GENERATION AXE - The longest guitar solo in the world

9. July 2019

Generation Axe Steve Vai

GENERATION AXE - Das längste Gitarrensolo der Welt

Under the banner of Generation Axe, Steve Vai has gathered a whole armada of great guitarists around him and put them on the tour bus. Together with Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne), Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme) and Tosin Abasi (Animals As Leaders) the high priest of all stunt guitarists has already done two US tours and one trip to Asia. During their trip to the Far East, they also recorded their latest live album "The Guitars That Destroyed The World: Live In China".

When we get Steve Vai on the phone in his studio in Encino, a northern part of Los Angeles, the sun is just rising. But the 59-year-old hobby beekeeper is a passionate early riser and overruns the planned interview time in a good mood by half an hour. The US-American Oluwatosin Ayoyinka Olumide "Tosin" Abasi is the figurehead of a completely new generation of guitarists. The son of Nigerian immigrants is currently probably the most renowned virtuoso on the eight-stringed instrument. We spoke to the 36-year-old from Washington, D.C., shortly before a gig of his progmetal trio Animals As Leaders in Geneva.

eclipsed: Five of the world's most renowned guitarists in one tour bus. You'd have liked to have been a fly on the wall. How warʼs?

Steve Vai: When I came around the corner with the idea a few years ago, the reaction was mainly: Are you serious? You can't put all these guys together on a tour bus! But, hey, I have 40 years of touring life on my back, most of the others look similar. We have already experienced pretty much everything you can experience on tour. We're friends, and there's mutual respect. A really good band has the same bond as a family. We have a lot of fun, we listen to music, we tell stories, we discuss politics and religion.

eclipsed: The new concept probably required much more preparation time than Joe Satriani's G3 tours, for example.

Vai: Clearly. With the G3-stories every artist brings his own band with him, so logically there are also several breaks for rebuilding. In the end, everything culminates in a big jam. At Generation Axe, however, we share a backing band so everything is seamless. The musicians are more integrated into the show, they come on and off stage in different combinations. We play orchestrated and arranged parts, but also jam a lot.

eclipsed: Hats off to the band, after all the guys were on stage for almost three and a half hours every evening!

Vai: Some shows even lasted up to four hours. You really need an incredible amount of stamina. The guys start with the soundcheck much earlier in the day. You also have to have people who can handle the song material from all of us. Tosin's music in particular is extraordinarily complex. JP Bouvet's on drums, he can play anything. I know Pete Griffin on bass from "Zappa plays Zappa" times, and on keyboards we have Derek Sherinian. Great guys, perfect musicians.

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