Joe Satriani rolls out more G3 dates with Vai, Malmsteen

Axe slingers Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen have stretched the itinerary for their fall tour into early November.

The outing, which kicks off in Phoenix on Oct. 9, now runs until Nov. 6. Ticket on-sale info for the latest batch of shows is posted at Satriani's website.

In keeping with the format used during previous G3 tours, the show will feature an individual set from each guitarist and his respective band, after which Vai and Malmsteen will join Satriani and his band for a jam session. Guest guitarists will join the jam session on select dates, according to a press release. Past guests have included Neal Schon (Journey), Gary Hoey, George Lynch (Dokken, Lynch Mob), Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) and Brian May (Queen).

To help launch the tour, Satriani, Vai and Malmsteen will make an Oct. 1 appearance on the syndicated radio program "Rockline." A list of radio stations that carry the program is posted at the official "Rockline" website.

This fall, Epic Records plans to release a DVD version of Satriani's "The Satch Tapes," which first surfaced in 1992 on VHS. Satriani, meanwhile, is writing and recording material for a new album due out next spring, according to his publicist. His most-recent set is last year's "Strange Beautiful Music."

Satriani is also "considering" putting together a 25-track, two-disc "Essential Joe Satriani" compilation, according to his website. The guitarist is asking fans to chime in on the potential set list by posting their suggestions at the site.

Vai--formerly a student of Satriani's--plans to release this fall a two-hour concert video recorded at the Astoria Theatre in London, and Malmsteen plans to issue in the U.S. his 22nd solo album, "Attack!!," which he has already released in Europe and Asia.

Satriani assembled the first G3 tour in 1996. Vai has been a mainstay over the years, while guitarists such as Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Robert Fripp, Uli Jon Roth, Michael Schenker and John Petrucci have rotated through the roster.