Solo Spot Week Day 3: Richie Kotzen

 

Here’s another Mr. Big solo spot, this one from Richie Kotzen. He starts out bluesy, does some scatting (Kotzen is a excellent singer), plays funky, then finally shows off the outrageous skills that garnered him a Shrapnel contract in the late ’80s and eventually landed him in Paul Gilbert‘s guitar slot in Mr. Big. (Jump straight to 2:53 if you want to cut to the chase.) (And note also the Jason Becker nod at 4:03.)

Pointy Guitar’s Solo Spot Week is a special feature in honor of … well, we just felt like it.

 

Solo Spot Week Day 2: Paul Gilbert

 

Here’s a lengthy workout by Paul Gilbert from a  2011 Mr. Big tour of the U.K. Paul, of course, was one of the early “neo-classical” super shredders, his 1986 studio solo “Frenzy” (from the Racer X album Street Lethal) sending guitarist scurrying to the woodshed worldwide.

Pointy Guitar’s Solo Spot Week is a special feature in honor of … well, we just felt like it.

 

AD: Paul Gilbert for Fernandes

The Guy in Mr. Big

May we never run out of classic Paul Gilbert ads. This one for the Fernandes Sustainer is fully integrated with Mr. Big, even featuring an inset of the band’s Bump Ahead.

From Guitar for the Practicing Musician, March 1994.

 

AD: Paul Gilbert for Laney

“British watts are louder”

Here’ the Union Jack draped Paul Gilbert with a monolithic Laney rig. Paul is a Marshall man these days, but was known for his Laney affiliation for years.

Taken from Guitar for the Practicing Musician, November 1994.

 

AD: Lee Jackson Perfect Connection tube pre-amp

“From Lee Jackson, the mind behind the famous Metaltronix sound …”

“(T)he sound of George Lynch, Paul Gilbert and Loudness.” That last one refers to Akira Takasaki, of course, a name which you’d think guitar magazine readers would recognize if listed. At any rate, this was one of Lee Jackson’s  rackmount units from the late ’80s. Anyone ever play through one of these?

Ad scanned from Guitar for the Practicing Musician, January 1988.

 

AD: Paul Gilbert for DiMarzio

“He’s entered the Tone Zone.”

Here’s the pride of Greensburg, Pa., Paul Gilbert stumping for the DiMarzio Tone Zone pickup. As the copy notes, this ad ran during the days of Mr. Big’s Lean Into It album. Scanned from Guitar World, August 1992.

 

 

AD: Paul Gilbert, Joe Satriani, Shawn Lane, et al. for Ibanez

!!!

That’s certainly a lot of firepower for one ad. This is Ibanez saying, “have we shown you our ridiculous stable of endorsers?” and commemorating “The Ibanez Axe Attack,” a concert held in conjunction with Winter NAMM ’93. I find no evidence that anything similarly branded has been held since.

It’s rather absurd to heap Steve Vai under “et al.,” but he doesn’t seem to be pictured. Those that are listed and pictured: Paul Gilbert, Joe Satriani, Shawn Lane, Alex Skolnick, Andy Timmons, and Reb Beach, along with the apparent rhythm section of Gerald Veasley and Simon Phillips. Someone played an arpeggio.

Taken from Guitar for the Practicing Musician, May 1993.

 

Paul Gilbert says protect your ears

Paul Gilbert’s Premier Guitar column, “Shred Your Enthusiasm,” is normally devoted to some serious guitar playing. But the most recent entry involves an even heavier topic: Hearing loss. Have you seen the big headphones Paul wears on stage? There’s a good reason for that. In typically hilarious fashion, Gilbert describes his addiction to excess:

When I play quietly I feel sonically naked. My instinct is to beat the audience over the head with volume, power, and speed. If I play quietly, subtly, and slowly, will they throw a tomato at me? I don’t know. I’ve never tried it. At least not until recently. So far, there have been no tomatoes. I should have tried this a long time ago.

Here are a couple of tips on preserving your ears:

• Don’t insist that your drummer play with an Alex Van Halen-style washy ride cymbal and a sloshy open hi-hat on every song.
• Don’t stick your head into the side-fill monitor to try to figure out the key of an unfamiliar song during the chaos of a multi-guitar NAMM jam. Just mute your strings and go chicka-  chicka. That works in any key.

Be sure to take a look at the whole PG PG piece for some serious notes too.

Right here.

 

Who is the speed king?

In terms of guitar playing, speed is a most polarizing characteristic. For every fan or player that favors “feel over flash,” there is another who is exhilarated by a barrage of 32nd notes. Guitar World is fanning the flames of debate with their current poll that asks, “Who is the Fastest Guitarist of All Time?”

The multiple-choice poll features most of the logical choices: Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert, Shawn Lane and Buckethead are all listed. And as with any such endeavor, there are some truly mind boggling entries, such as Jeff Beck. Jeff Beck?! He rules, but not because of speed.

At least this is one poll in which readers won’t automatically crown Eric Clapton.

Read the entire list right here.

 

Paul Gilbert: Easter guitar lesson?

Well …