It's hard to believe that it's been over a year since electric guitar titans Joe Satriani and Steve Vai dropped The Sea of Emotion, their first ever collaborative song.
Now, though, we finally have its follow-up. Titled I Wanna Play My Guitar, it's an ode to the titular instrument that traverses many eras of rock guitar – particularly the '70s, a formative decade for both players.
Adding to the '70s flavor is an epic vocal turn by Glenn Hughes, who made his name on bass and pipes with Deep Purple during the middle part of that decade.
Now, don't run to your streaming platform of choice just yet. I Wanna Play My Guitar can only be spun here for the time being (or on our sister website, Guitar Player).
You can check it out – in all its funky, swaggering, dual-guitar acrobatic glory – below. It's a fun ride!
I Wanna Play My Guitar has quite the backstory, which Satriani kindly keyed us in on.
“When I started writing this song I had no idea how important the contributions from Glenn and Steve would be,” he shared. “What they brought to the track made it all happen.”
Originally, the song was meant to not only be a dual guitar showcase of sorts, but a dual vocal one as well.
“My original idea was to have Glenn Hughes and Justin Hawkins do the vocals together,” Satriani said.
“I got this crazy idea on the Monsters of Rock Cruise where Glenn and Justin were both performing. Unfortunately, when I got back from the cruise I tested positive for COVID and I entered into a 10 day fog, forgetting if I had sent the invitations to collaborate.
“When I finally recovered, I heard back from Justin's people that The Darkness were going to be releasing a record at the same time and he wouldn’t be able to contribute to the song, so, I sent a rough demo to Glenn and he was into it. I pray no one ever hears that demo of me singing into my iPhone!”
According to Vai, the song is meant to take listeners all the way back to the guitarists' early days – before the sold-out crowds, platinum records, and magazine covers.
“This song depicts all that Joe and I used to think about as teenagers. All of the things we loved about pounding rock ‘n’ roll and the glorious guitar,” he explained. “It is phenomenal for us to be able to present to you now our teenage aspirations in this song.
“I remember those days and how absolutely exciting it was to play the guitar. Our whole world revolved around it as if it was a mysterious monolith, as it is, and I know that there are teenagers right now that are feeling the same thing about this sacred instrument when they play it.
“It feels like freedom and joy and I recommend everybody find some time in their life to play the guitar – enjoy!”
Rounded out by Pete Thorn on rhythm guitar, Marco Mendoza on bass, and Kenny Aronoff on drums, the SatchVai Band will hit the road for the first time starting next month.
For tickets and a full list of tour dates, visit SatchVaiBand.com.
