The short list of the world's greatest guitarists will always be an issue to debate within rock and metal circles. But one aspect that's less a point of contention -- Joe Satriani being one of the industry's most revered, and still unappreciated, axemen of all-time.

Satriani taught fellow greats Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Alex Skolnick (Testament) and Steve Vai, among others. Yet in general conversations regarding guitar greats, "Satch" is often lost in the shuffle among those names, along with the likes of Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Yngwie Malmsteen and Eric Clapton.

Exhibit B: Pop star Nicki Minaj recently sampled Satriani's Grammy nominated "Always With Me, Always With You" on her song "Right Through Me" from her Pink Friday debut album, earning Satriani's praise. On the flip side, Coldplay met Satriani's wrath a couple years ago when he sued the band for taking from his 2004 song "If I Could Fly" without crediting him on their tune "Viva la Vida" -- which went on to win a Grammy. The case was settled in Sept. 2009.

And speaking of Grammys, Satriani has been nominated 15 times. He's never won.

Satriani, the architect of 14 (mostly) all-instrumental albums dating back to 1986's Not of This Earth and including 1987's Surfing With the Alien, 1989's Flying in a Blue Dream and 2008's Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock, released 14th studio album Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards on Oct. 5. That was followed Oct. 26 by the career-spanning Essential Joe Satriani. On Nov. 29, he performed with Jay Leno's band on "The Tonight Show," which included an impromptu jam session with Bill Cosby. Yes, that Bill Cosby.

Satriani last performed in San Antonio on Sept. 20, 2009, at Sunset Station as a member of Chickenfoot, the compilation group also featuring former Van Halen members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith.

Satriani's founding of the G3 tour allowed him to team up with a pair of other acclaimed guitarists on several tours and proved he is a rock star minus the all-too-common rock-star ego. Austin will get him all to itself when Satriani visits the Paramount Theatre on Jan. 19 with his solo band consisting of Allen Whitman on bass, Jeff Campitelli on drums and keyboardist Mike Keneally. The tour concludes the next night in Houston.

Fans can warm up for the show by checking out a song-by-song podcast of Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards, complete with footage of the band in the studio, at Satriani's website. Highlights include Satriani's description of the concept of wormholes in relation to space travel, which inspired the title track, as well as "Littleworth Lane" having resulted from Satriani's memories of the house his mom lived in -- which was built in 1689.

Satriani, 54, further demonstrated he's more than an artist with cool song and album titles when he took time Tuesday to call me before kicking off the second leg of his tour in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada that night:
 
Q: Can you give me a sense of what it was like recording the new album at George Lucas' Skywalker Sound Studios?
A: The studio is a fantastic place, an ideal setting in Marin, Calif., in northern Calif. The facilities are as big as you could ever want them, the studio can hold a large orchestra. The staff there is so knowledgeable. You're literally just yards away from film designers mixing movie soundtracks. Even George is walking around from time to time. It's just a great environment that makes you feel you have all the time and space to get creative. But it's expensive, so you better get cooking (laughs).
Q: What's your history with George that allowed you to work at his studio?
A: Oddly enough, I rehearsed with Mick Jagger and his solo band back in 1988, and we had a very big band at the time. I think there was 13 of us. Two guitar players, two keyboard players. And that was the first time I had met George. But I hadn't ended up recording there until doing the Chickenfoot record a few years ago.

Q: Where do you come up with your album and song titles?
A: Everyday life provides more inspiration than I have time to work off of. I think we all like to celebrate the good times, and we have to learn to deal with the bad times, and I think my music is all about that. There are ways to interpret them. Some are serious, and some are fun. I can daydream situations and turn them into songs that are good for your body and soul to help you forget about daily life. And other songs, I dwell on serious subjects. They definitely help me deal with those situations, and I suppose I spread those out with my fans. One of the things with instrumental music is you're not forcing people to hear your story through lyrics, and with an instrumental song, something that I could play to reflect a tragedy could be interpreted by someone else as a message of hope. That's the beauty of instrumental music. It can take people to different places.

Q: On "Dream Song," you say on the podcast that the sound of the demo matched what was in your head when you dreamed the song, and that that has never happened before. How surreal was it?
A: That was really the first time that had ever happened to me. Where I had woke up, to think I had been listening to the music, the memory was so strong that I could walk into my home studio, and the track could match the dream. All I remember is the actual playing of the song.
 
Q: How did the "Tonight Show" experience come about, and was the session with Bill Cosby as spontaneous as it looked?
A: It was completely spontaneous. I had been invited to sit in with the band. It's a common thing. I had gone on the Letterman show before and Jimmy Fallon. You walk out on stage, you're on there about six minutes, and then the show starts. I didn't know who the other guests were going to be until I walked onstage. Someone said Bill Cosby, and I said, "Great!" And I had never met him. He walked out and for some reason turned to me and shook my hand and said hello and asked me where the piano was. No one had told me about this, and I wondered, "Is this another piece of music I was supposed to learn?" We were completely shocked. I think Jay was expecting him to do a monologue, so it kind of shocked him, too. And the fact he wanted to play one of my songs, "God is Crying" was great.
 
Q: What makes a great riff?
A: Ooh, wow! It's gotta be partly original and partly relate to something. Some other kind of music. You have to create something no one has ever done before. Here's a good example. "We Will Rock You" by Queen is a great riff. It's just boom boom rock. Just three notes that have been played a million times before but survived the time. It's what you surround it with. In terms of that Queen song, it was not only the drum beat, but it was the stomping and the clapping -- three different elements -- that when you hear it, it's instantly recognizable.
 
Q: There are so many techniques that you make look effortless. Which do you find most challenging?
A: The most challenging parts are the ballads. If you start playing a crazy song, people will give you a lot of flak for being crazy. I guess the best analogy I could use is it's like driving down a really big freeway. You have room to be crazy. But when you do a ballad, it's like driving a really narrow road. You have to mind every little nuance of your playing, transport people to someplace special. You have to be very careful, especially for an electric guitar player.
 
Q: How much credit should you get for teaching the likes of Kirk Hammett, Steve Vai, and Alex Skolnick?
A: None (laughs).
Q: But what did you see in their playing at such an early time period that may have indicated their greatness to come?
A: I think my approach was given to me by my high school music teacher, who impressed me with his ability to put knowledge in my head without affecting my style that I developed later on. When I sat down with Kirk and Alex and others, I didn't want to affect their style. I just wanted to help them to get where they wanted to go. I knew they would take it home and apply their own musical style for each of them. I can take credit for supplying information and cracking the whip (laughs), but ultimately, they put their own spin on it.
 
Q: I still have on VHS the 1989 "Headbangers Ball" appearance where you spoke about giving guitar lessons and taught Adam Curry how to make guitar faces. Which student provided the most rewarding teaching experience for you and why?  
A: Well, you know, I think all of them did. The ones that stuck it out. Every once in awhile, someone would get up and quit and throw a few choice words at me for being a tough teacher. There are too many to single out but pretty much the ones we know of and the ones who kept with it.
 
Q: How much of a risk did you feel you were taking when you first delved into vocals on Flying in a Blue Dream?
A: At the time, it didn't seem that unusual. I had spent from 1979-84 -- I was in a local band where I sang lead some of the time. After I recorded Not of This Earth and was waiting for it to be released, I toured with Greg Kihn for a year. If you think about it, ever since I was 14, I was in a band. The only real problem is I'm not a singer. I think I put those vocal songs on there as a way to make my live shows more varied. I didn't just want to play rock instrumental music where it was always going to be instrumental. I wanted to give my fans who came to see me something to sing along to. But I didn't want my fans to take me seriously as a singer, and I don't think they do (chuckles). I think we're good there. We have a good relationship (laughs). What happened was on that subsequent tour in 1990, it was a bit nerve-wracking for me to sing in front of people. That was only my second tour as a solo artist, and I didn't really enjoy (singing). I don't have the vocal chops. The real test is if you could do it live every night.
 
Q: Previous versions of G3 have included Yngwie, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Michael Schenker and Paul Gilbert. Which other guitarists would you like to team with that you never have?
A: Back in '95 when I started G3, I tried to get Jeff Beck and Eddie Van Halen to come out. It would be great to get Jimmy Page and Neil Young. But these guys, they don't really need a G3. They would have to stand next to me and another guy. We have to come up with interesting combinations. Years ago, we got close to Jeff Beck, and I think there's a chance for some of these household names.
 
Q: How far along is Chickenfoot with the second album, and how much of this year will revolve around touring behind that?
A: We've got 18 songs in the process of being written. We're going to meet at the end of this month to record this record. We don't know how we're going to finish it or when it's going to be released. We're dealing with my touring and Chad Smith's involvement with the new Chili Peppers record and Sam's many responsibilities. I'm confident of having a record in the can by March.
 
Q: Having been used to your own band over the years, what was the biggest adjustment you had to make working with Sammy, Michael and Chad?
A: Having a private jet to fly around (laughs). No one in the band had taken a tour bus except for me. Believe it or not, that was the biggest adjustment -- getting used to flying in a private jet.
 
Q: Before Chickenfoot came to San Antonio in Sept. 2009, Michael Anthony told me that you like to take notes in the studio. What kinds of details are you taking note of?
A: When you're in the studio, it's a beautiful opportunity to achieve greatness. Everyone wants to make a record that is great for decades and decades. You don't want to slack off. You want to rise to the occasion. It's a special atmosphere, and I don't want to miss out on it. After the recording session, those guys flew home, Sam worked on some lyrics, and it was just me and the engineer. I played banjo, acoustic guitar, other instruments. I love it. Some people find (record-making) tedious. I think it's a privilege to be in that situation.

Q: I had the pleasure of interviewing Mike Portnoy, David Ellefson and Chris Jericho last year and asked them about the Dream Theater song "Repentance," on which you were also a guest. What was your confession on there?
A: It was a very interesting request from those guys. I know those guys well. John Petrucci joined me onstage a couple weeks ago jamming in New York City. For the song, they asked me what was on my mind. My relationship with a former bass player who was in the band The Squares with me. He was one of those guys who had problems controlling his urges. He passed away a couple years ago to an overdose. When Mike asked me to contribute, I guess that was on my mind. If I could go back in time, I would've tried harder to help him straighten out his life.
 
Q: You've experienced both sides of the sampling spectrum from other artists with Nicki Minaj and . . . .
A: Well, it's important to know that Nicki and her producer contacted us. They gave me full credit as a songwriter and contacted me.
Q: That's what I was going to say -- if both examples were simply a matter of giving you proper credit or not?
A: Imagine if we had a band called Joe and Jay, and we made an album. And one day you play me a song, and I say, "That sounds like the idea I showed you six months ago." And you say, "I don't remember that." And we do another, and I say, "That sounds like the same idea again." And we say, "OK, let's finish it." That's the right way to do it. But anyway, in today's market, today's major labels cannot afford to be without litigation so they try to give permission.
Q: How was it settled with Coldplay?
A: I'm really not at liberty to say.
 
Q: Do you still hold out hope of winning a Grammy?
A: It doesn't really mean anything to me. No one likes to lose, but logically, as I have been nominated ever since putting out Surfing with the Alien and being nominated for a song on nearly every record I've put out, I've had this incredible career. So I have this kind of superstition. I almost hope I keep losing so that I can continue to have a great career (laughs).

• WHO: Joe Satriani
• WHEN: 8 p.m., Wed. Jan. 19
• WHERE: Paramount Theatre in Austin
• TICKETS: $38-$305 here
• OF NOTE: Ned Evett will be the opening act. Doors open at 7 p.m.

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