Steve Vai is coming to Halifax, Nova Scotia at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium on August 2, 2023.
Just like I imagined, Steve Vai right in front of me, in the good old studio.
That’s right, in the Harmony Hut.
Steve, you’re coming to Halifax, Nova Scotia, for the very first time, at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium on August 2nd. That’s incredible. When did you discover that you needed to play here? Because we’ve been waiting forever.
Me too. You know, it’s funny. Sometimes I have control over where I can go and play. And throughout my whole career, I’ve always tried to push my agents to get me into places that were different and new. And as a result, I mean, I was one of the first artists to play in China, Russia, South America. And I love going to places that I’ve never been. I’ve always looked at places like Halifax and that whole part of the country, it was kind of a mystery because I’d never gone there with all the bands that I’ve played with. It’s just one of those territories. It’s kind of difficult for some reason to get my booking agent to book me there. But on this last tour, on this tour that I’m embarking on, we kick off on Saturday. I love touring and I haven’t really gone through, you know, Canada and that whole northern part of North America in a while. So I got with my agent and I said, look, I want to play here, here, here, here, here, you know. And Halifax was just one of those locations I know I had to get to. I wanted to get to at least one. So luckily this year, we’re doing it.
It’s just incredible that you are coming because it’s like the fans in Nova Scotia are going to be traveling like three, four hours to get to you in Halifax, it’s a big territory in Nova Scotia as well. But I can only imagine the energy that room is going to have when you hit that stage. I can’t wait.
My goal has always been to, because, you know, the guitar is such a beloved instrument in the world. There’s guitar players, it seems like almost everybody I meet has a romantic fantasy attachment to playing the guitar because it really is a great instrument. And as a result, there’s people interested in coming out and seeing guitar players all around the world. I always felt that I have something to offer. I’m an entertainer and I go pretty deep, you know, with my craft and with my band. I just want to try to get to as many places as I can for those that are interested. And I got to tell you, this is my favorite tour. I feel like I’m in the best form ever. And I’m bringing the Hydra, which is the bizarre guitar with three necks. And we’re playing a lot of material from the new record. And the show is, you know, for instance, instrumental guitar. But it’s very melodious and it’s very dynamic. I’ve been touring for forty-three years. And when you find something you love and you just give it your passion, your love, your attention and you just don’t let up, you have to go deeper into it. And I feel at this point in my life, my communicative abilities with the music and the audience is as deep as it’s been. So it’s more enjoyable now to play a show than ever before. I don’t know. I got to be sixty-three for this to happen finally.
Like that when you go on tour. How hard is it to bring a guitar like Hydra? I mean, the case is going to be huge.
Yeah. It’s a pain in the ass. Trust me. It’s a case within a case. So it’s really taller than I am. And you can’t really get it on a plane. I mean, unless you’re going on a big trip across the ocean or something. So when we have a bus, trucks and stuff, it’s fine. I mean, my poor guitar tech has to deal with that beast, but when we have to fly around like we just did Latin America. So I was going all through South America. We were in Brazil, Chile, all through South America and Mexico. And it was difficult to take the Hydra because you couldn’t put it on a regular plane. You had to get a cargo company to make sure it shows up at each show. And it’s very expensive. I mean, that two and a half weeks was like fifty-five thousand American dollars just to cart the Hydra around. And we missed one show with the Hydra because it just couldn’t get shipped. So now we’re going to be going to Asia and all through Malaysia and that whole part of the world and Australia and New Zealand. So we’ve figured out a way to take the necks off the Hydra and create two cases. That’s like the only way we could do it and not go broke. That makes sense. And it’s more common sense. Just make it cheaper because when you do a tour, it’s going to take something out of the budget because it costs so much money, you know, to fly internationally, let’s say, and just all that stuff. I don’t know. Yeah, the expenses for touring have changed quite a bit for all artists because, after the pandemic and all the guarantees have gone down, but the expenses have gone way up, just having a bus, and the fuel and flying things and shipping and trying to get gear. So it’s a challenge, but I’m fortunate. I’m very fortunate because I’ve toured for so long and I’ve done pretty good. And at this point, I just feel like I don’t mind not making so much. Can’t lose money. You don’t want to do that. So I’m doing great. You know, I’m fine. I can afford to do all that stuff. It’s like when you’re a performer or an artist and you’re a service provider, because that’s what I am, you just have this, that’s my function and I want to do the best I can. Artists want to do their best. So for me to think, well, what do you have for production value? I don’t have a big, giant stage with all sorts of lights, but I have the Hydra and I’ve got a couple of other things. So I have to do everything I can to make the best show that I possibly could, with the budgets that I do have and the audiences that I do have. I just want to give them the best show possible. So you kind of turn a blind eye to certain practical things.
Also, Steve, when you do go to places like, let’s say, Halifax, Saint John’s, the next day and, you know, tracking down Canada, you’re going to be making fans for life from this moment on, even though you already have these fans for life. I think it’s like an extra guarantee. Now everything’s going to be more solidified, the people will be buying your material more.
Well, from your lips to their ears.
Yeah, well, that’s the way I look at it. You know, when you go play places like that, its people just love it so much because, certainly in the Maritimes, we are so happy to receive, and it’s like when the greatness is humble on top of it, it’s even better, so it’s probably going to be the best summer Nova Scotia had in what, years?
Well, it’ll be one of my best summers, I can tell you that. It is, I do feel like I live a charmed life, you know, I get to travel, I get to play. I know that there’s a few people in the audiences that are very moved by it, because I know how I felt when I was a kid, or even now when I go to see certain shows, experiencing live music and contributing and just engaging in it, I think it’s like an emotional equilibrium in a sense, because, we deal with so much stuff in our daily lives, we deal with our economics, our relationships, our work, our governments, our this, that, and the other thing, and, but when you’re engaged in a show, and you’re watching a performer, and they’re connecting with you, and you feel that being lifted up, in a sense, you know, all of that stuff goes away, you’re actually on a high, in a sense, and this is very valuable to society, everybody should go support live music, not just for the musicians, but for themselves. Arts and entertainment is like the best, to me, it’s the most important thing, like the best thing to keep people happy up there. Yeah, it gives you an opportunity to dream while you’re awake.
How many guitars are you going to be bringing to this show?
Well, on this tour, since we have a bus, we can bring more stuff, I don’t even know, I probably, maybe 10. It’s weird, because I have guitars that have certain tunings. If you’re going to play a song that requires a particular tuning, then you got to bring two of those guitars, because in case something goes wrong with one of them, you got another one, so there’s a lot of guitars. When we travel internationally, I kind of bring it down a bit.
When you’re traveling internationally, you’re going to different climates, like how do guitars take that, because it’s like humidity here and dry there, I don’t know, because when you’re coming to Canada, it’s going to be different than the US.
Well, the thing that plays more into that is the air conditioning in a venue, or the heat or the humidity. These things have a tendency to make the necks on the guitars kind of like this a little bit, so I could be backstage playing a guitar, and it could feel great, and then, you know, as soon as I get on stage where the lights are hitting it, and there’s, you know, just the flusher from the audience, the necks can move a little bit, but that’s not necessarily something that’s privy to a particular location, that can happen anywhere, based on what the weather is in that place, and based on, really, the venue.
Steve, going to like goals and achievements, personally, what is there more in your musical journey we’re going to be seeing, in the next 10-20 years from now?
Well, my plan for the rest of my life is happy, healthy, happy, healthy, happy, healthy, dead. So, yeah, I mean, I really love music and the creative process of making music, so my goal has always been to create a catalog of music that’s relatively undiluted, that’s just my kind of creative output, so there’s a few people that really like that, and I’m here for them. I’m just going to continue, the thing is, I used to set all these big goals for projects, my goals were always kind of creative, and I remember when I turned 50, I looked at this list that I had of all these projects I wanted to do, and I realized each one is like, take a year, so I’ll need several hundred years to do this, so a little light went off, and I said, and then the realization came to me, that it doesn’t matter what’s happening in the future, what matters is what you’re doing right now. If you’re enjoying your now, then you’re living life to its fullest, there’s no, you’re living now the future that you were hoping for yesterday, or last year, or 20 years ago, so it’s kind of an illusion to be chasing happiness. And I took all those projects, and I threw them away, and I said, I don’t know what I’m going to do until the idea comes, and I do it now, and really, that’s it. I still have way too many projects on my plate, but it’s great.
Steve, I really enjoyed talking to you, all we talked about was great, and you’re coming to Halifax, Nova Scotia, again, I should mention Maritime’s August 2nd, Rebecca Cohn Auditorium is going to be great, and we do look forward to seeing you in Nova Scotia.
Thank you so much, I’m looking forward to it too, brother.
All right, well, you have a good, good tour, and see you soon.
All right, thank you for the interview.
All right, bye.
Bye-bye.
Steve Vai Rebecca Cohn Auditorium Tickets here