We have been asked over the years by listeners to release a live album so we thought it would be nice to do one but at the same time do new music.

It was a coincidence unknown to Steve or myself - Alien Love Child started playing together in ‘95 or ‘96 - unbeknownst to Steve Vai.

The Alien Love Child Project has an intended focus of blues influenced music. I will still experiment with other types of music in the future.

He's a very wonderful person and a close friend of mine. He is a warm person.
(Manager's note: You may be referring to Malford Milligan, our special guest for the evening. He is an amazing singer from Austin and had a band called Storyville. His voice truly is heart rendering and we were honored to have him involved with the project)

I would very much like to. Hopefully in 2001.

I did a complete 6 week tour with G3. We did a live record and a video. After the tour, I decided to pursue other touring offers and projects. It wasn't really a question of leaving the tour. The tour was finished and I pursued other interests as Joe was deciding to pursue additional G3 tours.

I am familiar with many of Joe's records, but as of now, I regret that I have not heard "Engines of Creation".

I have a studio record that is more than half completed. I earnestly want to finish it 2001.
Thanks Matt.

Yeah, I think this album surprised us as well! We had some studio time available to us in late '95 so we went in with no deal ( Legato had gone out of business) and no real direction in mind so we decided to start experimenting with the then-new Sound Designer computer program from Digidesign. We created all our own loops from scratch and composed songs based around that approach.
At first we weren't going to have drums on the album at all but after hearing Virgil Donati play to the music we realized that he was the right man for the job! Some tracks are full performances from Virgil whereas others are sampled sections which we looped. It's an extremely experimental album which uses the studio itself as a musical instrument. A lot of what we did on that album has only now become mainstream so we're quite proud of that. We were both going through some separate personal issues at the time too so the songs are representative of that. It also is a great showcase for TJ's amazing vocal abilities!

Well, It's always hard to categorize our music and this is no exception! It will be a mixture of fusion, rock, pop and weird but there'll be a ton of playing from everyone! TJ and I are responsible for the material but everyone gets an equal share of solo's etc. It'll be all instrumental though.

It has changed a lot with the Tele! I've always been a Fender man since day one due to the Ritchie Blackmore influence but the Tele also brings a country influence which is bound to show up in my playing due to my technical approach and also I just love that kind of music! I'm also having my old faithful Strat worked on so I can play that as well. I'm going back to my roots!

The only trend I see is an increases awareness of tone, phrasing and note choice. I think this is due to the fact that players like Scott Henderson have become more popular so the new players are influenced by their maturity and musicality. There's still an interest in technique which is great. Great technique combined with supreme musicality is the stuff legendary players are made out of!

Bobby and I will be doing another album together this year. We've both been pursuing our own separate careers lately but as of 2001 I'd like to do more playing with Bobby. When I record my solo album Bobby will be the drummer that's for sure.

I'm not sure what the actual date of release is but it will be early in 2001.

"Alligator Farm" was the fastest I have ever written and recorded an album. It was possible because I was having fun, and writing about things that were happening around me .Almost all of the music was recorded live in the studio. Even the guitar solos were mostly one-take live solos! It's so much fun recording this way!I played a Mozart piano sonata using two guitar tracks on the song "Whole Lotta Sonata". I think this is a very interesting song for guitar players to hear.

I have vocals and pop melodies on my solo albums, but there is still lots of intense guitar playing!

I love rock/blues guitarists like Robin Trower, Pat Travers, and Frank Marino. I love the incredible songs of The Beatles, Cheap Trick, Queen, and Enuff Z'nuff. And I love heavier stuff like old Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Accept, and Saxon.

Thank you! I have fun editing it myself. I will have rare sound clips on it soon!

I plan on doing my solo CD's and Racer X for a long time. Both situations are more fun and musically satisfying than anything else I've done!

Transmission is my new band. I made this new record (The sky, the stars and the great beyond available on BEYOND records) because I got tired of not hearing any guitar oriented music that had any legitimacy to it.

I was really grateful to make the three solo records that I made on guitar recordings . They allowed me to showcase my guitar skills.

I like to see other artists grow and stretch out . If it happens to be vocal and guitar oriented then all the better.

There are no plans in the immediate future for any instrumental records.

I'm using VACCARO guitars along with a couple of mainstay guitars. My main amplifier is a DIRTY BOY amplifier that was built by my father on the kitchen table . For more info on the band and my DIRTY BOY amplifier you can go to my website.

I called the record "CHANGE" primarily because it has vocals. The deeper reason is because the 'CHANGE' CD was exactly that. It is about a change. I went through some difficult personal changes. This CD is what came out of me. Some tunes are about the death of my Dad. Some tunes are about my divorce.

I did take some vocal lessons from a teacher in Chicago named Cheryl Rak. They were very helpful. For most of my career, I did not think I would ever be a singer. Now, I work at it quite a bit. It is a whole new world for me.

"Change" was recorded very differently from my other recordings. Jimmy Godsey taught me more about the process than I ever thought was possible to know. Kenny's drum kit was recorded at a studio, direct to Neve preamps into ADAT's. It was in a "garage" set-up so the musicians could all be in the same room. The bass and some guitars were also recorded "live". The vocals and solos were done in my home studio through Focusrite and AMEK mic pre's. All of the tracks eventually ended up back on analog tape (2 inch 24 track machines). They were mixed through the Neve Flying Faders Councel at Streeterville Studios in Chicago. This was the opposite of what I had been used to. I had always taken all of my gear to the studio and prayed for the best. This process was very different, but it actually worked out easier in the end.

Kenny and I have played together in Europe and we just simply "grooved" together. When we talked about doing a record together, it was something that seemed very natural. I told Kenny "You be yourself, I'll be myself, and let's see what happens". This CD is what happened. I think Kenny Aronoff is one of the very best drummers to ever sit behind a drumset. Even moreso, Kenny is one of the best people I know in the music industry. He has something special and unique that he brings to every project he works on. Kenny plays with his "Ears and his Heart". "CHANGE" was recorded without a click track. To me, that is the "Alpha and Omega" of a true pro drummer.

I have played Ibanez guitars since the mid 1980's. I don't exactly know what you mean by 'Veteran" but everyone at Ibanez have been great to me. My main guitar is one I purchased. I still play it to this day! Endorsements aside, I love my guitar! If I didn't, I would own a different one!
Thanks for your time, Matt!