Paul Gilbert: guitar edge article

Paul Gilbert no longer spends hours teasing his bangs. And his pink spandex pants and sateen jackets with poofy shoulder pads are long gone. But that doesn’t mean the fire and dazzling technique that shot him into the guitar stratosphere when he did wear that stuff (back in the mid ’80s) has diminished one iota. If you’re new to the Gilbert game, all you have to know is that the guy wowed the head of that decade’s preeminent guitar label (Shrapnel Records’ Mike Varney), formed a terrifying band called Racer X at Hollywood’s Guitar Institute of Technology, found mainstream success with bassist extraordinaire Billy Sheehan in Mr. Big, and then launched an impressively eclectic solo career that often mixes Beatles-esque vocal harmonies with consistently mind-boggling speedpicking, arpeggios, and legato phrasing. We spoke to Gilbert recently about everything from how he began his career, how he plays some of his most jaw-dropping riffs, and what inspires him today  view article