Guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani has announced the postponement of the first leg of his European Shapeshifting Tour, and in a new interview with Sonic Perspectives he offers more on the situation.

"I have relatives who live in Milan, Italy so I knew exactly what was happening on the ground," says Satriani. "I alerted the staff a week ago about not sending my closest buddies, my wife, and me to a place where we will only get locked down. There was a lot of denial with the European promoters, but then finally, everyone realized the significance of it. Some promoters kept insisting up until a few days ago, that if we canceled, it would be on our shoulders, and unable to claim the virus as the problem. We thought they were nuts and days away from an apocalypse. They finally realized and we canceled the European tour, which we will be moved to 12 months from now. I don’t know what will happen with our tour of South America in late July. We are still looking at a North American tour in late September. I’m taking it one day at a time. And most importantly I urge everyone to be mindful about what’s happening and staying safe and healthy."

The full interview, in which Joe talks about his upcoming new album, Shapeshifting, can be found here.

Satriani's rescheduled tour dates for 2021 are as follows:
 
April
9 - Zurich, Switzerland - Volkshaus Zurich
10 - Winterbach, Germany - Salierhalle
12 - Aarhus, Denmark - Train
13 - Odense, Denmark - Posten
14 -  Copenhagen, Denmark - Amager Bio
15 - Stockholm, Sweden - Fryshuset
16 - Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller
18 - Mainz, Germany - Rheingoldhalle
19 - Berlin, Germany - Huxleys
20 - Numberg, Germany - Löwensaal
21 - Karlsruhe, Germany - Tollhaus
23 - Antwerp, Belgium - De Roma Borgerhout
24 - Enschede, Netherlands - Muziekcentrum Enschede
25 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
26 - Heerlen, Netherlands - RABOzaal Heerlen
27 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
30 - Birmingham, UK - Birmingham Symphony Hall
 
May
1 - Bexhill, UK - Bexhill De La Warr Pavilion
2 - Manchester, UK - Bridgewater Hall
4 - London, UK - Palladium
5 - Gateshead, UK - Sage
6 - Glasgow, UK - O2 Academy

Shapeshifting is set for release on April 10 via Sony Music/Legacy Recordings. Pre-order here.

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.

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"

"Big Distortion" visualizer:

“Nineteen Eighty” video: