I wouldn't put Vai, Satriani, and Eric Johnson in the real fretw*nkers group. Sure, they can play really fast, but there's a whole other bunch of guys I'd put ahead of them as far as fretw*nking goes. I've seen all of them live (actually talked with Satriani and Johnson on a few occasions) and they do ease up and play quite soulful stuff. Back in the late 80s and early 90s, I tried to get down to Liberty Lunch whenever Eric Johnson was in town. His live playing was full of expression and every note seemed to have its place. After his regular set, he would often take requests and play a lot of Hendrix and other bluesy stuff that had little speed to it. Maybe my idea of fretw*nking is different, but I played in a band with a guy who I think defined it. He played as fast as anyone I've ever heard, but it was often totally out of place, added nothing to the music and got old pretty quick. I could never play that fast, but often got comments from people who heard us about how much better my playing sounded to them. I jammed with him a time or two after he got out of GIT and he had become a very good guitar player, but he still had the urge to drop in some pointless weedly-deedly here and there. I truly appreciate technical proficiency, but only when it sounds good. Making music is an art, not a sport, and speed isn't necessarily a key to success.
