It will be the battle of the Long Island rock guitar gods in the best rock instrumental performance category at the 50th annual Grammys.
Westbury native Joe Satriani’s “Always With Me, Always With You” will take on Carle Place native Steve Vai’s “The Attitude Song” for the honor, against heavyweights Bruce Springsteen, Metallica and Rush. However, competition between Satriani and Vai will, no doubt, be a healthy one since they also share a record label, Red Ink, distributed through Epic Records.
The other Long Island Grammy battle is a more conceptual one, as Massapequa’s Brian Setzer, with his album “Wolfgang's Big Night Out,” takes on the Turtle Island Quartet’s album “A Love Supreme: The Legacy Of John Coltrane” in the best classical crossover album category.
Other nominees with area ties include Patchogue’s Chrisette Michele, up for best female R&B vocal performance, Great Neck’s Nikki Blonsky, nominated for her part in “Hairspray,” up for best compilation soundtrack, and Ryan Shaw’s “This Is Ryan Shaw,” up for best traditional R&B vocal performance, which was recorded in Roslyn.
PHOTO: Chrisette Michele for Def Jam Records.