Watch Steve Vai Re-Enact the 'Crossroads' Guitar Duel Live in 1997

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It’s a treat to watch Vai have a good old-fashioned head-cutting session with a fellow Zappa alum.

Steve Vai added some luster to his already sterling reputation as a guitarist when he played the role of Jack Butler in the 1986 film Crossroads. 

Butler, a guitarist who sold his soul to the devil in return for musical prowess, goes up against Eugene Martone, played by Ralph Macchio, in a climactic duel to the finish.

Some 11 years after making the film, Vai re-enacted the duel onstage with muti-instrumentalist Mike Keneally while in South Korea during Vai's Fire Garden World Tour.

Keneally, like Vai, recorded and performed with the late Frank Zappa, and it’s a treat to see these two having a good old-fashioned head-cutting session. Enjoy.

Guitar Player Staff

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