Arriving in a flurry of liquid legato, whammy bar squawks and woodpecker-fast tapping, the inaugural G3 tour of 1996 – featuring shred-guitar alphas Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Eric Johnson on the same stage – was a reminder that grunge didn’t have everything its own way.
Last year, after three decades of changing line-ups, the original trio went on a sell-out tour and rolled tape at LA’s Orpheum Theatre. “Those shows were a gift,” Satriani remembers of the fireworks, captured and now released on the G3 Live Reunion album.
In the sleevenotes you say it was tough to get G3 off the ground. Why was that?
The vibe back then was to keep the gunslinger guitar players away from each other. The record companies, the management, everyone, was like: “Don’t stand next to that guy, because he’s your competitor.” At the same time, the promoters would say: “Can’t we just have you guys come a month apart?” So we had nice little arguments with them, saying: “This is different.”
This was something I felt the audience really wanted to see, because I wanted to see it. When I was fourteen, if I had a chance to see Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck together on the same stage, I’d think that was the greatest thing ever. I wouldn’t be thinking like a promoter, I’d be thinking like a fan.
It probably didn’t help that by the 90s guitar solos were an endangered species.
I didn’t pay any attention to that, I guess. The Extremist [1992] came out as my love letter to the classic rock era, so it was a throwback record anyway, but when I emerged from the studio I realised: “Oh, it’s all Nirvana and Soundgarden.”
Did you resent Kurt Cobain at all for what he did to the rock’n’roll landscape?
Oh no, I was very happy with those Nirvana records. He was a great guitar player. You go back and look at Nirvana clips, and you realise this guy is playing everything he’s supposed to play. He’s not looking at what he’s playing, so obviously he really knows the instrument. And he’s playing with one of the greatest drummers of all time [Dave Grohl], so that wouldn’t have worked if he was not a good guitarist.
What’s it like catering for all those different personalities on G3?
Some guys are really straight ahead. Like Eric, Steve and myself, we’re not demanding when it comes to what we need before we head out on stage. And then other performers need a little more stuff. You have two extremes. Like, Robert Fripp, who said: “No lights on me, I want to sit down and I want to be behind everybody.” So it was sort of an ‘un-demand’, y’know?
And of course Yngwie [Malmsteen]… I mean, if you invite him, you have to just say: “I know what I’m inviting.” To Yngwie’s credit, he always plays so great and always puts on the Yngwie Malmsteen show. The only problem that I would have is that sometimes he wouldn’t pay attention to other things happening on stage when his bit was done. Because he’s just not used to not being the focus of the show.
So as showleader, I just take a deep breath and say: “I have to understand that Yngwie’s not used to this kind of thing.” So we’d be as gentle as possible. Like, I’d say: “When Steve’s soloing, don’t throw your guitar up in the air right next to him, because he’s got his eyes closed. I don’t want him to get hit in the head!”
We’re talking today on Halloween. What’s been your best Halloween costume over the years?
We’ve always had tons of wigs and masks around the house. One year, there were lots of kids in the neighbourhood and all the parents made an effort to embarrass themselves, so I went as Joey Ramone. Of course, the kids just thought: “Why is Mr Satriani wearing a big black wig?”
The funniest thing I ever did on Halloween, I was playing a gig and I had this alien mask. I thought: “I know, I’ll come out and do Surfing With The Alien as the encore.” After a minute, I realise I can’t see the fretboard, I can’t breathe and it’s suddenly a hundred and twenty degrees in my head. The mask came off and I was drenched.
Is there any pranking on G3?
I remember I had a birthday in New York, and all of a sudden everybody had a can of silly string and I was just covered in this stuff. Another time, we were playing Mexico City and John Petrucci had a particularly ominous beginning to his show. So we all appeared on stage wearing robes and holding candles. And because John is unflappable, he played flawlessly and just laughed at us.
What I’ve told our crews is: “Pranks are okay, but don’t do anything to mess up anybody’s show.” You never know how important a given night is to a performer. It might be that they screwed up one note a week ago and it’s still pissing them off.
Do you ever worry that a YouTube guitarist will come along who’s technically better?
It’s already happened! There’s a couple of things to address here. Number one, if it doesn’t happen, the world is in deep trouble. We need newer, smarter people to solve the human condition, in every field – scientists, doctors, writers. We need better, smarter, every single day. That’s the whole point. We have children, and we raise better human beings to help us, so we don’t become extinct. Also, if you’re not excited about new players, then that’s pretty sad.
I’m excited about just about every player I see. I champion it, I always have. Because I started out teaching, and I got used to the idea that Steve Vai was gonna walk in my door and blow my mind.
What are your plans for 2025?
I have an album to finish writing and recording with Steve, then the Satch/Vai tour starts in Europe this summer. I guess I’ll just keep playing until something breaks!
G3 Reunion Live featuring Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and Steve Vai is out now via earMUSIC.
