A Regular Joe
Joe Satriani, House of Blues, Lake Buena Vista, 3rd December 2010
(Guest-review article by Amanda Lee Campbell, Florida)
I have been a fan of Joe Satriani for a couple years now and, for the most part, find him under appreciated by the American rock community - despite being on the rock scene for over 25 years and still going strong after the release his 14th album Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards.
Satriani is a very original talent but doesn’t quite fit inside the box that is American Rock n’ Roll music. His music is usually instrumental, but emotion exudes from it.
I was lucky enough to see him on his North American Wormhole tour in Florida, supported by Ned Evett and Triple-Double on December 3, 2010 at the House of Blues in Lake Buena Vista.
For over a month my cousin Eric and I had discussed going to Satriani’s show.
After buying our tickets I registered on Satriani’s website to confirm I was attending the concert.
To my surprise I later found I had won a draw for a ticket upgrade to the Club Joe Experience for a guest and myself.
This package included a tour backstage, a meet and greet with photo, Q & A session and autographs.
The Club Joe Experience costs around $280 a person and we got all the ticket benefits except for the merchandise, which was only for the people that bought the package.
When we arrived at the venue we met other Club Joe ticket holders and chatted with several interesting people including a Columbian father and son and a Taiwanese Toxicology student from Washington DC.
Tour coordinator Lindsey Long then took us inside and we spent an hour backstage where we saw all of Joe’s guitars and band equipment.
A few minutes after Joe’s tour bus arrived he came out to participate in the Q & A session with us.
The first characteristic that struck me was his size, he is small, maybe 5’7” and very skinny. The second characteristic that stuck me was how tired he looked, but I guess it gets very draining performing high-energy concerts, six nights a week.
But, despite looking very tired he was cheerful, polite and a very nice down-to-earth guy - just a regular Joe.
He appeared to honestly enjoy interacting with us and answered a number of questions, including a couple of my own.
His reply to my query “what is your favorite song or songs?” was “I really don’t have any favorites, I like them all.”
I then asked, “What is your inspiration for your songs? Do they come to you in notes or chords, a little bit at a time, or all at once?”
“Usually, I get inspiration for my music from something I am reading, watching on television, or something I have experienced. Some songs are written all at once and others come to me a little bit at a time and take years to write.”
There were many other questions asked and I learned some interesting facts:
He still practices but only 25 minutes a day. His wife Rubina and his son Z.Z. (who is now a senior in high school) toured with him for a while, when his son was younger. His main inspiration as a boy wanting to play guitar was hearing Jimi Hendrix and the music his four older siblings listened to. He also usually plays with his eyes closed (which explain the dark glasses) and his recommendation for people who want to become famous solo guitarists is they need to get a real job!
Joe then posed for pictures with ticket holders and autographed many different items and a number of guitars (including several Ibanez models similar to his own).
I had a few items signed, including my copy of Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards.
A doctor from Boston brought the most unusual item, which was an artificial skull that had already been signed by many bands/musicians. He plans to auction it off on eBay and donate the proceeds to Parkinson’s disease research.
After the autograph signing was over we went outside before heading back in to the venue for Ned Evett and Triple-Double.
The venue could have been better - the stage was very high compared to the standing area and we were not allowed to sit in the reserved balcony area, despite VIP status. I am not very tall so all I could see was backs and heads if I stood at floor level. Luckily I found a platform at the side of the standing area where I could sit, putting me about 6 inches above everyone else’s head.
And note to self: don’t eat venue food, it’s awful.
Ned Evett is a big guy with a head full of shaggy, curly dark hair.
He was joined on stage by his very talented band comprised of Malcolm Bruce on bass and Todd Chavez on drums. Evett is an incredible guitar player, great showman and has a strong bluesy voice.
Being a guitarist myself I was blown away by the sustain and the tone of Evett’s fretless axe with its shiny glass fretboard.
He put his heart and soul into his bluesy-rock renditions, including some from his latest album (his fourth) Afraid4You (downloadable off Amazon).
Songs included ‘Wrong Thing,’ ‘Red Red Room,’ ‘When All Falls Down To You,’ ‘Elizabeth’ and ‘Brothers and Sisters.’ The highlight of the set was his rendition of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah.’ More information and song examples are available on his website (www.nedevett.com) and on YouTube.
Joe Satriani’s band consists of Jeff Campitelli (drums), Allen Whitman (bass), Mike Keneally (keyboards) and Galen Henson (additional guitar).
Satriani and his band put on a very high-energy show with Satriani and Whitman all over the stage.
Satriani’s hands move quite fast and to all areas of the neck, sometimes using a Legato tapping technique (with one or both hands) along with hammer-ons and pull-offs.
Joe Satriani, House of Blues, Lake Buena Vista, 3rd December 2010
(Guest-review article by Amanda Lee Campbell, Florida)
I have been a fan of Joe Satriani for a couple years now and, for the most part, find him under appreciated by the American rock community - despite being on the rock scene for over 25 years and still going strong after the release his 14th album Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards.
Satriani is a very original talent but doesn’t quite fit inside the box that is American Rock n’ Roll music. His music is usually instrumental, but emotion exudes from it.
I was lucky enough to see him on his North American Wormhole tour in Florida, supported by Ned Evett and Triple-Double on December 3, 2010 at the House of Blues in Lake Buena Vista.
For over a month my cousin Eric and I had discussed going to Satriani’s show.
After buying our tickets I registered on Satriani’s website to confirm I was attending the concert.
To my surprise I later found I had won a draw for a ticket upgrade to the Club Joe Experience for a guest and myself.
This package included a tour backstage, a meet and greet with photo, Q & A session and autographs.
The Club Joe Experience costs around $280 a person and we got all the ticket benefits except for the merchandise, which was only for the people that bought the package.
When we arrived at the venue we met other Club Joe ticket holders and chatted with several interesting people including a Columbian father and son and a Taiwanese Toxicology student from Washington DC.
Tour coordinator Lindsey Long then took us inside and we spent an hour backstage where we saw all of Joe’s guitars and band equipment.
A few minutes after Joe’s tour bus arrived he came out to participate in the Q & A session with us.
The first characteristic that struck me was his size, he is small, maybe 5’7” and very skinny. The second characteristic that stuck me was how tired he looked, but I guess it gets very draining performing high-energy concerts, six nights a week.
But, despite looking very tired he was cheerful, polite and a very nice down-to-earth guy - just a regular Joe.
He appeared to honestly enjoy interacting with us and answered a number of questions, including a couple of my own.
His reply to my query “what is your favorite song or songs?” was “I really don’t have any favorites, I like them all.”
I then asked, “What is your inspiration for your songs? Do they come to you in notes or chords, a little bit at a time, or all at once?”
“Usually, I get inspiration for my music from something I am reading, watching on television, or something I have experienced. Some songs are written all at once and others come to me a little bit at a time and take years to write.”
There were many other questions asked and I learned some interesting facts:
He still practices but only 25 minutes a day. His wife Rubina and his son Z.Z. (who is now a senior in high school) toured with him for a while, when his son was younger. His main inspiration as a boy wanting to play guitar was hearing Jimi Hendrix and the music his four older siblings listened to. He also usually plays with his eyes closed (which explain the dark glasses) and his recommendation for people who want to become famous solo guitarists is they need to get a real job!
Joe then posed for pictures with ticket holders and autographed many different items and a number of guitars (including several Ibanez models similar to his own).
I had a few items signed, including my copy of Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards.
A doctor from Boston brought the most unusual item, which was an artificial skull that had already been signed by many bands/musicians. He plans to auction it off on eBay and donate the proceeds to Parkinson’s disease research.
After the autograph signing was over we went outside before heading back in to the venue for Ned Evett and Triple-Double.
The venue could have been better - the stage was very high compared to the standing area and we were not allowed to sit in the reserved balcony area, despite VIP status. I am not very tall so all I could see was backs and heads if I stood at floor level. Luckily I found a platform at the side of the standing area where I could sit, putting me about 6 inches above everyone else’s head.
And note to self: don’t eat venue food, it’s awful.
Ned Evett is a big guy with a head full of shaggy, curly dark hair.
He was joined on stage by his very talented band comprised of Malcolm Bruce on bass and Todd Chavez on drums. Evett is an incredible guitar player, great showman and has a strong bluesy voice.
Being a guitarist myself I was blown away by the sustain and the tone of Evett’s fretless axe with its shiny glass fretboard.
He put his heart and soul into his bluesy-rock renditions, including some from his latest album (his fourth) Afraid4You (downloadable off Amazon).
Songs included ‘Wrong Thing,’ ‘Red Red Room,’ ‘When All Falls Down To You,’ ‘Elizabeth’ and ‘Brothers and Sisters.’ The highlight of the set was his rendition of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah.’ More information and song examples are available on his website (www.nedevett.com) and on YouTube.
Joe Satriani’s band consists of Jeff Campitelli (drums), Allen Whitman (bass), Mike Keneally (keyboards) and Galen Henson (additional guitar).
Satriani and his band put on a very high-energy show with Satriani and Whitman all over the stage.
Satriani’s hands move quite fast and to all areas of the neck, sometimes using a Legato tapping technique (with one or both hands) along with hammer-ons and pull-offs.
The most of unusual noises came from picking and contorting the whammy bar and sliding up and down the neck and strings.
At one point he even played with his teeth and used a harmonica as a slide during ‘Big Bad Moon.’ Satriani played an assortment of Ibanez guitars during the concert including a red-orange JS2400 Prototype, a white JS2400, a Dark Candy Apple Red JS1200 and a black JSA acoustic on ‘Andalusia.’
Older songs performed in the 22 song set included ‘Ice 9,’ ‘Hordes of Locusts,’ ‘Flying in a Blue Dream,’ ‘Memories,’ ‘War,’ ‘Revelation,’ ‘Crystal Planet,’ ‘Why’ and ‘Always with Me Always with You.’
Seven songs from Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards featured: ‘Light Years Away,’ ‘Premonition,’ ‘Pyrrhic Victoria,’ ‘Dream Song,’ ‘God is Crying,’ ‘Littleworth Lane’ and ‘Wind in the Trees.’
The only real surprise was the absence of his signature piece ‘Surfing with the Alien.’
Satriani encouraged audience members to interact with him and the band during the concert, especially during ‘The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing,’ ‘Satch Boogie’ and ‘Crowd Chant.’ The latter and ‘Summer Song’ were part of the encore.
Some songs were a considerable change of pace for Satriani like the gospel flavored ‘Littleworth Lane,’ the Spanish flavored ‘Andalusia’ and the only vocal piece ‘Big Bad Moon.’
It was a very fulfilling and memorable night and I will never forget meeting a Regular Joe - albeit one with an incredible talent.
Amanda Lee Campbell
December 2010
At one point he even played with his teeth and used a harmonica as a slide during ‘Big Bad Moon.’ Satriani played an assortment of Ibanez guitars during the concert including a red-orange JS2400 Prototype, a white JS2400, a Dark Candy Apple Red JS1200 and a black JSA acoustic on ‘Andalusia.’
Older songs performed in the 22 song set included ‘Ice 9,’ ‘Hordes of Locusts,’ ‘Flying in a Blue Dream,’ ‘Memories,’ ‘War,’ ‘Revelation,’ ‘Crystal Planet,’ ‘Why’ and ‘Always with Me Always with You.’
Seven songs from Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards featured: ‘Light Years Away,’ ‘Premonition,’ ‘Pyrrhic Victoria,’ ‘Dream Song,’ ‘God is Crying,’ ‘Littleworth Lane’ and ‘Wind in the Trees.’
The only real surprise was the absence of his signature piece ‘Surfing with the Alien.’
Satriani encouraged audience members to interact with him and the band during the concert, especially during ‘The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing,’ ‘Satch Boogie’ and ‘Crowd Chant.’ The latter and ‘Summer Song’ were part of the encore.
Some songs were a considerable change of pace for Satriani like the gospel flavored ‘Littleworth Lane,’ the Spanish flavored ‘Andalusia’ and the only vocal piece ‘Big Bad Moon.’
It was a very fulfilling and memorable night and I will never forget meeting a Regular Joe - albeit one with an incredible talent.
Amanda Lee Campbell
December 2010
