Paul Gilbert (guitar god)

Episode #193- Paul Gilbert!!! Paul is a guitar god who played in the bands Racer X and Mr Big. He also has an extensive solo career and a new Christmas album called ‘Twas. In addition to making music he also teaches guitar lessons. In this episode we discuss his whole career including singing, playing drums with Cheap Trick, having a #1 hit and being named one of the 50 fastest guitar players by Guitar World! Paul is great story teller! 

0:00:00 - Intro
0:01:37 - Instructional  Guitar Videos
0:03:52 - Learning Guitar at a Young Age
0:08:15 - One of the 50 Fastest Guitar Players 
0:11:05 - Racer X Formation 
0:12:55 - Sunset Strip Scene for Paul 
0:15:20 - Joining Mr. Big & Leaving Racer X
0:19:43 - Power Drills on Guitar Playing 
0:21:03 - Green Tinted Sixties Mind
0:22:45 - To Be With You & Audience 
0:25:45 - Cover of "Wild World" 
0:27:00 - Colorado Bulldog, Metal Edge & Drinking 
0:29:23 - Jamming with Aerosmith & Bryan Adams 
0:31:20 - Trapped in Toyland 
0:32:54 - Mr. Big's Future 
0:35:45 - New Christmas Album "Twas" 
0:36:58 - Singing on Solo Albums 
0:41:40 - Playing Drums 
0:43:23 - Werewolves of Portland Dancing 
0:44:14 - Guest Spots 
0:45:15 - Paul's Hearing Issues 
0:49:37 - Paul's Health 
0:51:28 - Paul's Guitar Gear 
0:54:32 - Paul Shows Off 
0:55:05 - Playing Live Shows 
0:56:15 - Ampire & Connecting with Legends 
0:59:13 - Playing Drums with Cheap Trick 
1:00:00 - Super Power Guitar
1:00:50 - Oregon Zoo 
1:02:20 - Artist Works 

Paul Gilbert website:
http://www.paulgilbert.com

Guitar Lessons from Paul Gilbert:
https://artistworks.com/guitar-lessons-paul-gilbert

Oregon Zoo website:
https://www.oregonzoo.org

Chuck Shute website:
http://chuckshute.com

Transcript

Chuck Shute: 0:14

Welcome to the show everybody. If you could really quick, just hit that subscribe button if you're watching this on YouTube. Or I think you can also follow or subscribe wherever you're listening on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or whatever. So, my guest today, Paul Gilbert, amazing, amazing guitar player, we're going to cover his whole career from when he started out to playing in the band Racer X to join Mr. Big to his solo career and his teaching career. And he has a note new solo album out right now. It's called werewolves of Portland, that one is out ready to go. He also has a new Christmas album coming out called tiss was that was T W. A S, I don't know how you pronounce it was the night before Christmas. It's got two songs out now at the time of this recording. And the full album will assume me I'm assuming it's gonna be out before Christmas. So just make sure you follow that on Spotify or wherever you listen your music. And if you're a fan of Paul's guitar teaching and his instructional videos, he told me in this interview that you can get personalized lessons from him, or he'll critique your plane and give you tips and and tell you what to do. So if you're interested in that, make sure to check the show notes for the link on that to get as personalized teaching. Otherwise, get ready for an awesome interview with the one and only Paul Gilbert. How're you doing today? Welcome Paul Gilbert. Guitar legend. This is amazing. I'm a big fan. So this is really cool for me.

Paul Gilbert: 1:41

That's nice. It's a nice compliment. And it's a little hot war in my studio. So yeah, no, I'm coffee.

Chuck Shute: 1:49

Alright, cool. So I mean, what's amazing about you is that you've inspired a lot of people to pick up a guitar. But don't you also think you've inspired a lot of people to put their guitar down. Because like, You're too good. I can't I mean, when I play guitar, in high school, I was like, I give up, I can't I can't compete with these guys.

Paul Gilbert: 2:08

Well, I have to apologize for the instructional videos that I made in the early 90s. Because my my goal was, was not to help people sort of desperate to just begin my career. So it's basically just showing off. Yeah, much as I possibly could. And you know, not holding any secrets back and I wasn't deceiving people. But I was definitely not putting the emphasis on like the core important things that make you a musician that people like to listen to. And to this day, I suffer from it because you know, there's a niche of people that love those videos, and they come in and they're like, you gotta show me how to play a scale up and down really fast. And and, you know, I have to make the decision whether to help help. I mean, you know, are

Chuck Shute: 3:04

these the ones where you, you had like, you pulled a rabbit out of your guitar and you put your guitar in a straight jacket and you had presence thrown at you by members of the crew. So these those ones,

Paul Gilbert: 3:15

those are those the ones you know them? Yeah, and yeah, I had a sense of humor and then I guess, but yeah, it was scales up and down. There's there's a great scene in the in the Mozart movie Amadeus where young Mozart premieres you know, his new symphony, and there's, you know, some of the older wiser guys and back and the one guy goes like, ghastly scales. I thought that says Best adjective I've heard for skills. Ghastly. Yeah,

Unknown: 3:44

well, because isn't

Paul Gilbert: 3:47

some career on ghastly scales that now I'm trying to make up for it?

Chuck Shute: 3:51

Well, success is not sexy. A lot of time, right? Like, cuz I heard you talking about when you first started, you only knew one song and you kept playing the same riff over and over again and you practice an hour a day, what was it? 25 or six to four, right? You just kept playing that same riff. And then you're like, Okay, now that I got that down, now move on to this like Cheech and Chong song, and then you learn all these other songs, but like, it starts out you. And that's amazing that you figured that out at nine years old?

Paul Gilbert: 4:15

Well, I'd already I'd already had three years of feeling like a quitter. Because I had taken lessons at six. Mm hmm. And they were, they were horribly boring, at least, you know, maybe it's not easy to entertain a six year old. Sure. But I thought it was that it was a sight reading. And I wanted to play you know, I wanted to just get into some music and connect to it. But in you know, and do rock and roll. And this was more like, you know, learning how to read sight read, Mary Had a Little Lamb and it just wasn't my favorite song. So I thought, well, I'll give up guitar because it's too boring. And I thought I'll take up drums. And then I started taking drum lessons. And it was the Haskell heart drum method, traditional grip and on a snare pad. And again, recite reading TITI TA. And then that didn't sound like Ringo, or John Bonham, or the drummers I wanted to sound like. And so I thought, I'm just gonna buy a stereo and like do air guitar from my mirror. And so I did that for a couple, which actually turned out to be a good thing to do, because it was a lot of listening. And a big part of being a musician is listening, you sort of have to, you know, get a target before you aim at it. So did a lot of air guitar, you know, with Led Zeppelin and Beatles and Van Halen, and well, they held wasn't wasn't out yet. But definitely Led Zeppelin. And then finally got a guitar. And what was nine? I just thought it's been like, three years. I gotta get going. You know, if I don't start? Yeah, actually playing the instrument. You know,

Chuck Shute: 5:46

did you? Yeah, did you practice the stage moves at that, because I feel like that's a big thing of our faces, like, like, the guitar phases and stuff.

Paul Gilbert: 5:55

Whatever, I don't really remember. I didn't focus. It was a, you know, just the way I was feeling it. So it wasn't like structured. Okay, now the faces, and then we'll stop the faces. And now the arms you know, it was just, you know, feeling the music and pretending I was the guy who or whoever the player and visualizing the stage and just having fun. And when I had a music years in school, he had a music class, and they demonstrated the steps of the major scale. And I looked at them and I thought, I wonder if those steps are similar to the lines are the frets on my guitar. I went home and went Doh, Doh, Doh, Doh, DOH. Doh, it was wow. That's, that's, you know, I can actually sort of play something. And

Chuck Shute: 6:41

so it wasn't natural for you. It wasn't just you picked it up and, and figured it out. Right wasn't part of the issue. You didn't know how to tune a guitar.

Paul Gilbert: 6:48

There was one thing that was natural. And that was I had pretty good sense of time. And which, you know, because it was natural. I never really thought it was all that valuable. Hmm. Because I just thought, well, that's yeah, I assumed everybody, you know, if you can, I just assumed everybody had a sense. And I thought, well, if I can feel it, you know, I'm not special. Everybody feels and then a couple of my friends started playing. I was surprised because they, they struggled with it. And this is a song song that was like way. So notice that was Beatle song, well, hey, Bulldog was a shuffle. You know, I was like to do that. Do it, and I could barely play the notes. Because, you know, it's just, you know, the instrument was a little kid. But I could, I could aim. I knew that what the target was, the target was clear about what that should sound like, and the rhythm. And my friends, we were all even playing field there. None of we could all of us were struggling. And my buddies would could get their fingers in the right place, but they couldn't do it on time. And it wasn't a technical thing is more than just important hearing where it goes. So that's actually a fairly sophisticated rhythm. It's got a swing feel a lot of syncopation, but I'd heard that record forever. You know, the yellow submarine is one of my favorite records. When I was a kid, and I listen to it a million times, it already put in the air guitar time. And so that that was the thing is like, you know, it's not just playing, it's the listening part. And I've done a lot of that. But you

Chuck Shute: 8:13

must have had some natural talent, because I think I know one of these good Guitar World and one of these things called you one of the 50 fastest guitar players of all time. And that's not an easy thing to do. I when I play guitar, I mean, I was slow, I could not get from one chord to the next. It's hard.

Paul Gilbert: 8:29

Well, I was never one of the fast guy on the block. I remember that. I joined a band, about 12. And I had to lie to get into the band because they had the little on the bulletin board. They had the sheet of paper up at the music store, it said must be 13. And I called them up anyway and pretended I was like, Yeah, I'm 13

Chuck Shute: 8:48

What are they gonna do check your library card or something?

Paul Gilbert: 8:50

They let me come for the audition. I could play pretty good. So they let me in the band. And oh, it's gonna be talking about what was the singer talking about before? How fast you could play? Oh, right. How fast? Yeah. And, you know, these were older kids, they they were, you know, 14 1617 years old. And they had their friends that were musicians, and they heard me like, you're all right, if you joined the band, but they said you should hear Tony echo, you know, this legend, local legend. And so one day Tony echo came over. And he remembered all the weird details, smoking cherry cigarettes, whatever those were. And, and he I think he had a strat and and he was picked up the guitar went like, a million miles an hour. But it wasn't like a controlled move miles an hour. It was sort of like an explosive, chaotic million miles an hour. And I had this some standard inside of me were like, I didn't want to be messy. Hmm. And even though I mean I, I love Jimmy Page. And I love a lot of the guitar players that are called, you know, have the messy label on them and I still love because there's so much other good stuff going on, right? Even the messy thing is kind of, you know, it's kind of like throwing paint, you know, it's like, it's not supposed to be there painted with a big brush. Yeah, you don't expect a big brush to look like a little brush. But anyway, for me, I kind of wanted to learn how to paint with a little brush and have detail and then control. And I didn't have it. But I had the patience, because I knew if I just start moving my hands fast that that's just that I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna blur and, you know, so it took me a while to build that, you know, the technique was a little brush and, and it's not like, it's not a one size fits all, a lot of it's like actually choices and choosing the lick that that works for you. Because I think some people think like, oh, you get that technique. You can just do anything fast. As like, No, you choose the licks that are speed up a bowl. And there are practical to do that way. Yeah, you know, but don't pick this thing. That's never you're never going to speed up. You know? Don't Don't try to make an elephant. I guess elephants are actually playing fast but

Chuck Shute: 11:04

Right. Well speaking of speed, so Racer X, this is one of your first bands. You formed it in LA. So explain to me how this is gonna fill in some of these gaps here with with your career because you reach out to singer Jeff Martin in Phoenix of the band. He was in a band surgical steel. How did you find him if he lived in Phoenix?

Paul Gilbert: 11:22

Uh, well, I was I had hooked up with Mike Varney, who was a record producer. trapnell records, right? Yeah, it offered me a deal with travel. And so I was gonna put a bandaid on, he was helping me. And so I found a bunch of guys at school because I was going to gi t. So that's where I found, gentlemen, we're ready, who will let him change his name to one. And the original drummer Harry Chaucer was a student. And Bruce, though the guitar player ended up a brisk PA and I met him at school as well. And then, if there was a vocal school, it wasn't there to students isn't the word many singers there? Mm hmm. Although later, actually, it's funny. One of the guys that went to school was Jeff Buckley.

Unknown: 12:08

He's famous. Yeah. And none of us

Paul Gilbert: 12:11

knew that he was a singer because he the guitar skulls, he was just like the rest of us in there practicing scales. And I don't think he liked it much, you know, because he just wasn't his thing. And later, you know, he became his legend as a singer and songwriter. But, but anyway, I didn't know that he was a singer, it'd be I wouldn't want to be my heavy metal band anyway. So I was, you know, Mike would try to find people he'll, you know, you'd hook me up with whoever it was, send me a demo. And we'd sort of trade tapes back and forth. And immediately, I mean, I really like Jeff's style. And by Bravo, and it just reminded me of the singers that like so. And I met him and he's, to this day, one of my best friends.

Chuck Shute: 12:54

That's awesome. So then, yeah, so tell me about that. When you guys were in that band in the scene in the 80s. Like, I love stories of the Sunset Strip. But it's interesting, because I heard you talking about how you never did drugs. And the groupies were more it wasn't girls want to have sex with you. It was more guys wanting guitar lessons from you, right?

Paul Gilbert: 13:14

I wonder how much that you know, I had dreams. I had hopes. You know, I saw the rat video. I thought this too. Here we go. This was gonna be and Yeah, after the show, and he did that are my standards were high. I don't know. Whatever. Whatever it was, it was it was much more connected to the music. Then I was to the the lifestyle. And I remember, we were kind of in the bowling. And that was like, you know, after the show, we'd go to the all night bowling alley and, and bold. So that was always been pretty nerdy. And I used to play chess with Bruce. He was better than me. You know, he was he was he'd always beat me it chess. And John and I, we used to go apart. We'd play Scrabble. We played guitar so much. And I was just, you know, I grew up like in it on a farm house. You know that you couldn't walk to anything. So I was like, pretty was not advanced as a social human being

Chuck Shute: 14:26

interesting. So but you don't get offered. So I feel like just being in that scene, though. I feel like there's got to be drugs everywhere and girls and I mean, the crazy stories I've heard of the Sunset Strip. I mean, I feel like it'd be hard to avoid

Paul Gilbert: 14:39

when we would go to the strip to hand out flyers. Okay. And get to the show. But I think you know, the, I don't know if this is even a phrase but is there a phrase like attracts like, you know, I don't know. Yeah, that sounds familiar. Well, you try similar people. Yeah. And and so I think people could tell right off the bat like, this guy's nerd would be like, right on yo, let's let's go play some groceries and dragons.

Chuck Shute: 15:16

I love it though it's like so innocent. It's so great. So then you you decide that you're going to join Mr. Big and you say it's like jumping off a cliff but in a good way, like you didn't know what to expect, but you knew it was going to be great. How did you know it was going to be great? Was it just because of? I know Eric's manager had managed journey or was it something like that? Or was it Billy Sheehan was in the band? Or how did you know that it wasn't gonna be a disaster?

Paul Gilbert: 15:42

Well, you don't know for sure. But yeah, the I'd always been a big fan of Billy's because I used to go sneak into the clubs in, in Pennsylvania when you play with talus and towels was great. And, of course, the ability was amazing. I really, really liked that band a lot used to cover their songs and listen to the video, go watch them all the time. And of course, Billy Joe and David Lee Roth bands are heated big time. And he has to come down to see racetracks with with the deadly rock band. And he would also, Billy would come in and teach at gi T or be it I guess, it was the same building and he would stop in. Because he you know, we kind of knew each other a little bit. He had stopped and was doing a class and said like, hey, well, you know, it's okay with you guys, if you're pulling your jam on a song and did all the students go Yeah, so we play some songs and, and we, we sort of the common language of knowing a lot of cover songs. So I think, you know, Billy likes me because I he could name off any tune and I, you know, could make my way through it. So, um, you know, after, after the after he got out of the rock band, I think he was definitely thinking about forming a new band, he contacted me, I already knew but Eric because I had some very solo albums. I really, really liked his singing a lot. And I didn't know Pat but but as soon as we jammed together you That was great. And of course the management No, that's that's the thing, then everything was based on the you having a good manager, attorney and record label. And if you didn't have those things, you could have the greatest band in the world, but you'd be stuck forever, you know, playing local clubs, restricts we audition for every big label and every management and it's nobody was was, you know, we weren't getting any reaction. So we're just like, man, what else can we do? And then Red River then was when Billy called me up. It's like, I got this putting this band together and Herbie Herbert's the manager and, you know, all seven I just thought maybe this this could be good timing is actually a heartbreaking decision because that the resurrects was a band that I had built from the ground up to a certain, you know, we were fairly successful. Well, yeah. And the guys in the band, were all my best friends. And so, you know, I kind of felt like stabbing everybody in the back. And, you know, and suddenly all my friends were gone. You know, because I, you know, I, they weren't happy with me leaving. And, you know, I don't blame them wasn't a nice thing to do.

Chuck Shute: 18:18

Really, though, even though they weren't happy for you to be playing with the basis from David Lee Roth. And I mean, they weren't happy for you to take a step up because

Paul Gilbert: 18:26

you're really tight knit you know, we were we really built it together and it was our was our mission. And so it was hard to sit I remember just being in my apartment really soul searching and just not knowing knowing that you either if I stayed I didn't I didn't know if it would just gonna, you know, racetracks is just gonna you know, fizzle away yeah, it seemed like we tried everything we could but at the same time, I felt like I was betraying my friends and so I ended up you know, with this great new band and no friends for a while I mean, a couple months later I you know, got back together We're all friends and you know, have been ever since

Chuck Shute: 19:06

so they were they were kind of mad at you for leaving at first so they felt like you betrayed them and it was like, but then they got over it cuz guys are usually pretty get over stuff pretty quick. Well, I

Paul Gilbert: 19:16

don't know. I don't know if I can speak for their emotions. I can speak as I felt bad about it. I know that that's, you know, to me, I felt like I did something not so nice to my friends and I felt I felt pretty guilty about it. Interesting demos. I was like, Man, this isn't how can I pass this up? You know? Yeah.

Chuck Shute: 19:40

interest that's interest so that and so then the Mr. Big the first record I like the first record it's good addicted to that rush. Great fast guitar playing. But the second one, that first song on the second record, daddy love her little boy, whose idea was it to do the power drill? Because you and Billy both use the power drills right?

Paul Gilbert: 19:59

Well then Instead of doing that back in Mr. X Oh, did you? Yeah, that was that was way back. I mean, it was not any. I don't think it was on the record, it might have been on the live album as part of the live show with racetracks, and then one day, I brought it into rehearsal or something and Billy's like hey, can make me one and we got another Makita and, and got a bit for it. And we did that really quick. And we we sort of knew the spot in the song where it was going to go. But I don't think we had I don't think we had rehearse that part. We just said ahead. Like, this is the drill section. And we'll you know, when, when after recording, we'll figure out what to put there. And I just sort of thought of that. I don't think I thought the times later I realized this the melody from blondie. dreamin dreamin is free. Ah,

Unknown: 20:54

that's awesome.

Paul Gilbert: 20:55

Exactly, but it was so yeah, I was That's my hobbies like going like, oh, that melodies like that melody.

Chuck Shute: 21:01

That was? Yeah, so well. What about the other song that this is one of my favorites is, uh, I didn't realize that you wrote this the music for this. And I guess the band hated the title, green tinted 60s. Mind this. I think this song is so underrated. But you wrote everything on the music and the lyrics, right?

Paul Gilbert: 21:17

Well, I kind of wanted to just see if I could, because all the most of the writing that I had done up to that point was was like, you know, come up with the riff. And then the singer raced. Okay. And just, I just thought, I wonder if I can do it. You know, if I try, let's see what happened. So that one, I mean, I was still at the point in my songwriting, where I didn't have much craft. And so I just sort of had to wait for something to fall out of the sky. And write it down real quick. Disappeared. So I you know, it was just an inspiration. I remember when not on that song. But on some other songs, Eric would come in and go like, Well, that's good. But why don't we change the second verse? I'm like, I can't do it. That's what came out of the sky.

Chuck Shute: 22:00

Didn't you say this one was inspired by Beach Boys and Paul McCartney a little bit?

Paul Gilbert: 22:05

Well, everything is because that's what I was doing when I was a kid. But hey, there's there's a fancy chord in there that I you know, you can find it in your family like Natalie knows, or was McCartney song My Love? Does it? Are there that? Yeah. Which I learned at school? I never, you know, I don't know if I could work that out by ear. But is it school less we learn the stuff you can't work out by ear. And then you play it enough where you start to recognize it. And then it becomes part of your language.

Chuck Shute: 22:43

Right? Right. So then to be with you, obviously, that's your biggest hit with Mr. Big number one song? What is it like having a number one song on the radio? Like, where you guys chart watching? And seeing like, Oh, is it gonna pass Paul Abdul or whatever? The people behind it? are ahead of it. We're on the charts. Did you watch that stuff?

Paul Gilbert: 23:02

As soon as it started climbing up, you know, or manager or management? You couldn't check the internet those days, sir. You get a call from the management, they're like, number 10. We're like, top 10 Oh, my God. Yeah. And, you know, summer three, number one, we couldn't believe it. And the thing is, it's feels like it's completely at least for me, completely out of our hands. You know, in a way, it's like, I don't feel like, like, oh, there's something I did what a you know, give me my pat on the back. It's like, No, you make a song and it does what it does. You know, whether it's whether it's number one or nobody listens to it, you know? It's, it's, uh, you know, that's, that's kind of out of your control.

Chuck Shute: 23:47

But you must have felt like you made the right decision at that point. When you're thinking of, do I leave race or x? I don't know. And then it's like, okay, now I got a number one song like, you made a good decision there. Right.

Paul Gilbert: 23:58

At that, I don't think we would have the number one with with with ratios. I mean, I think I've actually, well, I did fail because later on I reformed Racer X, yeah. into some other albums. And they, they were they're really cool. I'm glad we're able to do that.

Chuck Shute: 24:12

No, it's awesome. I love that band too. But you know, it's just like, it's just I think that you kind of needed to have that pop success to bring you into the spotlight. I think that that helps race or x even doesn't help your name be more recognizable and

Paul Gilbert: 24:26

well, if I said the other interesting thing is that the the extra people that that that took notice of us because of having an acoustic ballad pop hit aren't necessarily rock fans. Remember during that two weeks, our audience changed completely. Because we you know, normal gig you're playing for the guys leather jackets and yeah, teleca T shirts. And then the two weeks it was like all 12 year old girls in the audience screaming whenever they see Eric and and then the song you know, dropped down to number two or three And then all girls are gone and it's back to the leather jacket. Weird. Wow, when but being unpredictable, I guess in a way and I don't know the that always I guess there's parts of life that I feel I have some control over which is like when I pick up a guitar you know the sound that comes out that's that's kind of under my control. That's kind of where I put my focus and where it goes from there. You know, it's it's, it's, you know, you have your hopes and your dreams but there's not and you know, you can do stuff like this, you know, when interviews are a little bit of promo, but something like that have a number one hit. That's a that's just winning the lottery.

Chuck Shute: 25:44

Oh yeah, and then you even manage to get you guys managed to have a top 40 hit with a third album with the cover of a wild world who's a and that was at the height of grunge I remember that and that's a great album. That was amazing. Whose idea was it to cover that song?

Paul Gilbert: 25:58

You know I don't remember I think I know that that you know the label wanted another acoustic bug is absolutely sure yeah. And so I don't remember was Yeah, I can't remember

Chuck Shute: 26:11

that worked

Paul Gilbert: 26:12

out if the thing I remember that was that caught us by surprise was of course its cover of Cat Stevens. So yeah. And and Cat Stevens at some point had become a Muslim. And you know, we're musician we just like the song you know? And we It wasn't so much in the States but going over to like to Europe and all the interviewers it'd be like your know that your support there. Were like what? Billy was smart enough where he could take that question. And somehow Yeah, safely out of those

Chuck Shute: 26:51

Yeah,

Paul Gilbert: 26:52

the rest of us like ah, it's a D minor.

Chuck Shute: 26:59

That is great. Well, what about so the song Colorado Bulldog? I remember like you guys saying and correct me if I'm wrong, but because I remember reading this in metal edge that the song was about drinking, but you guys didn't drink a lot. But when you did it got crazy. Now is that like accurate? Because I remember reading like Sebastian boxing and metal edge, like, you know, I'm against hard drugs. And then I read his book later and he's talking about cocaine. And he said, Well, that's because metal edge is for kids. So is that an accurate story about Colorado Bulldog though?

Paul Gilbert: 27:29

I just love that we're talking about metal edge.

Chuck Shute: 27:32

I love that's how I got to know you guys. I got to read interviews. I love Did you remember metal edge? Right? You guys are big in there.

Paul Gilbert: 27:38

I remember but I haven't thought about it for a while. Really? Yeah. Fun times. Every day's a new day. Yeah, I guess so. Maybe if I was able to keep my metal hair finally if you don't get the Whitesnake audition, but anyway, that's it think as far as like drugs and drinking well how would I encapsulate that I had I don't think I tried a beer until I was about 22 Because there was you know there was a beautiful girl at a party and she handed me one I was like I will drink love the design somehow my mom put this fear of like destroying my brain Yeah. If I drink the wrong thing you know my brain would just turn into goo right and and I didn't want that to happen so you know I've never been drinker and never tried anything you except that the dentist when you need to drill and then the other guys drink a bit but you know, nothing, right? But I think you know I had once in a while hanging out I would try something. And I did try to drink all the Colorado Bulldog. Now when you say like get crazy. My apologies. You ever really got crazy but

Chuck Shute: 29:03

somebody something happened. I'd

Paul Gilbert: 29:06

be sitting sitting in the back of the of the you know the what he called like the the red rainbow. They've got the booth and I've just been in the back, you know, smiling. That's how crazy I got. I love it.

Chuck Shute: 29:20

You're so innocent. It's so great. So then you guys go in 93 though, you guys went on tour with Aerosmith. And Steve Vai. Did you ever have like a guitar duel with Steve I like it that movie Crossroads

Paul Gilbert: 29:32

I think. I don't think Steve was on that tour. Oh, he wasn't. That may be some misinformation but we are the Aerosmith.

Chuck Shute: 29:39

Okay, so Aerosmith so never toured with Steve Vai. That's weird. I thought it was like multiple dates I saw with Steve Ah, maybe he was on other dates.

Paul Gilbert: 29:47

Yeah, that was we turn to the Aerosmith later on. What was this? I've done a lot of like jam with Steve Vai, but wasn't.

Chuck Shute: 29:55

Yeah, but Aerosmith. Cool that's got to be amazing. I mean, Joe Perry.

Paul Gilbert: 30:00

Well then Steven Tyler. Yeah, um, I was always, you know, I'm a big fan of singers. So some of the, like the backstage jams. Number one, it was my birthday. And Steven Tyler comes back and we sang Nowhere Man together. And we're doing another tour we're opening for Bryan Adams and I get help together with Bryan Adams. And to to hear these guys voice air. I mean, Eric Martin to you know, to hear them like not through a microphone. But just like their voice in the room. You know, three feet away from you is really something else. Yes. That's, I mean, been fine. Besides the fact that they've honed their craft Sure. They're, you know, they're, you know, really skillful. They are the instrument if there's only one of those you know, go to go to the store and buy a Gibson Les Paul just like Jimmy Page has and you know, of course you know, he's got his own way of playing it but you know, the instrument itself is that human being and so that that I really treasure those memories of you know, be able to hear those guys sing at close range and just go like listen to the air vibrate when when they open their mouth. That's cool.

Chuck Shute: 31:10

No, it's real. I would love to see I've never seen you live I think that'd be cool to either see Mr. Big or solo show, but another song I got to ask about, like, 17 year old me I love this album that hey man, and the first song trapped in Toyland. I thought that was such a cool song. And I didn't realize until now that it was actually co written with your buddy Jeff Martin from Racer X and also Russ Parrish, who's the guitar player from Steel Panther satchel. And it just sounds so different than any Mr. Big song but I really love it. Is there a story behind that song? Like how that came about?

Paul Gilbert: 31:43

Well, Russia had been hidden played with fight. Yeah, with Robert Alford. And so he I can't remember which part of the song came first but I know Yeah, as a my memories, but I just remember the restaurants some of the riffs and I think the part Wayne was the part I had, which is funny was the kind of odd it's not a time but the just the kick drum pattern is is unusual, because he's just doing it straight for groove with it with with the drum and a bunt, you know, don't don't get within the kick is says doing this syncopated in a bom bom bom, bom bom, bom, bom, Ba ba ba ba. And that came from a song that I had written when I was like 15 Instead of sending tapes to Mike Varney, and I had that this riff that I always thought was cool. And then and that ended up being in the song so I just remember I wrote that part of the rest of it. Probably the other guys wrote it cuz I don't remember what the rest

Chuck Shute: 32:41

of it came from. Okay, yeah, cuz I just thought was interesting that piano and it was just, it was kind of like a spooky, so I don't know. It's just it sounded so cool. And it just I liked. I liked that one a lot. That was one of my favorites. But so yeah, I mean with that with Mr. Big, it sounds like Eric and Billy are kind of content with that. Just the band ending? Do you? Do you feel the same way? Or would you reunite with Mr. Big and do some shows or an album or

Paul Gilbert: 33:05

all the pressures on? Let's see, I would say it. Like we've already done, I don't know, maybe three or three, like the reunion tour we did. And I think it was 2009 was great. Wow, that was so that, that that was like all for the right reasons. Like we're, everybody's into the music. Pat was still around. And full strengths. Yeah. I like the record. I thought what if what to me was really turned out good. And although I don't know if we've done the record that record Yeah, I think we just did, we just did, like, we were maybe released was I don't, I gotta get to the chorus to figure out the title is

Unknown: 33:53

what am I saying?

Chuck Shute: 33:54

Is it a Get over it? No, wait,

Paul Gilbert: 33:57

we had a single called next time around, it was actually okay. We released that. And then we did a tour. And that was great tour. And then as as it went, I don't know, I didn't feel like by the end of it. Like, I don't know what else we can do. Like it didn't that's not really where my writing style is going. I mean, you know, you know, it actually. Excuse my voice. I think one of the things for me is my current musical passion. Although I'm a guitar player, is kind of taking on the role of a singer on guitar. So like my last tour I did to be with you and green Tennessee's mine. And I played the vocal line on guitar. And I remember the last time I drove him crazy. Last time I visited Jeff Martin. He wanted to jam and he had a band put together. And I said like I said, Do you have a ratchet set? And he said, he said Yeah, I think because he might know Jeff can fix anything's got better tools. So I pulled a ratchet out you As a slide and and I barely played any rhythm guitar I just doubled him I doubled all his vocal lines and and that's kind of where my headspace is like I feel more like a singer you know playing that role with the guitar playing melodies then like sitting in the back on drugs good and I don't know I think I would probably have to take up drinking in order for it to like be in find something to be interested in

Chuck Shute: 35:28

because you know with Mr. Big you're saying you'd have to start drinking to join to do a show with Mr. Big I think I would probably have to have to start drinking

Unknown: 35:34

really. You

Chuck Shute: 35:35

wouldn't want to just do it for fun or something.

Paul Gilbert: 35:38

Like those songs. I just looked at the setlist and go like Oh, okay, there it is again. Yeah.

Chuck Shute: 35:44

Okay, well, okay, so let's talk about your solo career. You have a new album out is exciting. I I'm a sucker for Christmas music and this is cool. It's like I've only heard two of the songs. One is called a every Christmas has love. That's an original song. Is it not? Yeah, that one I wrote. Okay, so then yeah, and then the other one's Christmas on Hark the Herald Angels of course everyone's heard that song. It's your version of that. And what else is going to be on this new Christmas record?

Paul Gilbert: 36:11

Well, let me grab a copy and see

Chuck Shute: 36:13

oh, it's exciting to get this I was hoping you'd have the guitar to to play like I saw other interviews where you're playing the guitar but yes. Oh, wow. Yeah, that's the cover.

Paul Gilbert: 36:22

Metal the glove is here. Let it snow let it snow let it snow Frosty the Snowman. The Christmas song which is that you know, chestnuts roasting on an open five. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I saw three ships. One another one I wrote called three strings for Christmas. Hmm. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. We wish you a merry Christmas. So rebels and Winter Wonderland and winter wonderland. I use the drill.

Chuck Shute: 36:46

Oh, cool. I saw and then these are these all instrumental where you're singing with the guitar? You don't actually sing on any of them?

Paul Gilbert: 36:52

Yeah, exactly. The guitar is my voice. Okay. Yes, thank goodness, because it can hit the high notes. Well, yeah. But

Chuck Shute: 36:58

like that one song you do? You do? I mean, you say on a few songs. But yeah, one of them. One of the most popular songs that you sing on is called down to Mexico. That is a great song. That's one of the most popular songs on Spotify.

Paul Gilbert: 37:10

That's the Thank you.

Chuck Shute: 37:12

I love that song. It's really good. I never heard it until I started studying for this interview. And I was like, have I never heard the song before? It's great.

Paul Gilbert: 37:20

It Yeah, I mean, I and Japan like when after I left Mr. Big and round 95 You know, Mr. Big was so big in Japan that I could actually kind of eke out a living as a solo artist over there. I don't know how many albums are released, but it's quite a few. And I was trying to sing on all them. And this is, you know, I just gotten a home studio because they like, you know, digital recording had become affordable. Okay. So I did my home studio. And my idea was, well, now that I've got my home studio, I can do like a million takes you I can try again and again and again to get the vocal right. Even I can be a singer not realizing that if you can't do it in two takes you probably shouldn't be doing it because they're so you try it live. You're gonna suck. Right? So, but I didn't tour that much. I just go to Japan do four shows and come back. So it wasn't like enough. Of enough of a I didn't really get to test it out. Okay. Yeah, I think it took the thing that final two things got me to stop singing. The first one was I did cover and still got the blues gay more song. Okay. Good, actually, because my mom's favorite song. And I thought like, it'd be nice to be something my mom like. And so I was trying to do that. And then Gary Moore, the unbelievable singer, like, besides being a great guitar player, he can hit the high notes and really had a great style and soul. And I was trying to do and I just don't have those high notes as part of my range. So I've kind of falsetto through it,

Unknown: 38:48

you know,

Paul Gilbert: 38:52

certainly Mickey Mouse thing and you know,

Chuck Shute: 38:57

you hit the notes.

Paul Gilbert: 38:58

Yeah, but it's not the same time. I mean, if Gary Moore, if we could magically get him here to sing that you'd hear a little bit of a difference. Okay. So I got torn apart on YouTube, you know, really, I was reading the YouTube comments. It was like, you know, stick the guitar, dude, you know? I thought you know, they're probably right.

Chuck Shute: 39:17

Really, you actually listen to the trolls? That's interesting, because most people I interview say, oh, fuck those trolls. I don't care.

Paul Gilbert: 39:22

People are totally supportive. You know, anything I do, but that was like, a surprising number of people go like about this and then I you know, I listened to it with hopefully an objective year and I was like, yeah, that's not really full strength. And so it was that one and the other one was my manager started managing Rishi consonant and the band he has with Billy whether the winery dogs wiener dog. Yeah. And, and so my manager was I always hear him complimenting Richie like, man, that kid can sing. Oh, he can sing. And then whenever my manager talks about me, he's like, really clean. His playing is clean. You can hear every note when he plays guitar, you know, but my manager never said a word about my singing ever in like the 30 years.

Chuck Shute: 40:09

Well, you got to know your reign. Yeah. But I mean that that Mexico song sounds great. I think your vocals are perfect for that.

Paul Gilbert: 40:15

Because I had the my recording studio and I could do 1000 takes.

Chuck Shute: 40:19

Okay, well, what's that I still work? So when you do live shows you don't sing at all anymore? Do you sing a song or two? Or

Paul Gilbert: 40:25

sometimes we'll do a song or two, because that's so you can get away with one or two. Yeah. But it's not. And it's sort of nice to be in that position where you can just sort of blast out for one song. And, you know, you can wreck your voice. You haven't wrecked it enough where, you know, yeah. I can do it the next day. But if you had to do a whole night of saying I mean, I don't envy and any singer it's like, Man, how do you? How do you do it? I mean with with rock? Yeah.

Unknown: 40:53

Totally. Like screaming like Jeff Martin. Yeah. Well, he,

Paul Gilbert: 40:58

he is amazing.

Chuck Shute: 40:59

Yeah, he is. He's amazing. Like, I'm listening to him. Like, when I listen to Racer X. I'm like, Oh, this is like, I see why Scott Travis joined Judas Priest, because this is a he's kind of got the ROB Hallford style of screening.

Paul Gilbert: 41:10

Yeah, he's great singer. But for me, I sort of, you know, realize my limitations, especially, you know, being able the fact that I can play guitar. And that's available. That's, you know, that's an option. And be something I go for a high note. It's like, it's there every night. And no matter what, yeah, such a nice feeling compared to like, you know, before you step on stage going, like, you know, please let me have that high note. And, you know, yeah, well, so

Chuck Shute: 41:39

in the werewolves of Portland in that album you do the drums and the bass and the guitars you do everything right.

Paul Gilbert: 41:46

Well, drums that's that's so much fun. Like that's because there's no wrong notes you know?

Chuck Shute: 41:54

Well, it's got to be in time I guess. But you said timings your strengths. So

Paul Gilbert: 41:58

guitar guitar can be treacherous. And but bass too, you know, you hit you hit the perfect time, but the wrong note. And it's it's pretty foul. But with drums, you know, whether it's just Tom Tom or that Tom, who cares? As long as he so drums is such a freeing, it's such a liberating experience to play the drums for me. And

Chuck Shute: 42:21

it's therapeutic Right? Like it's like a cathartic maybe is a better term to like play the drums like you get that energy out. Right? Yeah,

Paul Gilbert: 42:29

well, that was nice too. Because it was it was during the lockdown. So funny. I got some exercise. After that record, I bought a little kit and I play every day now it's, it's really a blast. And I've had the best drum teachers in the world because every time I play with you know Pat Torpey or Scott Travis or put so many great drummers and Jeff Martin is a fantastic drummer. I listen to Tom him

Chuck Shute: 42:55

because he played drums and Dokin or something, right? Like he showed me or was it? Didn't Jeff Martin play drums a docking or something like that? You played

Paul Gilbert: 43:03

in Badlands with Jake Ely. And he played with DACA. And he played with UFO and Michael Schenker.

Chuck Shute: 43:09

That's amazing that he can play drums and sing that well. That's amazing.

Paul Gilbert: 43:13

Well, no, I mean, if you're a musician, you're a musician.

Chuck Shute: 43:17

I guess so. Yeah, I don't know. I'm just always amazed by you guys. And I you know what else? I'm amazed by in speaking going back to the werewolves of Portland in the music video. Is that you dancing?

Paul Gilbert: 43:32

And, and it was also, you know, zero preparation. I'm not that.

Chuck Shute: 43:36

But those are some moves. I mean, you got some moves. You're in your kid. Marlon is the little werewolf, but that's you as the big one.

Paul Gilbert: 43:44

Yeah, well, the funny thing was, after I did that video, I mean, I'm, I'm 55 you know, the end of the week, and I could barely walk for about two weeks video. But afterwards, like feeble like, I couldn't move my head sales. Everything got sold.

Chuck Shute: 44:06

Oh, but it paid off. That was a great that's a great video. Now. I just got hopefully got a few clicks on a video. People will check that out. Because it's awesome. It's a great song to now when you do. You did a guest spot on Donnie V's beautiful things. I love that album. Now, how do you choose to do guest spots? Like, do you have to really love the music? Or do you only play on people's albums who are friends? Or how do you choose those coveted guest spots? Because I'm just guessing you get a lot of offers. Yeah.

Paul Gilbert: 44:32

Well, it's either it's some combination of, you know, music, fun and money. So, you know,

Unknown: 44:38

I like that.

Paul Gilbert: 44:40

You have if you have enough of any of them, you know, it's it's a certain level, it's like, I'm here, you know, what do you want? What do you want me to play? And if if it's within Danny's case, I just, you know, I was like, Man, I'll sell don't pay you. You know. I love his music so much. So I did that did that What's what's what's the French way of saying for free non grata or something? I don't know.

Unknown: 45:06

Oh, okay, yeah. So um, that was

Paul Gilbert: 45:09

just because I was excited to play. Go ahead do anything to contribute to Danny's music.

Chuck Shute: 45:12

That's yeah, that's awesome to hear. So how everything in between? Yeah, so we're doing pretty good with this interview. I know that, obviously very well documented, you've had some hearing issues. So it was obviously probably caused by being around loud music. So what advice would you have for younger musicians? Like how do they avoid having those issues later? And how do they protect their ears?

Paul Gilbert: 45:35

Well, the, I would say the difficult thing is that obviously, if you love music, you love rock and roll. A lot of the real trebly loud sounds exciting. So like, as a kid, my favorite kind of drummers were guys, that would just sit there and bash away at a crash cymbal. And I would like walk up and just dig it. And it would just make me feel so good to hear that treble E, washy sound. And the same thing with the audience, like at the end of the song, that that was, that was the main reason I didn't want to wear earplugs is because I wanted to hear what the audience you know, that, that, that felt so good to hear the roar of the audience. And if you wear earplugs, and even if the audience is going crazy, you can't really hear him. So it's sort of, it's frightening. It's like, do they like us? You know, should we delete, you know, hear him. And so, so a lot of man, sometimes a warrior plugs, but sometimes I didn't. And I would say just as much as you can just, you know, get get, I gotta get him in big boxes, these big boxes of foam earplugs. And, again, if your hearing was good, you can, it takes a while to damage it. So you don't really realize what you're doing. And it also takes a little while to realize to know that you've damaged it. Because it because it is gradual. So you know, just as much as you can stand it where the foam earplugs.

Chuck Shute: 46:56

Yeah, it's one of those things that scares me because I've been to so many concerts, and most of the times I didn't wear the earplugs, I'm trying to start now. But you're right, it's just like something. It's not the same when you have earplugs in, but I know that I'm supposed to so.

Paul Gilbert: 47:10

So it's, uh, yeah, I mean, we can't and I would say that the, like, the thing that I do now, because I'm still, you know, trying to save my hearing as much as possible, which is I want to play on stage, he was loud on stage. And I kind of want it to be loud, that feels right. And, and what I do is, I, you know, jam those foam earplugs in my, in my ears as much as I can. And I make sure that the drummer is close, because I want to be able to I want to be able to feel the drums and without having to put them through the monitor. Okay, so I just want to you know, I want to I want the drum kit close to me. And And chances are if the if the drummer is close to me, not only can I feel him, but he can hear me because my amps going to be close by Sure. And it's really important for him to hear me because if, if like if there's some hi hat thing, like the beginning, green tinted, this is hi hat Q and I ended up telling the generalized, I feel like if I like like, I can't be wrong, because I can't hear you. So you have to just pretend that even if I speed up or slow down, I'm right no matter what. Because I can't Yeah, I can't, I can't hear you well enough to do the walk back in. So just follow me wherever I go. You know, my apologies. But that's that's what we got to do. And fortunately, my my sense of times, okay, so you don't speed up, slow down too much. And, and then the other thing is I put a guitar amp on stage facing at me and just get that loud enough where I can I can feel it. And really, that's all I need. If I sing I can hear it because my skulls vibrating.

Chuck Shute: 48:45

Okay, do you put anywhere? What do they call inners or some inner ears? That's putting more sounded so Okay, so you don't want to do that?

Paul Gilbert: 48:53

What's more feeling it okay. Picking it up through my through my vibration on my body? And and I you know, I did a whole tour. I've never had a conversation with a monitor guy. Except, like, you know, I've said, you know, what do you guys want? Because, you know, you're my monitor is like my little lamp, which I've got control of, and being near the drum kit. That's all I need.

Chuck Shute: 49:14

Okay, did I hear you say to that there may be a drug that could help restore some of your hearing. That's crazy to me.

Paul Gilbert: 49:21

They're working. They're working on stuff. It's I mean, it's real beginning stages of it. Okay. You know, I'm not I'm not depending on it. But you can get a little seed of hope.

Chuck Shute: 49:34

Yeah, it's it's crazy cuz like, I mean, you look so great. Like you look like you're in really good health other other than the hearing thing, right? I mean, what is your secret? I mean, God, is it just good genes or your exercise or what special diet or

Paul Gilbert: 49:48

it's the most wonderful question I've ever had my life right. I mean, I have nothing to contrast with. I don't I don't have like a twin brother. Who is who's had a life of hard living? To

Chuck Shute: 50:03

the content? Right? But there are a lot of people who went on the Sunset Strip who are I won't name names, but they're not doing so well. So maybe part of it was avoiding all that crazy. Partying, right?

Paul Gilbert: 50:14

Yeah, I mean, I, I always I really like food. So, you know, I would tend to seek out healthy stuff because because because, you know, it just makes you feel good when you eat it. It's nice that

Chuck Shute: 50:27

you're not a vegetarian or anything

Paul Gilbert: 50:29

says that, like, I don't. I'm like, I'm a busy person. I'm always doing this doing stuff. So, you know, I'm not a I'm not a couch. I don't know how to use the remote control, you know? So that I would say that's it. Like, I'm not an exerciser. When I exercise, I tend to hurt myself. Hmm, yeah, my main thing says, like, you know, walking to the grocery store to get some good food to cook. And, and then playing the drums. Okay. But, but I'm kind of constantly going, you know, there's I teach in my online school. That's, it's a fairly intense mentally. And even though that's not like, you know, muscle the same way your arms. It's still a big a big part of you. And I think having an active, active mind. That's the only thing I can think of, because I'm not doing

Chuck Shute: 51:22

Yeah. Oh, for sure. For sure. bench presses. Right? Well, so I'll get in trouble. If I don't ask something about guitar gear. I know. I'm not a guitar player. But I know guitar players that love you and follow you. They probably want to know something you have any new guitars that you've gotten, or new pieces of gear or new toys that you're working with.

Paul Gilbert: 51:41

I mean, always, this year, I bought a lot of vintage Ibis stuff. And you know, the thing that I'll say this discovery is, is like having pretty high action, where that's how high the strings are above the fretboard. And when I was a kid, that was the Didn't you want everybody wanted low action, because he's, you know, at the press down as far as easy to play fast. But the problem was, and then I guess maybe the way you solve that is if you've been heavy strings, then you know, he doesn't get ugly. But I tend to use really light strings, I like to bend a lot. And so if I, if I have, if I have high action, it does two good things it one is is it's easy to grab the string for bending. The other is I can hit it pretty hard with my right hand. And it doesn't buzz even though it's vibrating a lot, it doesn't hit the fret. So it's and also for slide it's good because it was even, which is unbelievable. If it was slide typically, you have to use really heavy strings, I've got really light that means the aids which is like people, you know, guitar players gasp in horror, like a talking you do that. And if they sound good with with with, if only they action up. And the thing is hard, isn't you when you press down, you gotta press farther. But because the strings are so light, you can do it. So that's that's sort of the secret is just you know, any guitar just make the action high. But what do I got?

Chuck Shute: 53:05

Yeah. Do you use the same guitar for every song if you're doing a live show? Or do you switch out for different songs

Paul Gilbert: 53:13

from live will live you you have to you know, it's that balance between having fun, bring a lot of gear and then but also like, the not fun of having to wait, what's all gets checked in at the airport? Right? Yeah, and have to pay for the excess baggage and all that. So you know, I think the American tour that I did a couple years ago, that was probably the most I brought out because it was on a bus. And we started you know, at my house. So I could take more than I usually do. But for example, this no, this is one of the cool things I invented the slide magnet where I have a magnet installed in there,

Chuck Shute: 53:51

and it holds a slide. Oh, that's cool. That's so smart. Why didn't anyone think of that? And

Paul Gilbert: 53:57

it's funny because of course most most guitar players I mean if you're if you're playing guitar like this your right handed person said you tend to reach for stuff with your right hand. And if I if I show any guitar player this makes good sense but they always go for it with the right hand it's like that's not what it's for you do is the left hand cuz you're playing right you get it you put it back Yeah, so it takes some training to do that. We'll see if I gotta get this turned on or not stop certain other other knob.

Chuck Shute: 54:30

Yeah, show off a little for my audience cuz I don't know if they know if they don't know who you are. They're gonna know at the end of this it's gonna be amazing.

Paul Gilbert: 54:47

Coming through

Chuck Shute: 54:47

Yeah, it sounds great. How fast can you do it? Oh god, that's amazing. That's so cool. Do you do you play a lot in Portland? Where you live? Like, do you ever just go up on the local clubs and just jam with people or?

Paul Gilbert: 55:14

Not really? I mean, I've put a lot of Portland musicians on the on the records that I've done. Um, but I mean, one thing with COVID You know, everybody's just stuck at home. Sure, but, but besides that, man, I'm a dad. So I'm in bed by by 10. That's kind of late. You know, if I can get thing get in bed by 930 things, you know, that's a good night.

Unknown: 55:38

Right? I'm

Paul Gilbert: 55:38

up. I'm up at five. So that's, that's, that's what I can get like an hour of time for me. I can come down and jam a little bit before the day starts. So okay, that's cool. To go to a club, like when it's dark. And it was funny, like the other day I was driving. I don't remember why but it was dark outside. It was like, Man, I I haven't driven in the dark for such a long time. And actually, Portland was beautiful. It only lights and stuff like I've never even seen this.

Unknown: 56:08

Wow, that's

Paul Gilbert: 56:11

dark out.

Chuck Shute: 56:12

That's funny. Are you um, I saw that you're gonna be in some documentary called Empire about amps and music and the evolution of the sound of the amp as as that come out yet.

Paul Gilbert: 56:24

I don't know. There's there's so many things these days. They'll move pedal movies and various things that I don't really keep track like I used to,

Chuck Shute: 56:35

but you are in that right like it's it sounds like a pretty thing.

Paul Gilbert: 56:39

I think they came to my house and did something but again, that's that's I mean, maybe that's a great hope. I hope I don't seem like a jerk like I don't care.

Chuck Shute: 56:49

No like death, but it's cool because I think REM is in it rush the doors like they talk about Chris Cornell Leonard Skinner, like it's like Aerosmith, Lita for me it's this big long list of musicians in this movie and you're in it I was like oh that's really cool to be you know included with all those guys.

Paul Gilbert: 57:06

I'm trying to think of like something where I was included and really excited because what didn't what happens is like if it's if it's something you've done before it's like oh yeah, that's that's you know, that's my job. You know like but it's

Chuck Shute: 57:21

cool for guys like me who suck at guitar we look at you as like a guitar God you understand that? Right? Well,

Paul Gilbert: 57:28

the the things I'll get excited about are things that where I maybe get to connect to musicians or in or in a different world Hmm that like it like songwriter people there was some I remember I think I looked up on the internet about about that chord the green tennis mic or the minor seven flat five and and I like Googled you know songs that have a minus m flat five and I was in there oh, that's cool. And you know then you know the cats that are in that list you know are like that my songwriting heroes you know, The Beach Boys McCartney and and that was like, oh my goodness you know that's that's a huge honor to be among those those people because you know, I'm I'm not a I'm not known as as a writer. I'm known as the shredders that means like, yeah, no, Willie, Willie, whatever. But if you're if I can be on the on the same list with Brian Wilson's like, oh, that's, that's something that like,

Chuck Shute: 58:24

did you ever get to have you ever gotten to meet McCartney or any of the Beach Boys or any of those people?

Paul Gilbert: 58:29

I think it was in the, in the lobby of a rehearsal studio with Brian Wilson. But at the time, I don't think I even knew the history. I knew about the about the Beach Boys, but I hadn't. It was like before I've been picked up Pet Sounds Hmm. So I was kind of like, yeah, you know. I just thought you helped me write it, which actually, I mean, that's pretty awesome.

Chuck Shute: 58:52

That's a great song, too. Yeah. I love that. That's great.

Paul Gilbert: 58:56

But I would say, like the meetings I had, that were amazing to me. First of all, once I mentioned like being able to jam with Steven Tyler and Bryan. Bryan Adams. Yeah, it was I got to play drums with cheap trick once. And, and I cuz I got to know the guys in the band and everything. I was living in Las Vegas. And every time they would come through, they would invite me to jam and you know, we'd go to stage place to render something on guitar. And, and I think I had I'd said in like three times in a row, because they, you know, they tour a lot. So yeah. And then it was like, the fourth time and I was like, you know, I said, Tom, you know, what do you think? Can I play drums this time instead of guitar? And he's like, let me ask bunny. And so, you know, and but he said, Yes. And so I get to play. He's a war on the drum kit. And that was that, you know, again, that was because I'm a hobbyist drummer. Yeah, that was like more exciting to me than any Guitar Jam I've ever had in my life.

Chuck Shute: 59:54

That's so cool. I love those kinds of stories. That's great. Well, I look forward to the new Christmas. album, The werewolves the Portland is out now. And hopefully you'll be doing some solo shows, I'd love to come see you play. I love seeing guitar players. I mean, I like listening to But seeing you live would be amazing because I just love seeing you guys work. It's just even local musicians. I just go I'm just get so amazed by people playing instruments and doing so well.

Paul Gilbert: 1:00:20

Well, it's an whether it's guitar or any instrument even it sort of allows you to, to, to build a superpower. Mm hmm. And, you know, which I certainly don't have without the guitar. But, you know, when you invest all this time and energy and love into playing an instrument, and then you you know, you play it all that all that comes out, you know, you're able to like, let your superpower Shine. Yeah,

Chuck Shute: 1:00:47

that's amazing. Um, nice thing to have. Yeah, absolutely. Well, I like to end each episode with a charity. Is there one? Is there one that you'd like to work with our cause that is near and dear to your heart. They want to mention here at the end.

Paul Gilbert: 1:00:57

I was gonna say that I knew I was gonna be asked that question. And I thought the Oregon Zoo, but other than Portland. Yeah. Before the before the lockdown and COVID and everything was happy or no, I'm sorry. It was it was after the lockdown. Okay, and of course, they closed the zoo, which means he didn't have any, any income. And I said, you know, I mean so hard on people, you know, but people we know we have some you know, we were not like in cages locked up, you know, where were the animals? They really need help. Yeah, not gonna make it unless somebody helps them out. And so I, my wife and I did a like a stage at concert stages. This online thing we can do a concert and people can get some money from it. And we we donated a bunch of money to the Oregon Zoo from that. And you know my I've got a seven year old kid so we go together and look at the bears and the

Chuck Shute: 1:01:54

Marlin the kid from the video the music video. Right? What is it? Isn't it Marlon? Is that the same? Yeah, well, yeah, yeah, he's in the video.

Paul Gilbert: 1:02:03

He's a good dancer. And again, a good companion, you know, as a zoo visitor.

Chuck Shute: 1:02:07

Oh, that's great. Okay, well, I will put that in the notes along with your website so people can get the new music and follow you on social media for all all your in YouTube for all your crazy videos and instructional videos and, and all the new music.

Paul Gilbert: 1:02:20

I should mention, I have an online Guitar School with a company called artist works. Okay. I've done over 11,000 lessons there for, for the individual peoples if you sign up, you know, I listen to you play. Oh, you can get private lessons from Paul Gilbert. Well, they're not live, which is actually better. Okay. It gives me a minute to think about a better answer. Ah, okay. Oh, you know, the people send a video, I watch it, and listen, and then come up with a, you know, a lesson and I send it back. And also, it means that you, you know, when the lesson is over, you're like, I know, he said a million things. But what was it, you know, it's all there and videos, you can watch it again, it gets on the site in the archives. And, you know, I've seen more improvement in students there that I've seen in any other system, and it's cheap. Okay. If I if I do live lessons, I'm pretty expensive. But

Chuck Shute: 1:03:08

yeah, okay. So, okay, this is called artists works. artists work. Okay, we'll put that in the notes along with the Oregon Zoo and everything else and people can follow you and do all that great stuff. So thank you so much for doing this dream come true for me. All right. Thank you so much. All right. Bye, Paul. Okay, well, that was a lot of fun for me. I hope you guys enjoyed it, too. If you did, please subscribe to the show on YouTube or wherever you listen so you can stay up to date with future episodes. Also, you can check out some of my other interviews that I've done. I've had on some great musicians, including guitarist Steve Stevens, guitar player, bumblefoot and Ryan, Roxy, who's Alice Cooper's guitar player, and many more singers, bass players, I got all sorts of stuff. Make sure to of course, follow Paul Gilbert on YouTube and social media and Spotify or wherever you get your music. Paul's got a lot of great content, including his new music, and also his instructional videos. And again, if you want personalized instruction from him, make sure to click that link in the show notes. My website is also in the show notes. And that's got links to all my social media and the YouTube and press for the show. So thank you all for your support of Paul and thank you for your support of my show. I appreciate you. I hope that you have a great day. And remember, shoot for the moon