Jammin' with Joe

Guitar Hero Satriani is Feeling "Super Colossal"

Mark Williams
Music Editor

For those familiar with the unique guitar stylings of Joe Satriani, stamping him as an icon is easy. Winning multiple platinum albums and international acclaim since the 1980’s, this rock n' roll master has raised the bar for old and new musicians alike.

Still, Satriani says that as an artist he's always searching for something more. "I still feel like I am trying to get it right for once," he says. "I'm looking for the Golden Fleece, just chasing after something."

Made famous by his innovative musicianship, Satriani has netted 11 solo albums which claim over ten million sold units, as well as two albums having reached platinum and four having reached gold; he has had 13 Grammy nominations and has toured with a host of famed musicians.

Satriani offers insight to the inspiration behind his latest album, "Super Colossal." "I wanted to write a record without any subject boundaries. That's an important thing for me. Sometimes in the past, I've been stuck down one particular path of music. This time I wanted to keep the ideas wide and let any subject in, so that generated a lot of material as this idea came to me."

"I wrote 'Super Colossal' about a silly little guitarist writing a huge guitar lick in a little town," Satriani says. "It released the giant-size emotions and good times and bad times inside a guitarist. I kept thinking this is a good thing to focus on, a celebration about feeling good and that I shouldn't hold back."

Despite the strong presence of emotion in Satriani's past recordings, "Super Colossal" is a bit different than anything Satriani has done before in quite a few ways. "Purely from my perspective, it's very easy for me to listen to something and think that I could have never had done that decades ago," says Satriani. "I have a better handle on harmonies and melodies, a better handle on phrasing resulting from practicing and years of letting go and playing what you feel and learning to drop any type of laborious or didactic technique."

"Super Colossal" was recorded entirely in Satriani's personal home studio. "I've been doing that in various stages for about three to four records now. This time it was serious, everything was recorded in the highest degree. My home studio was prepped and I had to do things right and not think that I would do them over and over again."

Not only does it help Satriani improve his material, it is also exciting for him. "Part of the art that I find exciting is shaping an idea any way I want. I am there in my studio and I control the spaceship and direct it. I did 99 percent of the guitar work and all the bass and keyboards at my home."

Overall, Satriani says rock n' roll is keeping him young. "It's still the same as when I was 14, I love practicing and I know if I'm not practicing I am falling behind. I don't feel being a guitar god like I feel love or faith."

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