Joe Satriani was about 17 years old in 1973 when a younger neighbor Steve Vai knocked on his door to ask for a guitar lesson.

The encounter sparked a lifelong friendship and set the stage for two of the most influential rock guitarists of their generation.

"We were both kind of beginners," Satriani recalls to Q104.3 New York's Out of the Box with Jonathan Clarke. "I was just a little ahead of him and I started giving lessons to other kids at schools and a couple of teachers. That was the beginning of a real cool friendship. We bonded with the same ideas. We had rock and roll dreams."

After well over 45 years of pursuing those dreams with various bands and as solo artist, Satriani and Vai have finally joined forces in their own band with their own record, SATCHVAI The Sea of Emotion.

While Satch and Vai are happy to discuss the impact of heroes like Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and Eddie Van Halen, the story of the electric guitar can't get to 2026 without flowing through them. Vai was once widely considered the heir apparent to Van Halen, while Satriani was the first acolyte of Beck to create a string of hit instrumental rock albums.

The SATCHVAI band's The Sea of Emotion is a celebration of all Satriani and Vai have accomplished in their respective luminary careers. The title track suite of three songs nods to their humble beginnings with a recording of a jam session from Satch's childhood bedroom.

"Steve sort of resurrected [the original recording] and then used that chord progression to write part 3 of 'Sea of Emotion.' The song on the album starts out with that recording of the two of us as teenagers trying to work out this song."

All these years later, as both Satch and Vai have developed distinct voices on their instruments, neither can tell who's playing what on the original tape.

"It's probably the longest song-in-the-making in rock and roll history," Satch says.

Check out the full conversation via the player above!

Go here for tour dates and more on SATCHVAI.

Watch the official music video for "Mayhem" below!

Maria Milito