Guitar legend Joe Satriani recently guested on Jonesy's Jukebox - aired by 95.5 KLOS - and discussed his new album, Shapeshifting, the Coronavirus pandemic, alien conspiracy theories, and what it's like to record music without any lyrics or singing. Check out the interview below.

Satriani: "The only reason why that record is called Surfing With the Alien is because I did an early interview with a British journalist who got a pre-release copy of the record, and he said, 'I love the record, but I hate the title,' which was Lords of Karma. And he had this thing about guitar players; he said, 'How come when guitar players put out these records, they suddenly get all mystical and everything?' And I wasn't able to explain to him the meaning behind Lords of Karma. 

So I called the record company and said, 'Hey, have we actually manufactured the record?', and they said, 'No, we're going in, like, three weeks from now.' I told them the story, 'Let's change the title.'"And on the phone, we just went over the 10 tracks, and I got to 'Surfing With the Alien' and I said, 'You know, no one's gonna take that seriously, they'll know I have a sense of humor - I'm just kidding. So let's just make that the title.'"

Joe Satriani’s new studio album, Shapeshifting, is set for release on April 10 via Sony Music/Legacy Recordings. Part 2 of a 3-part series, Inside Shapeshifting, is now available. Two segments can be seen below:

Inside Shapeshifting, Part 1:

Inside Shapeshifting, Part 2:

In addition to the CD and standard black vinyl, the D2C store will offer an exclusive translucent blue colored, signed vinyl. Additional offerings will include stemless wine glasses, coffee mugs, koozies, crew socks, guitar picks and a t-shirt - all featuring Joe’s original artwork. Also available, an autographed CD via pre-order with Newbury Comics online retails store. Anyone who pre-orders via the D2C will receive early access to the upcoming US tour, to be announced shortly.

Pre-order Shapeshifting here.

Shapeshifting was co-produced by Satriani and Jim Scott (Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) with longtime associate John Cuniberti on board handling the mastering duties. Satriani enlisted a wide range of collaborators, both old and new, to help him bring the songs to life. Legendary drummer Kenny Aronoff (John Fogerty), bassist Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction) and keyboardist Eric Caudieux were the core musicians on the new album with additional contributions coming from Lisa Coleman (The Revolution) and Christopher Guest.

The retro feeling sounds of first single, “Nineteen Eighty” finds Satriani spiritually revisiting the time period when he was working with his first band, the Squares. The future guitar hero the world came to know less than a decade later, would have to wait. He recalls that in those early days, they “dialed back the guitar solos and histrionics to try to create a cooler new wave vibe.” Decades removed from those goals, he was free to go forward and attempt to recapture what was on his mind in 1980.

Staying true to the sounds of the time, he even used a vintage MXR EVH phaser. “I’ve always been a huge fan of Eddie Van Halen,” Satriani says. “In my mind, he just crystallized that era. The late ‘70s and early ‘80s, he kind of saved rock guitar. So that’s what I would have been doing.”

Tracklisting:

"Shapeshifting"
"Big Distortion"
"All For Love"
"Ali Farka, Dick Dale, An Alien And Me"
"Teardrops"
"Perfect Dust"
"Nineteen Eighty"
"All My Friends Are Here"
"Spirits, Ghosts And Outlaws"
"Falling Stars"
"Waiting"
"Here The Blue River"
"Yesterday’s Yesterday"

“Nineteen Eighty” video: