Guitarist PAUL GILBERT Talks 'Silence'

Jason Shadrick of National Guitar Workshop recently conducted an interview with guitarist Paul Gilbert (ex-MR. BIG, RACER X). An excerpt from the chat follows.

Q: How does your new album ["Silence Followed by A Deafening Roar"] differ from or expand on the "Get Out of My Yard" album?

Paul Gilbert: I think one of the biggest things is the use of melody, which I was really scared of doing because instrumental music that has vocal melodies can easily turn into "elevator music." I remember walking into a department store and you would hear an instrumental version of a BEATLES song and it was usually kinda cheesy and very un-rock. KENNY G, for example, is a musician that I certainly dont want to sound like, but technically he is flawless but somehow the rock and roll aspect has been sucked out of it. So, for a long time I associated playing what would have been the vocals on a musical instrument as being dangerously close to that. On this album I somehow managed to break through that melody barrier in my own brain and hopefully retain the rock energy that has to be there.

Q: Did the process of writing and recording this album differ?

Paul Gilbert: It was even more insane! If I was just left on a desert island with a guitar I would probably never do anything more than play "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" by THE BEATLES over and over again. It is really inspiring to have my Japanese record company contact me and say, "We need an album in a month and a half and it has to be KILLER!" Also that means that if they want that means they can sell and that there is someone who wants to buy it. Once I have done the work and its done I really enjoy it. More than anything it is something to make me get off my butt and get me to rock. I guess that means that without pressure I would make some very mellow music.

Q: Obviously you are big into music education with your clinic schedule. Were there any early mentors that had a profound impact on you?

Paul Gilbert: Yeah, my very first teacher when I was 6 was a big influence, because it was so boring that I quit guitar. When I was about 11 I had a much better teacher who was methodical but at the same time he did two things that were really great. The first was he showed me the basic musical tools like chords, scales and being able to learn those using diagrams. The other thing was he was very insistent on learning repertoire. Every week he would have a new song to work on and it was the next step since I had been playing be ear before then. To me that remains such an important and fun part of being a musician and it is rare that you come across someone who is an advanced musician and doesnt know a lot of tunes.

Read the entire interview at www.guitarworkshop.com.

(Thanks: Fullshred)