Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Pete Thorn trade solos over Led Zeppelin classic at recent SatchVai Band show

The SatchVai Band recently treated fans to a spectacular jam at a show in Portland, covering two bona fide rock classics and littering them with three-part guitar harmonies and oodles of guitar solos.

The band, spearheaded by resident virtuosos Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, powered through a high octane take on Led Zeppelin’s Rock and Roll, before riding through Steppenwolf’s ever-cool Born to be Wild.

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Satriani actually didn’t get his chance to strut his stuff until Born to Be Wild, and he serves up tapping and harmonic licks aplenty. It’s like his time in the Best of All Worlds band is rubbing off on him.

There was also a tasty wah solo from Thorn, more screaming leads from Vai, and some dextrous arpeggios from Satch, who was seen to be rocking his EVH-coded 3rd Power Dragon amps. A nod to Cream’s Sunshine of Your Love to top it all off was a doozy, too.

The band’s first US tour sees Animals As Leaders in tow – for even more virtuosity – and a SatchVai album has been teased for the near future. They released their third single, Dancing, earlier this year, with the help of Dethklok’s Brendon Small.

A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He’s also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.