G3 Tour History

(Los Angeles, CA) -- The 2007 incarnation of Joe Satriani's popular G3 tour will kick off on March 14th in Phoenix starring SATRIANI, JOHN PETRUCCI and PAUL GILBERT. The tour will play selected dates in North America throughout March and April. The starting tour itinerary follows with more dates TBA shortly.

The 2007 tour marks the 5th North American G3 run and the 12th G3 tour worldwide since its inception. The first G3 tour, featuring Satriani, Eric Johnson and Steve Vai, played to sold-out crowds throughout October and November, 1996 and was followed by successful treks in Europe, South America, Japan and Australia. The most recent North American G3 tour, in 2003, showcased Satriani, Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen and was documented in the platinum DVD G3 Live in Denver. Other platinum DVD's include the 1996 run and the 2005 Japanese tour with Vai and Petrucci.

JOE SATRIANI has been a worldwide guitar hero since his 1986 breakthrough album, Surfing With The Alien. Over 10-million albums and CD's later, in addition to 13 Grammy nominations including this year for his latest studio release Super Colossal, Joe continues to push the envelope of modern rock guitar playing. In October 2006, Satriani released Satriani Live!, as both a double audio CD and double DVD package. In addition to breathtaking, nine-camera footage of Satriani and his band tearing it up for more than two hours at their Anaheim stop during this year's Super Colossal tour, Satriani Live! captures them backstage and onstage on the last stop of that trek, with comments from fellow guitar legend Eric Johnson, candid moments with members of Joe's band and crew, and one amazing surprise unleashed by the audience that night in San Francisco.

Joe's G3 cohorts, JOHN PETRUCCI and PAULGILBERT, are each recognized as brilliant players - both as soloists and within the bands they are known by. John is the founding member and lead guitarist for Dream Theater, recording eight albums with the band, including their sophomore effort, 1992's Images and Words. The album proved to be a breakthrough commercial success as the song "Pull Me Under" became a surprise hit on both MTV and rock radio. John is also involved in several side projects including Liquid Tension Experiment with Tony Levin, Age of Impact and even a Sega Saturn game called Necronomicon. In 2005, John was involved in three releases. A solo album, Suspended Animation, Octavarium with Dream Theatre and he was included on the G3 Live in Tokyo CD and DVD.

Paul first became known for his work with Racer X and went on to platinum success with Mr. Big who topped the pop charts in 1992 with the ballad "To Be with You." Mr. Big disbanded in 1996, and a year later Gilbert made his solo debut with King of Clubs; Flying Dog followed in 1998, trailed by Beehive Live in 1999, Alligator Farm in fall 2000 and Get Out Of My Yard in August 2006.

A recent poll of the Top 100 Greatest Rock Guitarists ranked SATRIANI at # 7, PETRUCCI at # 11 and GILBERT at #14.

SATRIANI stated simply, "I can't wait to hit the stage with John and Paul, they are two of the scariest, most amazing players I've ever heard!"

Continuing with the same successful formula as in years past, fans will be treated to individual sets by each guitarist with their own bands before joining Satriani and his band on stage for an all-star jam session. As with previous G3 tours, special guest guitarists will be invited to join the jam at select dates around the country. Past guests have included Neal Schon, Gary Hoey, George Lynch, Billy Gibbons, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Robert Fripp and Brian May.