Joe Satriani

Joe Satriani grew up in Long Island, New York, USA and is a skilled guitarist responsible for teaching the instrument to, among others, Kirk Hammett of Metallica, and Steve Vai. After travelling abroad extensively he returned to the USA to form the Squares. Due to a lack of commercial success, this project folded in 1984, giving Satriani the opportunity to concentrate on his experimental guitar playing. The outcome of this was the release of an EP, JOE SATRIANI. Following a spell with the Greg Kihn band, appearing on LOVE AND ROCK ‘N’ ROLL, Satriani released NOT OF THIS EARTH, an album which was less polished than its successor, SURFING WITH THE ALIEN. In 1988 he was joined by Stu Hamm (bass) and Jonathan Mover (drums). Satriani also worked for a while on Mick Jagger's late-'80s tour. Never afraid to push his considerable musical skills to the limit, Satriani has played the banjo and the harmonica on various of his albums, as well as successfully attempting the vocals on FLYING IN A BLUE DREAM. In 1993 he released TIME MACHINE, a double CD which contained a mixture of new and previously unreleased tracks dating back to 1984, and also live material from his 1993 Extremist World Tour. Satriani then replaced Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple in 1994.