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The Latest Breaking News from Steve Vai

“I’d given up hope. Then Wendy Dio called me. She asked how I’d feel playing in front of 20,000 people”: Rowan Robertson was 17 years old when he joined Dio. He looks back on how he got the gig – and why it all came to an end after one album

The English guitarist recalls the advice Ronnie James Dio gave him, the demo tape that landed him the role, and why he never reunited with the iconic singer

Guitar World

Pinch harmonics made easy: how to get the perfect squeal

Our definitive guide on how Billy Gibbons, Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai and Zakk Wylde make their guitars scream

Guitar World

Quote of the day by Steve Vai: “I don't believe in 'greatest'. I believe in favorites.” A timeless lesson on lesson on excellence, individuality and the way people judge talent

Quote of the Day: Legendary guitarist Steve Vai, celebrating his birthday, challenges the notion of 'greatest' by emphasizing personal 'favorites.' His perspective highlights the subjective nature of appreciation, urging a focus on what resonates individually rather than universal rankings. This encourages authenticity and self-worth beyond constant comparison.

The Economic Times

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“He added his signature screaming guitar parts, and there it was”: Slash, Tim Henson, Guthrie Govan and Steve Vai have been assembled for an unlikely collaboration album – and it’s filled with A-list players

Composer Bear McCreary is continuing his epic metal saga with the aid of an all-star cast

Guitar World

“This might be the last time the Hydra comes out on tour”: Steve Vai might be retiring his monstrous triple-neck Ibanez

The 36-string, gadget-loaded instrument is nearing the end of a long and illustrious career

Guitar World

“I snapped, flipped him off, grabbed my coat, and stormed out of the studio. I told him to ‘get Steve Vai’”: Kim Thayil reveals his battles over Soundgarden’s Superunknown and Black Hole Sun

The Seattle guitar icon recalls the tensions behind the making of Soundgarden’s masterpiece in this exclusive excerpt from his memoir A Screaming Life

Guitar World

“You have no excuses to have bad technique nowadays”: Has Matteo Mancuso arrived as the world’s greatest guitar player?

The fusion maestro says we might be living in golden age of guitar virtuosity but this is not time for “guitar battles”

MusicRadar

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"I thought: 'Can I even play this stuff?' Y'know, a sixty-five-year-old Steve Vai taking on Robert Fripp at thirty-five." Steve Vai on the challenge of playing King Crimson with BEAT – and the one change he's made

In 2024, four monster instrumentalists teamed up to play music from three killer King Crimson albums – and they're finally coming to Europe

Louder

“I wanted to have the most Steve Vai song possible on the record”: Matteo Mancuso reveals the advice his hero gave him – after they ended up working together

The two virtuosos trade licks on Mancuso’s new song, Solar Wind

Guitar World

“I wanted to have the most Steve Vai song possible on the record – but I didn’t want it to be the classic guitar battle”: Matteo Mancuso on his blockbuster Steve Vai collaboration – and the advice the guitar icon gave him

The Sicilian guitar maestro wrote the breathtaking Solar Wind to be the most Steve Vai song he could possibly write – and for the man himself to guest on

MusicRadar

Nuno Bettencourt and Rick Beato form unlikely partnership to rip through a Thin Lizzy Classic at the Six-String Sanctuary

The two guitarists were joined at the Las Vegas guitar camp by Steve Vai, Eric Gales and Mateus Asato

Guitar World

“It was a whole library of tapes. It was such great stuff”: Steve Vai on the time Eddie Van Halen played him never-before-released material – at the guitar legend’s house

Vai has also had his say on Steve Lukather's involvement in the much-anticipated new Van Halen record, which will revive old material

Guitar World

Shakira teases new song for the FIFA World Cup 2026 with Afrobeats star Burna Boy called 'Dai Dai'

Shakira is back

The Independent UK

“Yngwie was replaced for becoming difficult. We auditioned Steve Vai in secret”: Gary Shea’s never-say-never approach to Alcatrazz, New England… and maybe even Vinnie Vincent

The left-handed bassist discusses the pitfalls of being with Kiss’ management, selling his Ampeg gear to Malmsteen’s band, and releasing a record that shows what might have been with Vincent

Guitar World

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Guitar World

“The original idea was Steve Stevens, but he was busy with Billy Idol”: How Steve Vai ended up joining David Lee Roth's post-Van Halen band – thanks to Billy Sheehan

While Vai wasn’t his original choice, the Sheehan-Vai dynamic proved strong enough to outlast Roth’s project

Guitar World

“The poor guy died out there and wasn’t discovered for 2 weeks. A perfect place to make beautiful music, right?” Steve Vai’s LA property – and his Harmony Hut guitar sanctuary – has been listed for $11.7 million

Despite a slightly chilling past, Vai used the space as a functioning studio and a home for his guitar collection, which included guitars personally gifted to him by Yngwie Malmsteen and Joe Satriani

Guitar World

“I had a two-neck guitar, then Steve Vai came out with his three-neck guitar. My label wanted me to challenge Steve to a duel”: Michael Angelo Batio on the origin of his four-neck guitar

The Quad was designed to go toe-to-toe with Steve Vai's three-neck creation

MusicRadar

“Evidently not content with redefining what was technically possible on the guitar, he also managed to rewrite pretty much the whole of music theory”: How Allan Holdsworth blew Eddie Van Halen’s mind and inspired the next generation of virtuosos

We unpack the brilliance of jazz-fusion trailblazer Allan Holdsworth, with some help from Steve Vai, Guthrie Govan, Paul Gilbert and Eddie Van Halen

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Guitar World

Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Pete Thorn trade solos over Led Zeppelin classic at recent SatchVai Band show

Huge tunes from Led Zep and Steppenwolf, and three shredders brought the house down in Portland

Guitar World

“I just remember thinking, ‘I can’t play this thing’”: Why Steve Vai struggled to play Brian May’s iconic Red Special

Vai was just a youngster when May invited him to a Queen rehearsal – and offered him the chance to play the legendary six-string

Guitar World

“I loved the band with Hillel so much – all I could think about was trying to match that energy”: John Frusciante on the challenge of replacing Hillel Slovak in the Red Hot Chili Peppers – and why he’s still at the core of his guitar style today

The funk-rock guitar icon joined his favorite band at 18 years old, but finding his groove took time. He explains how studying Slovak helped him find his own voice – and ultimately made the Chili Peppers one of the biggest bands on the planet

Guitar World

“I discovered that it would be harder to try to replicate his tone than anybody else”: Steve Vai has followed in the footsteps of many guitar greats – this was the hardest one to nail

He’s filled the shoes of Eddie Van Halen and Robert Fripp, but Vai says this particular gig was even harder

Guitar World

“I would go by John’s room and he’d be working on alternate picking to a metronome. I’d never seen anyone do that before”: He arrived on the shred scene with Paul Gilbert, Jason Becker and John Petrucci… then he vanished

After starting a family and his own company, Darren Housholder's priorities changed – but he’s gradually brought music-making back into his world

Guitar World

“I never know what might come across my desk, but this was a taker”: Steve Vai has recorded a new solo over Van Halen’s Jump – which has been crowned the official World Cup 2026 anthem

Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker also features on the track

The Independent UK

J Balvin remade Van Halen's 'Jump' as Coca-Cola's World Cup anthem. He says it was 'a puzzle'

In need of a global superstar for a sports anthem

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