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Steve Vai Quotes
Steve Vai Quotes
Steve Vai
American
Musician
Born:
Jun 6
,
1960
Guitar
Life
Me
Music
People
You
Related authors:
Bob Dylan
Dolly Parton
Frank Sinatra
Juice Wrld
Kanye West
Lil Peep
Nipsey Hussle
YoungBoy Never Broke Again
I've learned over the years that you're going to be most successful at the things you're most excited to do. Every artist has a special set of tools. When you really use those tools, and you make yourself feel really good about the product you create, I think you'll find an audience for it. I've been very fortunate in that respect.
Steve Vai
Good
You
Respect
Yourself
Every
Think
Tools
Those
Find
About
Excited
Feel
Over
Most
Make
Learned
Audience
Been
Years
Very
Artist
Going
Create
Really
Successful
Product
Use
Fortunate
Special
Things
Set
I didn't have any aspirations of becoming famous or successful; in fact I was scared to death of all that. I remember somebody once said that if a rock musician goes on tour, he goes insane. I was very impressionable and I carried this useless weight of fear around with me about going on tour, all because of this thing somebody said.
Steve Vai
Death
Me
Fear
Remember
Somebody
Once
Insane
Musician
Carried
Scared
About
Fact
Tour
Weight
He
Because
Around
Rock
Said
Becoming
Very
Goes
Any
Going
Famous
In Fact
Successful
Aspirations
Useless
Thing
I have a deep love for life and my fellow human beings. I try to understand everything that everybody does, even if it seems wrong to me.
Steve Vai
Life
Love
Me
Try
Everybody
Everything
Seems
Wrong
Fellow
Fellow Human Beings
Understand
Does
Human
Human Beings
Deep
Beings
Even
Deep Love
The classical guitar has a dynamic to it unlike a regular acoustic guitar or an electric guitar. You know, there's times when you should play and there's times when you gotta hold back. It's an extremely dynamic instrument.
Steve Vai
You
Guitar
Back
Unlike
Extremely
Classical
Classical Guitar
Know
Instrument
Gotta
Times
Hold
Dynamic
Acoustic
Acoustic Guitar
Regular
Should
Electric
Electric Guitar
Play
When I was a teenager in the '70s, I was really into those great bands like Led Zeppelin and Queen and Jethro Tull, Deep Purple, Alice Cooper.
Steve Vai
Great
Queen
Teenager
Alice
Alice Cooper
Those
Purple
Like
Led
Led Zeppelin
Bands
Tull
Really
Deep
Cooper
Deep Purple
Zeppelin
Jethro
I have an independent record label called Favored Nations on which I released an album by an artist called Johnny A, who plays an arch top Gibson through a Marshall, but the tone is all in his fingers.
Steve Vai
Top
Released
Favored
Gibson
Independent
Arch
Marshall
Record
Record Label
Fingers
Johnny
Through
His
Label
Artist
Nations
Which
Who
Tone
Album
Plays
I know it is common nowadays for artists to start labels but this is a thoroughly constructed vehicle for inspired talent. This is a market that we've been living, breathing and eating for our entire lives - one where a huge void currently exists. Favored Nations is a long-term commitment.
Steve Vai
Commitment
Nowadays
Living
Market
Our
Thoroughly
Favored
Eating
Entire
Entire Lives
Constructed
Void
Inspired
Vehicle
Long-Term
Talent
Know
Been
Exists
Huge
Labels
Artists
Common
Currently
Nations
Where
Breathing
Lives
Start
A lot of those little things that I really like doing are just moments of cool articulation, just little moments of phrasing that probably go over everybody's head.
Steve Vai
Little Things
Everybody
Those
Head
Over
Like
Doing
Go
Lot
Articulation
Just
Little
Really
Cool
Moments
Things
History's most treasured musicians were believed in and cultivated to reach their potential. Today, it would be difficult for those musicians to get deals. We have the insight and the tools to identify and bring to fruition the dormant talent that our artists possess.
Steve Vai
Today
History
Musicians
Difficult
Tools
Our
Possess
Those
Would
Would-Be
Insight
Potential
Talent
Reach
Most
Identify
Deals
Were
Cultivated
Get
Artists
Fruition
Dormant
Believed
Treasured
Bring
Ray and I do not draw salaries, Any profits will be re-invested into marketing the music we believe in.
Steve Vai
Music
Will
Believe
Marketing
Draw
Ray
Salaries
Any
Profits
I was about seven or eight years old when I first heard West Side Story, and it had a huge impact on me. If you look at the elements of that record, it contains many of the things I enjoy doing today.
Steve Vai
Today
Me
You
Old
First
Enjoy
Side
Seven
Impact
Record
About
Had
Contains
Look
Doing
West
Years
Heard
West Side
West Side Story
Huge
Huge Impact
Eight
Story
Many
Elements
Things
I can count on one hand the people who are legendary in my book, and Tom Waits is certainly right at the top. It's funny, though: When I tell people that I like Tom's music, it surprises them.
Steve Vai
Funny
Music
Book
People
Top
Though
Tell
Count
Like
Surprises
Hand
Waits
Legendary
Them
Certainly
Who
Tom
Tom Waits
Right
That's the thing about great artists: They find the thing that's most obvious to themselves, what's most conscious and natural, and they put it out there and the audience comes.
Steve Vai
Great
Natural
Out
Find
About
Put
Most
Obvious
Audience
Artists
Themselves
Conscious
Thing
I've never really heard anybody imitating anything of mine the way they do with Edward Van Halen's stuff.
Steve Vai
Imitating
Mine
Way
Van
Never
Stuff
Halen
Heard
Edward
Anybody
Anything
Really
I'm always pursuing knowledge; I'm a seeker of spiritual equilibrium - and music is a big part of that.
Steve Vai
Music
Spiritual
Knowledge
Big
Seeker
Pursuing
Part
Equilibrium
Always
Big Part
I knew that I was going to have a life as a musician, because I always felt the pull. I don't remember ever having to make a choice.
Steve Vai
Life
Remember
Musician
Having
Knew
Make
Because
Felt
Always
Going
Choice
Ever
Pull
I loved the guitar, and I had all of this music in my head. My passion for the guitar and the ideas for what I could create musically were equal. So that's where I was.
Steve Vai
Music
Guitar
Passion
Musically
Could
Had
Head
Ideas
Equal
Were
Where
Loved
Create
I created this picture of this character who would play the guitar effortlessly, who had no limitations, performing beautiful music, and he moved around with great acrobatic skills, just capturing the audience and being a great entertainer.
Steve Vai
Beautiful
Music
Great
Character
Guitar
Picture
Entertainer
Would
Had
He
Beautiful Music
Performing
Around
Limitations
Audience
Effortlessly
Just
Moved
Being
Created
Skills
Who
Capturing
Play
I think every artist subconsciously wants to evolve themselves. Sometimes they get stuck in ruts because of pop culture, peer pressure, stuff like that. But what excites me most is exploring my own musical insights and expanding upon them.
Steve Vai
Me
Culture
Sometimes
Pressure
Own
Every
Think
Peer
Peer Pressure
Musical
Evolve
Insights
My Own
Ruts
Stuck
Excites
Stuff
Like
Most
Because
Subconsciously
Expanding
Get
Artist
Wants
Them
Themselves
Pop
Pop Culture
Exploring
I designed a guitar for Ibanez and then they started manufacturing it - it's called the Jem - it's 26 years old and I still play it. As a kid I liked Les Pauls and Strats, but they had limitations for the kind of playing I wanted to do.
Steve Vai
Guitar
Old
Kid
Kind
Had
Liked
Limitations
Still
Years
Wanted
Then
Les
Manufacturing
Play
Designed
Started
Playing
I was a kid, 12 or something, when the Partridge Family was big on TV. I liked the curly cord running from the bass to the amps, which were real fancy. That cord looked so cool. I said, 'Wow! I gotta play something like that!'
Steve Vai
Family
Big
Bass
Kid
TV
Running
Wow
Something
Like
Liked
Looked
Said
Gotta
Real
Were
Curly
Which
Fancy
Cool
Play
Cord
Possessing a healthy imagination is a necessary ingredient for creativity.
Steve Vai
Creativity
Healthy
Imagination
Possessing
Ingredient
Necessary
All musicians practice ear training constantly, whether or not they are cognizant of it. If, when listening to a piece of music, a musician is envisioning how to play it or is trying to play along, that musician is using his or her 'ear' - the understanding and recognition of musical elements - for guidance.
Steve Vai
Music
Musicians
Guidance
Training
Listening
Practice
Understanding
Musical
Recognition
Musician
Constantly
Along
Piece
How
His
Trying
Whether
Using
Elements
Play
Her
Ear
Cognizant
I've always considered transcribing to be an invaluable tool in the development of one's musical ear and, over the years, I have spent countless glorious hours transcribing different kinds of music, either guitar-oriented or not.
Steve Vai
Music
Glorious
Different Kinds
Tool
Considered
Musical
Spent
Kinds
Invaluable
Development
Countless
Over
Hours
Always
Years
Different
Either
Ear
As a musician, I look for certain things that stimulate me. And what I look for is something that's an evolution on a particular genre that I never heard before.
Steve Vai
Me
Before
Musician
Evolution
Something
Never
Particular
Look
Genre
Stimulate
Heard
Certain
Certain Things
Things
I was always one of those guys who was a seeker after truth. I want to know what's going on.
Steve Vai
Truth
Those
Seeker
Guys
Know
Always
Going
Want
After
Who
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