After a long absence, I'm back in guitar mode. As such, I've spent an inordinate amount of time watching guitar videos on You Tube. This has led to a discovery of Paul Gilbert, a guy I've known about for over 20 years, but am only just now starting to really enjoy. As well as liking his guitar licks he also has a off-the-wall sense of humor and perspective that I like. Examples:
"One of the whole points of being a musician, for me, is that you don't have to do boring adult things, even when you're a boring adult."
"The dreaded pterodactyls (hanging from his ceiling). It's real cool because at night the neighbors can see in, and they don't know what's going on. Most of them don't have pterodactyls. I'm privileged in my neighborhood."
So let's take a look at Paul Gilbert at his best! First, let's put on our NASA space suits so we fit in with Paul and his friends (???) and listen to his signature tune from his days in Racer X, "Scarified."
Here's a more recent composition called "The Echo Song."
Yeah, I hate blogs that do nothing but post You Tube videos, but...it was entertaining, wasn't it?
I saw Paul Gilbert do a "guitar clinic" when I lived in Nebraska. He was pretty damned good...and of course told the old story about catching his hair in the electric drill he used to incorporate into his spotlight solo. Oh, that Racer X.
I was there the night that happened! Mr. Big was opening for Rush at the Omni here in Atlanta. I didn't even get what had happened, I just knew Billy Sheehan was taking two bass solos, for some reason. It wasn't until the next day at school some kid was laughing about it and saying, "Did you see that?!" I did, but it was so quick it went right by me.
I don't know, that's from a DVD called "Spaceship One" and he has a song called that. I think maybe the idea is the recording studio is a spaceship? And they're all astronauts exploring? That's what I like about this guy, as well as the fact that he can play all of Eddie Van Halen's stuff AND Yngwie Malmsteen's stuff: he has a whacked sense of humor. He should've let more of that out in the Racer X/Mr. Big days.
And what IS the deal with the spacesuits, anyway???