Strange Beautiful Music: A Musical Memoir

Joe Satriani · Jake Brown

Apr 2014 · BenBella Books, Inc.

About this ebook

Go behind the scenes with the musician The New York Times called "a guitar God!"

Oft-hailed as the Jimi Hendrix of his generation, living guitar legend Joe Satriani has long transcended stylistic boundaries with a sound that raises the bar like a new horizon for the broader genre of instrumental guitar rock. Joe's 6-string secrets have astounded listeners around the world for nearly 30 years.

In Strange Beautiful Music: A Musical Memoir, Satriani and coauthor, music biographer Jake Brown, take fans on their first authorized tour of the story behind his climb to stardom and the creative odyssey involved in writing and recording a storied catalog of classics including "Surfing with the Alien," "Summer Song," "Satch Boogie," "Always With Me, Always With You," "The Extremist," "Flying in a Blue Dream," "Crowd Chant," and more.

Featuring previously unpublished photos and hours of exclusive, firsthand interviews with Satriani, Strange Beautiful Music offers a unique look inside the studio with Joe, giving fans a chance to get up close and personal like never before. With insider details about his collaboration with multi-platinum supergroup Chickenfoot, exclusive interviews with Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony of Van Halen and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, commentary from fellow guitar legends such as Steve Vai, Metallica's Kirk Hammett, Primus's Larry LaLonde, and legendary music producers including Glynn Johns and the late Andy Johns, this memoir offers a rare inside look for die-hard Satriani fans, guitar enthusiasts, and anyone who loves to rock.

Ratings and reviews

A little self-proclaimed,...... but so what, I AM the number one SATCHFAN. I have followed him since his Inception in '87' I am simply motivated, inspired, and intrigued to know how the mind works of this Gifted Man as he is so diverse and has something for everybody he is truly for the fans,PERIOD. "Ricky D. Miller" "P.S."... it's been said... "he is not from this planet but whatever Planet he's from they all play guitar there"

About the author

For three decades, Joe Satriani, the biggest-selling instrumental rock guitarist in the Soundscan era, has traveled the world, playing to sold-out crowds both as a headliner and as founder of the all-star "G3" guitar extravaganza. His studio and live recordings have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. Of his 14 solo albums, two have gone platinum and four others went gold, with 15 Grammy nominations between them. In 1988, Mick Jagger invited Joe to perform as lead guitarist on his first solo tour, and in 1994, Joe toured with Deep Purple as their lead guitarist. His side project, Chickenfoot, featuring former Van Halen front man Sammy Hagar and former bassist Michael Anthony, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, saw their debut album certified gold.

Award-winning music biographer Jake Brown has written 35 published books in his decade-long career, featuring many authorized collaborations with some of rock's biggest artists. In 2012, Brown won the Association for Recorded Sound Collections Awards in the category of Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research.