Guitar virtuoso, Steve Vai admits that he doesn’t think he’s someone who excels’ in one specific music genre as he is just playing his own.
Vai has been widely known as one of the best guitar players ever with such a unique style and massive playing experience. Considering his past experience in playing with Frank Zappa, Whitesnake, and David Lee Roth, one might consider him a rock guitarist or fusion guitarist with exquisite skills.
However, Vai himself believes that he doesn’t particularly excel in any certain genre, claiming he’s not even a good blues player.
The maestro reveals his opinion on his playing style in a Q&A session during this year’s Hellfest. He also admits to following the development of guitar playing and guitar players in recent years but never had any plan to follow the trend.
Vai said that the new players always inspire him to keep improving and evolving his own playing style instead.
“I’ve been able to see these new generations of guitar players that have evolved the instrument, the performance of the instrument to levels that I couldn’t see when I was younger. It’s just fascinating shit, you know? And I get it, I look at it,” Vai said in the Q&A(via Ultimate Guitar).
“And the way it inspires me is not to try to play like that. That was never kind of in my wheelhouse. That’s why I’m not a good blues player really, or great jazz, fusion, or anything like that.
I’m not even an authentic rock player, in a sense. I’m just the quirky guy, you know? I can see the innovation, and that’s inspiring for me to continue my own innovation, because I can’t play with those guys. [laughs]”
