Though Joe Satriani gigs are usually two-plus hour displays of electric guitar mastery, such events aren’t entirely devoid of comedic relief – and, in a new interview, Satch has opened up on one the funniest things he’s ever done on stage.
However, when Satch decided to shake things up one Halloween by re-emerging for his customary encore to play Surfing with the Alienhis antics came at a cost: he lost total control over his guitar, and started overheating.
“The funniest thing I ever did on Halloween, I was playing a gig and I had this alien mask,” Satriani says during a conversation with Classic Rock. “I thought: ‘I know, I’ll come out and do Surfing With The Alien as the encore.’
“After a minute, I realise I can’t see the fretboard, I can’t breathe and it’s suddenly 120 degrees in my head. The mask came off and I was drenched.”
Unfortunately, footage of when Satch decided to take his Surfing With The Alien performance a step too far can’t be found online, and judging by the fact it sounds like it was a borderline traumatic experience for the virtuoso, we can’t imagine he will be recreating it any time soon.
With that in mind, don’t expect Satch to whip out the alien mask when he hits the road with Steve Vai later this year for the SatchVai Band’s first-ever tour. Indeed, we imagine Satch will be more than content with leaving the theatrics to the more seasoned mask-wearing shredders – Slipknot, Sleep Token and so forth.
Still, it was all done in the good spirit of Halloween, and since Satch is such a fan of the holiday – “We’ve always had tons of wigs and masks around the house,” he says – a similar Halloween run-out of Surfing With The Alien might not be totally off the cards in the future.
That fateful encore is just one of many, many colorful experiences that have punctuated Satch’s live career. For example, throughout his leadership of G3, he’s had to accommodate bizarre demands from Robert Fripp and contend with the challenges of having Yngwie Malmsteen on the road.
That’s not to mention the pranks that have taken place on G3, with Satch going on to recall how he was once covered head-to-toe in silly string for his birthday.
Head over to Classic Rock to read the full interview with Joe Satriani.
In related news, the full band lineup for the upcoming SatchVai Band tour was recently revealed, and Pete Thorn was confirmed to be on rhythm guitar duties.
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