In a recent interview, Steve Vai reflected on his experience performing with Danny Carey in the BEAT project and explained the challenges of mastering certain King Crimson songs from that era.
The BEAT project, featuring Adrian Belew, Tony Levin, Danny Carey from Tool, and Steve Vai, was a significant collaboration in the progressive rock scene. The project focused on performing the trio of King Crimson albums—Discipline, Beat, and Three of a Perfect Pair—which are known for pushing the boundaries of musicianship. The tour allowed the four virtuosos to showcase their individual talents, and for Vai, it provided an opportunity to work with Danny Carey, a drummer he had never played with before.
Vai shared his admiration for Carey’s drumming, particularly his feel and fluidity:
“I’ve been aware of Tool since the early ’90s,” Vai explained. “I didn’t personally know anyone in the band, but I had seen them play. When the BEAT tour happened, I met Danny for the first time at a Tool show. We hung out backstage, and I have to say he is an absolute sweetheart. But to play with him, oh my god!”
Vai praised Carey’s ability to tackle complex material with ease:
“He can do all the difficult stuff but with this incredible feel. We don’t play to a click, everything is very fluid, and it has to be with this kind of music. Danny does this solo every night on ‘Indiscipline,’ and it’s always remarkable. He never repeats himself.”
He continued:
“You can tell when a musician is truly connected to the moment. Things will come out that feel magical and unexpected. That’s what Danny does every night. It’s a miracle! Adrian and I would look at each other, as if to say, ‘How?!’ He’s an astonishing musician.”
In addition to discussing Carey, Vai also opened up about his role in the BEAT project, particularly the challenge of playing Robert Fripp’s guitar parts. While Vai admired Fripp’s compositions, he admitted that the techniques involved didn’t come naturally to him:
“Robert wrote beautiful parts, but the techniques didn’t come naturally to me. It’s different from what I do. There was a time in Zappa’s band when I was a heavy picker. That stuff was tough because Frank didn’t write on guitar—he’d write on piano and then give it to you. His parts were so un-guitaristic! I had the chops and focus back then, but some of this BEAT stuff took months to get under my fingers.”
One of the most challenging parts for Vai was a tricky picking technique in “Waiting Man,” which required him to rework the riff using his Whammy pedal to drop a whole step and develop a hammer-on technique. Vai also found “Thela Hun Ginjeet” challenging, even if it meant sacrificing the song’s “funky swagger” in order to play it correctly.
Vai admitted that Frame by Frame was one of the most difficult pieces to crack:
“At my age, after everything I’ve done, I welcome the challenges. But when it came to ‘Frame By Frame,’ it was relentless. There’s a cross-picking riff—it’s quite simple, but it just never lets up. I could kind of do it, but it didn’t feel consistent.”
Feeling frustrated, Vai considered doubling the picking motion, which seemed to work but still didn’t meet his standards. He continued:
“It felt like I was cheating a bit. In the back of my mind, I was thinking, ‘Why not hammer this?’ I couldn’t get the part exactly right; it was awkward.”
Fortunately, Robert Fripp offered some helpful advice. Vai explained:
“God bless him, Robert has been helpful. He saw a video from our second show online and sent over a suggestion. He said, ‘Why not hammer it all and then improvise away, before coming back for the chord changes?’ I was warming up backstage, saw his email, and tried it that night. It was easier and totally within my wheelhouse.”
Vai’s experience with Fripp’s music demonstrates not only the challenges of playing such intricate parts but also the collaborative spirit that helped him overcome those obstacles.
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