Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock

Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock is the 12th studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani. The title has Greco-Biblical connotations. The initial part, Professor Satchafunkilus, is an extension of Satriani's nickname, Satch. The second part, in particular, the word "Musterion" is a Greek word meaning "Something which cannot be known until it is revealed" in English this is roughly equivalent to a secret (not "mystery" as it is commonly misinterpreted).

Satriani has embarked on a special "Guitar Center Sessions" tour, which began on the release date of the album, and lasted through to April 11, 2008. Following this, Satriani embarked on a worldwide tour, kicking off April 30 in Lisbon, Portugal, before moving to Australia, South America and finally returning to the U.S. in the fall of 2008.

Professor Satchafunkilus was produced through the creative envisioning of Satriani and John Cuniberti; guiding the musical talents of longtime drummer/percussionist, Jeff Campitelli and renowned bassist, Matt Bissonette. A special addition to the album’s artist list is Joe’s own son, ZZ Satriani, playing the tenor sax (only at intro of track 4). Most of the tracks were composed after 2006 with the exception of "Come on Baby". Satriani began this song, during a snow storm, in 1993 while on vacation in Lake Tahoe. In 2007 his son, ZZ Satriani, urged him to finish the piece which he dedicated to his wife, Rubina Satriani. "Come on Baby" song was used by Vaughn Chipeur in his qualifying short program which earned him a spot on the Canadian Ice Skating team.

The ballad "Revelation" was originally written about the death of friend Steve Morse's father. Midway through the composition, Satriani realized he was writing about his own father’s recent death. This track is the third composition by Satriani about his father (the first being "Into the Light" from the album Flying in a Blue Dream and the second "Cryin'" from The Extremist). 

In addition to his prior allusions to the science fiction genre in the titles of his tracks, this album has 2 tracks, "Asik Veysel" and "Andalusia", dedicated to the memory of Aşık Veysel, critically acclaimed figure of the Turkish folk literature. Satriani mixed some songs of Aşık Veysel and made his longest song in the album. Further, Satriani carries on the theme of exploring the humane facet of robots, started with the track "One Robot's Dream", with the track, "I Just Wanna Rock", which is about a robot's experiences at a rock concert.

In the track "Andalusia" from timecode 1:40 to 1:53 you can hear Joe play a riff that was previously seen and heard by Satriani fans on "The Satch Tapes" video/DVD, during a segment of that video where Joe is playing an acoustic guitar.

Track listing

All songs written by Joe Satriani.

1. "Musterion" – 4:37
2. "Overdriver" – 5:06
3. "I Just Wanna Rock" – 3:27
4. "Professor Satchafunkilus" – 4:47
5. "Revelation" – 5:57
6. "Come on Baby" – 5:49
7. "Out of the Sunrise" – 5:43
8. "Diddle-Y-A-Doo-Dat" – 4:16
9. "Asik Veysel" – 7:42
10. "Andalusia" – 6:51*Satriani's comments on Asik Veysel's Music
11. "Ghosts" - 4:28 (iTunes Bonus Track)

Personnel

• Joe Satriani – all guitars, keyboards, vocals
• Matt Bissonette – bass
• Jeff Campitelli – drums
• ZZ Satriani – tenor sax
• John Cuniberti – percussion

References

• Podcasts for the new album by Satriani
• Satriani's interview about the making of the album
• Tour dates and venues