Joe Satriani is an unassuming man. Wearing a tracksuit and shades, he greets me at the reception of the slightly expensive hotel he is staying in.

There are only three hours to go before he is set to take the stage at the Newcastle City Hall, but he is remarkably calm, chatty, and very relaxed, even taking time out to fiddle with the fancy light switch on the wall of our oversized interview room.

'I get my guys to set up all the equipment,' he remarks, when I ask him if he has to be going to the venue shortly. 'Then I turn up, make a few adjustments, and away we go.'

For Joe, it's a far cry from the days when he used to combine playing with teaching, just to make a living

How did you get involved with teaching the guitar?

Well, I started to teach guitar because I needed the money. I had worked as a gardener, a bricklayer, even in a clothing store, but what I really wanted to do was to stick around music.

Me and my guitar

And one day a couple of kids I went to high school with asked me for guitar lessons. One of those kids was Steve Vai.

Eventually, I wound up teaching at a music store in San Francisco for about ten years. That's where I taught Kirk Hammett from Metallica, Larry LaLonde from Primus, David Bryson from Counting Crows, and a host of others.

During that time I was also in a band called The Squares, with my current drummer Jeff Campitelli, so teaching was always something I did on the side. I was always a guitarist in a rock band first and foremost.

So how did the G3 project come about?

Back in 1995, I was having a meeting with my manager and complaining that with all the success that I had had, I found myself onstage or in a studio somewhere as the only guitar player, and I started to feel isolated.

I'm just inspired by everyday life. I find it very wondrous. There is so much to reflect upon, to write about, to dream about, and to hope for.

I also noticed that I was never in the same town or state as other guitar players like Steve. We were kept apart as we were considered competition for each other. Guitar players love to hang out and jam together, yet it is the hardest thing to get to happen.

So we came up with the idea of setting up a guitar festival if you like. We had to limit it to three guitarists though, as most venues will only allow you to play for a maximum of three hours or so. And from that, G3 was born. I think my manager came up with the name.

We did have a lot of opposition at first though. Promoters were scared of the competition between guitarists, managers did not want this guy standing next to that one, and stuff like that. I kept telling them that the fans were gonna love it and that they've already made up their minds who their favourite is anyway.

When you are onstage with the likes of Steve Vai or Yngwie Malmsteen, does that competition exist at all between you guys?

Well I would hope so. I think that when musicians get together, it raises their own enthusiasm. Steve and I have been playing together since we were kids and we love it. We gravitate towards it. We wanna see each other do something and go 'Wow, how did you do that?'

Most of the guitar players we have had on G3 have had that same spirit. They are secure within themselves, and like to give something to the audience. And if that means a little charge of competition, then great!

And where does the inspiration for your music come from?

I'm just inspired by everyday life. I find it very wondrous. There is so much to reflect upon, to write about, to dream about, and to hope for.

I only really play what I'm really passionate about. I don't just sit down and write an album. I can't work like that. My heart wouldn't be in it. I don't think a note would come out.

The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing, Surfing With The Alien, Flying In A Blue Dream - where do you get your song titles from?

They come in all different ways. Sometimes I'll get a vision of an experience I've been through, and the title is a remembrance of that experience. Then I'll write the song and keep focussing on that title.

Surfing with the Alien was a little daydream that came into my head. The title was so amusing that I wrote the music, making sure that it never got too serious. It had to sound fun.

The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing came into my head when I was on the phone to my brother. I don't think I was paying attention and my mind began to wander. I remember writing it down while I was on the phone and afterwards thinking that it was pretty cool.

You've been quoted as saying Deep Purple were one of your influences. What was it like when you temporarily joined the band? (Joe played with Purple on a tour during 1994 after guitarist Ritchie Blackmore quit)

It was difficult, because every guitar player is really very idiosyncratic when it comes down to it, and while I was replacing Ritchie Blackmore, my brain was saying 'Hang on a minute, no one replaces Ritchie Blackmore!'

I would look out at the audience and see their faces, totally in awe of the band, and I realised that I was actually more like one of them. I'd look across the stage and think 'my God, this is Deep Purple!'

Musically, it was very satisfying. The setlist was straight out of classic rock heaven. And the band were just great. Their timing was just fantastic. I had a blast.

Joe on Deep Purple

There were some songs that Ritchie had nailed so well that it was a case of why play anything else. But with the benefit of live tapes the band gave me, I realised that there were other songs where Ritchie had changed his part so dramatically night after night, and even he was still searching for the best way to interpret these songs.

So I took that as an artistic licence to modernise the stuff, especially the newer material that the band had hardly toured with. They really liked my approach, and they were a great band to play with.

Musically, it was very satisfying. The setlist was straight out of classic rock heaven. And the band were just great. Their timing was just fantastic. Their tone was amazing. I had a blast.

Were you ever asked to join permanently?

They did ask me to join, but I really had to think. I did have albums that I owed on my current contract at the time and it would have been difficult to drop that and become part of a band.

And while I hate to say it, there was something about the band that always struck me as British. I just felt like an Italian-American coming along for the ride.

So when I added it all up, although it felt great, it just didn't seem right to me. I thought they needed to find someone who really wanted to become a permanent member. As it happens, they did wind up with an American after all (Steve Morse), which was a great move.

They don't call him Joe 'Sat'riani for nothing!

What advice would you give to young players looking to get into the profession?

I would separate the playing part from the profession. For the profession part, I'd say get a good haircut, and a good lawyer. And this coming from someone with no hair!

On the music side, it's obvious that you need to practice the things like the notes, the scales and the chords. The other thing is to try and strive to be original. That's what the audience want. We're looking to be surprised.

When I was a teacher, I saw a lot of homogenisation from people wanting to belong, to the point where they were copying. I think that's a mistake.

It doesn't work professionally, unless you have something unique to offer.

What's the most embarrassing thing to happen to you on stage?

'Please welcome on stage, Joe Satriani'

Gosh, there's so many. One of the worst would have been when I was invited out on stage by Alice Cooper. He made this big announcement in front of 10,000 people, and I came running out on stage, and he starts the song before I had the chance to see if my gear is in working order.

So the song is going on for several minutes, and of course my amp is not working. I stood there on stage, like an idiot, and did not play a single note. And at the end, I had to take a bow. It was certainly the most embarrassing cameo appearance I've ever made.

It's easy to talk about the classic guitarists like Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix and the like, but are there any modern guitarists who have caught your eye?

I can't remember all of their names correctly, but there are some great guitarists out there. Mathias Eklund from Sweden is pretty crazy. Really amazing.

There is another freaky guitar player called Ron Thal from New Jersey, who plays fretless as if it was no hindrance whatsoever.

I also love the guitarist with The Mars Volta (Omar Rodriguez-Lopez). These guys are all on on the fringe, but they are pretty amazing.