Paul Gilbert

Paul Brandon Gilbert (born November 6, 1966) is an American hard rock and heavy metal guitarist. He is the co-founder of the band Mr. Big, and was also a member of Racer X, with whom he released several albums. In 1996, Gilbert launched a solo career, for which he has released numerous solo albums, and featured in numerous collaborations and guest appearances on other musicians' albums.

Gilbert was voted fourth-best on Guitar One magazine's 2007 "Top 10 Greatest Guitar Shredders of All Time". He was also ranked in Guitar World's 2008 list, "50 Fastest Guitarists of All Time". Gilbert was ranked number one in Loudwire Magazine's list of "10 Stupidly Fast Guitarists in Metal".

Gilbert was raised mostly near Pittsburgh in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. He began playing music at age six; by age 15, he was playing local clubs with his band (Tau Zero), and had been featured in Guitar Player magazine (alongside fellow up-and-comer Yngwie Malmsteen). In 1982, Gilbert attended a guitar seminar hosted by Randy Rhoads, whom he also saw perform live twice. Around 1981, Gilbert first contacted Mike Varney (founder of Shrapnel Records), asking for a gig with metal mega-star Ozzy Osbourne. At the time, Varney did not think Osbourne would want a 15-year-old guitarist; but, after listening to Gilbert's demo tape, he changed his mind. They continued talking over the next three years, culminating in Gilbert's 1984 cross-country move to Los Angeles to attend the GIT (Guitar Institute of Technology). Even at the young age of 17, Gilbert quickly became a local legend due to his advanced and extremely fast alternate picking technique, his young age, and his massive repertoire of cover material. He was hired as a GIT instructor in 1985, and recorded Racer X's debut album Street Lethal soon after.

Formed in Los Angeles in 1985, Racer X was originally composed of Paul Gilbert (lead guitar), Juan Alderete (bass guitar), Harry Gschoesser (drums), and Jeff Martin (vocals). They were heavily influenced by Judas Priest, and Gilbert's playing was reminiscent of Yngwie Malmsteen, displaying fast-driven solos with advanced technique. Gschoesser was replaced by Scott Travis (later Judas Priest's drummer) in 1986, and Bruce Bouillet, one of Gilbert's private students at GIT, was added as a second guitarist after demonstrating an ability to harmonize Gilbert's string skipping sequences. Gilbert gained recognition as one of the world's fastest guitarists due to incredibly technical pieces like "Technical Difficulties", "Frenzy", "Scarified", "Y.R.O." and "Scit Scat Wah". Around this time, Gilbert also recorded his first instructional video, Intense Rock, in which he demonstrated a number of his famous techniques and practice regimens in detail. Throughout his career he released many more instructional videos.

Racer X toured the American southwest, primarily the state of California, selling out thousand-seat venues. Despite their rigorous fan base, they had no prospects for a major label deal and Gilbert became increasingly disinterested. In 1987, he was approached by Talas bassist Billy Sheehan, one of his biggest influences, about forming a band; it became Mr. Big.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.