Steve Vai: 10 Guitarists That Blew My Mind!

Guitar virtuoso, Steve Vai counts down 10 guitarists that blew his mind when he was a kid to modern day, guitarists included in this list: Jimmy Page, Tosin Abasi, Joe Satriani ect...

This is what he said:

1. Some random nine year-old kid

“It’s always hard… you can ask me this question and I’ll give you different answers. Trying to think chronologically, the first one that blew my mind was someone whose name I can’t tell you. I saw this kid playing and that was it… this was the beginning of my love affair with this instrument.

“He was nine years old and I was six, haha! Honestly, it blew my mind and I thought, ‘Okay, I want to get into this!’”

2. Jimmy Page

“As influential as that kid was, it all changed when my sister came home with Led Zeppelin II and I heard Heartbreaker. So Jimmy Page came next for me - I think some of the production side of his work rubbed off on me, too - but his sheer command of the instrument floored me. It always felt like Jimmy knew the right parts and was capturing atmospheres.

3. Joe Satriani

“I started taking lessons from Joe and didn’t really know many other guitar players. He blew my mind; I could not believe how good he was. I think I must have been 12 and he must have been about 15… but he could play the solo to Heartbreaker!

4. Carlos Santana

“Carlos was huge for me. When I heard Europa, my world stopped - it was one of the first songs I’d heard where the voice of the guitar was the lead through the whole song, yet it felt so angelic. It was like it floating on billion-dollar tears… beautiful long melodies where single note, every single breath had a beautiful intention to it.

5. Brian May

“I was so stunned when I first heard Queen. Oh my god… it was like the skies had opened up. Isn’t it remarkable how unique they were and how nobody has come even remotely close to doing anything as exotic and crafted as Queen?

6. Al Di Meola

“There were so many great fusion players that I started listening to when I was younger, but perhaps the one that had the biggest impact on me was Al Di Meola.

7. Allan Holdsworth

“I very rarely agree with the term best guitar player. It just seems so obscene to put something so subjective into a best category. But if I had to say there was one, I would pick Allan Holdsworth.

“He was unique in ways that I don’t think have been discovered yet. Many musicians can be considered ahead of their time, but usually… they’re not. They’re mainly ahead of everyone else at that time.

8. Edward Van Halen

“The next thing that hit the scene was Edward. Everyone was blown away by him. There was a simplicity in what he does, but like Brian May, there was so much personality in there. He hears things differently to everyone else; his tone is a reflection of what’s going on in his head.

9. Yngwie Malmsteen

“When he hit the scene, he was doing things none of us thought were possible. He raised the bar in such a way, whether you liked it fast or not, it was an eye-opener. An absolute shocker.

10. Tosin Abasi

“When I think of guys that are creating things of great value right now, I think of Tosin Abasi from Animals As Leaders. He was also part of the Generation Axe tour. He’s one of few players I’ve heard that combine various elements of music that I really like.

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