Early Days
How old were you when you had lessons from Joe Satriani?
GT: I met Joe when I was 13. I had one lesson a week with him for the next few years. I’d go to his studio after school and wait around until he was done yelling at his other students. I played everything he showed me constantly so I think I was the only student that he never got angry at. He once called me his ‘shining silver lining’ in his teaching routine because everyone else sucked so much. Soon after starting, he scheduled me at the end of his teaching day so he could spend more than one hour with me. Frequently, our lessons would continue long past that first hour, just jamming and being crazy. We all know Satriani from his recordings, but there is really nothing like sitting in a room with him. He is astounding in ways that you can’t imagine.