Paul Gilbert: Classic Rock Revisited talk Racer X and more

Jeb: A) Should Racer X been more popular? B) Why were they not? and C) What were the best parts of playing with that band and what was the most frustrating thing?

Paul: My ability to predict popular bands is…I'm no good at it. I remember hearing Poison when they first started, and thinking that they would never get anywhere. I've listened to Moe Berg and The Pursuit of Happiness about 1000 times more than Bon Jovi. I am, and will probably always be out of sync with the public taste. But, back to Racer X…I think that even Racer X fans did not necessary hear what I wanted them to hear. I remember being categorized as “Speed Metal” at the time. I knew that we played fast and that we were a heavy metal band, but the chords we were using were really from a different place than the typical speed metal stuff.

I was really into Cheap Trick and Todd Rundgren, as well as a lot of classical stuff. And I borrowed as much as I could from them. I could go through the tunes and show you… “That’s where I used the chord from ‘Can We Still Be Friends’ by Todd Rundgren.” Or, “That chord progression is from the bridge of ‘If You Want My Love, You Got It’ by Cheap Trick. Or, “That whole section is from J.C. Bach’s ‘Harpsichord Concerto in A.’” Sometimes I got the feeling that most people just liked it loud and fast. But growing up a Beatles fan, I couldn't help but put some love into the chords. The great thing about the band, was that everyone got it. We all wanted the same thing, and had a great time really working together to go from unknown, to one of the biggest bands in L.A.

full interview http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/show_interview.php?id=979