Paul Gilbert

Paul Brandon Gilbert is an American guitarist from Greensburg, Pennsylvania and one of the founding members of Racer X. A virtuoso guitar player and one of the leading figures of the neoclassical metal movement of the mid-80's, Gilbert was an early graduate of Musician's Institute's Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT) and was hired there as an instructor at age 18. During his tenure at the school, he formed Racer X and has been attached to the band ever since. He would later form Mr. Big and play in several side projects before embarking on a successful solo career writing more pop-oriented songs. Gilbert is famous for having been one of the fastest guitar players of all time, as well as for being one of the most formidable guitar teachers.

Before Hollywood
Gilbert was born in Carbondale, Illinois but raised in rural Pennsylvania alongside one sister, Kate Gilbert. His family lived on a plot of land and raised chickens, and Gilbert later remarked that there was really nothing to do there besides practice guitar or ride a lawnmower. Growing up, Gilbert was a fan of the Osmond Brothers and the Jackson 5, as well as various other popular 70's pop bands. In 1972, at the age of 5, he got his first guitar and began taking guitar lessons. He would eventually take a brief hiatus from guitar before starting to play again. In Gilbert's "Intense Rock" video and several interviews, he reveals that, after he started playing again, he had mis-remembered certain aspects of his previous guitar lessons; first, he thought that he was only allowed to do upstrokes, and furthermore, he thought that he was only allowed to use the index finger of his left hand to fret the notes. After hearing "Barracuda" by Heart, he was incredibly confused as to how that song could be performed using only upstrokes. He began taking lessons again from a different teacher who kindly informed him that he could also use downstrokes as well as the other fingers on his left hand.

Paul's uncle, Jimi Kidd, was a formidable guitar player in his own right and would occasionally come to the Gilbert household with a guitar. Kidd exposed the young Paul to string bending and vibrato, which further ignited his passion for the instrument. Gilbert was influenced by a number of rock's most recognized bands: The Beatles, Rush, Yes, Van Halen, and KISS to name a few. Starting in 1979, Gilbert was joining a number of local bands including Scotland, Tau Zero, Missing Lynx, Paradiz, and The Atomic Basement Band. In 1982, Gilbert sent a demo tape in to Mike Varney, who was running the Guitar Spotlight column in Guitar Player magazine which featured the world's up-and-coming guitar talents (usually at a young age). Gilbert, then 15 years old, was seeking to replace the recently deceased Randy Rhoads in Ozzy Osbourne's band, but was ultimately not successful. However, his friendship with Varney would later prove a valuable asset. In addition to his later assistance with Racer X, Varney would play Paul tapes of upcoming guitar talents such as Yngwie Malmsteen and Tony MacAlpine over the phone.

Upon graduating high school, Gilbert realized that he did not want to continue in traditional academics. Instead, he chose to attend the recently-formed Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT) in Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA in the fall of 1984.

GIT and Street Lethal
Gilbert attended GIT and rigorously applied himself to the art of electric guitar, being exposed to both advanced playing techniques and the fundamentals of music theory and composition. In 1985, Gilbert played lead guitar for certain tracks on the album Trouble In The Streets by the Los Angeles-based band Black Sheep. Paul had elected not to record his guitar using a microphone and instead to record the amp directly into the soundboard. He was later dissatisfied with this decision, saying that his tone on the album sounds like "an angry bee caught in a paper towel tube".

The same year, Gilbert competed in (and won) the 1985 Guitar Wars at Gazzarri's in Hollywood. His entry demonstrated a rarely-seen mastery of alternate picking, tapping, legato, and sweeping. Gilbert was 18 years old at the time of this competition, and is rumored to have beaten even a young Michael Angelo Batio. Searching for bandmates with which to record original material, he put out the word that he was looking for a drummer. Juan Alderete, a bass student at BIT, sent his roommate over for the audition. Paul informed the drummer that he was looking for a bassist as well, so Juan tagged along. Though Paul didn't end up taking the drummer, he liked Alderete's bass style and recruited him. Alderete noted in a 2014 interview with Speedgig that, at this point (Spring 1985), Paul had already become a local legend due to his outstanding guitar skills. Finally, the duo completed the instrumental foundation of Racer X with student Harry Gschoesser. The trio would wake up at 6:00 AM to utilize the empty "P-1" rehearsal room, which would quickly fill up later in the day. The band rehearsed from 6 A.M. to 9 A.M. and would often attract an audience. Though the band was originally going to be billed as Paul Gilbert's solo band, Juan urged him to make the project an actual band. Thus, Paul and Juan named the band "Racer X" after the villain in the cartoon Speed Racer, of which they were both fans.

With Varney's help, Paul found vocalist Jeff Martin of the Phoenix-based Surgical Steel, and the original Racer X lineup was completed. The band began writing original material in addition to finishing songs that Gilbert had written by that point, and within a short amount of time, the tracklist for the first Racer X album was formed. The band recorded the final versions of these tracks at Prairie Sun Studios in Cotati, CA on a budget of $9,000, a very low-cost operation for the time. On New Years' Day 1986, Street Lethal was released on the Shrapnel Records label. Featuring soundwave-shattering guitar work on every track, especially the unaccompanied guitar solo "Frenzy", Paul Gilbert (whose name was proudly featured on the album cover) quickly became a local legend.

For Paul's graduation performance at GIT in 1985, Racer X performed songs from the then-unreleased Street Lethal album. A 19-year old Bruce Bouillet was in the audience at that time, having just moved to Hollywood to attend the school, and the fretboard fireworks of the younger Gilbert (18 years old at the time) caught his attention instantly. Gilbert was then hired as an instructor at GIT following his graduation.

Gilbert was one of the most sought-after instructors at the school; Bouillet recalls that Gilbert always had a full room whenever he gave a clinic or open counseling. With his alternate picking, string skipping, and sweep sequences being some of the more elusive technical achievements of the time, he gained a significant following as a guitar teacher. Despite his natural finesse as a teacher, Gilbert was in fact fired from teaching one of his courses. He had been assigned to teach a course called "Single String Technique". After briefly going through the curriculum for single string ideas, he would then spend a notable amount of time teaching his regular multi-string techniques. Some students in the course complained, so he was removed as the teacher of that course. Paul recalls that he learned a valuable lesson, and refrained from going off-subject in future classes.

While teaching at GIT, Gilbert was approached by REH video to record an instructional tape for home video players. The tape, titled "Intense Rock: Sequences and Techniques", featured Paul demonstrating and explaining some of his most famous techniques in detail. He also demonstrates some comedic magic tricks with his guitars and provides a brief rundown of his ADA MP-1 preamp setup.

Second Heat era
In addition to teaching traditional classroom courses, Gilbert was a private instructor to several students including Bruce Bouillet. Bruce, dedicated to mastering Paul's techniques, would diligently study and practice the sequences that Paul had given him for the day. One day, Bruce walked past one of Paul's classes when Paul invited him in. Paul was demonstrating an advanced string skipping sequence at the time, and Bruce began playing the part in harmony with perfect synchronicity. Though Bouillet later attributed the feat to being "the luckiest maneuver I've ever pulled", Gilbert (as well as the rest of the witnesses) was thoroughly impressed.

Paul later took Bruce aside, gave him a copy of Street Lethal, and invited him to come jam with Racer X. Bouillet quickly learned the entire album, with Paul helping him whenever a certain part was hard to hear in the mix. Paul then invited Bruce to a show as the lighting operator, then invited him to join Racer X as the second guitarist. Throughout 1986, Racer X performed onstage with Paul and Bruce playing complicated harmony parts including rapid alternate picking and arpeggio sequences. The duo would often practice for 8 hours a day to play the parts in synchronicity, then the rest of the band would arrive later for rehearsal. Additionally, Paul and Bruce would incorporate various guitar stunts into their live show; for the solo in "Getaway", Bruce would use his left hand to fret notes on Paul's guitar while Paul picked the notes with his right. When the band covered "Detroit Rock City", the guitar players would play the solo with their teeth. Paul had also begun to fasten three guitar picks to a Makita cordless drill, playing tremolo-picked sequences with the appliance. 1986 also saw the beginning of Paul's long-standing relationship with Ibanez Guitars. In addition to his famous Telesavalas (a modified pastel-purple RG with matching pickguard), Gilbert had Ibanez make a custom version of his prized Epiphone Wilshire. Ibanez made these custom guitars, later referred to as the Iba-Phones, for Paul and Bruce in pink, orange, green, and red. All of Paul's Racer X guitars, including the Telesavalas, were outfitted with Kahler tremolos, DiMarzio Super Distortions in the bridge, and Seymour Duncan MiniBuckers in the neck. Additionally, Paul had his pickups wired in parallel (as two single coils) and used an EHX Screaming Tree treble booster.

The same year, Paul played guitar on Jeff Berlin's Pump It! album. Berlin was a bassist who would frequently appear in Gilbert's backing band during GIT demonstrations.

Soon, writing for the second Racer X album was underway. While preserving the aggressive heavy metal songwriting that made Street Lethal a success, the new album (tentatively titled Motor Man) also made extensive use of Paul and Bruce's piercing guitar harmonies as well as dueling guitar solos. In the winter of 1986, the band headed into the studio to record the second album, which would finally be released in February of 1987 under the name Second Heat.

Second Heat was a success, especially among guitar players. In addition to a more aggressive sound, the album featured the famous instrumental "Scarified", which was written around a drum beat that Scott Travis had devised at a rehearsal. The guitar harmonies of Paul and Bruce, which were unheard of at that level of playing, approached the zenith of guitar technique and shot Bruce into local stardom. Racer X's fame increased in the L.A. area, and they were quickly becoming a five-star act in all the clubs on Los Angeles' Sunset Strip. Additionally, they were expanding to playing clubs in San Francisco, Oakland, and Phoenix.

Extreme Volume Live and breakup of Racer X
Racer X continued to play shows in L.A. and had begun writing songs for their third album. Two of these shows were recorded for two live albums; the first, Extreme Volume Live, showcased material from Street Lethal and Second Heat, but also included live solos from all members of the band (except Martin). Though Bruce's solo was more highly acclaimed, Bruce himself later clarified that he had written it ahead of time while Paul had improvised his almost completely. Extreme Volume Live also includes recordings of two new songs: "She Wants Control" and "Set the World On Fire", neither of which have been recorded on a studio Racer X album to this day. The second live album, Extreme Volume II Live, would not be released until 1992. This album most notably included the famous cover of "Detroit Rock City". Additionally, the album debuted two more unrecorded songs: "Poison Eyes" and "Give It To Me". Unlike on the previous album, these two songs were later recorded for the Technical Difficulties album, albeit in D Standard tuning.

During this time, both Gilbert and Bouillet were still inst ructors at GIT during the day and still commanding large crowds of students. The two, in addition to Jeff Martin, also befriended fellow GIT alumnus Russ Parrish, another 18-year-old graduate-turned-instructor who wielded comparable guitar skill.

Paul also had guest solos on the Joey Tafolla album Out of the Sun, released on Shrapnel Records in 1987. He most notably plays the intro solo to "Zero Hour" and the solo on "Nine Tomorrows".

Despite Racer X's success, the band members were beginning to mentally distance themselves from the prospect of the band ever generating major label attention. They were frequently showcasing to major labels with no success, and the crowds at their shows were either stagnating or slightly diminishing. In addition, Paul was growing weary of playing heavy metal. Conveniently, he was approached by Talas bassist Billy Sheehan with the prospect of forming a band together. This idea snowballed into the formation of Mr. Big, and Paul quit Racer X shortly after. Though the band carried on for a short time with guitarist Chris Arvan filling the void, eventually the rest of the members decided to throw in the towel, and Racer X disbanded amicably.

Mr. Big
In his new band, Gilbert returned to his roots as a fan of 70's power pop ballads and traditional rock songs. Though he did not hesitate to unleash the occasional shred solo, the majority of the songwriting centered around melodicism and catchiness. Their first album, Mr. Big, did not gain much traction in the United States but was successful in Japan. The album included future concert mainstays such as "Addicted to that Rush" and "Take a Walk".

Mr. Big began to climb the steps to success with tracks on the soundtrack to the film Navy SEALs as well as a spot opening for Rush on their Presto tour in 1990.

In 1991, the band released Lean Into It, a smash success which launched Gilbert into national stardom. The album most notably includes "To Be With You", an acoustic ballad that hit #1 on the U.S. Billboard charts. It also includes "Just Take My Heart" and "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind".

During the Mr. Big era, Paul recorded two more instructional videos in the U.S. The first, Intense Rock 2, saw Paul debuting his future solo song "Down to Mexico" and demonstrating more blues and pentatonic-based techniques and sequences, although he does retain some shred elements. The video also had Paul in front of a green screen while various videos play in the background, including a panning shot of his guitar collection. This tape was followed up with Terrifying Guitar Trip, which was very similar in tone and content. Terrifying Guitar Trip was also the first appearance of "Technical Difficulties", although it was recorded under the title "Metal Dog".

During this time, Gilbert formed a band called The Electric Fence with roommate Russ Parrish and Jeff Martin. Gilbert and Parrish traded vocal, bass, and guitar duties while Martin was on drums and backing vocals. The Electric Fence was a cover band that performed at GIT, utilizing a setlist of Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, and others. Gilbert claimed that he and Parrish started these shows to avoid having to teach picking sequences at clinics. The band would often dress up in costumes and speak with British accents.

Solo career and Racer X reunions
In 1998, Paul Gilbert released his first solo album, King of Clubs, which was an even poppier effort than his work with Mr. Big. Though the album was generally well-received, one particular fan was disgruntled at Paul's new style and sent him an angry e-mail which inspired the 1999 reunion of Racer X.

Gilbert, Alderete, Travis, and Martin returned to the studio to record Technical Difficulties, the first Racer X album in over a decade. The album was well-received by fans, and the title track is perhaps Racer X's best-known song after its appearance in 2007 video game Brutal Legend. Technical Difficulties also includes re-recordings of previously live-only songs such such as "Fire of Rock", "Miss Mistreater", and "Give It To Me". Though Bouillet did not return for the album, Gilbert recorded guitar harmonies for several of the songs. Gilbert continued releasing albums both as a solo artist and with Racer X. He followed up King of Clubs with Flying Dog and Alligator Farm, and Racer X followed up Technical Difficulties with Superheroes and Getting Heavier, the last Racer X album to date.

In the 2000's, Paul experimented with his own guitar design. In PhotoShop, he flipped the body of an Ibanez Iceman upside-down and added a second cutaway. Ibanez immediately began developing the guitar with him for production, and the final product was the Ibanez Fireman. The Fireman, which features DiMarzio hum-canceling single coils and a korina composition, has been Paul's signature guitar ever since.

Gilbert suffers from tinnitus and hearing damage from prolonged exposure to loud amplifiers without hearing protection. Bouillet elaborated in an interview that, while other band used dummy cabinets, Racer X had the whole wall of speaker cabinets plugged in and hot. Additionally, Paul's tone made extensive use of the high frequency ranges. Though Bouillet eventually started using silicone ear plugs, Gilbert did not. Today, Paul wears Direct Sound EX-29 noise-canceling headphones to protect his hearing.

In 2012, Paul Gilbert released Vibrato, a mostly blues-jazz effort. In 2016, he continued this trend with I Can Destroy. He has also continued his teaching career as the rock guitar teacher for ArtistWorks, an online video-based guitar school.

In 2016, Gilbert relocated from Los Angeles to Portland, Oregon. In various interviews, he cites his reason for leaving as frustration with L.A. traffic and a desire to be able to walk to his errands.

As of 2017, Gilbert is on tour with Mr. Big promoting their new album, Defying Gravity.

Style
Paul Gilbert has identified an eclectic list of influences including: The Beatles, 10cc, Neil Sedaka, Van Halen, Rush, Yes, King Crimson, The Osmonds, The Ramones, Iron Butterfly, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Free, ABBA, Dokken, Kim Mitchell, Led Zeppelin, Yngwie Malmsteen, Gary Moore, Todd Rundgren, LOUDNESS, KISS, Jimi Hendrix, and several others.

Despite his fame as the lightning-fast guitar player of Racer X and Mr. Big, the modern-day Paul has since distanced himself from what he coins the "widdly-widdly" style of playing and focuses more on blues and jazz-based playing, as well as melodic ideas. His songwriting has also gravitated more in the direction of 70's pop, modern pop conventions, and traditional blues music. The 1980's iteration of Paul Gilbert is one of the most formidable alternate pickers of all time. His signature style in Racer X usually involved fast scalar runs with multiple sequences in each shape. Though he is immensely capable of moving up the neck, he was often quoted saying he preferred horizontal movement. He, as well as Bruce Bouillet, were also noted for using licks that punched the time of the music, fitting well into the beat. Paul does not use economy picking, but is quoted as saying that he respects the technique and considers it superior to his own when others use it. Today, Paul relies slightly more on legato, although he is still capable of rapid alternate picking runs.

Although he is most well-known for his picking skill, his legato is also in top form. In a 1987 Fender clinic, Bruce Bouillet is quoted as saying that even before Paul's picking technique was fully developed, his legato technique was highly notable: "When you could hear him doing pull-offs on a steel string acoustic in the next room over, you knew you were in trouble."

Though Paul dislikes his implementations of sweep picking, he is one of the fastest and cleanest sweep pickers of all time. Examples of this skill are evident in several clinic videos (most notably the famous "World Time Card" clinic ) as well as sequences in the solos of "Gone Too Far" and "Lady Killer".

Due to Paul's previously stated dislike for sweeping, he often implements string skipping sequences to play arpeggios. He also adapts regular sequences for use in string skipping shapes, such as the ending arpeggios of "Scarified".

Paul Gilbert, though he usually plays in major or natural minor, has a firm mastery of modes and harmonic/melodic minor scales as well as classical composition. Examples of this skill can be seen in his guest solos on Joey Tafolla's Out of the Sun. He is also proficient in the use of pentatonic and blues ideas, and developed several unique implementations of them such as the 3-note-per-string blues scale. Gilbert's pinky has been recognized at unusually long. Conservative estimates place it at being 3-4 inches long, roughly twice the length of the average human pinky and about the same size as most peoples' index finger. This anatomical anomaly lends itself to his employment of massive stretches to play difficult string skipping sequences.

Equipment
Paul mostly uses Ibanez guitars. He has two signature models. The first, the Ibanez PGM, is a line of RGs with painted-on F-holes. The PGM comes in several different models with different bridges, colorations, and fingerboard woods. The second is the Ibanez Fireman which has remained his signature guitar to this day.

During the Street Lethal era, Gilbert used a neon-pink B.C. Rich Mockingbird with "X" inlays and a Kahler tremolo system. The actual album was recorded with a Squier Stratocaster and a custom Wayne Charvel guitar based on a Epiphone Olympic. On Second Heat, Paul used his custom Epiphone Wilshire. Following the release of the album, he and Bouillet commissioned Ibanez versions of the Wilshire model with high-end pickups and Kahler tremolo systems. The resulting "Iba-Phones" were produced exclusively for the two guitarists in neon pink, orange, green, and red.

Paul and Bruce also used custom Ibanez "Ice-Stroyer" guitars, which were a hybrid of the Ibanez Iceman and Destroyer (based on the Gibson Explorer) body shapes. Paul eventually glued strips of fringe to the neck of his Ice-Stroyer.

Both Gilbert and Bouillet were longtime endorsers of Lee Jackson Metaltronix amps. During the Second Heat era, he switched to an ADA MP-1 through an Ampeg V-4, which allowed him to switch tones and add effects such as octave/harmonizer modulation instantly.

Personal life
Paul Gilbert has gained renown for being one of the most affable musicians of all time. He is often described as even-tempered and humorous. Indeed, most of his clinic videos show him soliciting laughter from the audience, and his REH instructional videos are full of comedic bits and absurd humor. During a solo tour in 2009, Gilbert was heckled by several audience members in the middle of his show. Rather than lashing out, Gilbert simply informed the audience that he was louder than them, played a power chord at high volume, and jokingly remarked, "So I can always get you to shut the fuck up if I want to!" The audience laughed and applauded thunderously, and footage of the incident went viral. Paul is an avid Photoshopper. In addition to guitar, Paul also enjoys playing drums. He does not use drugs or smoke cigarettes, and seldom drinks alcohol. He has referred to himself as a "clean living kind of guy."

Paul Gilbert is 6'4", the second tallest member of Racer X behind Scott Travis (6'6").

In the Intense Rock instructional, Gilbert is assisted in his magic tricks by Lisa Medel, Racer X's hair stylist. There has been speculation that the two were romantically involved at some point based on backstage photos which show the two close together. Medel is also visible in backstage footage from one of Racer X's Hollywood shows.

In 1993, Gilbert got married to Patricia Patterson and moved from L.A. to Las Vegas, Nevada. Five years later, he and his wife divorced. He remarried to keyboardist Emi Gilbert in 2005, and she has played in his solo band ever since. In 2014, he and Emi had a son named Marlon.

With Black Sheep

 * Trouble in the Streets (1985) (Note: played on about half of album)

Studio Albums

 * Street Lethal (1986)
 * Second Heat (1987)
 * Technical Difficulties (1999)
 * Superheroes (2000)
 * Getting Heavier (2002)

Live Albums

 * Extreme Volume Live (1988)
 * Extreme Volume II Live (1992)
 * Live at the Whisky: Snowball of Doom (album) (2002)
 * Official Bootleg: Snowball of Doom 2 (2002)

Studio Albums

 * Mr. Big (1989)
 * Lean into It (1991)
 * Bump Ahead (1993)
 * Hey Man (1996)
 * What If... (2010)
 * ...The Stories We Could Tell (2014)
 * Defying Gravity (2017)

Live Albums

 * Raw Like Sushi (1990)

Solo

 * King of Clubs (1998)
 * Flying Dog (1998)
 * Alligator Farm (2000)
 * Burning Organ
 * Get Out Of My Yard
 * Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar
 * Fuzz Universe
 * Vibrato
 * Stone Pushing Uphill Man
 * I Can Destroy

Guest appearances

 * Joey Tafolla - Out of the Sun
 * Barrett Tagliarino - Healer
 * Jeff Berlin - Pump It!
 * Jeff Martin - The Fool

With Racer X

 * Live at the Whisky: Snowball of Doom (video)