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.

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 3 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 extreme-level 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.

Gilbert left Racer X in 1988, but reformed it after the 1996 breakup of Mr. Big.

Paul contacted the members of Racer X, and all agreed to return with the exception of Bruce Bouillet, who could barely play guitar at the time due to a severe bout of carpal tunnel syndrome.

When bass guitarist Billy Sheehan left David Lee Roth's solo band in 1988, he and Gilbert co-founded Mr. Big, which included Pat Torpey on drums and Eric Martin on vocals.

The band was initially successful in Japan, but achieved international stardom with the 1991 release of their second studio album Lean into It.

This album featured the acoustic ballad "To Be with You", which received strong play on radio stations and MTV, rising to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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.

In mid-1999, the band recorded the album Technical Difficulties, which went gold in Japan.

Racer X's new record label requested a follow-up; so, in late 2000, they released Superheroes, mixed by Bouillet.

To further capitalize on their new-found success in Japan, Universal Japan requested that the band perform for a live-album CD and DVD.

On May 25, 2001, the band played their first live performance in thirteen years, to a sold-out crowd, at the world-famous Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles.

The resulting CD and DVD were released in 2002 under the title Snowball of Doom.

In January 2002, in support of Superheroes and Snowball of Doom, Racer X toured Japan and Taiwan.

The band performed these shows in their Superheroes costumes.

The tour's final show, in Yokohama, was hastily recorded in two tracks on the sound board and later released as Snowball of Doom 2.

Later that year, Universal Japan pushed for another Racer X release.

In October 2002, all four members of Racer X gathered at Gilbert's house in Las Vegas to record Getting Heavier, which was sold alongside Snowball of Doom 2 in a package deal.

Although the album was a successful release in Japan, some fans were disappointed with the lighter tracks, which resembled a Paul Gilbert solo album more than a conventional Racer X album.

Gilbert was voted fourth-best on GuitarOne 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 raised mostly in the Pittsburgh suburb of Greensburg, Pennsylvania.

He began playing music at age six; by age 15, he was touring local clubs with his band (Tau Zero), and had been featured in Guitar Player magazine (alongside fellow up-and-comer Yngwie Malmsteen).

Racer X performed at the 2009 NAMM Show at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.

Andy Timmons and his band opened the show, followed by a solo set from Paul Gilbert, and finally Racer X. The Racer X lineup consisted of Paul Gilbert, Scott Travis, Jeff Martin and John Alderete.