In 1992, Joe Satriani dropped by MTV Studios and played an excellent solo-guitar version of his signature 1987 tune, "Satch Boogie," for the cameras.
You can check out the pro-shot footage below. Fans will appreciate the closeup shots of his fretting and tapping.
The track is from Satch’s landmark Surfing with the Alien album, which garnered tremendous AOR play and, ultimately, gold record status—both almost unheard of for a guitar instrumental LP.
Unlike some of his colleagues, Satriani the performer was no stage elitist who ignored his audience. Satch brought his music to the crowd, playing with a zest and appeal rarely displayed by a non-singing instrumentalist.
He’s a soft-spoken guy, though he obviously knows exactly what he wants and how to wait, if necessary, to get it. After hearing—who else?—Jimi Hendrix, the 14-year-old Satriani abandoned his drums for a Hagstrom III his guitar-playing sister bought him.
He taught himself some basics by playing along with his older siblings' records, a variety of discs that included the Stones, the Beatles, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Led Zeppelin, Johnny Winter and Mike Bloomfield as well as Motown hitmakers, early r&b and even some jazz stuff belonging to his parents.
Guitar lessons ended after a couple of shots: "The guy was teaching me 'Jingle Bells' and I had already memorized the chord charts from the back of an Alfred Guitar Book my sister had," he said.
Anyway, check out the video below—and be sure to watch Joe Satriani Phrasing Lesson: How to Play "Satch Boogie" — Video.
Joe Satriani -Satch Boogie (Live MTV)
Joe Satriani gives a rare solo performance of his classic 'Satch Boogie' at MTV studios in 1992
Posted by Forgotten Guitar on Sunday, November 1, 2015
