Mitch... you are a GREAT interviewer !!! You’re engaged, interested, non-intrusive...just a great balance if everything that makes a fantastic interview !!! Thanks 🙏 Ps Love ya Steve 🤩🎶🍻

It’s important to archive what’s in Steve Val’s head........Excellent interview Mitch! Steve is so much more than just a guitar virtuoso. He is a composer, music philosopher, spiritual philosopher, intense music transcriber, & metaphysical psychologist....lol. The 17 year old kid in me remembers when live interviews like these.....didn’t exist for the masses. Guitar magazines were the only connection.....

i love how this guy presents himself. super humble, super talented, constantly sharing his mind.

Think for a moment that this could be the TV, Tv could be this: intelligent conversations with intelligent people, artists, philosophers, etc. But that would educate people, make them smarter, and of course they don't want that. Anyways, thank you both for this very enjoyable moment.

Thank you, Steve and Mitch! Great interview.

No matter what instrument you play this interview as a whole (ignoring the guitar stuff) is very inspirational.

I wish I had a whole week with Steve to cram as much knowledge from his brain as I could get, what an amazing player.

It's always great to hear him because he touches those subjects in his talks that are important for becoming not just a musician or player but also a better disciplined person. Great interview by Mitch.

thank you Mitch. you are one of my favorite 'interviewer'. if not top of the list. here's my why. you ask questions and then, so to say, you step background and listen. that's high level communication and shows the needed respect to your guests. not so many can have that these days. so again, thx for your work.

One of the best Via interviews I've listened to. TY

Great interview, not the typical questions usually asked. I really dug when they started talking about music composition. Outstanding job Mitch.

I love watching/ listening to any interview with Steve. Mitch and Sweetwater kick ass too!

Never gets tired of listening to this man! Great interview!

Great Interview Mitch..much Respect to the both of you..Steve Vai you’re the best🤙

Wow, such deep and spiritual lessons that go way beyound playing guitar. Vai is a great gift to me!

This video was absolutely beautiful. Steve is really opening up his ingenious mind and spirit, and sharing something with us that few other musicians have the experience or emotional awareness to share. What he said about understanding your own ego, and being conscious of your limitations to the point that you can be confident in your awareness of them, in order to truly express your uninhibited, unique and individual voice, really resonated with me. I've been in a rut for ages, and hearing these words has really moved me in a hugely positive way. Also, lovely to see a nod to Jacob and Jonah. The track Jacob released with Steve on Djesse Vol. 2 was just incredible. What a wonderful fusion of musicianship. I'm off to rewatch this interview. Thanks also to Sweetwater for recording and elucidating so much wisdom from Steve, for us all to absorb and learn from.

Thank you for being a knowledgeable interviewer that can provide a little more depth and insight for players with more experience. Really appreciated!

Excellent interview Mitch. I had the privilege of playing an original composition with Steve a couple of years ago at his Academy 5.0 in Asilomar, Ca. Steve and his band were incredibly gracious and supportive of my nerve wracking 5 minutes on stage. It was the best 50th birthday present a wife ever gave a husband, and I'll never forget it. Thank you Steve for all of the wonderful music you have given the world. Thank you too Mitch~

Love this interview!!Thanks for this moment! Music+

Well done Gentlemen! I loved the questions and deeply thought out answers. Very insightful and thought provoking.

Steve's point at about 17:00 thru 20:00 is probably the best advice on playing guitar I've heard. Vai interviews never disappoint!

Great interview. Talented man and a true artist.

Damn. Sweetwater is killing it lately with awesome content. Thank you so much for the Ken Shepherd and Steve Vai interviews guys. Cheers!

Steve puts all his soul and his personality in the guitar. To me, it seems like the guitar is an extension of his body and he speaks through it

Great interview Mitch. Keep up the great work that separates the Sweetwater channel. Would love to see another session like this with Vai.

I love everything Vai but I have to say hats off to Mitch for asking such excellent questions. The Michael Aspell of Music interviewers. You gave Vai questions to really think about. Loved this.

Never saw a Vai interview i didnt like. The man is a true inspiration

Time to hit that bell sweetwater coming with the good stuff lately

I subscribed specifically for this interview! Please have more with the guitar legends!

Really interesting interview. You actually managed to ask very original questions. Learned a lot! Thank you!

Vai is probably the smartest guitarist.

Truly great interview ! Both of you guys are awesome !

Steve is a real treasure, and so gracious with his ability. He comes across on stage as being absolutely full of himself, and he certainly has a lot to say about his mental processes, but those insights are so valuable. The idea of allowing the music to flow is a kind of Zen or Taoistic idea to me. My "career" is also 40 years old this year, and I too have learned to trust the wellspring, and not to dam it or try to attach plumbing. I just let the waters of inspiration find their own level, and I always end up surprised and delighted by what happens. So interesting and inspirational to hear a luminary like Steve resonating with my own thoughts.

It's always a treat to hear him talk, an intelligent and inspiring guy - and what I love about his Guitar playing apart from the virtuosity it that he always has these wonderful quirky ideas that really catches your ear.

Steve, you're so absolutely right about the listening aspect of playing. Thank you so much. For emphasizing that wisdom

An absolute living legend....Sir Steve Vai much respect and love from Darjeeling, India....

Vai is just a great human communicator. I love listening to him speak...every word means something,,,no fluff.

Such a class act. Triple down on your strengths, ignore your weaknesses.

Amazing seeing someone who is so talented also be so humble and down to earth. Nice change from all the big egos in music.

Yes Sweetwater yesssssss loved it loved it. this is great

Great Interview - Thanks Sweetwater

What a great interview, the riffing that vai goes off with his stream of consciousness is awesome. Really dig what he says here

This guy asked like three questions, Steve talked for a half hour. I love you Steve Vai!

I wonder who are those people who press the dislike button on excellent,serious videos like this.Thanks Mr. Vai!

He is so important to us Vai fans he's a leader of his own. Your a living legend Steve! \m/

For The Love of God is the first solo guitar instrumental song I've listened to when I started learning the electric guitar. The awe and shock I got that day is still engraved in my brain even after 11 years. Mad respect for you Steve and thanks for being awesome.

Now, this was a nice interview as you are hearing stuff close to the man's thinking. Good job..

Great, great interview!!!

Great video, thank You.

plz Steve Vai, plz come back and play Ireland! I'd love to see stteve live.

" listening for the melody to tell you what to play." Couldn't word it better. And wow steve vai and jacob collier working together is unbelievable

Great interview. Great guitarist/musician. Great people.

Great interview.

Great gifted musician giving it away for everyone to understand some mystical aspects of the creative process many people shy away from talking about openly and so eloquently...Thank you very much. Very enlightning indeed... ^^

Always inspiring to listen to Mr Vai 🔥

I love Steve Vai's personality and his style of music.

Wow, I enjoyed this very much, and I am not even a Steve Vai fan! But he said many interesting, inspiring and nice things, with great humility. Great musician. And congratulations to Mitch for providing the space for Steve to tell us all this, while trying to protect his wallet. ;-)

Steve's talk never bores me. I am sure many people feel the same way.

Steve Vai manages to be so stinkin' smart and still is able to be humble. That's quite a feat. Great interview Mitch!

All my guitar heroes are getting old and I am getting older with them...

Great interview MITCH! Can’t get enough of STEVE VAI 🎸👍🎸

Steve's connection to his guitar is amazing.

Always an interesting conversation with Vai.

This interview is a wealth of knowledge.

Love steve he play with talent frome heaven. Fc thailand

A Genius of a Musician and Totally Down to Earth - Steve Vai you are Phenomenal 👍👍👌👌🤘🤘

Best interview ever

Steve Vai is so expressive, his philosophical train of thought reminds me Jordan Peterson but revolving around music instead, yet could easily be applied to any aspect of life.

Great interview

"When I play, I quickly put myself into a light hypnotic trance and compose while playing, drawing directly from the emotions." - John Fahey

I love how he describes her as "Fiercely Talented". Nott only accurate with her, but a great way to describe the amazing skill of the musicians at that level of skill.

I loved the description of stage confusion.

Steve is so awesome that even his goofy flamboyance is charming

Its always be placer to listen and see the God of Guitar....Thanxs Master.....:) :)

Listening to Vai, Satriani or Petrucci is just mindblowing, it’s Everything in life what they are talking about, it’s more than scales, notes etc these guys feel , they are truly todays greats with there own sound and that’s what seperate them from the rest

Steve presents as a very intelligent, knowledgeable and aware individual. I'm 63 and I started playing guitar a year ago. I started out by teaching myself the diatonic chord pentatonic scales. I listen to and play along with every style of music I can find. I do nothing but create solos and improvise. It gives me a tremendous amount of satisfaction knowing that involved in the creative process. But my real passion or talent is really in writing screenplays. Now, just like songwriting, there are several models or formulas for writing screenplays. Like many artists, I don't like having to adhere to any specific structure or formula. I feel that it inhibits my creativity or spontaneity in general. And yet I'm told that if I don't adhere to some type of structure or outline, that I risk writing screenplays that will only appeal to a very limited audience. I'm trying to find a balance between understanding or utilizing "story structure" and at the same time keep my spontaneity and do something original. I suppose many creative people struggle with this. This interview reminded me that a lot of self analysis can be quite negative and detrimental to the whole creative process. I also understand that in order to be successful you have to "produce." I've written 10 feature length scripts and have had seven of them "selected" by different contests. I have to remember to keep producing and hopefully my work will be appreciated by a larger audience.

Steve Vai is so underrated even as a person. I hope he gets more recognition.

Always dug Steve!! Amazing dude hot guy still,timeless!!!

First time I saw Steve was with Frank Zappa !!!! The second time was also with Frank and I was pretty close to the stage and Steve Was flying around the stage like a maniac !!!!!!! It was insane !!!!!! The third time was with David Lee Roth and that show was ridiculous !!!!!! The fourth time was with the Jimi Hendrix tribute tour !!!!!!! I'm glad I got to see him play live !!!!!!!

Glad to see Steve's hair back again.

Every time Steve Vai says “you know” we all get a dollar!

When he talks about not adhering to certain scales or notes over a chord for soloing, as a player myself that's what I've always loved about Dime and EVH, no rules just let it rip and see what comes out.

How amazing would it be to just sit with Steve Vai and play a little crazy cool song Sooooooo lucky

wow this is really a wise grown man speaking....he just put the whole "thing" into the music learning proces....well spoken !

7:54 Steve your songs are always melodic. Nobody can reach your solo albums, the bar you set there!

Another good job, Mitch.

you gotta love this guy

He is a master. Period!

Steve Vai = growth and development in several ways/depths...:)

I want that multi colored Ibanez in the background soooo bad!! Hope its a sig model at some point!

Yes nice interview, Mitch. Vai is of course an imprssive musician, definitely an impressive person as well

Steve Vai. What an authentic human being

Love the fact my reminder notifications didn’t go off, thanks KZfaq

ik right!!! CAN:T wait #sweetwaterrocks

I love how philosophical he gets in this and other interviews. Vai's words are some of the most valuable out there

Steve's always been super cool.

Seen Steve Vai with Roth back in mid eighties first concert

“Evolution of creative music awareness”, sounds the title of a book

I like his hair longer:) If you have ever read my comments on Steve, he is one of my greatest influences for the guitar and music. They broke the mold when he was made:) When you appreciate all of his musical gifts and just see how kind a person he is, to me, it makes me feel inspired. He trained hard, and while he says he is not gifted, lol, we know that isn't the case, but he is very humble and that alone is appealing and makes me like his work even more. I am sorry I missed that event:(

Mitch is looking great!