You have to be spontaneous, and that requires confidence, which allows you to change directions on a whim

Rowdy rave-ups, poignant ballads, reggae rhythms and a touch of Nigel Tufnel. Joe Satriani takes you inside his aptly titled new album, Shapeshifting

- Joe Bosso

When informed that the theme of this issue of GW is “100 Things Every Guitarist Should Know,” Joe Satriani laughs and says, “You should change it to 1,000 things! Every day there’s something new to learn about the guitar. I don’t know if we’re ever going to figure the thing out, and I guess that’s part of the fun.” ¶ Which prompts the question: What does Satriani know about the guitar now that he wishes he knew when he was just starting out? He thinks for a long, thoughtful moment, then offers, “Well, there’s certain technical things about the studio — how when you record a track, something big can wind up sounding small and how something small can wind up sounding big. That’s got a lot to do with microphones, amps and rooms… ”

His voice trails off; he’s clearly dissatisfied with that answer and searching for something deeper. Then he lights up and says, “Here’s something I wish I knew a while ago: how to walk into the studio with more confidence.” That sounds a little funny coming from Satch, a bravura guitarist with a boatload of classics behind him, but he elaborates: “I always try to go into a recording situation with a plan. And you have to have a plan, because making records is so damn expensive. But you have to be prepared to the point where you can respond to whatever comes at you — your drummer might make a funny request, or the engineer might say, ‘Can you play that backwards?’ And you have to fire something back at them that’s as good as anything you came in with. You have to be spontaneous, and that requires confidence, which allows you to change directions on a whim.”