вЂњI thought, вЂItвЂ™s just because of the momentum of all of the things that IвЂ™ve been doing.вЂ™ There was a big build-up, you know, on Flex-Able. Vai stepped into the elevator and went up to the radio station and received similar congrats from the DJ during an interview, echoing the details of the chart position and sales and at that point, things began to sink in, but he still thought that it might be finding success for reasons that had very little to do with the record itself. It was certified gold, it was number 18, but I thought he just was wrong.вЂќ So I just said, 'Oh, thank you! ItвЂ™s going great!' Because you hear stuff like that and youвЂ™re like, 'Whatever.' He also said it was gold. He doesnвЂ™t know what heвЂ™s talking about, but thatвЂ™s fine. I walked into this radio station and I walk into the lobby and I see this guy and he meets me in the lobby and he says, 'Hey, I heard your new solo record came out and itвЂ™s gold and itвЂ™s at number 18 on the Billboard charts.' This guy said this to me and I thought, 'This guy, heвЂ™s got me mixed up with somebody else.' Because that happens occasionally. I remember when the record came out, a few days after the record came out, I was in Toronto with Whitesnake and I was doing this radio interview. I thought this was going to be the end of my career. 'Because youвЂ™ve got to keep in mind that I had no expectations. But he was on tour with Whitesnake at the time the album was released and admits that he didnвЂ™t see it coming. I sat down and wrote the words 'passion and warfare.'вЂќДЄll of the work that Vai had done in the years leading up to Passion and Warfare paid off big time. When he had completed the record, he attempted to вЂњamalgamate all of these thoughts and experiences into. Vai found himself being pulled in a lot of different directions inspirationally with the material that he was writing and recording for his solo album. He had accepted an invite to play guitar with Whitesnake and finished the album that became Passion and Warfare in between recording his guitar tracks for the Whitesnake album Slip of the Tongue and leaving to tour with the band. I was reaching into that secret part of the brain that we all go to for inspiration, and was curious as to if I could make those visions an audible reality.вЂќД®ven after parting ways with the former Van Halen frontman, Vai was still juggling. Dave knew it when he heard it and he knew it when he didnвЂ™t hear it.вЂќДЄfter two successful albums with Roth, Eat вЂEm & Smile and Skyscraper, Vai was ready to move on and as he recalls in a post on his website, he was вЂњdetermined to finish the record.вЂќ On the heels of the experience of working with Roth, he felt like there was a вЂњlarger, other world of music to explore. That was good for me, because I was coming from more of a quirky musician side and I always wanted to let my rock freak flag fly and that really allowed me the opportunity, because I had to write music that worked and had that simplicity, but high energy. He looks for that special thing in the songs that makes it worthy of the big rock arena genre. He knows what he wants, he knows what he doesnвЂ™t want. His press persona comes off as this wild, crazy kind of guy, but heвЂ™s got a lot going on there and heвЂ™s very intuitive. вЂњWhat was good about it that a lot of people donвЂ™t quite understand is how intuitive David Lee Roth is. I was a huge Van Halen fan and a big David Lee Roth fan too,вЂќ Vai says. Because first of all, I love that style of music. Naturally, as any guitarist who got that phone call in the '80s would have, he seized the chance to work with Roth. First, Vai would get another phone call, with an opportunity to go work with David Lee Roth. вЂњAt that point, I thought, вЂIвЂ™m going to start over because IвЂ™ve got all-new musical ideas and IвЂ™m going to record a new record.вЂ™ That turned into Passion and Warfare.вЂќД®ventually.

He took the gig and while he was on the road with the group, got an offer to do a solo album with Capitol Records. He put a band together and started writing material and recording basic tracks for a follow-up and during that time period received an offer to join the heavy metal band Alcatrazz, featuring former Rainbow vocalist Graham Bonnet.

Steve vai passion and warfare album art