Steve Vai Gets Clean, Still Shreds: “Candle Power”

Music • Views: 22,694

YouTube

Hey Folks, Vai here. I wanted to challenge myself for my 60th birthday and decided to record a simple trio track. I gave myself some parameters to work within. I told myself I would use a Strat style guitar, (tougher for me to play then a Jem) use a very clean tone, (not conventional for me) no whammy bar, (that’s like losing a body part for me) and no pick, just fingers (way out of my comfort zone).

I also had this idea for a particular type of riff that can only really be played on a guitar with no whammy bar. It’s a technique that I call “joint shifting.” This is where you bend a note while fretting another, but I wanted to do this technique with a combination of double and triple stop single note bends while fretting other notes and releasing bends. After considerable experimenting, I discovered it created a unique sounding passage. You can hear this technique on a few sections of the song. I certainly hope other ambitious guitar player see the potential in this technique and take it to the moon!

We shot this quick little video of me performing the track at my Harmony Hut studio.

During this period, the world is slowly starting to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Many people are still facing challenges and are eager to find entertainment on the internet. I have seen the best come out in many people during this challenging time. When people join together with a common positive intention, the power surge they create within the collective is the healing element that is most needed. Like many little candles coming together to burn as bright as a star.

I needed a title for the song, and with the above in mind, and the fact that it’s my 60th, I choose the title “Candle Power.”

We are even issuing a limited edition commemorative “Candle Power” candle in the new vai.com merch store that also comes with a high-quality download of the song: vaimerch.com

Enjoy!

“Candle Power” by Steve Vai
LWH records
Audio Engineered by Greg Wurth
Video Shot and Edited by Steve Vai & Steven Bradley

#SteveVai #CandlePower

Jump to top

Create a PageThis is the LGF Pages posting bookmarklet. To use it, drag this button to your browser's bookmark bar, and title it 'LGF Pages' (or whatever you like). Then browse to a site you want to post, select some text on the page to use for a quote, click the bookmarklet, and the Pages posting window will appear with the title, text, and any embedded video or audio files already filled in, ready to go.
Or... you can just click this button to open the Pages posting window right away.
Last updated: 2023-04-04 11:11 am PDT
LGF User's Guide RSS Feeds

Help support Little Green Footballs!

Subscribe now for ad-free access!Register and sign in to a free LGF account before subscribing, and your ad-free access will be automatically enabled.

Donate with
PayPal
Cash.app
Recent PagesClick to refresh