Joe Satriani grew up in
Long Island, New York. A phenomenal
solo artist in his own right, he also is responsible for the instruction of
guitar gods
Steve Vai and
Kirk Hammet of
Metallica. As a young man, he toured extensively around the world with various groups before returning to the states in the early 80's to form the
Squares, which folded in 1984, due to failure in the pop market. This failure actually gave Satriani the freedom to expand his
experimental ideas in guitar playing, composition, and actual guitar building. Soon, Satriani had released a self-titled
EP, and began a short stint with the
Greg Kihn band, playing on their album
Love And Rock 'N' Roll.
Satriani then wrote and released his first full-length solo album,
Not Of This Earth, which was soon followed by the more finished and successful
Surfing With The Alien. Without the aid of any vocal parts, this album went gold, and brought Satriani into the
public eye, despite the general opinion that musicians like him were too technical and complex for
commercial production. In 1988 he formed a more stable lineup, consisting of bassist
Stuart Hamm and drummer
Jonathan Mover.
Known for pushing his instrument to its limits and beyond, Satriani has since expanded his talents to include
banjo,
harmonica, and
vocal tracks, which can be heard on his more recent albums, most notably
Flying in a Blue Dream. His 1993 double-album release
Time Machine contains old and new tracks, and several live tracks from his
Extremist tour in 1993.
In 1994, Satriani joined
Deep Purple, replacing
Ritchie Blackmore, and has continued to produce
solo albums. If you ever get a chance, check him out at
G3, a more-or-less annual tour hosted by Satriani, Steve Vai, and whoever else they ask to play with them.
satriani.com
http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/satriani_joe/bio.jhtml