Speaking with Ultimate Guitar for On The Record, guitar legend Joe Satriani looked back on giving Steve Vai guitar lessons as a teenager and revealed when he realized Vai  was a special talent.

Satriani: "Probably the first time I met him, when we first spoke, was when he just showed up at my front door looking for guitar lessons. He was 12. I was 14 going on 15, I think. I was teaching a friend of his, this guy named John Sergio, who was in his class. We were all going to the same high school, Carle Place Public High School. So, people had seen me play for about a year at parties and high school dances, and Battle Of The Bands, and I started teaching a bunch of kids that asked for lessons. He was just one of them who showed up. He actually took lessons with a friend of his because they couldn't afford the $5 per lesson. So he and Frank Strawson would come together. But after about three or four lessons, I took Steve aside and said, 'Hey, you're going so fast, and Frank is at another pace. I can't really do the two of you at the same time. So we might want to think about figuring out how to do a private lesson.'"

It really did work out because he was just on the fast track to greatness. I mean, it was just so obvious — he had the drive, the commitment, he had great ears, his fingers were huge, and he had a really good facility with them as well. He was very well-coordinated with both hands and had a great sense of timing. All those things add up to just being a fantastic musician. So, teaching him was really a lot of fun. He learned everything that I asked him to learn every week. It was amazing. I was so young. I'd only been playing a year, so he caught up with me pretty fast. He was one of those students that made me think, I've got to learn something new before that kid shows up."

Read more at Ultimate-Guitar.com. Check out the full interview below.

For the first time ever, after more than 50 years of friendship, it's the Satch-Vai 2024 Tour! Believe it not, this is the first time Joe and Steve will tour as a duo-bill, and it comes along with plans to release a new musical collaboration.

“The Satch/Vai Tour is happening! I’m so looking forward to sharing the stage with Steve again. Every time we play together it takes me back to when we were teenagers, eating and breathing music every second of the day, pushing, challenging and helping each other to be the best we could be. I guess we’ve never stopped!” - Joe Satriani

“Touring with Joe is always a pleasure and an honor. He is my favorite guitarist to jam with, and now we have another opportunity to take it to the stage. I feel as though we are both at the top of our game and that the show will be a powerful celebration of the coolest instrument in the world, the electric guitar!” - Steve Vai

The Satch-Vai tour starts March 22 and runs through May 11, 2024. Tickets are available here.

Tour dates:

March
22 - Hard Rock Live-Orlando - Orlando, FL
23 - Pompano Beach Amphitheater - Pompano Beach, FL
25 - Ruth Eckerd Hall - Clearwater, FL
26 - Florida Theatre - Jacksonville, FL
27 - Atlanta Symphony Hall - Atlanta, GA
29 - North Charleston Performing Arts Center - North Charleston, SC
30 - Durham Performing Arts Center - Durham, NC

April
2 - Belk Theater - Charlotte, NC
3 - Dominion Energy Center - Richmond, VA
5 - Orpheum Theatre Boston - Boston, MA
6 - Beacon Theatre - New York, NY
7 - Waterbury Palace Theater - Waterbury, CT
8 - Count Basie Center for the Arts - Red Bank, NJ
10 - Scottish Rite Auditorium - Collingswood, NJ
11 - Warner Theatre DC - Washington, DC
12 - Santander Performing Arts Center - Reading, PA
13 - MGM Northfield Park - Northfield, OH
14 - Kodak Center Theater - Rochester, NY
16 - Fisher Theatre - Detroit, MI
17 - State Theatre of Kalamazoo - Kalamazoo, MI
18 - Chicago Theatre - Chicago, IL
19 - Andrew J. Brady Icon Music Center - Cincinnati, OH
20 - Embassy Theatre - Fort Wayne, IN
22 - Murat Theatre - Indianapolis, IN
23 - Riverside Theater - Milwaukee, WI
24 - State Theatre - Minneapolis, MN
25 - Des Moines Civic Center - Des Moines, IA
26 - Gillioz Theatre - Springfield, MO
28 - The Astro - La Vista, NE
29 - Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts - Salina, KS
30 - The Factory - St. Louis, MO

May
1 - Uptown Theater - Kansas City, MO
3 - ACL Live at The Moody Theater - Austin, TX
4 - Music Hall at Fair Park - Dallas, TX
5 - 713 Music Hall - Houston, TX
7 - Paramount Theatre - Denver, CO
8 - Delta Hall at Eccles Theater - Salt Lake City, UT
10 - Harrah's Resort Southern California - Valley Center, CA
11 - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - Wheatland, CA
12 - Luther Burbank Center For The Arts - Santa Rosa, CA