My last submission wasn't quite up to snuff (honestly, I wasn't happy with the video quality, so I'm not too disappointed), but there is no denying that Steve Vai is the supreme god of guitar. Especially when he breaks out the triple-neck. Sure, Michael Angelo Batio plays faster, but Vai writes such beautiful music, in addition to playing with such amazing skill (and he sings surprisingly well, too).

This video does not do Eric Sardinas justice, as it's one of the tamer live clips I've seen of him, but he is an amazingly talented Blues Dobro player who frequently tours with Steve Vai, and he puts on one hell of a live show.

From Wikipedia:

“There is nobody on God’s green earth that plays the guitar like Michael Hedges.” - Steve Vai

“Before Michael, acoustic guitar went from about right there to over here somewhere. After Michael, it goes from near the rest of us, where he found it, to out the other side of the world where he set it down for just a little while.” - David Crosby

“Michael Hedges is the guitarist from another planet.” - William Ackerman

"In Michael's hands, a guitar was a living, breathing extension of his deepest parts. It's almost as if he got so inside its body that the instrument was reborn. His passion for creating those exquisite melodies and technique was as focused as it was abandoned. There was simply no one like him." - Bonnie Raitt
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Sadly, Hedges was killed in a car accident in 1997. If you want to know who influenced Eric Mongraine (and countless others) here he is.

I had the pleasure of seeing him perform in the Napa Valley several years before his death and I must say this brought back many memories.

Ry Cooder only recorded the slide guitar parts of the movie, while Steve Vai recorded all other guitar tracks and composed the neo-classical guitar track that wins the battle.

I always thought this was the raddest scene in film history. Ralph Macchio vs. Steve Vai!

Yesterday I submitted Dueling Banjos, and now I'm following up with dueling guitars.

This is from "Crossroads", based on an updated version of the old Robert Johnson legend -- here, the devil's guitarist is Steve Vai, while Ralph Maccio plays to defend his mentor (and it's really Ry Cooder's playing).