Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
Guitar World|March 2022
After two serious surgeries that affected his ability to play guitar, Steve Vai could have simply packed it in. Instead, he gave himself some familiar-sounding advice and emerged with his most dazzling new album in years. (And yes, we asked him about that triple-neck guitar!)
By Joe Bosso. Photography by Larry Dimarzio
Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar

ON HIS SPECTACULAR

New album, Inviolate, Steve Vai has created some of the most adventurous, magical and powerful instrumental music of his career. But it wasn’t the record he planned to make at all.

“The way the album came about was a complete surprise to me,” he says. “I was actually working on a solo acoustic album with vocals, something I always wanted to do. I was pretty far into it, but things beyond my control intervened, and I had to switch gears and recalibrate my thinking. I actually had no real choice in the matter.”

Vai isn’t being melodramatic. It was in the fall of 2020 when he noticed that a pain in his right shoulder — one he believes stemmed from years spent hunched over his guitar while growing up, and possibly exacerbated from working out — was becoming progressively worse. He saw doctors and therapists and tried various treatments, but nothing seemed to alleviate the condition. Finally, he was faced with one option: surgery. “Three tendons had torn, and they wouldn’t just heal themselves,” he says. “When the doctor went in, he said it looked like a hand grenade had gone off. The nurse told me that she had never, in her entire career, seen a bicep tendon in that condition.”

Denne historien er fra March 2022-utgaven av Guitar World.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra March 2022-utgaven av Guitar World.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA GUITAR WORLDSe alt
THE JESUS LIZARD
Guitar World

THE JESUS LIZARD

Duane Denison tells you everything you need to know about his gear, trying to sell Steve Howe a guitar in the Seventies and oh, yeah! - 2024's Rack, the Jesus Lizard's first new studio album in 26 years

time-read
10+ mins  |
January 2025
MATTEO MANCUSO
Guitar World

MATTEO MANCUSO

The Italian jazz-shredder on social media, his love of the Yamaha Revstar and the advice given to him by Steve Vai

time-read
6 mins  |
January 2025
GRACE BOWERS
Guitar World

GRACE BOWERS

After a \"whirlwind\" year, the 18-year-old sensation discusses her love of SGS, inspiring a new generation of female guitarists, and how she's more than just a blues player

time-read
7 mins  |
January 2025
THE GUITARISTS OF THE YEAR
Guitar World

THE GUITARISTS OF THE YEAR

GUITAR WORLD'S EDITORS AND WRITERS SELECT 2024'S GAME-CHANGERS AND TASTEMAKERS

time-read
10+ mins  |
January 2025
OUR FAVORITE GEAR OF THE YEAR
Guitar World

OUR FAVORITE GEAR OF THE YEAR

THERE WAS AN ONSLAUGHT OF NEW GUITAR PRODUCTS RELEASED OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS. HERE ARE THE ONES THAT HAD US ALL TALKING

time-read
10+ mins  |
January 2025
NEWS OF THE (GUITAR) WORLD
Guitar World

NEWS OF THE (GUITAR) WORLD

SIT BACK AND GET READY TO RELIVE THE BIGGEST, BADDEST AND DOWNRIGHT CRAZIEST GUITARCENTRIC HEADLINES OF 2024

time-read
10+ mins  |
January 2025
The Courettes
Guitar World

The Courettes

A PAIR OF FUZZ-TINGED GARAGE ROCK MANIACS EXPAND THEIR SOUND AND THE RESULTS ARE EXQUISITE

time-read
2 mins  |
January 2025
Within the Ruins
Guitar World

Within the Ruins

JOE COCCHI REVISITS HIS CLASSIC PHENOMENA TONE (AND A COUPLE OF COMIC BOOKS) TO CRUSH THROUGH A SUPERHEROIC SEQUEL

time-read
2 mins  |
January 2025
The Bad Ups
Guitar World

The Bad Ups

PHILADELPHIA PUNKS LOAD UP WITH PAINT-PEELING POWER CHORDS ON THEIR DEBUT ALBUM

time-read
2 mins  |
January 2025
The Return of Tab Benoit
Guitar World

The Return of Tab Benoit

AFTER MORE THAN A DECADE COMMITTED TO THE ROAD, THE LOUISIANA BLUES ARTIST IS BACK WITH A NEW 10-SONG COLLECTION, I HEAR THUNDER

time-read
4 mins  |
January 2025