Joe Satriani and Steve Vai's friendship with each other (and the guitar) started as kids in New York. It’s still going strong five decades later, and for the first time they have  joined up for the Satch/Vai tour. In anticipation of the tour, the duo collaborated on a new three-part piece of music, "The Sea Of Emotion".

The duo recently spoke with Guitar World about the collaboration. Following is an excerpt from the interview.

Satriani: "When Steve and I decided the time had finally come for us to collaborate on an album I immediately thought of our humble beginnings, where we came from, and our teenage rock ’n’ roll hopes and dreams. To anybody else, it may look like just a field, part of the sprawling Carle Place Public School complex, but for some of us, back in the early ’70s, when the sun went down and the moon came up, (that field) became 'The Sea of Emotion'. We would hang out there late at night and share our deepest thoughts. The memories we shared at that location so long ago became the inspiration for a musical journey in three parts. Each part of the song has little reminders of what we were so into musically back then, including a chord sequence that Steve and I would sometimes jam over during guitar lessons."

Vai: "As young teenagers, we would sit overlooking this magnificent field and wax on generously for hours about the meaning of life and many other deep, rich discussions. We deemed this field 'The Sea of Emotion'. Connecting with Joe on this track, and the other music we are working on, is perhaps the most rewarding musical collaboration I’ve ever engaged in. Although we’ve toured and recorded jams together through the decades, for this music we are intimately bringing together our melodic impulses and playing techniques and creating something that is bigger than the sum of its parts."

Read more via Guitar World here.

Check out the official video for "The Sea Of Emotion, Pt. 1" below.

 

The Satch/Vai tour kicked off on March 22 at Hard Rock Live in Orlando, FL. Check out fan-filmed video from the show below. The set included the live debut of their new collaboration, "The Sea of Emotion Pt 1", and covers of "Enter Sandman" and "You Really Got Me".

The band includes Rai Thistlethwayte on vocals/guitar, Kenny Aronoff on drums, and Bryan Beller on bass.

“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. Shows have now been added (**) for Springfield, MO and Santa Rosa, CA on April 26th and May 12th respectively.

Tickets are available here.

Tour dates:

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 **