Paul Gilbert
Paul Gilbert | |
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![]() Gilbert in 2018 | |
Background information | |
Born | Carbondale, Illinois, U.S. | November 6, 1966
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instruments |
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Years active | 1983–present |
Labels | |
Website | paulgilbert |
Paul Brandon Gilbert (born November 6, 1966) is an American hard rock and heavy metal guitarist. He is the co-founder of the band Mr. Big, and was also a member of Racer X, with whom he released several albums. In 1996, Gilbert launched a solo career, for which he has released numerous solo albums, and featured in numerous collaborations and guest appearances on other musicians' albums.
Gilbert was voted fourth-best on GuitarOne magazine's 2007 "Top 10 Greatest Guitar Shredders of All Time".[1] He was also ranked in Guitar World's 2008 list, "50 Fastest Guitarists of All Time".[2]
Shrapnel Records
Gilbert was raised mostly in the Pittsburgh suburb of Greensburg, Pennsylvania.[3] He began playing music at age six; by age 15, he was playing local clubs with his band (Tau Zero), and had been featured in Guitar Player magazine (alongside fellow up-and-comer Yngwie Malmsteen).[4] Around 1981, Gilbert first contacted Mike Varney (founder of Shrapnel Records), asking for a gig with metal mega-star Ozzy Osbourne. At the time, Varney did not think Osbourne would want a 15-year-old guitarist; but, after listening to Gilbert's demo tape, he changed his mind. They continued talking over the next 3 years, culminating in Gilbert's 1984 cross-country move to Los Angeles to attend the GIT (Guitar Institute of Technology). Even at the young age of 17, Gilbert quickly became a local legend due to his advanced and extremely fast alternate picking technique, his young age, and his massive repertoire of cover material. He was hired as a GIT instructor in 1985, and recorded Racer X's debut album Street Lethal soon after.
Racer X
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Paul_Gilbert_MrBig-1992-Paris_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Formed in Los Angeles in 1985, Racer X was originally composed of Paul Gilbert (lead guitar), Juan Alderete (bass guitar), Harry Gschoesser (drums), and Jeff Martin (vocals). They were heavily influenced by Judas Priest, and Gilbert's playing was reminiscent of Yngwie Malmsteen, displaying fast-driven solos with extreme-level technique. Gschoesser was replaced by Scott Travis (later Judas Priest's drummer) in 1986, and Bruce Bouillet, one of Gilbert's private students at GIT, was added as a second guitarist after demonstrating an ability to harmonize Gilbert's string skipping sequences.[5] Gilbert gained recognition as one of the world's fastest guitarists due to incredibly technical pieces like "Technical Difficulties", "Frenzy", "Scarified", "Y.R.O." and "Scit Scat Wah". Around this time, Gilbert also recorded his first instructional video, Intense Rock, in which he demonstrated a number of his famous techniques and practice regimens in detail. Throughout his career he released many more instructional videos.
Racer X toured the American southwest, primarily the state of California, selling out thousand-seat venues. Despite their rigorous fan base, they had no prospects for a major label deal and Gilbert became increasingly disinterested. In 1987, he was approached by Talas bassist Billy Sheehan, one of his biggest influences, about forming a band; it became Mr. Big.
Gilbert left Racer X in 1988, but reformed it after the 1996 breakup of Mr. Big. Paul contacted the members of Racer X, and all agreed to return with the exception of Bruce Bouillet, who could barely play guitar at the time due to a severe bout of carpal tunnel syndrome. In mid-1999, the band recorded the album
To further capitalize on their new-found success in Japan, Universal Japan requested that the band perform for a live-album CD and DVD. On May 25, 2001, the band played their first live performance in thirteen years, to a sold-out crowd, at the world-famous
In January 2002, in support of Superheroes and Snowball of Doom, Racer X toured
Racer X performed at the 2009
Mr. Big
When bass guitarist
Mr. Big broke up in 1996, at which point Gilbert launched his solo career. When Mr. Big reformed soon after, Gilbert, who was already committed to his own record contract, was replaced by Richie Kotzen. Mr. Big disbanded again in 2002, but Gilbert reunited the original members in June 2009 for a worldwide reunion tour. The band recorded a new album with producer Kevin Shirley[7] titled What If.... The album was released in Japan on December 15, 2010, in Europe on January 21, 2011, and in the U.S. in Feb. 2011. A tour to support the album kicked off at the Hollywood location of The House of Blues on April 2, 2011, followed by several dates in Japan. In May and June 2011, the tour continued in Taiwan, China, Korea, The Philippines, and Europe.
In September 2014, Mr. Big released ...The Stories We Could Tell, produced by Pat Regan. During the recording of the album, it was revealed that drummer Pat Torpey had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. For the tour that followed, Mr. Big enlisted the help of drummer Matt Starr of Burning Rain, to take over Torpey's drumming duties, whilst Torpey acted as "drum producer". Torpey did accompany the band on the subsequent tour, playing hand percussion, providing backup vocals and drumming on a few tracks per show.
The band released their ninth studio effort, .
In October 2018, singer Eric Martin said in an interview with Friday NI Rocks that the band is in the process of planning their next album. According to the frontman, once the band is done with its 2019 touring commitments, they will subsequently disband: "Yeah, that's the last hurrah – that's it. It feels a little uncomfortable to keep going without Pat Torpey."[8]
Other projects
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/Paul_Gilbert_1.jpg/230px-Paul_Gilbert_1.jpg)
In May 2003 Gilbert performed twice with the project
Gilbert rejoined Portnoy along with
Gilbert was revealed to be the guest guitarist on the 2007
On January 23, 2008, Gilbert released an instrumental album titled Silence Followed by a Deafening Roar. The album was released in Europe on March 31, 2008, and in America on April 8, 2008. This was Gilbert's second instrumental album.
On October 22, 2008, Gilbert released an album with vocalist Freddie Nelson entitled
Gilbert performed with
Gilbert also joined George Lynch and Richie Kotzen on the Guitar Generation tour.
On June 30, 2010, Gilbert's new album Fuzz Universe was released in Japan, with a release in America and Europe soon after.[11] It was Gilbert's third instrumental solo album.[11] A cover version of Johnny Cash's "Leave That Junk Alone" was featured as a Japanese bonus track.[11][12]
On June 25, 2014, Gilbert released his studio album Stone Pushing Uphill Man. Initially only available in Japan,[13] the album was eventually released in the United States on August 12, 2014.[14]
Gilbert is currently the Rock Guitar instructor for ArtistWorks, an online music school.[15]
Influences and style
When interviewed about his musical and stylistic influences, Paul Gilbert mentions many different artists, including:
Paul Gilbert composes music in a wide variety of styles, including
Instructional career
Paul Gilbert wrote his own section of the British guitar magazine,
In August 2014, Gilbert participated in the G4 Experience—a week-long guitar camp—with fellow guitarists Joe Satriani, Andy Timmons, and multi-instrumentalist Mike Keneally.[17]
Equipment
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Paul_Gilbert_.jpg/200px-Paul_Gilbert_.jpg)
Paul Gilbert primarily uses his Ibanez PGM signature series guitars,[18] identified by the unique painted on "F-holes". Although earlier PGM models featured the Ibanez Lo-Pro/Edge double locking tremolo system, many of his guitars (such as his main PGM300) were modified to accommodate a fixed bridge after he stopped using whammy bars in the early 90s, hence the Ibanez PGM301 guitar. Along with his signature guitars, Gilbert often uses his sticker-covered "Dino" Ibanez RG750, in addition to a wide variety of Ibanez solid-body and semi-hollow electric guitars. Recently, Gilbert has been using Ibanez "Fireman" (a reversed-body Ibanez Iceman with single-coil pickups and an extra cutaway) guitars, which he designed himself.[19] A red version of The Ibanez Fireman is to be mass-produced for consumers at a more affordable price than the Ibanez PGMFRM1 (current Paul Gilbert signature Fireman) in Fall 2011. Gilbert now has a short (22.2 inch) scale signature guitar – the Ibanez PGMM31 based on the existing Ibanez Mikro range.[20]
In 2014, Gilbert announced his new Ibanez signature model guitar, FRM250MF, at the NAMM Show in 2014.[21][22]
Gilbert endorses Direct Sound extreme isolation headphones, using the EX-29 model.[23] Suffering tinnitus after years of loud music in headphones and live, Paul has posted a list of recommendations on how to help prevent tinnitus and noise-induced loss.[24]
In 2020, Gilbert collaborated with boutique pedal maker JHS Pedals and released the "PG-14" tube-like distortion pedal.[25]
Gilbert is a long time user of
Personal life
Gilbert was married from 1993 to 1998 to Patricia Gilbert (née Patterson).[26]
As of 2012, Gilbert has resided in Portland, Oregon, with his second wife, Emi Gilbert. They married in 2005 and have a son, born in 2014. [27][28]
Discography
Solo
- King of Clubs (1998; Japan Oricon Album Chart #28)
- Flying Dog (1998; Japan Oricon Album Chart #23)
- Alligator Farm (2000; Japan Oricon Album Chart #24)
- Raw Blues Power (2002; w/ Jimi Kidd; Japan Oricon Album Chart #94)
- Burning Organ (2002; Japan Oricon Album Chart #27)
- Gilbert Hotel (2003)
- Space Ship One (2005; Japan Oricon Album Chart #53)
- Get Out of My Yard (2006; Japan Oricon Album Chart #52)
- Silence Followed by a Deafening Roar (2008; Japan Oricon Album Chart #39)
- United States(2009; w/ Freddie Nelson)
- Fuzz Universe (2010; Japan Oricon Album Chart #57)
- Vibrato(2012)
- Stone Pushing Uphill Man (2014)
- I Can Destroy (2016)
- Behold Electric Guitar (2019)
- Werewolves of Portland (2021)
- 'TWAS (2021)
- The Dio Album (2023)
EPs
- Tribute to Jimi Hendrix (1991; Japan Oricon Album Chart #59)
- Tough Eskimo (2007)
Live albums
- Beehive Live (1999; Japan Oricon Album Chart #72)
- Acoustic Samurai (2003; Japan Oricon Album Chart #94)
- PG-30 Zepp Tokyo 2016.9.26' (2017)
Compilation albums
- Paul the Young Dude/The Best of Paul Gilbert (2003; Japan Oricon Album Chart #31)
with Racer X
See: Racer X Discography
- Street Lethal (1986)
- Second Heat(1987)
- Technical Difficulties (1999)
- Superheroes (2000)
- Getting Heavier(2002)
with Mr. Big
See: Mr. Big discography
- Mr. Big (1989)
- Lean into It (1991)
- Bump Ahead (1993)
- Hey Man (1996)
- What If... (2011)
- ...The Stories We Could Tell (2014)
- Defying Gravity (2017)
Guest appearances
- Black Sheep – Trouble in the Streets (1985)
- Missing Lynx – Atomic Basement Tapes (1985)
- Darrell Mansfield Band – Revelation (1985)
- Jeff Berlin – Pump It! (1986)
- Joey Tafolla – Out of the Sun (1987)
- Todd Rundgren – Nearly Human (1989)
- Various artists – Guitars That Rule the World (1992)
- Samad – Samad (1994)
- Carmine Appice's Guitar Zeus – Carmine Appice's Guitar Zeus (1996)
- Akira Takasaki – Wa (1996)
- Gregg Bissonette – Gregg Bissonette (1998)
- Pat Torpey – Odd Man Out (1998)
- Pat Torpey – Y2K: Odd Man Out (1999)
- Various artists – In Rock Soundtrack (2000)
- Hughes Turner Project – HTP (2002)
- Various artists – Battle Gear III: The Edge (2003)
- Kim Fox – Return to Planet Earth (2003)
- Various artists – Guitar Wars (2003)
- Marco Minnemann – Mieze (2004)
- Pintsize – Five Feet... No Inches (2005; credited as "Dick Image")
- Marco Minnemann – Contraire de la chanson (2006)
- Wisely – Parador (2006)
- Jeff Pilson's War and Peace – Light at the End of the Tunnel (2006)
- Jeff Martin – The Fool (2006)
- Neal Morse – Sola Scriptura (2007)
- Neal Morse – Lifeline (2008)
- MC Lars – This Gigantic Robot Kills – (2009)
- Merry Flippin' Christmas Volume 1(2009)
- MC Lars – "Guitar Hero Hero" (2009)
- Neal Morse – Momentum (2012)
- Nick Johnston- In A Locked Room On The Moon (2013)
- Jacky Vincent – Star X Speed Story (2013)
- Ciro Manna – XY (2015)
- Ayreon – The Source (2017)[29]
- Jason Becker – Triumphant Hearts (2018)[30]
- Donnie Vie – Beautiful Things (2019)
- Nick D'Virgilio - Invisible (2020)
Tribute album appearances
- Various artists – Smoke on the Water: A Tribute (1994)
- Various artists – Jeffology: A Guitar Chronicle (1996)
- Various artists – Merry Axemas: A Guitar Christmas (1997)
- Various artists – Humanary Stew: A Tribute to Alice Cooper (1999)
- Various artists – Warmth in the Wilderness: A Tribute to Jason Becker (2001)
- Yellow Matter Custard – One Night in New York City (2003)
- Various artists – Spin the Bottle: an All-Star Tribute to Kiss(2004)
- Various artists – Numbers from the Beast: An All Star Tribute to Iron Maiden (2005)
- Hammer of the Gods – Two Nights in North America (June 12, 2006[31])
- Cygnus and the Sea Monsters – One Night in Chicago (2006)
- Amazing Journey – One Night in New York City (March 18, 2007[32])
- Yellow Matter Custard – One More Night In New York City (2011)
Videography
- Intense Rock Jams – Sequences & Techniques VHS version (1988)
- Intense Rock II featuring Paul Gilbert VHS version (1991)
- Terrifying Guitar Trip VHS version (1995)
- Guitars from Mars Japanese DVD release (1996)
- Guitars from Mars II Japanese DVD release (1996)
- Eleven Thousand Notes DVD
- Guitar Wars DVD
- Space Ship Live DVD (2005)
- Complete Intense Rock DVD (2006)
- Terrifying Guitar Trip DVD (2006)
- Get Out Of My Yard Guitar Instructional DVD/VCD (2007)
- One Night In New York City – Yellow Matter Custard (2003)
- Two Nights In North America – Hammer Of The Gods (2006)
- One Night In Chicago – Cygnus And The Sea Monsters (2006)
- One Night In New York City – Amazing Journey (2007)
- Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar Guitar Instructional DVD And Shred Annex (2008)
- PG-30 Live At Zepp Tokyo 2016 DVD (2017)
References
- ^ "Top Shredders of all Time". Randy Ciak. Archived from the original on March 9, 2008. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
- ^ "50 Fastest Guitarists of All Time". GuitarWorld. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
- ^ Glauber, Gary (May 20, 2005). "Paul Gilbert: Space Ship One". PopMatters. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
- ^ Jason Ankeny (November 6, 1966). "Paul Gilbert | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Bruce Bouillet Interview – The Double Stop Podcast Ep. 32". YouTube. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
- ^ a b "Racer X To Perform At NAMM". UltimateGuitar.com. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
- ^ "MR. BIG Begins Recording New Album". Blabbermouth. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
- ^ Blabbermouth (October 30, 2018). "MR. BIG To Record One Final Album Or EP Before Calling It Quits". BLABBERMOUTH.NET.
- ^ "Paul Gilbert and Freddie Nelson – United States". PaulGilbert.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
- ^ "PAUL GILBERT, FREDDIE NELSON Collaborative Effort 'United States' Out Now – Oct. 24, 2008". Blabbermouth. Archived from the original on October 29, 2008. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
- ^ a b c "Fuzz Universe". PaulGilbert.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
- ^ "The Guitar Generation". Abrowndudedesign.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
- ^ "NEW ALBUM OUT IN JAPAN!!!". Paul Gilbert. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^ "Stone Pushing Uphill Man Released!". Paul Gilbert. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^ "Paul Gilbert – Online Rock Guitar Lessons – ArtistWorks". artistworks.com. March 15, 2019.
- ^ Wright, Jeb. "PAUL GILBERT On RACER X – "Growing Up A BEATLES Fan, I Couldn't Help But Put Some Love Into The Chords"". BraveWords. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- ^ "4 Days of Guitar Pleasure". The G4 Experience. October 17, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
- ^ "Paul Gilbert Signature Electric Guitars". Ibanez Guitars. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ^ "Fireman | Ibanez Guitars" (in Japanese). Ibanez.co.jp. Archived from the original on August 1, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
- ^ "Electric Guitar PGM/FRM - PGMM31 Paul Gilbert | Ibanez guitars". Archived from the original on March 8, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
- ^ "Paul Gilbert: Announces New Ibanez Signature Model Guitar". Metal Shock Finland. January 24, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
- ^ "Ibanez Guitar". Ibanez. Archived from the original on January 26, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
- ^ "GEAR". Paul Gilbert. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^ "Paul Gilbert – hearing loss – tinnitus – hear-it.org". Hear-it.org. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^ "NAMM 2020: Paul Gilbert and JHS's tube-like distortion pedal, the PG-14, is finally here". Guitar World. January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- ^ "Racer X – The Band". Racerxband.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
- ^ "Emi Gilbert Bio". Emigilbert.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
- ^ "It's a Boy". Paul Gilbert's official website. Archived from the original on March 24, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
- ^ "Guest Musicians". New Ayreon Album. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Jason Becker – Valley Of Fire (Official Music Video)". YouTube.
- ^ "Hammer of the Gods – Two Nights in North America". AllMusic. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
- ^ "One Night In New York City". Rate Your Music. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
External links
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