Steve Vai

Did you know?!

1. 

   Getting ready for a role

   Vai was cast in Walter Hill's 1986 film Crossroads as the Devil's guitarist Jack Butler. In the duel scene he wrote and performed every guitar part except the slide guitar, which Ry Cooder played.

2. Early training

   In 1973, Vai started guitar lessons with Joe Satriani, another New York native. John Sergio, a friend, passed along Satriani's number so that Vai and Frankie Munn could take lessons.

3. A first

   In March 2011, Vai helped set a Guinness World Record for the biggest online guitar lesson, working with Berklee College of Music's online division. The lesson promoted Berklee's online "Steve Vai Guitar Techniques" course, which he helped to construct.

4. A first

   In 2014, Vai played on BTV's Spring Festival Global Gala, a Chinese television program seen by more than two billion viewers. When it aired on January 26, 2014, he became the first rock artist broadcast on a Chinese television program.