Al Di Meola: I don't wanna see a studio for a while | dopeYEAH talk

Join us for an unforgettable conversation with guitar legend Al Di Meola at the dopeYEAH Club! 🎸 In this exclusive episode, Al dives into stories from his remarkable career—from playing guitar under the influence of LSD (which helped him land a spot in a band and led to his first show at Carnegie Hall) to recording with Paco de Lucia on the Elegant Gypsy album, where they created magic despite Paco not speaking English! 💥 Al opens up about his love for The Beatles, recording at Abbey Road, and even leaves a special message for Ringo Starr. He talks about his experiences with Chick Corea, including the highs and the struggles, recording his latest album Across The Universe, and shares his take on the important qualities of great guitar players. 🎶✨ This episode is packed with music history, untold stories, and inspiration. You won’t want to miss his thoughts on the future of music and upcoming collaborations with Tommy Emmanuel! 

00:00 Arriving to the dopeYEAH Club
00:19 Rob Cass introduces Al Di Meola
01:42 If you make it in New York, you make it in the world
02:11 About Al Di Meola’s new record Across The Universe
04:50 Working with producer Max Vaccaro from earMUSIC
07:05 Growing up in New Jersey and The Beatles' influence
09:24 Why everybody loves The Beatles
10:35 Recording at Abbey Road and meeting Paul McCartney
13:42 Seeing John Lennon recording
14:08 Receiving Lifetime Achievement Award from George Martin
14:50 Collaboration with Chick Corea
16:17 Taking LSD for the first time
17:27 My first show was at Carnegie Hall
19:42 Experience with Scientology
21:20 Problems with Chick Corea
26:31 Making the "Land Of The Midnight Sun" album
30:54 Collaboration with Paco de Lucia on the Elegant Gypsy album
36:17 Working with Steve Winwood
37:38 Europe embraced the acoustic side of things
38:51 How I found my percussion drummer on the street
40:50 Message for Ringo Starr
43:56 Magic of the Abbey Road Studios
45:26 Important qualities of guitar players
46:35 Tigran Hamasyan's music
48:00 Musicians I want to work with
48:46 Upcoming collaboration with Tommy Emmanuel
52:02 My music was in The Sopranos
53:52 I don't want to see a studio for a while
56:26 Ending and backstage at the dopeYEAH Club

Al Di Meola: I don't wanna see a studio for a while | dopeYEAH talk