Make an exercise out of everything you can’t do. Steve Vai More Quotes by Steve Vai More Quotes From Steve Vai Lenny Breau was a genius - inspired and really loose. I loved how he used the guitar as an extension of his inner freedom, because, obviously, on the outside there were a lot of trainwrecks going on. But when you listen to him play, you hear what kind of guy he really is Steve Vai guitar music play The only time I'm miserable is when I can't keep an instrument in tune. Steve Vai instruments miserable tunes So that's the challenge for me and that has always been the challenge - finding that melody, that riff, that thing that just lights me up and makes me feel like it's Christmas. Steve Vai guitar music light I loved the guitar, and I had all of this music in my head. My passion for the guitar and the ideas for what I could create musically were equal. So that's where I was. Steve Vai guitar passion ideas I know it is common nowadays for artists to start labels but this is a thoroughly constructed vehicle for inspired talent. This is a market that we've been living, breathing and eating for our entire lives - one where a huge void currently exists. Favored Nations is a long-term commitment. Steve Vai breathing artist commitment I awake, I meditate, get the kids off to school, go to the gym, go to the Favored Nations office, and usually at around 1 pm I'm home and do music the rest of the day. Steve Vai home kids school When Frank Zappa would get an idea for a song, he just did it. He didn't wait for anybody or expect anyone to do it. Steve Vai waiting song ideas I saw this trend happening with the proliferation of guitar clinics and schools. And I was approached to do a camp in the past, but I wanted to have a good enough idea because most of them are just about jamming and learning. I decided I wanted a theme for each camp. Steve Vai guitar past school I wanted to be a composer before anything else. And my sister was listening to Led Zeppelin in the other room! When I heard that, it was a game-changer. Steve Vai games listening rooms When I was growing up, the blues did seem too simple to me. I was just a muso. Steve Vai growing growing-up simple It's hilarious, because my guitar has what's known as a tremolo bar or a whammy bar. And the whammy bar is probably the most alien thing on my guitar that could possibly relate to a classical guitar. Steve Vai bars guitar aliens Baby don't wake me, let me take you on an endless journey. We touch and the softest kiss explodes with lust. It's real and you can't deny the heat you feel. And if I die before I wake, baby that's all right. Steve Vai kissing real baby Acting, at least for me, is very unreal, and when I'm doing it, I actually feel embarrassed. Steve Vai embarrassed acting feels I have an independent record label called Favored Nations on which I released an album by an artist called Johnny A, who plays an arch top Gibson through a Marshall, but the tone is all in his fingers. Steve Vai independent artist play It just happens in life, where you resonate with a particular artist. Or it can be a kind of food or a fashion - you discover it and it gives you a whole new lease on life. Steve Vai fashion artist giving You know, there's times when you should play and there's times when you gotta hold back. Steve Vai acoustic-guitar acoustics play Jeff Beck is compelled by his inner artistic drive to keep evolving the instrument. He'll use the whammy bar with the volume knob and the tone control all at the same time - creating harmonics that no human being should be able to hit. Steve Vai creating bars music If you want to play something that you hear, you need to listen with your mind's eye. You've heard of the mind's eye, right? Your mind has an ear too. It's a kind of listening, but it's not using your ears to listen. It's listening with your inner ear, and that's what you want to translate onto the guitar. Steve Vai guitar music eye Still to this day, I am deeply satisfied when watching a guitar player who is connected with their art and instrument. GuitarTV helps you tap into that connection, and to each other. Steve Vai guitar player art Most people are fascinated to see someone play an instrument in an inspired way. We are moved by witnessing musical brilliance, and it was this notion that led me to purchase the GuitarTV domain 10 years ago. Steve Vai play people years
