Graham Bonnet has recalled Steve Vai’s audition for Alcatrazz and how nervous the guitarist was about stepping into the role vacated by Yngwie Malmsteen, in comments shared via VRP Rocks.
Bonnet explained how Vai joined the band after their drummer Jan Uvena, who had worked with Alice Cooper and knew Vai from the Zappa band, suggested him as a replacement. The Alcatrazz frontman described his first impressions of Vai’s playing and recalled how the guitarist worried about not sounding like his predecessor.
“That came through our drummer, Jan Uvena,” Bonnet said. “He played with Alice Cooper. He knew Steve Vai from the Zappa band, for example. And he said, ‘This guy’s left the band.’ He says, ‘A really incredible, adventurous guitar player,’ you know. And Steve comes in and rehearses with us, and I was amazed by what he could do.”
“You know, just, well, bloody hell! You know, play a guitar like this, you know. I remember telling my mom and dad. They came over to see me that year, and I said, ‘We’ve got this guitar player come. He plays guitar like a piano. He doesn’t go like this like I do. He goes like this. He’s just amazing.’ So anyway, after he’d done an audition with us, he was definitely in.”
“You know, he was so different. And Steve said to me, ‘I don’t play like Yngwie.’ ‘I know you don’t play like Yngwie. You play like Steve. That’s who you are.’ And I remember the first night we played with us, he was so damn nervous. He had his manager with him, but he was, like, sweating bullets, you know. Oh, jeez, he was like, ‘Oh God, oh God,’ you know. And she said to him, ‘Steve, you’re Steve. Come on. You know, you’re not a baby. Get out there, play.'”
“And he played f*cking great. He played f*cking great. Everyone went, ‘Wow! What’s this? We’re watching a different guitar player. It’s not Yngwie, but what a guitar player. What a songwriter too.’ Me and him bonded so well. It was a little eye-opener for him.”
“Good old Steve. And look, he went on to bigger things too. It seemed like Alcatrazz was a stepping stone for guitar players. It’s such a shame, but I knew he was because he was so different.”
Despite Vai’s anxiety before that first performance, Bonnet recalled that the guitarist delivered an impressive show and the two developed a strong connection during their time together in the band.
Alcatrazz was formed in 1983 by Graham Bonnet, Jimmy Waldo, and Gary Shea. The band first featured Yngwie Malmsteen as their lead guitarist from 1983 to 1984, establishing itself as a launching pad for young guitar talent. After Malmsteen left the band, Vai took his place and had to learn the songs quickly to join the ongoing tour.
Steve Vai had played in Frank Zappa’s band from 1980 to 1983 before joining Alcatrazz. His transition from the Zappa organization to the hard rock world was aided by drummer Jan Uvena, who knew Vai’s work and recommended him to Bonnet. Despite the pressure of replacing a rising star, Vai proved himself capable during his time with the band.
Vai’s only album with Alcatrazz was Disturbing the Peace, released in February 1985 and produced by Eddie Kramer. Vai’s contributions to the band helped solidify Alcatrazz’s reputation as a training ground for guitar players who would go on to achieve greater success. Soon after recording with the band, Vai moved on to other projects, continuing the pattern Bonnet observed of talented guitarists using their Alcatrazz experience as a stepping stone to larger opportunities.
