“I think we were a week away from actually putting it in ink in the books”: Jeff Beck nearly joined Joe Satriani’s G3 tour, but “bailed at the last moment”
Over the years, Joe Satrini’s G3 tour has become a celebrated showcase of guitar virtuosity, bringing together some of the most influential players in rock history, such as Steve Vai, Robert Fripp, Eric Johnson and John Petrucci. However, despite his best efforts, some legendary names still managed to slip through his fingers.
In a new interview on the UCR Podcast, Satch reveals one of the biggest near-misses in G3 history: Jeff Beck was incredibly close to signing on for a tour alongside Billy Gibbons, but the deal fell apart at the last moment.
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“The one that was so close to really happening was me with Jeff Beck and Billy Gibbons,” he says. “I think we were a week away from actually putting it in ink in the books. It was so close to happening. Then, Jeff bailed at the last moment.”
“He used the excuse [that] he thought it would be better if we toured with Prince. I took that as a really good joke, like, he just didn’t want to do it, so he came up with the most ridiculous suggestion.”
Satriani also admits he never got a chance to ask Beck the reason he declined as the two were never close – with Satch having only met the late legend twice.
“So there was no way for me to ever talk to him about it, like, ‘Why didn’t it happen?’” he says. “But yeah, I’ve always thought in my mind, ‘Let’s call up Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck,’ you know, let’s get all of your favourite guitar players out there.”
Though G3 has always been about bringing together the best guitarists of each era, Satriani suggests that Beck’s generational divide may have played a role in his decision to walk away from the project.
“I could see them just wondering, ‘Who is this kid? We don’t know who he is. [He] plays instrumental guitar, who cares,’” Satriani muses. “So I never really thought it would happen, but I’d ask anyway.”
“Once in a while, somebody would agree or just show up and say, ‘I want to play,’ like Brian May, Neal Schon, or Robert Fripp. So we’ve been really fortunate in that respect.”
The post “I think we were a week away from actually putting it in ink in the books”: Jeff Beck nearly joined Joe Satriani’s G3 tour, but “bailed at the last moment” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
