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 in
his youth he returned to the USA to form the Squares. This project
folded in 1984 through an abject lack of commercial recognition, 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 that was less
polished than its successor, Surfing With The Alien. Despite offering
no vocal accompaniment, this set was a major seller and brought mainstream
respect to an artist often felt to be too clinical or technical for
such reward. In 1988 he was joined more permanently by Stu Hamm (bass)
and Jonathan Mover (drums), also working for a spell on Mick Jagger
's late 80s tour. Never afraid to push his considerable musical skills
to the limit, Satriani has played the banjo and harmonica on his albums,
as well as successfully attempting vocals on Flying In A Blue Dream.
In 1993 he released Time Machine, a double CD that contained a mixture
of new and previously unreleased tracks dating back to 1984, and also
live material from his 1993 Extremist world tour. The guitarist then
replaced Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple in 1994, while maintaining
his own solo recording career with further albums.
