This has always been one of my favorite Satriani songs. It has a super cool groove as you might guess from the title but also a lot of complex shredding and interesting compositional things going on, as well.
‘Shredding’-wise, he displays all kinds of guitar pyrotechnics. If you check out the video you will see/hear melodies with flying up the neck harmonics, acrobatic hammer-on arpeggios, right hand tapping and he even makes use of his right hand as a capo while his left hand is pulling and hammering arpeggios.
Compositionally, it is a great tune, as well. There is a simple groove which the song is based upon and interesting and well articulated melodies. The groove is at times interrupted with the aforementioned arpeggios. Satriani interjects some foreign sounds too using the harmonic minor scale that changes the bluesy riff into more of an Egyptian heavy metal soundscape. The highpoint of the composition comes towards the end when he overlaps two different arpeggio sections over each other creating the song’s climax.
Unfortunately, live he can’t quite duplicate this overlapping.
I included the link to the studio version, as well, which better represents all aspects discussed. However, I thought it would be more interesting to see everything going on live.
Listen for some of these items. Actively listening to music can make you aware of things you might’ve never heard before.
Here is the studio version. Listen for the overlapping arpeggios sections at 4:25.
One of my favorites by flamenco guitar master Paco de Lucia. Unfortunately not the best sound/video quality but if you are looking for some inspiration this song will get you going!
Cinco de Mayo is fastly approaching are you planning a fiesta this year?
Why not add some live guitar music to your event! I still have some limited availability for the weekend May 4, 5 & 6.
Contact me ASAP to reserve a time. There are a few samples on the listen page of this site. I play flamenco, Latin jazz and pop styles. Can you picture a live guitarist adding Gypsy Kings, Santana, Jobim, Jessie Cook and more to your festivities!
A note on setting up a good practicing atmosphere.
Tonight I’ve been working on a few things: practicing music, writing music, setting up my website, working some blog ideas, browsing the internet, researching some music.
Believe it or not I have been getting a lot of quality production in ALL these areas. Herein lies the function of my dysfunction-I get bored easy. When I get bored my mind wanders and I get sidetracked. However, if I set myself up in a good chair for playing guitar, a computer nearby, my phone nearby, the TV on etc,. when my mind wanders it locks onto another project I need to focus on.
Even as a kid I remember doing this. I would have my stereo cranking down the hall, cuz I wanted to hear music, the TV on to keep my mind busy, some homework cause I had to and a guitar in my hand because I wanted to. Hearing the music would give me inspiration, watching TV would give my mind a break and playing guitar was my active focus and the homework got done as I’d take breathers from practicing. I remember this driving my parents nuts sorry mom & dad!
Of course I would never recommend that my students play in front of the TV. Well actually I have recommended it at times for students to keep them focused as it does for me. In all seriousness there are times that complete and utter focus is needed. When I was getting ready for my college recitals there were times I practiced up to 10 hours a day. Most of this time was spent in quiet solitude, focused without all the ‘distractions.’
So a note to my student’s parents perhaps knowing your child’s work and focus habits you can decide the best environment for your kids to practice. Does your child function better in a quiet room or with a few slight distractions, such as, TV on, siblings playing in the same room, you and your spouse conversing???? Maybe mute the TV during commercials over the course of an evening and let them practice in intervals. Sometimes sending your child to their room for a perfectly quiet, focused practice could be sentencing them to a boring solitary experience and never be afraid to comment, ask a few questions and praise your kids as they are working on their new skills. A more social experience may be what they need rather than a solitary ‘ideal’ working area. Then as their interest and skills grow they can develop their own ‘best’ habits.
Man, do I remember spring thirty years ago. I could not wait for the new Van Halen record to come out. I had just recently become a fan a few years late to the Van Halen party because I was so young. The upside, however, was that I became completely immersed into a life changing wash of guitar music, getting all four of their albums at one time. From that moment on I knew exactly what I wanted to do the rest of my life. I wanted to play guitar and pass the power of music on to others. Those first four Van Halen albums, “Van Halen,” “Van Halen II,” “Women and Children First” and “Fair Warning” shaped my formative teen years. Eddie’s guitar playing and image changed how I dressed, friends I hung out with guitar equipment I bought, etc. He even married one of my biggest crushes, Valerie Bertinelli. There was nothing not to like about him in a guitar and music loving kid’s eyes.
Back to Spring of ’82 and my long wait. I would listen to 101.5 KGB a local rock station religiously waiting for a first chance to hear some new music from Eddie and the boys. I even used to call the DJs and ask when it was coming or if they knew what the cover art looked like.
Late one night I remember lying in bed listening to the radio and hearing these amazing guitar riffs. I jumped up wondering if this was it. Is it? I kept listening. It sounded a little dark and Van Halen even though they were heavy was always known to be on the happier party side of the rock/Heavy Metal vibe. Maybe it was new Black Sabbath? Didn’t take long that I realized my wait would have to endure just like the kid on “A Christmas Story,” wanting his BB gun. I did find another cool guitarist though. The song I had thought might be the new VH was called “End of the World,” by Gary Moore, a great guitarist who unfortunately passed away last year.
Finally on this day April 14, 1982 it arrived! I made my mom drive me to the local Tower Records and scored “Diver Down,” on vinyl!
I know this album is ranked as a substandard Van Halen offering to some. Even though it was kind of thrown together with a handful of cover tunes there are some great originals, as well. Eddie was at the height of his cool choppy guitar riff composition style on songs like, “Hang ‘Em High,”“Little Guitars,” and “The Full Bug.”“Cathedrals,” was a ‘loudly’ soft spoken guitar solo in which the guitarist traded a pick for left hand hammering and his volume knob to produce sound. The Van Halen brother’s dad, a musician, even sat in with his boys, a clarinet solo on “Big Bad Will (Is Sweet William Now).”
By summer’s end I wore out that record and every 60 minute cassette tape I dubbed it to by listening over and over! Good times!
To this day with the bands latest release this past February “A Different Kind of Truth,” I have made it a tradition to get every one of their albums the day of its release. Gone are the vinyl albums with lots of cool artwork and photos and soon CDs will join their demise. The next release I might just have to download. Although that depends on the quality of compressed audio at that time, a topic for another day.
In the words of Roy and Dale Evans Rogers and from “Diver Down,” David Lee Roth…
I am performing solo at the Roxy Encinitas this Saturday, April 14, 7-9:30 PM. I’ve been playing at the Roxy for over 10 years now and still love playing there.
If you’ve never been they have some great food, drinks, coffee and desserts. My favs are the falafel burger, artichoker sandwich, squash enchiladas….. Click here for details on the Roxy.
The desire of every 14 year old kid guitarist, the coveted Marshall stack! Marshalls have been used by almost every major Rock & Heavy Metal guitarist since the 60’s.
Have you ever been to a rock concert and remember seeing a wall of guitar amps behind the band? Guitarist know what they are, Marshall Stacks! Non-musicians are just blown away by how cool they look.
Take a closer look at some live photos of your favorite band you are most likely to see the name ‘Marshall’ plastered all over those amps. Stacked two high and sometimes even higher filling arenas with loud guitars!
Mike Slayen ~ Guitarist 