Along with his one-time teacher Joe Satriani, six-string wizard Steve Vai set the standard for rock guitar virtuosity in the '80s. Vai became interested in the guitar via such legendary artists as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and Alice Cooper as a teenager, and upon starting high school, took lessons with an older player from his high school, Joe Satriani. By the age of 18 he attended the renowned Berklee School of Music in Boston. As a student there, Vai transcribed several of Frank Zappa''s most technically demanding compositions for guitar. Zappa was so impressed with the young guitarist that upon meeting him, he invited Vai to join his band. Subsequently, Vai toured the world with Zappa (giving Vai the nicknames 'Stunt Guitarist' and 'Little Italian Virtuoso'), and played on such albums as 1981's Tinsel Town Rebellion and You Are What You Is, 1982's Ship Arriving Too Late, 1983's Man From Utopia, plus 1984's Them or Us and Thing Fish, before leaving to set out on his own. First off was a pair of self-financed, recorded, and released solo albums in 1984, Flex-Able and Flex-Able Leftovers, both of which showcased Vai's guitar playing and songwriting talents, yet were still heavily influenced by Zappa. After Flex_Able he released a lot of fantastic albums wich indicated he improved his teacher.