Guitar Hero #1: Joe Satriani

Joseph "Satch" Satriani (born July 15, 1956 in Westbury, New York, United States) is an American multiple nominated Grammy Award multi-instrumentalist, best known as an instrumental rock guitarist. Early in his career, Satriani worked as a guitar instructor, and some of his former students have achieved fame with their stellar guitar skills. Some of his notable students are Kirk Hammett(Metallica), Marty Friedman(Megadeth) and student turned colleague Steve Vai. Satriani has been a driving force behind other musicians throughout his career, as a founder of the ever-changing touring trio, G3, as well as performing in temporary positions with other musicians. Satriani is not just an outstanding guitarist but also an outstanding mentor.

Joe Satriani is probably my greatest influence amongst all Rock Instrumentalists. When we are talking about shredding (playing very very fast), speed and accuracy is always the primary requirement. Satriani has that and a lot more! Other than his "thousand-notes-per-second" ability, he is very skillful in creating very catchy melodies with the use of conventional and exotic scales. No wonder why some of his songs has the titles, Belly Dancer, Oriental Melody and Mountain Song. Boy! back then, I never knew you can turn Arabic Music into Rock Music!!!

He is heavily influenced by famous music icons such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. Since 1988, Satriani has used his own signature guitar, the Ibanez JS Series, which is widely sold in stores. He also has a signature series amplifier, the Peavey JSX, and a signature Vox distortion pedal, the Satchurator.

My favorite Satriani song is, "Always With You Always With Me" and "Mountain Song".