June ‘08
  01 Sun Backstage-Werk Munich, DE 
  03 Tue T-Mobile Arena Prague, CZ 
  04 Wed Große Freiheit Hamburg, DE 
  05 Thu Amager Bio Copenhagen, DK 
  06 Fri Sweden Rock Festival Solvesborg, SE 
  08 Sun B1 Maximum Club Moscow, RU 
  10 Tue Villa Manin Udine, IT 
  11 Wed Live Club Milan, IT 
  12 Thu Rijnhal Arnhem, NL 
  13 Fri Paradiso Amsterdam, NL 

2008 Australia Tour
 
July ‘08
 08 Tue Metropolis Fremantle Fremantle, WA AU 
 10 Thu Thebarton Theatre Adelaide, SA AU 
 11 Fri Forum Theatre Melbourne, VIC AU 
 14 Mon Enmore Theatre Sydney, NSW AU 
 17 Thu The Tivoli Brisbane, QLD AU 
 19 Sat TBS Stadium New Plymouth, NZ On Sale 4/28

2008 South America and Mexico
 
July ‘08
 23 Wed Arena Santiago Santiago, CL On Sale 4/27
 25 Fri Luna Park Buenos Aires, AR 
 27 Sun Helooch Curitiba, BR On Sale 5/14
 29 Tue Credicard Hall Sao Paolo, BR On Sale 5/14
 31 Thu Citibank Hall Rio de Janeiro, BR On Sale 5/14
 
August ‘08
 01 Fri Claro Hall Belo Horizonte, BR On Sale 5/14
 02 Sat Centro de Convencoes Brasilia, BR On Sale 5/14
 05 Tue Explanada Sur del Estadio Monumental Lima, PE On Sale 6/26
 08 Fri Palacio de Los Deportes Bogota, CO On Sale 4/22
 10 Sun Anfiteatro Centro Sambil Caracas, VE On Sale 5/8
 12 Tue Metropolitan Theater Mexico City, MX On Sale 5/12
 13 Wed Metropolitan Theater Mexico City, MX On Sale 5/12

Enjoy the show!

Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock

I plan on making this a two part review.  The initial review will be based on first impressions.  I’ll write again after listening over time and in more depth.  I plan on going song-by-song here.  The true test of a good song for me is if I want to have the song on my mp3 player.  If I do, the song gets a synced.  Not getting a synced rating doesn’t mean I dislike the song, but only the best are “sync-worthy”.  Any Seinfeldian inferences are not entirely unintentional. 

The first track, “Musterion“, got synced.  I like the mysterious groove Joe lays down.  To my ears it wasn’t the best material on the album but I do like it and want to hear it again. 

Track 2, “Overdriver“,  has also found a home on my mp3 player.  This song, like most of the album, flows nicely from the previous piece.   What can I say, it’s the quintessential Satriani that I’ve come to know and love over the years. Synced.

Track 3, “I Just Wanna Rock“, didn’t make my sync list.  It’s too reminiscent of AC/DC for me, and I just never connected to them.  Joe did a lot of fun stuff with this track with the talk-box and I appreciate the creative process that went into it, so give it a listen, it just didn’t appeal to me personally.  

Track 4, “Professor Satchafunkilus“, opens with Joe’s son ZZ on the saxophone.  That’s a cool twist.  I hope he’s on the tour.  Joe definitely put the Funk in Satchafunkilus on this one. The song has Joe’s signature all over it but at the same time conjures images of that funky stuff people were shakin’ it down to in the 70’s and early 80’s.  Synced.

Track 5, ”Revelation“, is one of my favorites on the album.  It has a beautiful melodic counterpoint rhythm that reminds me of some of my favorite Steve Morse compositions.  Joe’s lead work flows beautifully, as usual.  I love it. Synced.

Track 6, “Come On Baby“,  starts slow and builds nicely.  The piano and tempo give the song an uncharacteristic feel, which makes for a good change-up.  Oh yeah, it’s on the synced list.

Track 7, “Out of The Sunrise“ - Again the flow from the previous song is noteworthy.  Heavy use of keyboards ties it in well and makes it somewhat unexpected.  This is another track that builds nicely. Synced.

Track 8, “Diddle-Y-A-Doo-Dat” - Bet you weren’t expecting any of Joe’s compositions to remind you of Frank Zappa. This one does.  The percussive rhythm lines give it a very Zappa-esque feel without going over the top.  Synced.

Track 9, “Asik Vaysel” is another of my favorites amongst favorites on this collection of works. Joe’s lead work is typically brilliant.  It just makes me want to say “thanks, Joe”.  Yeah,… Synced.

Track 10, “Andalusia” is amongst my top three picks on this album.  A beautiful piece with a flamenco feel that features Joe on acoustic.  While it starts with a mellow flamenco sound Joe really lights the whole thing on fire before long.  It’s everything I’ve come to know and love about Joe’s work.  Obviously, synced.

So I give “Professor Satchafunkalis and The Musterion of Rock” 9 out of 10 syncs.  Hey, it’s Joe. Would you expect any less?

http://www.satriani.com/podcast/Satchafunkilus/

 http://www.voxamps.co.uk/pedals/satchurator/

 Do you really need to spend any of your valuable time learning guitar scales and theory?

The argument that a guitarists will use to not learn any type of theory is that they will be in danger of losing there originality. They won’t be able to be or sound like themselves, they will be caught up and constrained within the confines of rules and regulations. The only problem with that kind of thinking is that you are in danger of not growing and progressing as a musician.

All basic lead guitar instruction courses at the root level will tell you to learn chords, scales and arpeggios because they know that you will gain a greater understanding of how the music process inter-grates and works together, you will expand your playing with new possibilities and concepts, rather than the reverse.

And here is the most important factor. A lot of self taught musicians tend to suffer from episodes of self doubt because of not knowing what to play, which in turn can breed insecurities and lack of self confidence in your playing.

Knowledge is power as they say, so if you want to advance your guitar playing to expert status as a lead guitar improviser or if you want to be taken seriously as a professional musician, there is no two ways about it, you are going to have to set some time aside to practise modes, scales and learn notes on your guitar fretboard.

Here are some pointers you might want to keep in mind when getting started.

1. 5 or 10 minutes a day of disciplined practise will yield more results than 10 years of picking up your guitar and ‘noodling’ about, sitting on the end of your bed.

2. Set aside ten minutes for a practise session and decide before hand what it is you are going to do and learn. Too many guitarists tell me they practised for 8 hours a day and when I ask them what did you learn - I’m not usually given a clear answer.

3. Always use a drum machine or metronome when practising as you will learn in time that timing is everything.

4. You don’t have to practise at the speed of sound when you start. You will find most guitarists who play fast, find out that speed is not what music or guitaring is really about and end up going back to their roots and playing melodic phrases that satisfy themselves.

5. Don’t beat yourself up because you are not Steve Vai or Dave Gilmour after 2 weeks.

Also, something that isn’t discussed very often about practising guitar scales or modes or arpeggios is that it doesn’t have to be drudgery and boredom. Spending 10 or 20 minutes a day working on the theory aspect of your playing will yield benefits far beyond what you can come up with on your own. I don’t think that there is a single musician on the planet who has spent time learning theory and said I wish I hadn’t have spent all that time learning all that crap.

Conclusion: If you want to advance your playing or write songs that are original and express who you really are, you should consider opening yourself to some solid theory because the road to originality is through other peoples stuff. If you have a good working knowledge of guitar scales, you will identify what your favourite players are up to and be able to duplicate those phrases in all keys for yourself.
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On April 1, 2008, Satriani is set to continue his brand of electric education for the masses with the release of his 13th solo album entitled Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock (Sony/BMG).

Following the albums release, Satriani will embark on a worldwide tour, kicking off April 30th in Lisbon, Portugal before hitting the European market, Australia, South America and finally returning to the U.S. in the fall of ‘08.

Professor Satchafunkilus was produced through the creative envisioning of Satriani and John Cuniberti; guiding the musical talents of longtime drummer/percussionist Jeff Campitelli and reknowned bassist Matt Bissonette. A special addition to the album’s artist list is Joe’s own son, ZZ Satriani, playing the tenor sax.

Track Listing:
1.Musterion
2.Overdriver
3.I Just Wanna Rock
4.Professor Satchafunkilus
5.Revelation
6.Come On Baby
7.Out of the Sunrise
8.Diddle-y-a-doo-dat
9.Asik Vaysel
10.Andalusia

Over the last two decades, Satriani has traveled the world, playing to sold-out crowds as both a headliner and as founder of the all-star “G3″ guitar extravaganza. Of his 12 solo albums 2 went platinum and 4 gold with 15 Grammy nominations between them. This year Joe is nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for the song “Always With Me, Always With You” from his album, Satriani Live!

Last year marked the 20th Anniversary of his groundbreaking album, Surfing with the Alien and was commemorated with new expanded edition in a meticulously restored two-disc set including the newly re-mastered album and a previously never-before-seen live show filmed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1988.

 Thanks to StarPulse.com    http://www.starpulse.com/