“If you want to play something that you hear, you need to listen with your mind’s eye. You’ve heard of the mind’s eye, right? Your mind has an ear too. It’s a kind of listening, but it’s not using your ears to listen. It’s listening with your inner ear, and that’s what you want to translate onto the guitar.” This is the musical creed of guitar guru and composer extraordinaire Steven “Steve” Siro Vai. It is the driving force behind his seemingly unending ability to delve into hitherto unknown realms of music, with a passion and panache that is unrivalled, which in turn leaves his audiences spell bound and captivated in a blissful and enigmatic anticipation of his next auditory orgasm.

From an insightful view into his latest live DVD ‘Where The Wild Things Are,’ the little known inside stories with his touring bands, to his special project with Ibanez involving 300 guitars and beakers of his blood; Steve shares a bit of his wit, wisdom and wildness with The Backdoor.

1. Was there ever a defining moment in your life when you knew that playing guitar like no other person on this earth was what you wanted to do?

Steve – No, I always felt that way.

2. You started your guitar lessons at a young age with guitar legend Satriani, how important do you think professional lessons are for an aspiring guitarist.

Steve – I have always felt that it was a good idea to have a good teacher. Someone who can identify with what you are interested in and help you discover and cultivate your musical goals. A good teacher can keep you from getting into bad technique habits too. For me lessons were very important because I sucked!

3. You’ve always been an Ibanez devotee, what is it about their guitars that attracts you? Do you ever experiment with other guitar types?

Steve – They make the Jem which is the guitar I designed around my playing idiosyncrasies. I play other guitars… for about a minute, but I always go to my Jems because they suit me. They even look like me.

4. The Ibanez JEM VAI2K DNA custom guitar with your blood in the paint job! Could you tell us a bit more about this crazy concept?

Steve – This was something that Ibanez actually presented and I thought… what the hey, it’s odd enough. The funny thing is that I had to go to the hospital and have blood drawn. I didn’t give them a little, I gave them a lot. Several beakers of my blood were drawn. There were only 300 guitars made so you can actually see my blood in the designs. In the future if they ever get cloning together and they are able to take some of my DNA from one of those guitars and create another person like me, perhaps that guy will be able to get his music on the radio.

5. What does it take to be a musician in one of your bands? What is the auditioning process like?

Steve – I like to take musicians on tour with me who are generally happy people. They also need to be able to do something extraordinary on their instrument. It helps if they like my music.

6. We have heard that you reward your touring bands with a very special and delicious treat if they play exceptionally, could you tell us a bit more about this interesting little story?

Steve – Ah, you heard about Vai-scream. Well, on the last tour my band was the “String Theories band”. A really great group of people. Sometimes, usually if we have the next day off and a long drive, I will prepare for them a delectable desert dish that consists of at least two flavors of ice cream, large chunks of milk and dark chocolate sticking out the top, smothered in caramel sauce and whipped cream and topped with a dollop of almond butter. I will hold the cherry for anyone on a diet. Their treat to me is their company. Then we all go to the back of the bus and hammer heroin, (Just kidding).

7. Where The Wild Things Are. It’s what’s on everyone’s mind when it comes to Steve Vai. Could you tell us a bit about it? What dynamic does Alex DePue and Ann Marie Calhoun the two violinists contribute?

Steve – They raise the bar to a very high level, nose bleed territory I would say. They add an evolution and maturity to the music that seemed to be the absolute perfect next step. They are both elite virtuosos and professionals that are passionate about their instrument and play with confidence and conviction. It’s fascinating to see them spin their magic.

8. You have said that you see Music as a self fulfilling prophecy. What message or vision do you try to project through yours?

Steve – Like other artists I feel as though I have certain gifts and it’s my responsibility to use them to create music that some other people may enjoy. I do what I do because I can. But I don’t think that what I do is any more or less important than what any other contributing citizen does.

As such I try to be conscious of the message I put out there through my music, but ultimately I just want to give people a moment of melodic pleasure. I’m not out to change the world, just put some cool songs in it.

There may be things in our life that are out of our control but one of the things we do have control over is how we choose to think. Whatever frame of mind we allow ourselves to dwell in will perpetuate itself and become more and more our reality, especially if we are creating things like music. Buyer beware. If we want to change or evolve who we are, we have to program our selves to think a particular way.

When we create something we have the potential to inspire others. The message we send out has a ripple effect in the world and it’s impossible to quantify its impact. I don’t believe that cause and effect is a theory, a philosophy or an idea. I believe it to be the fundamental building block of the entire creation weather we see it as such or not.

9. Some of your songs like “The Blood and Tears” and “Silent Within” have classical Indian musical influences, how do you incorporate music styles of different cultures into your music?

Steve – I listen to the classic cultural music of a particular culture and identify with the scale, time signature, phrasing, dynamics and atmosphere that the music lives in and I mix those things with my own musical inner ear and apply it to a rock band ensemble. Boom, there it is!

10. You have toured a lot in Asia, most notably in  Japan , how do you see the Asian rock and metal scene as a part of the global rock and metal scene

Steve – I don’t know enough about it to comment.

11. You have your own record label, could you tell us a bit about your vision for it and how you think it differs from other labels.

Steve – It’s called “Favored Nations”.  It’s a small label with powerful independent distribution. We set out to release music from artists that have a unique musical voice and a strong vision. I really just created a vehicle for them to get their music out there.

12. Talking about record labels; the boom of the internet, file sharing and piracy has seen a lot of major labels have some very painful reactions. How are you and ‘Favored Nations’ dealing with the phenomenon?

Steve – We are doing surprisingly well because I never let it get to big. It’s a small operation and with the new digital age, our artists are doing well with internet sales. I knew that when I signed these artists most of their product would be evergreen. That means there will always be some kind of an interest from people who are looking for stimulating musical and beautiful experiences. There is an audience that loves to hear musical stuff and they are always discovering the label. We never had to rely on hits, top 40, million sellers, videos on MTV, Rolling Stone magazine, trends, etc. I do feel for the majors though. They’ve eaten themselves.

13. Could you tell us a bit about your vision and mission with the ‘Make A Noise Foundation’; which we think is an absolutely brilliant concept; and how you feel others can help with this Endeavour?

Steve – That’s very kind of you, thanks. I started MANF with my manager, Ruta Sepetys. Through the years I acquired a tremendous amount of gear and most of it comes to me at no charge because of the deal I have with the companies I work with.  I don’t feel it appropriate to sell the gear and keep the money so I set up this foundation to put money in from gear sales and other sources. It turned into a very nice little charity and we have given grants to students for college, supported underprivileged kids by supplying them with musical gear, supported various other charities with similar missions, and many other things. We have some wonderful plans for the future but it’s too early to discuss them. Anyone can contribute by visiting the Make A Noise link on vai.com

14. You have been playing guitar for so long now, do you ever get bored of playing your songs? How do you keep your playing fresh and passionate?

Steve – I don’t get board playing the guitar, ever. When I’m not playing the guitar my heart is crying for it. Every time I play a song that I have played many times before I focus on going deeper and deeper into the notes. When I can hold my focus at the emotional awareness of the moment, the melodies continue to reveal,  layers of deeper intimacy and truth. It’s a life long process. It’s like climbing a ladder that reaches into the infinity of the abyss. Sometimes the air gets very thin as a result of my shallow breathing and I helplessly fall, but there are those around me who have wings and they inspire me to keep climbing.

15. 5 songs of yours that you would say really capture your ethos and spirit as a guitarist & musician?

Steve – You tell me.

16. Any final message for your fans?

Steve – Hold tight, it gets scary good from here on.

For everything Steve Vai and more, visit his official website or his official myspace.

(Photo credit: luis_3d)