ovation1, I have to agree with you on Vai! For me, he reached his peak around the Alive In An Ultra World and Live At The Astoria period. He had his band together and he featured their talents fully, but it was still all about him and his music. That's the way it's meant to be.

I went to his Real Illusions show in London last autumn (fall) and it was cool but there was so much image going on! he spent 5 precious minutes telling us how Jeremy likes to go out to strip clubs after the show is over......I want to know what part of my ticket paid for me to hear about some over-grown kid spending his money on lap dances, 'cause I really don't care.

Grrrr, I have really been disappointed by Vai and his clan in this new era, the "Breed" era. And yeah, what was the point in getting Billy to play bass on his album when he could have done it himself?!

Meanwhile, Joe is like a fine wine.....he gets better with age! hehe.

Sorry for all the questions bro, obviously I don't expect you to answer them if you don't want to!

js1200js1000, sorry dude, forgot to answer you about the hotplate! haha

American amp producer THD started making this thing which is basically the same as a Marshall Powerbrake, a few years ago.

It's not a pedal, no. It's a box which creates artificial impedence - what that means is as follows:

Say you're using a Peavey JSX head and a 4x12 speaker cabinet to go with it......the JSX is a 120watt all-valve head, with an impedence (as far as I know) of 16ohms. Impedence is basically resistance.

You need to make sure the cab is a 16ohm cab, otherwise the resistance won't match up. If you try using an 8ohm amp with a 16ohm cab you'll have things making smoke, loud noises and bad smells.

A Hotplate is a box which creates the same impedence that the speaker cabinet would. You take the output of the amp and run it into the Hotplate, which takes up the load (the big electrical current) but lets the sound, the audio signal, through to the speakers.

You connect the output of the Hotplate to the input on the speaker cabinet and you're sorted. What it means is that you can crank up the power (volume) on the amp which make the valves run hotter and thus get their best tone, but the actual sound that comes out of the speakers can be at easy-listening, practice level.

It's great, 'cause you get to properly use your amp to it's full portential without destroying your hearing or getting complaints from family and neighbours!

I don't properly understand the physics behind how it works, but basically you get this:

Dakskobler

A litl history lesson , during the years in which there was mass immigration to America because of the whole land of opportunity bit , there was a lot of italian immigrants . It is highly likely that Joe's family the 'Satriani's' immigrated to and settled in America . A hundred maybe 90 years down the line 'poof' the best guitar player in the world is born !

WebMaster ......Please check out my e-mail I sent to you regarding my lack of DVD, CD form the last contest.......

Satriella ........The gig was ace thanks, It realy pays off to put the time in working on all sections of the song you playing.....

962 .......Vai is a Legand and I am sure ALL in here think so, I must admit The last tour was a bit different but is that not what Vai is all about......I find it more of an insite to know a bit more about the members of the band. R.I.R i think is a grate album.

Phrydom ......How's trick's?

ovation1 - I'll assume you're up-to-date with bands like Dream Theater (Octavarium) and Rush (R30). If not, picking up those things is a must.

MegaBoyd turned me on to the band Dredg a few months ago. I don't know if he's mentioned them here at all, but everyone should check out their newest album, Catch Without Arms. They sorta remind me of the Mars Volta, but their music is a bit more safe/mainstream...almost like a cross between the Mars Volta and the Killers, maybe. But I don't know...you might now know those two bands either. Anyway, go here for some Dredg sound clilps...although you really need to hear the album as a whole to truly "get" the band. So even if these clips don't jump out at you, take a chance and buy the CD anyway. Come on...when in the past have I ever steered you wrong? ;-)

It was actually a four-hour wait...LOL. I think that was a bit extreme, but something did have to be done back then...so in the end, I'm glad it was there.

I wouldn't mind seeing a five- or ten-minute limit put in place when the site is revamped for the new Satch album. It's such a short period of time, but I've seen things like that on other forums. Even 30 seconds or 1 minute is enough to keep the noise down on some forums.

I don't think he ever has, no.

I'm still trying to figure that one out. ;-)

When I met her, she was nearing the end of a 2 1/2-year relationship with her boyfriend. She and I became very close friends over the course of two or three months, and then she broke up with him. She and I spent a lot of time together over the summer...it was obvious that something was there (all of our friends noticed it and teased us to no end, which I don't think helped her much). When I finally told her how I felt, she freaked out (even though part of her knew how I felt all along). I think if I had spilled my feelings to her about a month earlier than I did, we would be something and things would be cool. But then again, hindsight is always 20/20...

She freaked...she completely cut me out of her life. We were friends before anything else, but she just couldn't get back into that. I tried and tried, but after a while it just isn't worth the effort anymore. I'm not going to waste my time. I haven't had a halfway decent conversation with her in six months. Fun stuff...

So there you go... ;-) And I apologize to everyone for turning T2J into a soap opera...haha.

Hi peeps,

first and foremost today

Fretrider - You have no idea how much I needed to smile...my stomach is in knots, my heart is breaking and my head hurts...then I saw your silly post and I smiled...OK only for a minute or two then the pain all came back...but thanks

peaceandguitars - you make me smile too!!!!!!!!!! Sorry to hear about the throat though...that's not what made me smile...get better soon...good job you don't need to use your voice on T2J eh?

SupaaDave - Hmmm yeah I kinda did that ages ago....but it turned out to be some guy called Rusty...who I thought was Death Cube...not a gangster I have to say but a rather tasty guy....so that was all a bit confusing for a while.

Death Cube K - Well I hope you don't consider me a troll and that I am forgiven but what say you help me out with SupaaDave's request and post your site so I can check you out, just to make sure?

js1200js1000 - Oh Sorry sweety...wasn't aware I had gone anywhere...sorry can't help you with the smiling bit..too much going on in life...top of which is making a good friend angry and I don't know why...no, no he was angry bout something then I made it worse...I feel sooooooooo bad, I just wanna help him...cos he's such a lovely friend....do you know what I mean? It pains me deeply not to be able to help him.....anyway I'm also very sick too at the moment so that's not helping...moan...moan...moan...moan...sorry I'm not very cheery am I ...think I'll just shut up EH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

njbeast - wow...so much detail...I can just picture the scene...such a fantastic way with words...you should write for the papers!!! I'm almost inspired to play myself hehe

962 - Noooooooooooooooo :( Well I am just enjoying your guitar now on your soundclick...I love your stuff, in fact you may need to make a new site...this one's getting all worn out from the amount of times I play it!!!!

Do the Stu - Nice to meet you! My son plays bass too..yeah I've been a fan of Satches since early 90's hard to remember when exactly...started with Vai from a friend and then Joe just took over...poor Stevie takes a very back seat at the moment...even more so now that I have so many soundclicks from here to listen too as well...yep life has a tendancy to get in the way, I agree with you there....12 times, 12 times!!!!!!! Boo Hoo...oh if only I could go just once i would be over the moon...you can bet your bottom dollar that the tickets will all be gone by the time I get to hear of a concert near me though...that's just my luck! Oh if only if only.....in my dreams is where that will probably stay! Well that's enough about me hehehehehehehehe Sorry to hear about your sad story above...don't worry we all spill our feelings on here!

gotta have Joe - Kayla - Your pain is in my heart sweety..wish I could help...but I'm sure Joe is doing a grand job...stick with us honey...I'm sure I speak for all when I say we are all thinking of you and wishing you well.

Well I think I'm gonna have pretty much a sleepless night....so better make a start

962... Oh yea.. Alaska's got some serious wildlife ( hunting and fishing paridise)...me i like to fish but not into hunting !! truly a beautiful place..you should check it out sometime, and if you do drop me a line and we'll hook-up. P.S. got some great photos w/ my camera phone..if you like let me know and i'll e-mail you !! Keep Kuul ! I know i am...it's 3 hole degrees !!! MT

DarkRipper- Thanks for putting up the link for the Jason Becker forum!

ALL- Take a look at this link that one of the posters on that forum put up:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1775128028743135037&q=Jason+becker

Sonny - Where are You??????????

Sorry I have to do this before I go to bed

YAY.....200 POSTS....WHOO HOO!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARTY!!

Satriella - Yeah, I guess 12 times does seem like a lot. But Satch plays in California quite often, and, with a bit of luck, I've been able to catch a lot of shows. I saw him four times on the ITLIS? tour, but that only happened because he got sick and cancelled most of the original tour. So I saw two shows in San Francisco at the start of the original west coast leg, and then two shows in Southern California four months later.

Joe plays several shows in the UK each time he tours Europe. I think he played there five times last time he was across the pond. So you should definitely have a few chances to see him this time around.

Well, I'm off to work. I'll catch you guys later...

/\/\/\R|<: Yeah bro, JC did play on that song as well as the whole album (Real Illusions), lol, thats what I said in my last post about JC cant play songs like that.... Mangini or Donati would have made that song and the album better IMO.... Like I was saying, he is a great groove in the pocket drummer, but doesnt possess the acrobatics on the drums nedded to be in the \//\I band, lol, cept' for his Fire Garden looking body, haha.... Actually, I think that is why he was picked! ;-)

BTW, would love to catch /\/\/\TTI/\S and the boys when vacation time comes up!!.... Should be great....

Happy Birthday DelfinoPie!....

962: Werd bro, I'm glad you feel the same way as I do about the current \//\I era, lol!!.... He had his band together and he featured their talents fully, but it was still all about him and his music. That's the way it's meant to be..... Amen bro, and at this point, I believe he is looking more for the theatrical than for the music.... He is definatly going in a different direction, and I hope he can get back on track to the jaw dropping, spiritual guitar that we all love him for!!.... My gosh, how many times can he dye his hair, lol?!?!

BTW, lol on the 5 precious minutes, geez!!.... And yup.... JOE is a fine wine bro!!....

Do The Stu: Yes sir, I'm caught up on DT / RUSH / Gilberto etc, lol, and thanks for adding Dredg to that list.... I will check em' out, and you know, from the clips I get a little U2-ish feeling in there, lol!!.... Talented band for sure....

BTW, you've never steered me wrong, lol!!....

Suzo: Thanks for posting that Jason Becker link!!.... He truly is an inspiration to everyone!!.... What a great little documentary, and I'm happy to see that he is still able to get things done through his heart and soul!! :-)