Guitar legend Steve Vai is featured in a new career- spanning interview with Noisey. An excerpt from the discussion is available below.

Noisey: It must have been interesting to go from Frank Zappa to David Lee Roth. Eat ‘Em and Smile turns 30 this year.

Vai: "Does it really? I didn’t even know. Strangely enough, I still see Billy Sheehan and Greg Bissonette; we go to dinner like once a year. We play quite often together and communicate all the time. Actually, the last time we got together they had mentioned it was the 30th anniversary of Eat ‘Em and Smile. There is this cool place in Hollywood called the Lucky Strike bowling alley, and they have open mics on Wednesday nights and said I should come down and do a little tribute to the album with them and play just a couple of songs off the record. I’d love to do that, you know, like, 'Yankee Rose' and 'Shyboy'. And I was like, 'Hey, let’s just invite Dave and see if he’s interested,' and he was. And we were all set to play, and all of a sudden the fire marshal closed the place down because there were way too many people in there. We had 1,700 people in a 300 seat venue. It turned into this big fiasco with fire trucks and all this stuff. It was a great band. We even decided it might be in our best interest to do a reunion tour for that record. It’s something that we’re actually kicking around, maybe."

Noisey: That would be amazing.

Vai: "It really was such a good band, you know, and we had great success. It was great for all of us. I mean, I was in my mid-20s when I was out on the road with Dave, and I virtually became a rock star overnight so to speak. Touring with Dave Roth in the '80s was one of the coolest things you can imagine. And as a kid who had the dream, we lived it good and hard (laughs)."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Vai recently announced Vai Academy 2017: Passion and Technique with special guests Zakk Wylde, Al Di Meola, Carlos Alomar and many surprises. Vai has now posted a video trailer for Vai Academy 3.0:

The third incarnation of Vai Academy offers 4 days and nights of non stop guitar, start to finish, January 2nd - 6th, 2017 at the beautiful Asilomar Center, positioned in the oceanfront village of Carmel, California. Visit VaiAcademy.com to reserve your spot today.

From Steve: “Friends and fellow guitarists, welcome to the third year of Vai Academy. It feels great to say that! I’m so excited that this has been as successful as it’s been, and it seems to become more interesting every year. If you’re new to the program, we’re excited to meet you for the first time. If it’s your second or third year, thank you for coming back!

For 2017, we’ll be at the Asilomar Center in beautiful Carmel, CA January 2-6. It’s a great week because everyone’s ready to start the year fresh after the holidays. It doesn’t hurt to ask for admission as a holiday present either—just a suggestion!

We always pick a theme for this thing. I listened to you guys very closely this time around, and I’m doing something different for our Master Classes. This year, we’re going to focus on guitar technique. Many young guitarists always want to know things like: How do I bend notes properly? What’s the best way to approach vibrato? How do you pick so that you get the most out of what you’re trying to achieve? What does it feel like to play effortlessly in 11/16 timing? How does my intonation work into all of this? We’re all in need of guidance regarding these things: I know I still am occasionally!

At the same time, I’ll actually get a chance to go deeper than the technique portion. As you’re getting that part down, we’ll talk about finding inspiration within yourself to write melodies and songs. The technique is the tool. It’s your most useful friend to express what’s inside. Let’s unlock that together. As always, I’ve invited some friends to join me. We have one of my idols, the legendary Al Di Meola, and the wonderful Carlos Alomar—in addition to a few special guests which we’ll be announcing soon.

We’re starting with the technique as the foundation. What’s great is that will grow in whatever direction you personally want it to. Ultimately, the main goal of Vai Academy is for everybody in attendance to feel incredibly enthusiastic when thinking about their goals, their future, and connection to the instrument. You’ll hopefully leave with a few new buddies and maybe band mates too. I look forward to seeing everybody at Vai Academy 2017.”