Bass virtuoso and composer STUART HAMM gained instant renown worldwide in the late '80s, when his boss at the time, Joe Satriani, let him take over the stage for ten minutes each night on tour, during which the innovative bassist would consistently blow people's minds with his thunderous, contrapuntal, and funky solo pieces.

Stuart is also a prolific solo artist, and his latest album, Diary of Patrick Xavier finds him playing several hypnotic solo electric bass compositions. Additionally, Stu, as his friends and fans often call him, has played with dozens of other great guitar players. Besides backing Satch on stage and in the studio, Stu has worked with Steve Vai, Allan Holdsworth, Frank Gambale, Lorn Leber, Mark McGee, Eric Johnson, and Greg Howe. A particularly entertaining session Stu did was with Yngwie Malmsteen and the late, great singer Ronnie James Dio. (We'll check that out towards the end of the episode.) Heck, I'VE even had some thrilling adventures touring and tracking with my friend Stu.

It was a pleasure to stop by his home studio and catch up with him, plug in our instruments and play, listen to samples from his discography, and be reminded by him to -- as the giant, hilarious, and intentionally misspelled tattoo across his forearm proclaims -- live life with "no regerts."

--JUDE GOLD, host, No Guitar Is Safe podcast.