The House of Blues Hollywood rocked this past Sunday, July 10, when Joe Satriani and Steve Vai hosted a benefit concert in support of their friend Cliff Cultreri, a music industry veteran.
A Benefit for Cliff II featured performances by Satriani and Vai, plus Dweezil Zappa, Orianthi, Brendon Small and Tony MacAlpine. There was a jam session at the end of the night (pictured below), as Red Hot Chili Peppers/Chickenfoot drummer Chad Smith and Babyface watched from the balcony.
Between acts, a number of items from Satriani and Vai’s personal collections were auctioned off, including custom amps, cabinets, pedals and guitars. An autographed Satriani red JS1200 raised $6,200, while a custom Fibenare guitar collected $4,800.
Through Friday, July 15, fans can continue to bid on items, including a Steve Vai signed 20th Anniversary JEM guitar commemorating the entire line of Ibanez guitars. Vai used this guitar for the 2007 String Theories Tour and on the song "Now We Run." The current bid stands at $15,000.
Other auction items include a Joe Satriani JS1000 guitar with personalized art (currently at $5,000), a Joe Satriani JS1200 guitar autographed by all the musicians and a Paul Gilbert autographed Ibanez guitar used on the Racer X Getting Heavier album. The online auction can be viewed here.
Cultreri is the A&R executive who "discovered" Satriani and Vai, as well as many other popular recording artists, while working at Relativity Records and Koch Entertainment. Cultreri is suffering from a host of auto-immune and Connective-Tissue disorders that are simultaneously attacking his immune system.
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Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
