A biography for Paul Gilberthasn’t been written yet.
“My first official teaching job was at GIT, which was fantastic because I wanted to pay the rent and I got to stay in the building, which is an inspiring place to be - the vibe was there. My first gig was doing private lessons. It went great. Then they decided to promote me to a classroom teacher. I taught a class called Single String Technique.”
“I use the volume control on my guitar, both for dynamics and as a manual noise gate.”
“I turn complaining into music! I'm thinking I might have invented a new style. I call it 'cantankerous rock.'”
“My basic setup is my Ibanez Fireman guitars and for pedals, the TC Electronic MojoMojo is the mainstay of my board, along with a Catalinbread Calissto Chorus.”
“In the morning, I know everyone has two things: an empty stomach and a fresh brain.”
“Blues is the first step to get to jazz.”
“After 35 years of bone-crushing rock guitar playing, I'm finally starting to get my head out of the harmonic sand and learning how to play over chord changes.”
“It is the universe where all rock players live- we all use distortion, overdrive, gain and saturation. I call it 'fuzz.'”
“It took me a long time to accept the idea that the guitar can take the place of a singer.”
“After playing for 40 years, I've been able to evolve the way I see the fretboard and how I hear the guitar in my head.”
“I was driving home and thinking about what rock and roll should be about. 'Adventure and Trouble!' I thought. I sang the song first and then added the chords later.”
“The first song on my first album is not a song - it's a guitar solo! It's called 'Frenzy,' and it's pretty much nonstop maniacal guitar playing. I had just turned 19, and I had some serious muscle then.”
“At the time, it all seemed pretty normal. It was okay to have a pink guitar and glow-in-the-dark pants, and play with a drill. 1987, that was the worst year. I think that was the worst year for capes and for hair!”
“With Racer X, whenever we have time, we try to put a record together. And that's always fun because the guys in the band are great friends and I don't think I ever laugh as hard as I do when I'm with the Racer X guys.”
“I'm Not Afraid of the Police' is the first song I wrote and recorded since moving back to Los Angeles. It's a loud-pop, crazy-guitar, big-harmony song with all the police sirens created by guitars and ADA flangers.”
“Before I even became a guitar player, I wanted to be a Beatle. That was my first dream as a musician, was to be like a Beatle.”
“There's always more than one way to play the same notes because of the nature of guitar.”
“When you record an album in six days, you don't have time to work out a lot of stuff.”
“I did take some cooking classes in high school. Boys weren't really supposed to take them. I had to risk being made fun of.”
“Everyone has to start somewhere! I certainly didn't sound great when I first started playing, and I remember all my guitar teachers, both good and bad, and what it felt like to struggle with even the simplest of things.”