Yesterday, former Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx sat down with Steve Vai to talk riffs, gear and Led Zeppelin on his series, My Favorite Riff with Nikki Sixx.
Vai also tells Sixx some anecdotes about his time working with Frank Zappa, discussing both an instance in which he transcribed one of Zappa's famously lewd stories into a guitar piece, and how Zappa would push his bandmates into challenging, uncharted musical waters.
You can watch the insightful interview, and a longer, even more in-depth follow-up to the interview—"Deeper With Steve Vai"—below.
“Play like you don’t know how to play the guitar”: That time Miles Davis stopped his entire band to give John McLaughlin some unlikely advice
“You wanted me to come on your track and do something in a Spanish style. I thought, ‘I have to show him how I do it on the whole guitar’”: Marcin shows an astounded Will Smith his virtuosic guitar technique
