Joe Satriani

Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956) is an American rock guitarist, composer, and songwriter.

Early in his career he worked as a guitar instructor, with many of his former students achieving fame, including Steve Vai, Larry LaLonde, Rick Hunolt, Kirk Hammett, Andy Timmons, Charlie Hunter, Kevin Cadogan, and Alex Skolnick.

Satriani started playing in a San Francisco-based band called Squares, which he formed with his brother-in-law Neil Sheehan in the late 1970s.

In 1974, he studied music with jazz guitarist Billy Bauer and with reclusive jazz pianist Lennie Tristano.

The technically demanding Tristano greatly influenced Satriani's playing.

He began teaching guitar, with his most notable student at the time being fellow Long Island native Steve Vai (who also went to Carle Place).

While he was teaching Vai, he was attending Five Towns College for studies in music.

In 1978, Satriani moved to Berkeley, California, to pursue a music career.

Soon after, he resumed teaching.

His students included Kirk Hammett of Metallica, David Bryson of Counting Crows, Kevin Cadogan from Third Eye Blind, Larry LaLonde of Primus and Possessed, Alex Skolnick of Testament, Rick Hunolt (ex-Exodus), Phil Kettner of Lȧȧz Rockit, Geoff Tyson of T-Ride, Charlie Hunter, and David Turin.

Satriani went on to have a successful solo music career, starting in the mid-1980s.

He is a 15-time Grammy Award nominee and has sold over ten million albums, making him the bestselling instrumental rock guitarist of all time.

He was later invited to join the Greg Kihn Band, who were on the downside of their career, but whose generosity helped Satriani pay off the overwhelming credit card debt from recording his first album, Not of This Earth, released in 1986.

The same year, he also sang backing vocals on the self-titled Crowded House album.

In 1987, Satriani's second album, Surfing with the Alien, produced radio hits and was the first all-instrumental release to chart so highly in many years.

The track "Crushing Day" was featured on the soundtrack of a low-budget film titled It Takes Two.

Also in 1987, Satriani helped produce the EP The Eyes of Horror for the death metal band Possessed.

In the following year, he released an EP titled Dreaming #11, which featured the song "The Crush of Love".

In 1988, Satriani was recruited by Mick Jagger as lead guitarist for his first solo tour.

In 1989, Satriani released the album Flying in a Blue Dream.

It was said to be inspired by the death of his father, who died in 1989 during the recording of the album.

"One Big Rush" featured on the soundtrack to the Cameron Crowe movie Say Anything....

In 1992, Satriani released The Extremist, his most commercially successful album to date.

The album was certified Gold in the United States and peaked at number 22 on the Billboard 200.

Radio stations across the US picked up "Summer Song", which got a major boost when Sony used it in a major commercial campaign for their Discman portable CD players.

"Cryin'", "Friends", and the title track were regional hits on radio.

Satriani briefly toured with Deep Purple, joining shortly after another departure of Ritchie Blackmore from the band in November 1993.

"The Forgotten Part II" was featured on a Molson Dry commercial in Canada in 1993.

"Can't Slow Down" featured in a car chase sequence in the Don Johnson-starring show Nash Bridges.

In late 1993, Satriani joined Deep Purple as a temporary replacement for departed guitarist Ritchie Blackmore during the band's Japanese tour.

The concerts were a success, and Satriani was asked to join the band permanently, but he declined, having just signed a multi-album solo deal with Sony, and Steve Morse took the guitarist slot in Deep Purple.

He has worked with a range of guitarists during the G3 tour, which he founded in 1995.

In 1996, Satriani founded G3, a concert tour intended to include a rotating trio of guitarists.

Satriani has been the guitarist for the supergroup Chickenfoot since joining the band in 2008.

Satriani was born in Westbury, New York of Italian descent.

His paternal grandparents were from Piacenza and Bobbio, while his maternal grandparents were from Bari.

He was raised Roman Catholic.

He was inspired to play guitar at age 14, after hearing of the death of Jimi Hendrix.

Satriani heard the news during football practice, where he then announced to his coach that he was quitting to become a guitarist.

Satriani graduated from Carle Place High School.