JOE SATRIANI And STEVE VAI Benefit Concert Raises Over $100,000

The House of Blues in Hollywood, California rocked this past Sunday when legendary guitarists Joe Satriani and Steve Vai hosted a second benefit concert in support of music industry veteran and their good friend, Cliff Cultreri. "A Benefit for Cliff II" took place on Sunday, July 10th and featured performances by Satriani and Vai, as well as special opening act featuring Brendon Small and friends. Other special guests and friends of the duo, including Dweezil Zappa, Orianthi, Brendon Small and Tony MacAlpine, joined in for the ending jam, while RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS/CHICKENFOOT drummer Chad Smith and Babyface, watched from the balcony.

Between acts, a number of items from both Satriani and Vai's personal collections were auctioned off, including custom amps, cabinets, pedal's and yes, even guitars. An autographed Satriani red JS1200 raised $6200, while a custom Fibenare guitar raised $4800. Satriani and Vai, along with other artists, also graciously donated various items to be auctioned online.

Beginning July 5 and running through July 15, fans can continue to bid on items such as a Steve Vai signed 20th Anniversary JEM guitar commemorating the entire line of Ibanez guitars. Steve used this guitar for the duration of the 2007 "String Theories Tour" and on the Grammy-nominated song "Now We Run", featured on the platinum award-winning DVD "Where the Wild Things Are"; the current bid stands at $15,000. Other auction items include a Joe Satriani JS1000 guitar with personalized art (currently at $5000),a Joe Satriani JS1200 guitar autographed by all the musicians, and a Paul Gilbert autographed Ibanez guitar used on the RACER X "Getting Heavier" album.

In addition to the generous donations, the guitars Joe, Steve and Paul are auctioning off and the sold-out hard tickets at the House of Blues, GuitarTV.com was able to raise nearly $7000 by broadcasting the concert online to users throughout the world. The "virtual concert ticket" show was priced at $5.99 with the proceeds going to Cultreri's medical fund.

Cultreri was most recently VP of A&R at Koch Entertainment. During his years in the industry, Cultreri has served as A&R for a number of top names, including Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Allan Holdsworth, Billy Sheehan and TALAS, Peter Frampton, MEGADETH, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, EXODUS, ANTHRAX, DEATH, VENOM, SLASH'S SNAKEPIT, CRADLE OF FILTH, GODFLESH and many others in all genres of music. In addition, he has received 18 Grammy nominations, 13 gold and 14 platinum, and multi-platinum awards for albums on which he was the executive producer, co-producer or A&R. He won Grammys for "Song Of The Year" and "Album Of The Year" with BONE THUGS 'N HARMONY for which he served as A&R.

"Cliff has been a musical force and guiding light in my career and my life for two decades. He introduced and championed my music to the recording business. He is a dear friend and musical ally and quite the guitar player himself," said Satriani. "Steve and I wanted to help Cliff and the idea of a show in L.A. with other members of the guitar community seemed to be the obvious way to celebrate and help him."

When the final tally is in, Satriani and Vai hope to have raised even more funds with this year's benefit to help with the Cultreri family's financial needs. "It's always a lot of fun to get on-stage and play with Steve," said Satriani. "We're especially thankful to have so many friends who came to jam with us and help raise money for our friend Cliff. All together, the artists and fans, made it a very special night for all of us."