Dear Joe,

I am a 45 year old dad of two. I have a 16 year old son and a 13 year old daughter. I am writing on behalf of my daughter Lauren who is certifiably a Joe Satriani nut.

Lauren has cerebral palsy and has had several surgeries over the years at Shriners orthopedic hospitals. During her temporary bedridden state she only had a few options for entertainment. She chose music and gameboy but mostly music. The last few years she has really gotten into music in an obsessive way. At first she followed the lead of her brother as to what kind of music she listened to. In the meantime I had some guitar friends that recommended I listen to Joe Satriani. I fell in love with the pure sound and energetic feel of the insane guitar licks. One day a couple years ago I asked Lauren if she had ever heard of Joe Satriani and when she said she hadn’t I gave her my CD of “Surfing with an Alien.”

The rest is, shall we say, history. Any money she gets goes into getting “the next” Joe Satrini CD or DVD. I still have to help her bathe herself so during that time is where I get to hear the days events. She talks about school and the conversation eventually turns to Joe. “Hey dad I heard Joe is going on tour and is coming to Florida!” “Hey dad, I was on this Internet sight and they listed Joe’s birthday and it was the wrong date!” “Dad, I think I’m the youngest Joe Satriani fan because all the people in Joes forums are older guys like in their 20s.” Hey dad, one of the older kids at Shriners knew who Joe Satrinai was.! Isn’t that cool?” “Hey dad, take a wild guess about who I was reading about today?”

I could go on and on but you get the point. I just wanted you to know how much your music means to my daughter and what an inspiration you are. Keep up the good work.