Paul Gilbert

“There's nothing like sitting down and playing music with somebody. It breaks down all the barriers in life.”

“When I sing, there is an almost constant struggle with pitch and with reaching notes in the higher register.”

“I probably spent more time as a kid playing air guitar to Jimmy Page than any other guitar player.”

“Just about every rock band and every guitar player from 1964 to 1984. To me, that's the golden period of rock. From the first Beatles album hitting America to the last Van Halen album with David Lee Roth. That's where all my favorite rock exists.”

“Teaching the guitar is a constant source of inspiration. I sometimes think I get more out of the lessons than my students.”

“My brain has been programmed to listen to music a certain way because of the Beatles.”

“I think all of The Beatles were from an era when certainly playing was important to them, and they were cutting edge. But for all time, they're master composers.”

“It's so easy to make albums with overdubbing and editing these days, but I really prefer playing live and just getting the music to sound right because the musicians, the songs and the performances are good.”

“I'm not a reader myself, so I don't expect anyone else to be.”

“Of course, I'm a guitar player, so I'm thinking as a guitarist. I have to work within my physical limitations as to what my hands will do, and also the patterns I'm familiar with, and the places that my fingers are used to going.”

“Mimi Fox is one of the most exciting contemporary jazz guitarists I've heard.”

“I've found that as I've learned to improvise melodically, it seems like I can come up with a bigger variety of stuff. I kind of selfishly enjoy it more, because I'm in the moment so much.”

“Writing is a chore.”

“Being a fan of pop music and rock bands, I am a reluctant convert into the art of instrumental rock music.”

“To me, the secret of Eddie Van Halen was Alex Van Halen, because the way Alex played was so loose and the way the two of them locked together... Those two are connected so thoroughly they might as well be one person.”

“Gilbert Hotel' is my first all-acoustic record.”

“To me, you had to have a least a couple of ugly guys in the band. That's why Saxon was great.”

“One of the things I like to do is to try to jam with everybody.”

“From the start, I held the pick in an unusual way. I used to bend my thumb way back in order to get a good angle for fast playing. I played that way for 10 years.”

“My initial ideas are just a starting place. As a record goes along, it becomes more about making discoveries and getting excited about new songs.”