Until yesterday, Joe Satriani had what appeared to be a lucrative and positive situation working with Peavey as a spokeman and product endorser. In fact, the company had recently introduced a signature line of amplifiers bearing the guitarists name, leading to an appearance in April at a trade show in Frankfurt, Germany. As said, until yesterday. Here is a loose time line for what has turned into a strange story, seemingly overnight.
Monday June 22, 2009: Musicradio.com issues an article claiming Joe Satriani has abandoned Peavey for Marshall amplification for Chickenfoot’s European tour. The article is updated the following morning with a statement from Satriani, stating: “What can I say? I guess I’m crazy… But, I’m just looking to achieve the best guitar sound every moment I’m plugged in, and that brought me back to Marshall Amps.”
Tuesday June 23, 2009: At roughly 9:50AM (EST), images of Satriani are removed from the Peavey website, yet still mentions the company’s involvement with the recording of the band’s album and tour.
Within forty minutes, all mention of Satriani is erased from a leading article at the Peavey site regarding the company’s involvement with the group, with the text altered to reflect only the recording of the band’s album and bassist Mike Anthony’s switch to Peavey amplification.
Noon, June 23, 2009: No further word has been issued by either party.
So exactly what happened that lead Satriani to bail on an apparently mutually beneficial deal between he and Peavey? At this point, it is too soon to tell. Watch this page for details.