Steve Vai: The Guitar World Video Interview

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Guitar World Editors
Guitar World Editors

Since 1980, Guitar World has brought guitarists the best in-depth interviews with great players, along with exclusive lessons, informative gear reviews and insightful columns that help guitarists grow and excel on their instrument. Whether you want to learn the techniques employed by your guitar heroes, read about their latest projects or simply need to know which guitar is the right one to buy, Guitar World is your guide.

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The Legendary Eddie Hazel of Parliament-Funkadelic poses in a black-and-white archive pic; while his successor, Michael Hampton, aka Kidd Funkadelic, wears a cape and plays a solo onstage with George Clinton's band.
“Even today, there’s little nuances that Eddie did, and I can get close, but it’s about trying to capture the feeling”: Why George Clinton’s P-Funk All Stars never shined so bright as when ‘Kidd Funkadelic’ and Eddie Hazel joined forces on Maggot Brain
Mike Inez of Alice In Chains performs on stage on Day 3 of Sonisphere Festival on August 1, 2010 in Knebworth, England.
“A personal crowning moment for me was having Lemmy ask me to play on a Motörhead record!” Alice in Chains’ Mike Inez on why Cliff Burton ruled, Paul McCartney's influence – and what John Entwistle told him (that he already knew)
King Diamond and guitarist Andy La Rocque: The King is in his traditional stagewear, undertaker's hat, crossbones mic stand, totally morbid corpsepaint. La Rocque frets a chord on his signature ESP.
“Listening to Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert… all kinds of crazy-fast players. And you tried to keep up with them”: Andy La Rocque on why he is no longer a 120mph soloist – and what we can expect from the long-awaited King Diamond album
Randy McStine plays a sunburst Les Paul as he performs with Steven Wilson.
“This was specifically wanting it to have the sort of grandiosity of a Comfortably Numb-type guitar solo but without really referencing that vocabulary”: Randy McStine reveals all behind his cosmically epic solo on Steven Wilson's The Overview
Chris Holt
“I play the double-neck and trade solos with Joe Walsh on Hotel California. It’s a bit terrifying, but it’s the greatest thing ever”: Chris Holt landed The Eagles without an audition – but his gigs with Mike Campbell and Don Henley might have helped
Elliott Easton of the Cars plays a black Danelectro singlecut on a stage lit in purple.
“John Lennon hated doubling his vocals. The chief engineer at Abbey Road came up with a way to add a delay and put it onto another track. That’s what that pedal does”: The Cars’ Elliot Easton on the secrets of his pedalboard – and the wizard who made it
Mae Semones
“I wasn't familiar with PRS. If anything, I was like, ‘The birds are too flashy!’ But the moment I played one I was like, ‘Whoa, I can play faster now!’”: Meet Mei Semones, the Berklee graduate reimagining New Orleans vibes with an intricate indie flair
Peter Brewis of Field music is bathed in pink and blue lights as he performs live
“A lot of modern guitarists want to get all the notes right but if you listen to Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Page, it’s beautiful playing, with loads of mistakes”: Peter Brewis on Field Music’s ‘collage rock’ – and why he owes his career to Robert Zemeckis
A live shot from the side of the stage as Dead Kennedys play the Mabuhay in 1978. East Bay Ray wears a hooped T-shirt and plays a Strat while a shirtless Jello Biafra works the crowd in the background.
“Iggy left the Stooges and had a career – ditto Lou Reed with the Velvet Underground or Morrissey with the Smiths. Where’s Biafra’s solo career?”: East Bay Ray explains why the Dead Kennedys’ chemistry hit its peak on Fresh Fruit... and why it fell apart
The Night Flight Orchestra all glammed-up in stage clothes and photographed against a green backdrop: guitarists Rasmus Ehrnborn [second from left] and Sebastian Forslund [fourth from right]
Faced with the loss of their founding guitarist and creative leader, Night Flight Orchestra are persevering with the big melodies and sonic largesse of rock's golden era