“Satch Boogie” is one of those head turning moments for a guitarist that you will never forget by Joe Satriani from his album Surfing with the Alien. I distinctly remember hearing it in college for the first time and running out and buying the album in 1988. It was the first time I heard a rock instrumental album that garnered such radio attention, since Jeff Beck’s There and Back. I remember Joe telling me that there was no such format as instrumental guitar music, and he had a hard time convincing the label to release his music. But as fate had it, he went from living in the Mission district in San Francisco teaching 60 students a week to having a gold record and scrambling to get a tour band together. In fact, during this whole explosion of success in 1988, he was offered a lead guitar gig with Mick Jagger, which turned out to very educational. Joe carefully watched Mick, the consummate rock star professional, handle everything on tour from dealing with managers, fans, press, labels and matters of business. It was a complete Cinderella story for one of the most talented and humblest guitarists in the industry.
Ironically Steve Vai, a childhood friend from Long Island and former student, had hooked Satch up with the Relativity record deal. Surfing with Alien was his second album and as the saying goes timing is everything! “Satch Boogie” represented the 80’s quint essential guitar shredding song as the 3:14 minute track takes you on a hard and heavy journey of pinched harmonics, dive bombs and a flurry of hammer on solos. The song became a favorite on MTV’s Head Bangers Ball as every rocker guitarist would try to emulate Satch’s amazing techniques. This album as whole changed the entire landscape for rock guitar, giving birth to a new generation of guitar shredders and whammy bar fanatics. The Japanese based guitar manufacturer Ibanez finally found its cash cow in Joe, as he became one of their top endorsers and garnered him a popular signature axe. This is must listen to for all guitarist, head bangers or purists!
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About the Curator: Brian Tarquin
Multi Emmy Award winning Brian Tarquin is an established top rate composer/guitarist. He has won 3 Emmy's for “Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition for a Drama Series” and has been nominated for an Emmy 6 times. In 2019 Tarquin received a Global Music Gold Award for his release Orlando In Heaven for “Best Album.” Three years in a row (2016-2019) Tarquin received “Best Album of the Year” nominations from the Independent Music Awards for his releases: Guitars for Wounded Warriors, Orlando in Heaven, and Guitars for Veterans. On which, Tarquin shows his guitar prowess alongside such world-class shredders as: Steve Morse, Larry Coryell, Billy Sheehan, Bumblefoot (Guns N’ Roses), Reb Beach (Whitesnake), Chuck Loeb (FourPlay) to name a few. In 2006 SESAC honored him with the Network Television Performance Award. Tarquin has graced the Top Billboard Charts with such commercial releases as: This is Acid Jazz, Vol. 2, Sweet Emotions, and Bossa Brava: Caliente on Instinct Records, followed by several solo jazz albums, which charted Top 10 at Smooth Jazz Radio R&R and Gavin charts. Brian has appeared on 38 releases, selling over 140,000 records in his career.