Ok so here goes my review for the Chicago clinic (hope you can read that much :lol: )
The event was more of a mad house than I expected. I had originally planned to get there 4 hrs before the event and just hang out GC 'till the clinic started
that's where things started to go wrong! the day was so nice that everybody and their brother were out and that made it hell to get to GC! :x
Then after 1 1/2 hrs of traffic I get to GC at about 3:30 and there is already a line of 150 to 200 people outside the store! I was like crap! now I'll never get in I might as well go home but I figured since I was already there I should go and take a look. So there I went to the end of the line!!!
I had my JS1000WH in case and my camera so I sat on the case and armed myself with patience! then rumors started flying out in the line that Satch would not sign anything then they said only cd's (I was like, WTH! is this what I dragged my guitar for?!?) then they said well, he'll sign your guitar as long as it is an Ibanez (sign of relief) then one of the GC reps said more than likely he won't sign everybody's stuff! I told the guy: You don't know Satch watch he will sign stuff for everybody (that's before I knew 600+ people would show up)
Then more waiting followed along with some funny moments like: guys selling drinks and pizza to the line and people stopping in the middle of the street while driving to ask: what is the line for? at first everybody was like Duh! for Joe Satriani but after a while we all started BSing enquirers with things like: is the American Idol try out line or they're giving guitars away! :lol: finally 5:30 came and they started letting people in. I got in at about 10 to 6 and it was packed!!!! you could not fit a needle in there! there was an mob of over 600 I believe. I just could not believe that GC would let that many people in the door! It was really hot and uncomfortable, but I can't complaint since I got a pretty good spot standing unobstructed in center view of the stage. GC took away the HSC at the entrance so I had to carry the guitar all the time and had to watch for people not to kick,nick, scratch it etc... (so be aware of this if you're planning to attend and you're taking your guitar) so the clinic started pretty much in time and Satch started talking about how he applies certain techniques to a certain song to get the sound he wants and the fact he likes weird sounding scales like the Hungarian minor, then he went ahead and played a tune off the new album (I think) that demonstrated the use of that scale. Afterwards, he talked about gear and some of the techniques he used to pull off his weird/sinister sounds!
He also talked about pitch axis and how he likes to harmonize scales and different ideas to them that may not necessarily be diatonic. He also mentioned how important theory was but at the same time he said people should not get too caught up in it or be afraid of it since it opens more possibilities.
Then he shifted gears and started talking about how he attacks certain notes to get his bluesy vibe as well when and how he uses his legato. Joe narrated how he grew up listening to Jazz because of his parents and how his sister influenced him to learn guitar since he actually started banging on the drums! then Joe mentioned how big an influence Hendrix was along with other Blues cats like Buddy Guy. Joe asserted how important his influences were and how he uses them to come up with all that Bluesy/Jazzy stuff he plays/writes. Right after that he played another track off his new album which I actually thought was really good Joe said it had a Jazz/swing vibe to it (which I agree). Then for the other half of the performance Joe started reaching in for the old tune bag and played some Flying in a Blue dream, once he was done he explained how he approached the writing of the melody and the solo and demonstrated how he achieved the feedback in the intro. then he did Always with me Always with you and wrapped it up with Satch Boogie! Then Q&A came and that was "LAME" people asked some really stupid questions like how he dialed the delay pedal, and if he was going to sell a distortion pedal and for how much and yet another guy asked for a lefty chromeboy?!? :roll: I know we're all fans but c'mon people let's ask smarter questions than that! buying Satriani's pedal or dialing your BOSS DD3 like him won't make you sound like him but whatever!! The only half decent question came from a guy who asked if there could be a G3 with Uli Jon Roth in the states to which he said "It's funny we were recently looking for his phone number" so we'll see what becomes of that. Joe also mentioned that doing the European G3 with Uli and Michael Schenker was really cool but insinuated that Michael was not all that fun to be around. Finally they started lining people up to get our stuff autographed! I just could not believe it! I know Joe is super cool but this was unfathomable!!! picture yourself signing autographs and taking pics with over 600 people!
That was REALLY BIG OF HIM and actually thought I'd never get my turn but he stayed there and made sure "EVERYONE" was taken care of!!!
I really have a lot of respect for how much he cares about us the fans and he definitely took the time to show it! Joe is definitely "COOL#9"
Some pics: