Acclaimed guitar maestro Paul Gilbert comes to Milton Keynes in September, to plug his fresh-to-the racks solo album, I Can Destroy.
“One thing I’ve always struggled with as a writer is I don’t think I’ve written a lot of songs that make it easy on the improviser,” the consummate soulful shredder admits.
“Coming from a heavy rock background, that’s been a real challenge. But I worked really hard to rework all my fingerings so I could emphasize different tones the way my ear hears them. I’m still working on it, but that was a major step forward for me as a guitar player — to be able to get that sound on purpose, rather than by accident.”
Gilbert knew that Destroy producer Kevin Shirley (Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Rush, Joe Bonamassa), whom he previously collaborated with on Mr. Big’s 2011 release What If, would push him to do his best from the get-go.
“One thing I knew about working with Kevin as a solo artist is that there weren’t going to be that many overdubs on the record — not that many takes, and not many fixes,” Gilbert reports. “As a musician, that puts the fear into you. It’s a good fear, and it made me want to prepare in a pretty healthy way.”
Gilbert culled together some top-drawer musicians for the studio work; Drummer Thomas Lang, bassist Kevin Chown, and guitarists Tony Spinner and Freddie Nelson.
Having the right personnel in place helped fuel Gilbert’s approach to his songwriting for the album.
“At the time I began thinking about the record, I was having a lot of self-doubt,” the ace axeman admits. “I was wondering if the well was dry, and if I could write anymore.
"But the enthusiasm of Kevin Shirley and the musicians in their responses to the ideas I was bringing up and the song seeds I was sharing with them made the difference between having self-doubt and being confident. I couldn’t have done it without them. I have profound gratitude for that. They’re all great guys, and really fun to hang with.”
Since Gilbert wanted to expand his horizons during Destroy’s gestation period, he immersed himself in music he hadn’t spent much time listening to over the course of his life — namely, blues and jazz.
“The thing that really got me thinking about that was the fathers of a couple of my heroes — Eddie Van Halen and Pete Townshend —were jazz saxophone players, and I also know that Paul McCartney’s dad was a jazz musician,” Gilbert points out. “So I have a feeling having that music in the house informed a lot of what those guys did."
Gilbert’s new listening habits unlocked new doors for his own playing. “I’m really into the blues side of things, because I’m really greedy in terms of wanting to improve my guitar playing,” he says.
“It’s so related to rock, and to listen to jazz guys do it, there’s just so much good stuff for the taking — this free buffet of scales and licks, the way they bend notes and phrases, and the way they connect to the music. It’s not exotic, it’s not weird, and it’s not alienating. It’s allowed me to add stuff I wouldn’t have added before, and it makes me go, ‘Oh man, why didn’t I think of this before?’”
Gilbert found special inspiration for the title track to I Can Destroy, which is also buttressed by that propulsive three-guitar attack.
“I was inspired by being a new dad, just watching my son tear things apart as he learns what the world is,” he reveals. “Suddenly, I’ve got this little boy to introduce to the world. In a way, he’s like an alien, because he’s never been to the planet before, and it’s my job to show it to him.
"Of course, it’s also his job to learn about it, and the way he often does that is figuring out, ‘What can I destroy and pull apart?’ He’s not malevolent about it; he’s doing it for knowledge. The connection I made about it is the biggest machine in the world is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN near the French-Swiss border, where people are trying to learn about how atoms are put together by smashing them together. Certainly, it’s more sophisticated than my son crushing a cup, but the principle is the same: Let’s destroy it, and then look at the parts.”
Gilbert enjoyed coming up with “I Am Not the One (Who Wants To Be With You),” which pokes gentle fun at the storied legacy of Mr. Big. “It’s been amazing to put the band back together and have a second life,” he readily acknowledges.
“That one is an ‘anti’ song — me just being angry, going, ‘Really? I’ve gotta do this?’ It’s kind of like me saying, ‘I Am Not the Walrus’!” Gilbert laughs. “But the other emotion there was the appreciation of what [Mr. Big vocalist] Eric Martin and I have together as people and as bandmates. It also made me think of relationships when you’re younger and you have that first love or first marriage or first band, and all the things that you go through. Nothing is ever quite like that first time.”
Ultimately, the joy Gilbert expresses all throughout I Can Destroy celebrates the freedom and creativity he enjoys as a solo artist.
“I do my best. It’s pretty incredible to have been living the dream and putting food on the table by banging it all out on an electric guitar,” he concludes. “This is actually my 30th year as a recording artist, and I still enjoy the search. I like looking around, trying to find things I haven’t done yet, and then seeing if I can do them.”
If I Can Destroy is any indication, Gilbert is on the right path to continue creating material that’s clearly built to last.
Paul Gilbert will be live at The Craufurd Arms in Wolverton on Tuesday, September 24.
Tickets are on sale now.
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