Legendary guitarist and Carle Place native Steve Vai will return to his roots October 6 for a performance at North Fork Theatre at Westbury. At this time, Vai, a Grammy Award-winning guitarist, composer, vocalist and record producer whose music is described as a balance between technical ability and poetic phrasing, will perform music from Sound Theories, a two-disc CD released earlier this year. He will be joined by Emmy-winning composer Mark Wood and the Mark Wood Experience, featuring members of the Trans Siberian Orchestra.

Growing up, Vai took guitar lessons from fellow Carle Place High School graduate Joe "Satch" and played in several local bands. At 18, he left home to attend Berklee College of Music and two years later began his professional career with Frank Zappa. In 1982, Vai moved to California where he recorded his debut, self-released album Flex-Able. Shortly after he began performing with bands and over the next seven years worked as lead guitarist in Graham Bonnet's Alcatrazz and joined David Lee Roth's group to record the albums Eat 'Em and Smile and Skyscraper before recording with British rock-group Whitesnake.

To date, Vai has recorded 13 solo albums and appeared on over 50 other albums with artists like Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, John Lydon and Joe Satriani. Vai is best known for his guitar playing and songwriting talents on hits like Burnin Down the Mountain, I Would Love To and Windows to the Soul.

The Westbury Times recently had an opportunity to interview Steve Vai and here's what he had to say:

Westbury Times (WT): Please provide Westbury/Carle Place background info. What schools did you attend? What activities were you involved in?

Steve Vai (SV): I grew up in Carle Place, attended Carle Place High School and was only involved in music programs at the school. I was in a notorious rock band in high school called Rayge and terrorized the high school gyms at neighboring schools throughout Long Island. I went to virtually every rock concert at the Coliseum though the '70s, played every dumpy hole club on Long Island that Twisted Sister and Rat Race Choir played and spent many a teenage night sleeping out on the beach in the Hamptons before it became the foo-foo diamond real estate coast for the rich and richer that it is now.

WT: Do you still have contact with people in the community?

SV: My mom, brother and sister and their families still live there and I visit often.

WT: Did any one from the community play a role in your music career or professional life?

SV: In high school I had an extraordinary music teacher named Bill Westcott. He had a major influence on me and taught me how to read and write music. Joe Satriani was my guitar teacher and he lived in Carle Place and attended the same school. Both are unquantifiable musical giants.

WT: What was the best part about growing up on Long Island?

SV: I loved and terribly miss the seasons on Long Island. Sometimes you don't know what a place is really like (and what it is you have there) until you leave and see what the rest of the world is like. I believe that, for most of us, the place we were born and grew up holds nostalgic memories that light up our sweet spots when we think of that place for the rest of our lives. Having New York City in my front yard and Montauk Point in my back yard was nice. Things like Jones Beach, Carvel and Roosevelt Field were nice.

WT: Describe your latest album, Sound Theories.

SV: Extraordinary and exquisite. Well, at least for me it is. I orchestrated a handful of pieces from my catalog for myself and the orchestra that comprises the music of Volume One - The Aching Hunger. The second volume is called Shadows and Sparks and consists of orchestrations I composed for the orchestra without myself on guitar. The concerts and recordings were organized by Co De Kloet from the NPS in Holland and the Holland Metropole Orkest were used. Co solicited funds out of the Dutch government to put on a "cultural event for the enjoyment of the Dutch people." And I was it. It cost over $1 million.

WT: Who did you enjoy collaborating with best?

SV: There's a track on one of my records called Ya-Yo-Gack; it's a collaboration between me and my son Julian, who was 3-years-old at the time.

WT: Have you performed at North Fork Theatre at Westbury before?

SV: Yes, during my last tour. It was a hoot.

WT: Did you attend concerts there growing up?

SV: I would usually go to see larger rock bands at the [Nassau Veterans Memorial] Coliseum. When I lived there, the North Fork was called Westbury Music Fair.

WT: You have played huge venues all over the country. How does performing in your hometown compare to that?

SV: When I was a kid growing up, I would lie in bed and imagine myself playing the guitar for all my friends in my hometown. I virtually meditated on this image constantly and eventually it became real. Whenever I play on Long Island I get to live out that childhood fantasy.

Live Nation will present Steve Vai and the Sound Theories Band at the North Fork Theatre at Westbury Saturday, Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. Tickets begin at $39 and are available at the North Fork Theatre box office (334-0800), Ticketmaster and .