Of course, I’m a guitar player, so I’m thinking as a guitarist. I have to work within my physical limitations as to what my hands will do, and also the patterns I’m familiar with, and the places that my fingers are used to going. Paul Gilbert Read Quote
As always, my influences are diverse and not what you might expect from a ‘heavy metal’ artist. Paul Gilbert Read Quote
I probably spent more time as a kid playing air guitar to Jimmy Page than any other guitar player. Paul Gilbert Read Quote
My first official teaching job was at GIT, which was fantastic because I wanted to pay the rent and I got to stay in the building, which is an inspiring place to be – the vibe was there. My first gig was doing private lessons. It went great. Then they decided to promote me to a classroom teacher. I taught a class called Single String Technique. Paul Gilbert Read Quote
I am trying to build the biggest callus possible on my first finger so I can do one-finger bends and vibrato like B.B. King. Paul Gilbert Read Quote
From the start, I held the pick in an unusual way. I used to bend my thumb way back in order to get a good angle for fast playing. I played that way for 10 years. Paul Gilbert Read Quote
The first song on my first album is not a song – it’s a guitar solo! It’s called ‘Frenzy,’ and it’s pretty much nonstop maniacal guitar playing. I had just turned 19, and I had some serious muscle then. Paul Gilbert Read Quote
After 35 years of bone-crushing rock guitar playing, I’m finally starting to get my head out of the harmonic sand and learning how to play over chord changes. Paul Gilbert Read Quote
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. Paul Gilbert Read Quote
Just about every rock band and every guitar player from 1964 to 1984. To me, that’s the golden period of rock. From the first Beatles album hitting America to the last Van Halen album with David Lee Roth. That’s where all my favorite rock exists. Paul Gilbert Read Quote
