Tue, 04 Feb 1997

Guitar maestro comes to Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): Legendary American guitarist Steve Vai will play tonight at the Hard Rock Cafe in the Sarinah building on Jl. M.H. Thamrin, at 9:30 p.m.

Vai, a former student of guitar guru Joe Satriani and rock exhibitionist Frank Zappa, is here on his Firegarden tour. Before joining Zappa's band, Vai went to the famous Boston College of Music, Berklee, but he only stayed there until he was 17. He was bored with the scholastic system and joined Zappa as a transcriber in 1977.

In the 1980s, Vai was a member of various bands including the celebrated hard rock band Whitesnake. He went solo in 1984 launching his debut solo-album Flex-able. His loud and ultrafast guitar style has attracted many fans. In the preparation of his 1993 album Sex & Religion, Vai formed his own band called Vai with Devin Townsend as vocalist.

Tonight Vai will be accompanied by Mike Mangiani, Philip Bynoe and Berklee schoolmate Mike Keneally. (35)