Namm 2012: Steve Vai to receive Les Paul Award at TEC Awards

Guitar virtuoso, composer and producer Steve Vai will be presented with the prestigious Les Paul Award at the 27th Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards, to be held Friday, January 20, in the Pacific Ballroom of the Hilton Anaheim during the 2012 NAMM Show. Co-presented by the TEC Foundation for Excellence in Audio and NAMM, the TEC Awards recognizes outstanding achievement in professional audio production and product design.

The Les Paul Award was established in 1991 to honor musical artists who have had distinguished careers as innovators in the creative application of audio technology. Past recipients include Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Brian Wilson, Peter Gabriel, Lindsey Buckingham, Herbie Hancock, Al Kooper, Steve Miller, Robbie Robertson and others.

A student of Joe Satriani at age twelve, Steve Vai began his professional music career working with Frank Zappa, with whom he toured and recorded before launching his solo career. Since his groundbreaking album Passion and Warfare, released in 1990, the brilliance of his musicianship has awed more than just rock fans and has stunned concertgoers worldwide, producing sales of over 15 million records and earning multiple Grammys.

Vai has recorded and toured with Public Image Ltd., Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth and Whitesnake, and has worked with a variety of musicians including Joe Satriani, Joe Jackson, Janice Ian, Steve Lukather, Alice Cooper, Gerry Rafferty, The Yardbirds and Mary J. Blige. He has composed for and/or performed on original soundtracks for films including Crossroads, Encino Man, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, PCU and Crazy, and video games including Halo 2 and Guitar Hero 3. His latest live album and DVD, Where the Wild Things Are is a major achievement from a musical alchemist of the highest order.

Steve Vai has received honorary doctorates from Berklee College of Music and Musician’s Institute, and is also involved with many worthwhile organizations. He founded the record label Favored Nations, for musicians, who in Vai’s words, “have attained the highest performance level on their chosen instruments.” He has also served as a Trustee for the Recording Academy, is on the board of Hollywood Arts, and works closely with his own Make a Noise Foundation, raising money for music education.