You can tell from the moment you see Paul Gilbert pick up a guitar that he truly loves to play.  I have been lucky enough to work with Paul a few times now and it is always great.  When I came up with the idea for this project, Paul’s name was the first one on my list.

Make sure to visit his website.

His Photoshop skills are unmatched.

Describe your first experience playing music

Around the time I was 5, my uncle let me hold a pick and strum while he fingered the chords on my cheap acoustic guitar. After that, I battled with the boredom of learning sightreading from a guitar teacher at a music store. I lost the battle and retired from guitar at the age of 6. At 9, the music teacher in my 4th grade class demonstrated the steps of the major scale on the blackboard. I wondered if those steps would correspond to the frets on my guitar. I went home and tried it, and a major scale came out of my guitar! I was so excited that I started playing by ear, and I haven’t stopped since.

What has been your most significant musical experience?

I auditioned for a band when I was 12 years old. The other guys in the band were 16-18 years old and played really well. It felt so good to jam with them and to make a sound that “sounded like a record”. They never actually told me that I didn’t get the gig, they just gave me a long list of difficult songs to learn to try to discourage me from calling back. The songs were beyond my ability at the time, but I tried hard to learn them, and I called them up daily to see if I could try out again. They stopped answering their phone, but I ended up learning a lot of good songs.

What is the best advice on pursuing a career in music you were ever given?

When I was 15, Mike Varney told me, “When your demos sound as good as your favorite records, then you’re ready to become professional.” This was scary advice!

What is your favorite sound?

A band that knows the songs. Jimmy Page bending a string in 1971. John Lennon singing in 1965. A real band that plays and sings well enough to not need to be chopped up, edited, and tuned with Pro-Tools.

Name some of your biggest non-musical influences.

My mom and dad.
Charles Schulz
Gary Larson
Carl Sagan
Ayn Rand
Roald Dahl
Thomas Jefferson
Richard Dawkins
The story of Ernest Shackleton and “Endurance”
The invention of e-mail and Google
Learning to cook
Living in Pennsylvania, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Japan and Being married

What is the most memorable concert you ever attended?

It’s a 3-way tie:

Van Halen in 1979

Ozzy with Randy Rhoads (with the original Def Leppard supporting!) 1981

Todd Rundgren in 1990

Put your iPod on shuffle and list the first 5 songs that appear.

“This Will Be Our Year” – The Zombies

“Scarlatti Sonata in A minor L.241/K.54″ – Sergio and Odair Assad

“No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Required” – Yes

“Boss Jack” – Johnny Cash

“Double Vision” – Foreigner

(Photo Credit: Lee Millward)