After finishing a sold-out tour with Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson for the G3 Reunion concerts, Steve Vai joined Adrian Belew and Tony Levin to perform interpretations of the ’80s King Crimson albums Discipline, Beat, and Three Of A Perfect Pair. The band is called Beat, and the result is mind-altering. All this, and there’s a fire-breathing new single from the new G3 Reunion Live album.
How does playing the music of King Crimson affect your playing?
I was a fan of ’80s King Crimson. That music was fantastic, and as soon as Adrian asked me, I saw myself playing it. I’m playing Robert Fripp’s guitar parts. It’s a challenge because his style is very different than mine. But I knew it would be fun and felt I could navigate it appropriately and effectively. Playing that music, you get to see me working, as opposed to just playing melodies and solos.
You integrate your personality but remain faithful to the tunes.
There’s a beauty and cleverness within the interlocking guitar parts. Approaching it as a guitar player, I had to study Fripp. I got into his disciplinary style. There were two spots where I had to reconnoiter things. On “Frame By Frame,” there’s that relentless cross-picking riff that’s simply outside of my wheelhouse, especially at my age. I didn’t feel like I could play it consistently every night, so I needed to figure something out. So, I took it into my wheelhouse, which is tapping. That worked. It’s reflective of the original, but removed.
On a couple of the riffs on “Elephant Talk,” I decided to hammer instead of pick. Everything else falls within my ability. When it comes time to take a solo, it doesn’t make sense to sound like Fripp. Fripp said, “If I were sitting in the audience, I wouldn’t want to see you trying to do my kind of solo. I wanna see Steve Vai go crazy!” So, that’s what I do. Adrian and I add a dynamic that’s perfectly balanced for the music. We’re so different, yet we come together on many things within the show.
“Zeus in Chains” is the first single from the new G3 Reunion Live album.
It’s got those big chords, and I love playing that song. Whenever I perform it, I feel like I’m in a trance. If a musician is connecting with their instrument, they’re merged with the notes, and it’s a beautiful thing. I have a guitar by my bed. When my wife’s getting ready at night, I sit there and tinker about. Sometimes, something comes up that has some energy in it. I knew it was good because I heard my wife from the bathroom say, “That’s a good one (laughs)!”
You’re using harmonizers more than ever.
A lot of that is with the DigiTech Whammy. That has the most authentic, heavy, clear, harmonized sound with integrity. When I use outboard gear like the Fractal, it’s for other types of harmony things – it’s good for upper-end harmonies like a fifth above or creating a chord. DigiTech doesn’t do that. With Beat, I use the DigiTech, but there are songs, like “Industry” or “Thela Hun Ginjeet,” where the outboard gear works better. On “Industry,” I have a five-note chord coming from one note.
What’s the story behind your Hydra guitar?
I wanted to create something that was musical and meaningful. The idea was to create an instrument that I could carry an entire piece of music with. I wanted a bass neck, a 12-string neck, a seven-string neck, harp strings, a guitar synthesizer with Sample and Hold features, and Sustainers.
In the movie Mad Max: Fury Road, there’s a scene where a guy is playing this wild-looking guitar with flames coming out – steampunk! That’s what the guitar was going to look like. It’s a style I really like. The Ibanez guys in Japan went to the wall and built it from scratch. The process took years. When I got the final version, I nearly had a heart attack. The name of the guitar comes from the movie Jason and the Argonauts. The Hydra is a mythical three-headed dragon creature. If you cut off one of the heads, another will grow.
As I was finishing the Inviolate album, I needed one more track, and the Hydra was standing there. It said to me, “Okay, now it’s my turn (laughs).” It took me six weeks of 15-hour undisturbed days to write and record. Everything you hear is the Hydra in one take. You can watch “Teeth of the Hydra” on Youtube.
What’s next?
I’ve been working with Joe Satriani on a new record. In the summer, we’ll do a European tour called Surfing with the Hydra. We’ll play some of the new songs, and the record will follow the tour. – Oscar Jordan
This article originally appeared in VG’s March 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
