The Matt ‘N’ Jeff Radio Hour, Episode 25: Joe Satriani

If Jeff and I have a podcast-related bucket list here on The Matt ‘N’ Jeff Radio Hour, “have Joe Satriani on our show” is definitely an item that we’ve been hoping that we might someday get to cross off. It’s somewhat surprising that in my years of doing interviews, I never managed to talk to Joe. There were opportunities, but schedule-wise, things never lined up and as the years have passed, Satriani’s schedule has only gotten busier. In addition to the familiar cycle of album/tour/album/tour/album/tour, Satriani eventually put a new gig into the mix, adding the “supergroup” of Chickenfoot to his musical resume.

Chickenfoot, in case you’ve been under a rock, pairs Satriani with Sammy Hagar and his former Van Halen bandmate Michael Anthony, with Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith rounding out the lineup. As you can imagine, they’ve kept busy. But Joe has rarely, if ever, seemed at a loss when it comes to things to do. Unstoppable Momentum, the title of the latest Satch opus, is quite appropriate when you consider the almost never-ending slate of activities that the veteran guitarist is engaged in.

We were happy to nail Satriani down to talk a bit of shop during a rare moment of downtime. He was home for a few weeks following the conclusion of the initial European touring run for the new album and there was a window of opportunity to get inside his brain for a few minutes as he was in the midst of prepping for the start of U.S. tour dates later this month (featuring support from Popdose-approved six-stringer Steve Morse…how’s that for a double bill?).

He joined us via Skype to share his thoughts about the new album and also offered insight into the next Chickenfoot album plus an upcoming box set which will take stock of his solo work (longtime co-conspirator John Cuniberti is helping to oversee the assembly process for the highly anticipated release). Digging into the Satch method, we uncovered some surprising things including a moment in which we discovered that “The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing” maintains every bit of its mysticism nearly 25 years after it first made its way into the world.

There are some music nerd moments and some others that feel almost like being at a guitar clinic despite the fact that there weren’t any actual instruments in the room. It’s everything that you’d hope a conversation with Joe Satriani might be like.

(And it should be noted that there were some construction projects in motion at his house while the interview was going on, so when you hear us mention “workers” at the end of the chat, that’s what we’re referring to!)

We hope you enjoy it!

The Matt ‘N’ Jeff Radio Hour, Episode 25: Joe Satriani

P.S. Where is Episode 24? Well, it’s done and ready to post. But when we finished this interview with Joe, we couldn’t wait to share Episode 25 with you as soon as possible. And in the Chickenfoot tradition of skipping ahead, it seemed completely logical. Look for Episode 24 to be posted next week…

Visit Joe’s official website for more information on Unstoppable Momentum and the latest tour dates.