to date. The album was certified Gold in the United States and peaked at number 22 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Radio stations across the US picked up "Summer Song", which got a major boost when Sony used it in a major commercial campaign for their Discman portable CD players. "Cryin'", "Friends", and the title track were regional hits on radio. In late 1993, Satriani joined Deep Purple as a temporary replacement for departed guitarist Ritchie Blackmore during the band's Japanese tour. The concerts were a success, and Satriani was asked to join the band permanently, but he declined, having just signed a multialbum solo deal with Sony, and Steve Morse took the guitarist slot in Deep Purple.

In 1996, Satriani founded G3, a concert tour intended to include a rotating trio of guitarists. The original lineup featured Satriani, Steve Vai, and Eric Johnson. The G3 tour has continued periodically since its inaugural version, with Satriani the only permanent member. Other guitarists who have performed in G3 include Yngwie Malmsteen, John Petrucci, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Robert Fripp, Andy Timmons, Uli Jon Roth, Michael Schenker, Adrian Legg, Paul Gilbert, Steve Morse, and Steve Lukather. In 1998, Satriani recorded and released ''Crystal Planet'', followed by ''Engines of Creation'', one of his more experimental works featuring the electronica genre. Two shows at the Fillmore West in San Francisco were recorded in December 2000 and released as ''Live in San Francisco'', a two-disc live album and DVD.

2000–present

Satriani released ''Strange Beautiful Music