The Process

"What does he want from me?
What should I try to be?
So many faces all around, and here we go"
- A Chorus Line, "At The Audition"



While I'm sure there are many different videos of people talking about their auditions for Zappa, I was drawn to this one as soon as I saw the name Steve Vai. I was introduced to Steve's music at a young age. When I was 10, I got a CD - Radio Disney: Kid Jams. This featured lots of popular music from the time, but one song in particular stood out for me: Steve Vai's cover of Wipeout. Even without any musical training, I could tell this track didn't belong on the CD - it was far too technical. He was a GREAT guitarist.

Steve, in this video, talks about what the auditioning process was like for Zappa's band (he recorded with Zappa from 1980-1982). Zappa never liked to hear the phrase "I can't do this" or the word "impossible", as Vai recounts. He pushed every one of his band members to their creative limits and expected nothing less than perfection from all of them.

Luckily, Vai made Zappa's cut. He has been called a virtuoso and one of the greatest guitarists alive, due to his knowledge of music and technical skill. Both the 10 year old and 22 year old me agree.