Guitar whizzes Steve Vai and Joe Satriani have released their first single together, The Sea Of Emotion, Pt 1, and its roots go way back, to an interview the pair undertook together more than three decades ago.
"I've always thought about doing a record with Joe," Vai told Guitar World in 1990. "Right now, our careers just won’t allow it because we're so busy. But one of these days, when everything dies down, we'll sit down and do it."
"When we've become totally unpopular we'll probably get together," confirmed Satriani, before switching to the voice of an elderly man and adding, "'Oh, Steve, remember the old lick…'", to which Vai responds, in a sappy voice, "'Let's call this song… The Sea Of Emotion.'" And, 34 years later, here we are.
It's not actually the first song the pair have recorded together. In the same interview, Vai reveals that they recorded a song called Reflections Of A Year And A Half when he was 13 or 14 (famously, Satriani was the young Vai's guitar teacher).
The new release was produced by Greg Koller, with contributions from drummer Matt Bissonette, bassist Bryan Beller, and keyboardist Eric Caudieux. It comes with the pair a week into the duo's Satch/Vai tour, which continues until May. Full dates below.
The audio for The Sea Of Emotion, Pt 1 is online now (note: timezone dependent), while the video premieres on March 29 at 4pm UK time, 12pm EST.
Satch/Vai US tour 2024
Mar 29: North Charleston Performing Arts Center, SC
Mar 30: Durham Performing Arts Center, NC
Apr 02: Charlotte Belk Theater, NC
Apr 03: Richmond Dominion Energy Center, VA
Apr 05: Boston Orpheum Theatre Boston, MA
Apr 06: New York Beacon Theatre, NY
Apr 07: Waterbury Palace Theater, CT
Apr 08: Red Bank Count Basie Center For The Arts, NJ
Apr 10: Collingswood Scottish Rite Auditorium, NJ
Apr 11: Washington Warner Theatre, DC
Apr 13: Northfield MGM Northfield Park, OH
Apr 14: Rochester Kodak Center Theater, NY
Apr 16: Detroit Fisher Theatre, MI
Apr 18: Chicago Theatre, IL
Apr 19: Cincinnati Andrew J. Brady Icon Music Center, OH
Apr 20: Fort Wayne Embassy Theatre, IN
Apr 21: Indianapolis InMurat Theatre, IN
Apr 23: Milwaukee Riverside Theater, WI
Apr 24: Minneapolis State Theatre, MN
Apr 25: Des Moines Des Moines Civic Center, IA
Apr 26: Springfield Gillioz Theatre, MO
Apr 28: La Vista The Astro, NE
Apr 29: Salina Stiefel Theatre, KS
Apr 30: St. Louis The Factory, MO
May 01: Kansas City Uptown Theater, MO
May 03: Austin Acl Live At The Moody Theater, TX
May 04: Dallas Music Hall At Fair Park, TX
May 05: Houston 713 Music Hall, TX
May 07: Denver Paramount Theatre, CO
May 08: Salt Lake City Delta Hall At Eccles Theater, UT
May 10: Valley Center Harrah's Resort Southern California, CA
May 11: Wheatland Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, CA
May 12: Santa Rosa Luther Burbank Center For The Arts, CA
