Guitar hero Steve Vai will give fans a chance to dream while they’re awake at the Knitting Factory

There’s been talk of an Eddie Van Halen tribute concert and even a Van Halen tour featuring David Lee Roth, Alex Van Halen and Wolfgang Van Halen. There have been rumors about what guitarist would possibly perform Eddie Van Halen’s familiar parts.

However, don’t ask Steve Vai to consider the gig. The guitar virtuoso, who was Roth’s right hand man after the incomparable frontman left Van Halen for a solo career during the mid-80s, has no interest in revisiting the past.

“There’s no way I would do that,” Vai said while calling from his Los Angeles home. “I’m about moving forward, not backward. I already did that (play Van Halen songs with Roth) a long time ago. It would be tempting but there is so much I still want to focus on and achieve. If Dave Roth gets a great guitar player to go out on the road with him, I would see that show but I can’t be part of that. I have so much more to accomplish in music.”

Vai, 63, who will perform Wednesday at the Knitting Factory, is on an instrumental tour behind his album, “Inviolate,” which was released in 2022. “Inviolate” is varied, just like much of the trailblazing rocker’s work. There’s deep grooves, whimsical passages and points when the six-string visionary absolutely shreds.

However, Vai’s music isn’t only for the guitar nerds who live for guitar pyrotechnics. Vai’s work is eclectic enough to entertain casual music fans since he takes paths peers seldom travel.

The former Whitesnake and Frank Zappa guitarist, who has recorded 17 solo albums, delivers a performance clinic at every show

“My audience knows what they want from me,” Vai said. “I give it to them. I see myself as a service provider. I offer the audience an opportunity to dream while they’re awake.”

Vai envisioned himself as a guitarist, who could transport fans since he was a fledgling player. “I saw myself as a performer, who could effortlessly, almost like a wizard, write beautiful melodies and connect with a crowd and take them somewhere else,” Vai said. “I had that in my mind since I was a young man. When you see me perform it’s about the ebb and flow and the intensity and the dynamic swings of the show. My goal with the guitar is to go as deep as I can with the instrument.”

That drive is what caught the late Zappa’s eye in 1978. Zappa referred to Vai as his stunt guitarist and the two performed together until 1982.

“There was a riot at a show in Palermo, Italy in ‘82 and Frank stopped touring because of that,” Vai recalled. “Frank laid everybody off.”

When Zappa decided to return to the road two-years later, Vai was unavailable. Vai recorded and toured behind his first solo album, 1984’s “Flex-Able,” then went on to record and tour with Whitesnake and Roth.

“There’s Dave Roth’s public persona and then there is what people don’t know about, which is his intense discipline,” Vai said. “I loved working with him due to his incredible work ethic and concern about the show. His physicality onstage is unlike any other rocker. That carried over to me. The experience of working with him during the ‘80s was invaluable. I’ll never attempt to revisit that period since that experience can’t be replicated. Being a rock star during the ‘80s gave you an experience that you can’t get anywhere but those days are over.”

The possibilities of the future excite Vai.

“I have so many ideas going through my mind,” he said. “I’ll focus on those after this tour. I have shows to think about. There’ so much going on when you go on the road.”

Vai clears his head by biking or running through the city he plays. “One of my favorite places to go for a run or ride my bike before a show is Spokane,” Vai said. “It’s stunning. I have so many memories performing there solo and with Roth and Whitesnake and I just feel very comfortable in Spokane. I take my bike down back roads and just chill out. That’s almost a literal statement since almost every time I go to Spokane it’s cold. But it’ll be warm this time so I’ll be out biking further than usual, so you just might see me on a path.”