Racer X

Racer X was an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1985. The group went through a hiatus and a few lineup changes, with bassist Juan Alderete being the sole constant member. They were signed to Shrapnel Records.Guitarist Paul Gilbert first gained recognition when he was featured in Mike Varney's Spotlight Column in the February 1983 issue of Guitar Player magazine. Gilbert was 16 years old and was living in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. He later moved to Los Angeles and enrolled at the Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT), part of the Musicians Institute. After graduating from GIT, Gilbert was hired as an instructor and recorded the album "Trouble in the Streets" with Los Angeles metal band Black Sheep, released on Enigma Records in November 1985. While at GIT, Gilbert met fellow student Juan Alderete. Searching for a drummer, Alderete and Gilbert first turned to Scott Travis, who was living in Virginia at the time, but he turned down the offer due to his commitment to the band Hawk. Travis was receiving a salary from Doug Marks, the band's lead guitarist, and would not turn down the income. Alderete and Gilbert instead sought the services of fellow student Harry Gschoesser. After acquiring Gschoesser, Gilbert, with the help of Varney, recruited Jeff Martin of the Phoenix metal band Surgical Steel. Martin, who still lived in Phoenix and could not regularly write songs with Racer X in Los Angeles, began writing lyrics immediately for demo tapes that Gilbert had sent him. Recording for their first album began quickly. The band began the recording process in 1985, and Racer X's debut album Street Lethal was released on January 1, 1986, on Mike Varney's Shrapnel Records label.With the release of Street Lethal, Paul Gilbert entered the mainstream as one of the members of the Neoclassical genre, popularized by Randy Rhoads and Yngwie J. Malmsteen. While Racer X was not playing neo-classical pieces as frequently as Rhoads or Malmsteen, Gilbert was often mentioned alongside Malmsteen and Rhoads in many guitar and music magazines. Gilbert acknowledged his debt to Malmsteen on the Street Lethal album with the neoclassical instrumental "Y.R.O.". The title is an acronym for "Yngwie Rip Off". He would repeat such a reference on a later song, "B.R.O.", which stands for "Bach Rip Off".Racer X was rapidly becoming a popular live act on the Sunset Strip. Around this time, Gilbert secured an endorsement deal with Ibanez guitars, which continues to this day. The song "Getaway" received limited airplay on Los Angeles' heavy metal radio station, KNAC.After the release of the first album, Gilbert was still teaching at GIT for a steady income. One of Gilbert's students, Bruce Bouillet, gained his attention. Gilbert asked him to join Racer X, and the two guitarists would soon work out synchronized harmony passages that would redefine Racer X's sound. In 1986, Racer X's drummer Harry Gschoesser's visa expired, so he returned to his native country, Austria. He was initially replaced with Todd "Vito" DeVito, who had played on Black Sheep's Trouble In The Streets LP alongside Gilbert, but was soon replaced by Scott Travis. DeVito went on to become a drum technician for Mikkey Dee of Motörhead.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.