Vai Goes ''Where The Wild Things Are''; Stars In ''Live Music''
Date: Sunday, August 16 @ 19:05:00 UTC
Topic: Album Release News


In a follow up to our news item posted on August 2, guitar legend Steve Vai will release his concert film and live album Live In Minneapolis - Where The Wild Things Are on September 29th, 2009 through Favored Nations Records. The show was recorded and filmed at the State Theatre in Minneapolis, MN before a sold-out audience as part of Vai?s successful Sound Theories world tour.

Vai is widely known for both his unprecedented guitar playing techniques and the unique design of his signature series Ibanez Jem guitar. But his fans have become inextricably drawn to his melodic depth, and dynamic stage performance. The continued evolution of his craft is made apparent in the astonishing musicianship presented in Live In Minneapolis - Where The Wild Things Are.



The 2 hour and 40 minute set contains several new tracks and re-orchestrated pieces culled from his rich catalog. His guitar-wielding extravaganza in "The Murder" is an artistic performance piece that must be seen to be believed. [view the trailer]

The addition of virtuoso violinists Alex DePue and Ann Marie Calhoun add a dazzling dimension to Vai?s compositions and stage show, delivering fans the unexpected edge they always expect. Other world-class musicians chosen for Vai?s band are: Bryan Beller (bass), Jeremy Colson (drums), Dave Weiner (guitar and sitar) and Zack Wiesinger (lap steel).

"When I put a band and a show together I try to create an entertainment experience that I would like to have if I was sitting in the audience," explains Vai. "I like to witness great musicianship but nothing too cerebral or overindulgent, I like to be stimulated by a large dynamic range of emotional intensities and melodic richness, I enjoy when people love their instrument and it shows by their oneness with it, I like to feel as though I?m part of a family with the audience and the band, and I like to walk away feeling uplifted and not beat up by somebody?s ego or the things they hate about themselves and the world. And of course I want a cool t-shirt.?

Live In Minneapolis - Where The Wild Things Are is available on DVD, Blu-ray, and audio CD on September 29th.

Stay tuned for news regarding pre-order packages, as well as details and ticket info for the Live In Minneapolis - Where The Wild Things Are charity benefit screening and auction in Hollywood, CA on September 15.

Steve Vai & Ann Marie Calhoun star in Live Music, a worldwide collaboration by animators using a unique application built on the Facebook Platform, will be attached to TriStar Pictures? animated feature Planet 51, scheduled for a Nov. 20 wide theatrical release in North America.

Live Music is directed by Yair Landau, former president of Sony Pictures Digital. It is the first production from Mass Animation, an effort that brings together the worlds of computer graphics, Hollywood and Facebook.

The 5-minute computer-animated short is inspired by Shakespeare?s Romeo and Juliet and early CGI films. Set in a musical instrument store, the story follows Riff, a rock ?n? roll guitar, who "falls in love to the wrong song but ends up with Vanessa, the classical violin of his dreams." The story is conveyed through the universal language of music, allowing the expressions and actions of the characters to be instantly relatable globally. The instruments are brought to life through original compositions and familiar rock tunes played principally by legendary guitarist Steve Vai as Riff and acclaimed violinist Ann Marie Calhoun as Vanessa.

A new high-def trailer for Live Music can now be viewed on Apple?s Quicktime Trailers Page. You can also view the trailer on YouTube. You can become a fan of Live Music on Facebook and check out some photos of Steve and Ann Marie during the recording sessions.

Other Vai sightings include: an appearance on Mike Stern's new album Big Neighborhood. The album opens with the churning, rocked-up title track, in which Stern and Vai face off and create a thundering wall of distorted guitar riffs. ?This tune obviously comes out of a Jimi Hendrix inspiration,? says Stern. ?Steve rocks it with so much attitude. Along with the technique, he also has a lot of humor in his playing, which I love.? Vai reappears several tracks later in the Middle-Eastern flavored ?Moroccan Roll,? a song inspired by the exotic music of Pakistani vocalist Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Big Neighborhood was released worldwide on August 11 through Concord Records. For more on the record, and to order your copy, visit MikeStern.org. You can also preview the album on Mike?s MySpace.

Plus Steve appears on Spinal Tap?s new album Back From The Dead. The album includes 19 songs and an hour-long DVD.

On Back From the Dead, Tap members David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls unearth their long-self-suppressed studio versions of the classic songs from the movie This Is Spinal Tap, as well as six new additional songs, and an exclusive hour long accompanying DVD.

Steve performs an incredible solo on the track ?Short And Sweet?. The album also features guest appearances by Phil Collen, Keith Emerson, and John Mayer. For more info visit SpinalTap.com.

And not just audio appearances - Steve is on the cover of Guitar Player's October 2009 issue which goes along with an extensive interview where he discusses the upcoming DVD, his Naked Tracks box set, as well as his on-going Alien Guitar Secrets Master Classes, Dave Weiner, and more!

Steve is currently doing a lot of press for the new DVD and will be featured on many magazine covers around the world. Tune into Vai.com for regular press updates, as well as a long-overdue update to [Favored Nation's] ?In The Press? section.

[Source: Favored Nations]







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