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" I created this picture of this character who would play the guitar effortlessly, who had no limitations, performing beautiful music, and he moved around with great acrobatic skills, just capturing the audience and being a great entertainer. "

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" When I was a teenager in the '70s, I was really into those great bands like Led Zeppelin and Queen and Jethro Tull, Deep Purple, Alice Cooper. "

Steve Vai

Deep

Purple

" It's very hard to come across as a passionate human being in print. People can't hear the inflections in your voice. "

" My main calling in life is to seek and achieve spiritual balance, and to express that through my instrument. Everything else is here today, gone later today. "

" I'm a big fan of cultural music, and that's how I try to expand my playing, by listening to music that is not conventionally American. "

" As far as Deep Purple goes, I mean, they're iconic. Their contribution is unquantifiable, and as far as the politics involved in things like awards, you know, I don't think anything, because I know what they mean to me, and I know what they mean to the people who like them. Awards are very politically based. "

" I have an independent record label called Favored Nations on which I released an album by an artist called Johnny A, who plays an arch top Gibson through a Marshall, but the tone is all in his fingers. "

" I wanted to be a composer before anything else. And my sister was listening to Led Zeppelin in the other room! When I heard that, it was a game-changer. "

" I was always one of those guys who was a seeker after truth. I want to know what's going on. "

" Ray and I do not draw salaries, Any profits will be re-invested into marketing the music we believe in. "

" I didn't have any aspirations of becoming famous or successful; in fact I was scared to death of all that. I remember somebody once said that if a rock musician goes on tour, he goes insane. I was very impressionable and I carried this useless weight of fear around with me about going on tour, all because of this thing somebody said. "

" The blues scale was the first thing I learned. It's just a pentatonic scale with a flat seventh and a few notes that sound cool when you bend them. And because people have amalgamated the blues into this rock-blues scale, if you're using it, you better sound like a real authentic blues player. "

" I've always considered transcribing to be an invaluable tool in the development of one's musical ear and, over the years, I have spent countless glorious hours transcribing different kinds of music, either guitar-oriented or not. "

" I loved the guitar, and I had all of this music in my head. My passion for the guitar and the ideas for what I could create musically were equal. So that's where I was. "

" A lot of those little things that I really like doing are just moments of cool articulation, just little moments of phrasing that probably go over everybody's head. "

Steve Vai

Moments

Little Things

" If you're feeling emotional when you're creating something, it'll sound that way. "

" When you get down to it, the way that the music affects you individually is the most important thing, and when you let things like the location of a band get in the way or have an effect on your overview, you're cheating yourself out of a really good time. "

" You know, there's times when you should play and there's times when you gotta hold back. "

" I've learned over the years that you're going to be most successful at the things you're most excited to do. Every artist has a special set of tools. When you really use those tools, and you make yourself feel really good about the product you create, I think you'll find an audience for it. I've been very fortunate in that respect. "

" I don't think I approach my songs differently from other artists. You get a big picture of it, and you imagine the song and hear and feel it, and that big picture is like a snapshot, and it comes to you as fast as it takes to click a camera. "

" Favored Nations is a long-term commitment. Our hope is that those who are passionate about real musicianship will want to hear and own most of our albums. We will set out to attain the same direct relationship with our customers that we have with our artists. "

" Criticism can be devastating. When push comes to shove, we are all very sensitive. "

" I can tell you this: I'm an extremely passionate individual. I try to be careful how I display it because you never know how people are going to take it. "

" I'm always pursuing knowledge; I'm a seeker of spiritual equilibrium - and music is a big part of that. "

" The older I get, the more I just like plugging directly into my amp. I'm tired of trying to impress myself with weird sounds. It's about the notes more. "

" What I look for in music is artistry, sincerity, and simplicity, and Tom Waits has all of that. I want to make a connection to the creator. "

" Reps once took chances on art, History's most treasured musicians were believed in and cultivated to reach their potential. Today, it would be difficult for those musicians to get deals. "

" Acting, at least for me, is very unreal, and when I'm doing it, I actually feel embarrassed. "

" I awake, I meditate, get the kids off to school, go to the gym, go to the Favored Nations office, and usually at around 1 pm I'm home and do music the rest of the day. "

" Possessing a healthy imagination is a necessary ingredient for creativity. "

" The only time I'm miserable is when I can't keep an instrument in tune. "