Joe Satriani facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Joe Satriani
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Satriani performing in 2010
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joseph Satriani |
| Also known as | Satch |
| Born | July 15, 1956 Westbury, New York, U.S. |
| Genres |
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| Occupations |
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| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1978–present |
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Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956) is a famous American rock guitarist, composer, and songwriter. He is known for his amazing guitar playing skills. Early in his career, he taught many students who later became famous musicians, like Steve Vai and Kirk Hammett. Joe Satriani has had a very successful solo career since the mid-1980s. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award 15 times and has sold over ten million albums. This makes him the best-selling instrumental rock guitarist ever!
In 1988, Satriani played lead guitar for Mick Jagger on his first solo tour. He also briefly toured with the famous band Deep Purple in 1993. Satriani started the G3 tour in 1995, where he plays with other great guitarists. Since 2008, he has been the guitarist for the supergroup Chickenfoot.
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Early Life and Learning Guitar
Joe Satriani was born in Westbury, New York. He was inspired to play guitar at age 14 after hearing about the death of Jimi Hendrix, a legendary guitarist. He even quit his football practice that day to become a guitarist!
After high school, Satriani studied music with jazz musicians Billy Bauer and Lennie Tristano. Tristano's challenging style really helped Satriani improve his playing. Joe began teaching guitar, and one of his most famous students was Steve Vai. In 1978, Satriani moved to Berkeley, California, to start his music career. He continued teaching, and his students included Kirk Hammett from Metallica, Larry LaLonde from Primus, and Alex Skolnick from Testament.
Joe Satriani's Music Career
Starting Out: The 1980s
Satriani first played in a band called Squares in San Francisco. Later, he joined the Greg Kihn Band. Their help allowed him to pay for recording his first solo album, Not of This Earth, which came out in 1986.
In 1987, Satriani released his second album, Surfing with the Alien. This album was a big hit and featured only instrumental music (music without singing). Songs like "Crushing Day" were used in movies. In 1989, he released Flying in a Blue Dream, which was inspired by his father's passing. Songs from this album were also used in films and commercials.
Big Success: The 1990s and 2000s
In 1992, Satriani released The Extremist, which became his most successful album. It sold very well and reached number 22 on the Billboard 200 chart. The song "Summer Song" became very popular after Sony used it in commercials for their portable CD players.
In late 1993, Satriani joined Deep Purple for a short time to replace their guitarist. He played very well, and the band asked him to join permanently. However, he had just signed a deal for his solo music, so he said no.
In 1996, Satriani started G3, a concert tour where he plays with two other famous guitarists. He is the only guitarist who has been on every G3 tour. Many other great guitarists have joined G3 over the years, including Steve Vai and John Petrucci. In 1998, he released Crystal Planet, and in 2000, Engines of Creation, which explored electronic music. He also released a live album and DVD called Live in San Francisco.
New Music and Projects: 2000s to Today
Satriani continued to release new albums like Strange Beautiful Music (2002) and Is There Love in Space? (2004). In 2005, he toured India for the first time. In 2006, he released Super Colossal and another live album, Satriani Live!. He also became a supporter of Little Kids Rock, an organization that gives free musical instruments to children in schools.
In 2008, Satriani joined a new hard rock supergroup called Chickenfoot. The band includes former Van Halen members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. They released their first album in 2009 and a second one in 2011.
Satriani has continued to release new music regularly. His 13th studio album, Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards, came out in 2010. In 2012, he released a 3D concert film called Satchurated: Live in Montreal. He released his 14th album, Unstoppable Momentum, in 2013. A special box set of all his studio albums was released in 2014, along with a book about his life called Strange Beautiful Music: A Memoir.
His 15th album, Shockwave Supernova, was released in 2015. The idea for this album came from a daydream he had about an alter ego who made him play guitar with his teeth! His 16th album, What Happens Next, came out in 2018, and his 17th, Shapeshifting, in 2020. His most recent album, The Elephants of Mars, was released in 2022.
In 2023, Satriani continued his G3 project with a special event called G4 Experience V6.0, featuring other guitarists like Peter Frampton and Steve Lukather. In 2024, the original G3 lineup (Satriani, Steve Vai, and Eric Johnson) reunited for a tour. Satriani and Vai also released their first song together, "The Sea of Emotion, Pt.1".
Chickenfoot Band
In May 2008, Joe Satriani joined the hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot. The band members are Sammy Hagar (vocals), Joe Satriani (guitar), Michael Anthony (bass), and Chad Smith (drums). Their first album, Chickenfoot, was released in 2009. Satriani helped write all the songs on this album. He said it was "great fun" to play with such talented musicians. Chickenfoot's second album, Chickenfoot III, came out in 2011.
Other Music Work
Joe Satriani has played guitar on many other albums for different artists. He played on Alice Cooper's album Hey Stoopid in 1991 and Blue Öyster Cult's album Imaginos in 1988. He also played lead guitar on The Yardbirds' album Birdland in 2003.
He has also contributed to video game soundtracks, like NASCAR 06: Total Team Control, and his song "Crowd Chant" was used in sports games like NHL 2K10. Satriani has even appeared in movies as himself, like in Moneyball, where he played "The Star-Spangled Banner". His song "Always with Me, Always with You" was featured in an episode of the TV show American Dad!.
Guitar Style and Influences
Joe Satriani is known as a highly skilled guitarist. He has mastered many different playing techniques on the electric guitar. These include:
- Legato: Making notes flow smoothly together.
- Tapping: Using both hands to tap notes on the fretboard.
- Harmonics: Creating bell-like sounds.
- Whammy bar effects: Using the guitar's bar to bend notes.
He is also very good at playing fast, using techniques like alternate picking and sweep picking. Satriani was inspired by famous guitarists like Jimi Hendrix, Brian May, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page.
Equipment Joe Satriani Uses
Satriani uses Ibanez JS Series guitars and Marshall JVM410HJS guitar amplifiers. Both of these were designed especially for him. Many of his guitars are made by Ibanez, like the JS1000 and JS1200. These guitars often have special pickups called DiMarzio PAF Pro, Fred, Mo' Joe, and Paf Joe. He also uses a special pickup called the Satch Track.
One of his most famous guitars in the 1990s was a chrome-finished guitar nicknamed "Chrome Boy." He uses different JS models, including a red 7-string guitar and a special 24-fret version called the JS–2400, which he uses with Chickenfoot.
Satriani has used many different guitar amps. For a long time, he used Marshall amps, and then his own signature Peavey JSX amps. He later returned to using Marshall JVM series amps, which were specially modified for him.
He also uses many effects pedals to change his guitar sound. These include:
- Wah pedals: To create a "wah-wah" sound.
- DigiTech Whammy: To shift the pitch of notes.
- Distortion pedals: To make his guitar sound heavier.
- Delay pedals: To create echo effects.
- Octave generators: To add higher or lower versions of his notes.
He has even worked with the company Vox to create his own signature effect pedals, like the "Satchurator" distortion and the "Time Machine" delay.
Musical Themes and Ideas
Joe Satriani's music often includes references to science fiction stories and ideas. For example, songs like "Surfing with the Alien" and "Back to Shalla-Bal" refer to the comic book character Silver Surfer. The song "Ice 9" is named after a secret weapon from the book Cat's Cradle. Many of his album and song titles sound like they are from another world, such as Not of this Earth and Crystal Planet.
On his album Super Colossal, the song "Crowd Chant" was originally going to have sounds from the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek, but he couldn't get permission to use them. This song is now used by many sports teams, like the Minnesota Wild and New York Islanders, as goal celebration music. Another song from Super Colossal, "Redshift Riders", is about traveling through space very quickly in the future. On the album Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock, the song "I Just Wanna Rock" tells the story of a giant robot who finds a rock concert.
Awards and Nominations
Joe Satriani has received many awards and nominations for his music.
California Music Awards
- 1991: Won "Outstanding Guitarist"
Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards
- 2015: Won "The Maestro" award
Grammy Awards
Joe Satriani has been nominated for a Grammy Award 15 times, which is a lot! He has been nominated for "Best Pop Instrumental Performance" and "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" for many of his songs and albums over the years.
Discography
- Not of This Earth (1986)
- Surfing with the Alien (1987)
- Flying in a Blue Dream (1989)
- The Extremist (1992)
- Time Machine (1993)
- Joe Satriani (1995)
- Crystal Planet (1998)
- Engines of Creation (2000)
- Strange Beautiful Music (2002)
- Is There Love in Space? (2004)
- Super Colossal (2006)
- Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock (2008)
- Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards (2010)
- Unstoppable Momentum (2013)
- Shockwave Supernova (2015)
What Happens Next (2018)
- Shapeshifting (2020)
- The Elephants of Mars (2022)
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See also
In Spanish: Joe Satriani para niños
