Test your knowledge of a guitar hero

THOSE WHO PREFER their guitar heroes in the flesh rather than in a video game are in luck. Ax master Joe Satriani brings his fevered fretwork to the Variety Playhouse on Oct. 26. Classic rock band Mountain, whose "Mississippi Queen" is a Guitar Hero staple, opens. Think you know your Joe Satriani trivia? Put down the video game guitar and try your luck at this trivia quiz:

1. What famous rock 'n' roll frontman enlisted Satriani as lead guitarist for a solo project?

2. Satriani was also enlisted by another well-known act. Name it.

3. What's Satriani's nickname?

4. What Satriani connection do Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Kevin Cadogan (Third Eye Blind) and Steve Vai share?

5. What's the name of the guitar-heavy concert tour founded by Satriani?

6. Satriani is currently recording as part of a super group with singer-guitarist Sammy Hagar, bassist Michael Anthony (Van Halen) and drummer Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers). What's the working name of the band?

7. What NHL team uses Satriani's song "Crowd Chant" at its games.

8. What Marvel Comics superhero is featured on the cover of Satriani's 1987 album "Surfing With the Alien"?

9. Satriani's son ZZ makes a guest appearance on his latest album, "Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock." What instrument does he play?

10. Satriani's signature guitar.

ANSWERS:

1. Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones handpicked Satriani to handle lead guitar duties on Jagger's 1988 tour.

2. He filled the lead guitar slot for Deep Purple from late 1993 until the summer of 1994.

3. Fans and contemporaries alike often refer to him as Satch.

4. Before hitting it big, Satriani taught guitar lessons, and they were among his students.

5. G3. The inaugural 1996 tour featured guitar instrumentalists Satriani, Steve Vai and Eric Johnson. Satriani has continued the tour through the years in various incarnations. The last version, which toured in 2007, featured guitarists John Petrucci and Paul Gilbert filling the other two spots.

6. Although it's not the official name, the members have been referring to the group as Chickenfoot.

7. The Minnesota Wild.

8 Silver Surfer.

9. Tenor sax.

10. The Ibanez JS Series.