Joe Satriani says he fears for his teeth, having used his gnashers to play his guitar too often in recent years.
The guitar icon is working on his upcoming 15th record, which is set to be a concept album featuring his alter ego, Shockwave Supernova.
But before that, he might need a bit of dentistry to address damage caused by his onstage antics.
He tells MusicRadar: “I never really made a concept album before, or maybe it’s something that I’ve done to some extent but never talked about.
“Crystal Planet had an internal concept that didn’t really need to be discussed to the audience. In this particular case, I had an internal dramatisation on stage in Singapore, the last show of the Unstoppable Momentum tour, and I was telling myself, ‘You’ve got to stop playing with your teeth. Every night you’re just scraping the enamel off.’
“And it’s true – in the last two years, I must’ve played with my teeth more than I’ve done in my entire life.”
Satch says his own relationship with Shockwave Supernova has fuelled the concept for the upcoming record. He adds: “I had a funny thought that I use this alter ego to kind of push me out there and be a showman, because that’s not really how I am – I’m usually more the shy, retiring type.
“Then I had this daydream that Shockwave has come to the end of the road, and the artist that dreamt him up has to retire him. But then he realises that he really has to turn him into something else, something better.
“The songs that I’ve been writing over the past two years sort of address that transformation, what this guy Shockwave is thinking. It’s a crazy, funny concept.”
