I’m not a fan of guitar sports, and I don’t care for shredding, fast playing, and similar show-off techniques. At least not for the sole purpose of doing that. There’s nothing imaginative, exciting or inspiring in the display of fast fingers and spider chords. But when exceptional motoric capabilities are in sync with the burst of creative ideas within, we become witnesses of the greatness that a human can achieve, just for the pleasure of it. Such an example of a complete musician is Steve Vai, perhaps the ultimate guitar hero. His mastery of the guitar is well documented. Vai's guitar technique includes two-handed tapping, alternate picking, legato, hybrid picking, sweep picking, whammy bar acrobatics, and circular vibrato, which he uses interchangeably and with ease as if it is a child’s game. But this particular solo on “Zomby Woof” from a live performance with Zappa Plays Zappa (Frank’s son Dweezil Zappa with a backup band, consisting of several members of the original Mothers and some young blood) is outworldly. It showcases all of Vai’s master touches but,above all, his remarkable sense for music. The solo starts at approximately 2:58 and goes all the way to the end of the song.
Steve Vai is one of the best experts on Frank Zappa’s music. Not only that he played in his band - Vai was Zappa’s transcriptionist in the 80’s. He has transcribed some of Zappa's most rhythmically complex music, using a range of conceptualizations for the notation of rhythmic music. Vai says "While transcribing the material, I was often confronted with situations that led me to reach into the intuitional areas of my imagination to come up with various notational devices and constructions that I had never seen before. I soon discovered that many contemporary composers were then (and are still) using these notations". In return, Zappa composed music and guitar parts specially for Vai, knowing the vast range of things he could do on a guitar. Many years after Frank’s death, Steve Vai still honors his mentor’s genius, and this performance is one of those moments. If you like this video, then you should check the rest of the concert - it’s just awesome!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTto33QWHo4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH1ybin4ZEU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcOlFBkS7_c
