My speech is on a guitarist. This man goes by the name of Steve Vai. Mr. Vai, in my opinion, is one of the greatest guitarists alive today. Vai has been nominated for multiple grammy awards & has played with some of the greatest guitarists to ever live. This man isn't as known as some musicians, but, he deserves to be. In my later arguements, I will tell you about him, his career, and why he is one of the greatest alive, and maybe, to ever live. 

In the early years, a teenaged Stevie was taught by one of the future guitar greats, Joe Satriani. Joe Satriani would turn out to be a fourteen time Grammy nominated guitarist & lead guitarist for Deep Purple. After this, Steve Vai would go to Berklee College of Music. After he finished college he would become the sideman of Frank Zappa, another guitarist who was/is considered one of the all-time greats. Vai would get the job by sending his transcription of Zappa's "The Black Page", a song written for the drums, Zappa was instantly amazed and wanted him to do more of them for him.  Vai would make his live debut with Zappa's band on their 1980 U.S. tour. Zappa would later refer to Steve as "his little Italian virtuoso" and is known as "stunt guitar" or "impossible guitar parts". Later on, he would be featured in the 1993 recording, Zappa's universe.

He continued on his journey for super stardom as a solo artist. He would go on to record his first solo-album with the recording studio he had installed into his home. This album, Flex-Able, was largely influenced by Frank Zappa. This album sold steadily but seemed to improve in sales when he started working with popular rock acts such as Whitesnake and David Lee Roth. After Flex-Able Steve would go on to replace Ynqwie Malsteen in the group 'Alcatrazz'  and record an album with them, named, Disturbing The Peace. Later on, he would team up with former Van Halen frontman, David Lee Roth's group to make two albums, Eat 'Em & Smile and Skyscraper. This would make Steve Vai more visable to the rock audience, since David was in a battle with the former members of Van Halen. People would compare Steve Vai favourably to Eddie Van Halen. Steve Vai would make a few more albums with various other bands, later on. Then, he decided to make another solo album, Passion And Warfare. This record was certified two times platinum. "Jimi Hendrix meets Jesus Christ at a party that Ben Hur threw for Mel Blanc" is how Vai summed up this album. It was written based on a sequence of dreams Steve had when he was younger. Vai's latest album, Sound Theories, was released last year.
 
Vai is recognized as a highly advanced rock guitarist, today. He often is described as virtuoso in the world of guitar music. He is known for his style, persona, the facial expressions he often makes when he plays and his shredding techniques. The man has mastered many performance techniques on the guitar including legato, pinch harmonics and volume swells, but, is known mostly for his extreme whammy bar effects, sweep picking and his finger tapping while playing. His ballad, For the Love of God, was voted #29 of the top 100 guitar compositions of all time, in Guitar World magazine. Steve owes his technical facility with the guitar to his deep knowledge of music theory.