Steve Vai brought to tears by Tom Waits

Steve Vai says he can’t listen to his favourite artist Tom Waits in public as he’s likely to burst out crying.

The guitar icon reveals he never goes anywhere without his Waits collection, but he doesn’t dare listen unless he’s on his own.

Vai tells Wikimetal: “My favourite artist right now is Tom Waits. I never go anywhere without everything he’s ever recorded. There are some of his songs that I can’t listen to in public because I start uncontrollably weeping.

“There’s something about his voice, his music. He’s just so connected and unique. I think he’s the greatest American artist because he captures an intention and he makes you feel it, if you’re connected with it.”

Vai also saves praise for Led Zep, who were his first love as a young musician. He adds: “When I was growing up there was one band that when the music came up it just gripped me and I would go into a trance. And that was Led Zeppelin. Especially the songs Heartbreaker and Black Dog.”

Vai’s most recent studio album was 2012’s The Story Of Light. This year, he issued live release Stillness In Motion.

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.