This is why... Vai is a friggin GENIUS

[ShredCow]

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/?v=Qq1Xm4RXmu4

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/?v=hf0MTWrkcbo

Those vids show Vai going thru the song "Freak Show Excess". Bulgarian inspired music... and he shows some of his licks and stuff used...

Its amazing! The man's sheer innovation and out-of-the-box thinking is just breath-taking!

I just decided to put down my guitar for the night and do some listening to THE MAN.

 

[lppier]

Thanks for sharing. While I'm not really a fan of Steve Vai, I've always respected him for his dedication to his art and his humility. (Hey ego-inflated rock stars do not admit to practicing for 8 hours a day)
The bulgarian thing was really interesting, made me appreciate him a bit more.

Pier.

 

[Vaiyen]

brilliant!

 

[sidb12]

Wow thanks! BIG Vai fan here and I love Freak Show Excess, one of my favourite songs off Real Illusions...

 

[ShredCow]

Hehe.. but i take from the number of views and posts here, not many ppl here appreciate Vai. :wink:

 

[Stairwaytoheaven]

its not easy to appreciate some musician specially if you do not understand how much effort they have done in the dark. it takes a lot of time to study techniques and going around listening to musics all over the world and gaining some fresh ideas..

 

[Stairwaytoheaven]

omg saw him do the scales.. 8O 8O

 

[ShredCow]

its not easy to appreciate some musician specially if you do not understand how much effort they have done in the dark. it takes a lot of time to study techniques and going around listening to musics all over the world and gaining some fresh ideas..

Its not only a lot of time, its a whole boat load of talent to do so... I thought Vai's Alive in an Ultra World Live CD set was such an awesome undertaking.

In my eyes, he is a real musician's musician. Did you hear what he would like to do when he like retires from guitaring? Sit down with an orchestra and just do whatever he composes.

 

[Phil]

I agree that he is exceeding talented.
Despite all his skill, his music bores me.

 

[ShredCow]

That is an interesting notion, why so?

 

[tany]

:O steve vai's music boring? yngwie's ones are more boring.

honestly. i think steve vai is a damn good player in skill and his music arrangement. eric johnson too.

 

[Stairwaytoheaven]

no point arguing, different people have different taste in music.

for me, i also prefer more of malmsteen stuff than vai too..
ok let's not talk about the appegios and speedy stuffs, but sometimes those neo classical acoustic intros by malmsteen is really very good to me.. take 7th sign as an example..

 

[Chang]

Personally i find the video very inspiring. I can relate to what he's doing cos i love experimenting with different styles of music as well (just not as good tho :? )

Music is a very subjective thing. Some pple like a particular style, some pple dun. Vai's music is probably less accepted because it's very different in terms of the arrangement, the melody and stuff. It's perfectly understandable. But the thing i like abt him is that he keeps an open mind when it comes to music.

Then again, there's nothing wrong sticking to what u are good at in the case of malmsteen. If the tried and tested formula works, y change? Imagine malmsteen releases a pop album... i think most of us will flip.

 

[Phil]

no point arguing, different people have different taste in music.

Very true, maybe his music just doesn't appeal to me.
I mean, I acknowledge his prodigious skill. For certain, it's damn exhilarating to watch him on speeding on video.
But when I listen to his tracks alone, it fails to get me excited.

Maybe I'm just listening to the wrong stuff of his. :wink:

 

[madmonkeykungfu]

i saw the video
although I don't dig the music, its all cool. Even the best musicians constantly practise over and over again. Thats real cool.

 

[ephyra]

who was that bulgarian band he was talking abt ?

 

[superak]

Cool dude. Always liked him. It is also true some fellow musicians don't dig his style, very normal. I dun really dig some of his stuffs too, sounds kinda weird, but I guess it is an acquired taste.

Cheers, and oh.. gong xi fa cai

 

[ShredCow]

Hmmm.... well, i look at Vai's music in a different perspective.

For 1, yeah, he plays well.

2nd, he plays with a lot of gain and that equates to a lack of volume dynamics. Now, Vai overcomes that with harmonics, the wah pedal, and various other technics, and he uses those technics to such breathtaking mastery! There is so much soul in the playing and yet so much gain!

And finally, I love the compositional aspect.... weird, wild but yet always revealing something abt himself. Its amazing how the music bleeds out its composer's character.

Never really looked at Vai as a guitarist alone but more of a composer and musician. He fits the bill as a musician thru and thru....

 

[lppier]

To each his own, Shredcow... any more and you're starting to sound like a walking advertisement for Steve Vai :lol:

Pier.

 

[ShredCow]

Definately... I feel many ppl don't try to understand, or notice, the deeper aspects of music but look at the playing solely... Then of course, to each his own still.

And.... who wouldn't support a musician he likes?