Guitarist Paul Gilbert Announces “Behold Electric Guitar”

PAUL GILBERT AND MUSIC THEORIES RECORDINGS / MASCOT

LABEL GROUP ANNOUNCE MAY 17 GLOBAL RELEASE FOR

NEW STUDIO ALBUM BEHOLD ELECTRIC GUITAR

View Video For “Havin It” Here: https://youtu.be/V_c0aoOgWVg 
Pre-Order Here: 
http://smarturl.it/PaulGilbert

Paul Gilbert and Music Theories Recordings / Mascot Label Group have announced a May 17 global release date for a new studio album titled Behold Electric Guitar.  The video for the lead track “Havin It” can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/V_c0aoOgWVg.  Gilbert shares, “I finally wrote a song with long guitar solos! It took me decades to stretch beyond my pop song structure habits, and it feels great to be FREE, and just play, and play, and play. The song still has melodies and themes, and those were inspired by the idea that when you have something good… You still want MORE. Havin’ it… don’t make me stop wantin’ it!”

After his recent move to Portland, Oregon, he set out to connect with the best and grooviest musicians in the area, and record an album in his brand-new hometown. Brian Foxworth (drums) and Asher Fulero (keyboards) were both obvious choices to play Paul’s mix of rock, blues, jazz, and pop flavors. When Paul’s regular Portland bassist Kelly Lemieux was unavailable (due to his touring with Buckcherry), Paul reached out to New Orleans bass legend, Roland Guerin. Roland came to Portland weeks before the recording dates for intense rehearsing and arranging sessions.

With the band complete, Paul enlisted legendary producer and engineer John Cuniberti. John is well known for his work with Joe Satriani, but Paul was primarily interested in John’s expertise with “one mic” recording. Paul explains, “It’s so easy to make albums with overdubbing and editing these days, but I really prefer playing live and just getting the music to sound right because the musicians, the songs, and the performances are good.” After hearing Paul’s band, John recommended a few more mics, but still agreed that the music worked best as live performances with no overdubs. “There is not one overdub on the record. Everything you hear is four guys jamming, listening to each other, and making room for each other. The music almost mixes itself that way! And it’s just a great mindset to have. When you know that you won’t be fixing or adding parts later… It keeps your mind very active to get things right!”

The complete track listing features “Havin It,” “I Own A Building,” “Everywhere That Mary Went,” “Love Is The Saddest Thing,” “Sir, You Need To Calm Down,” “Let That Battery Die,” “Blues For Rabbit,” “Every Snare Drum,” “A Snake Just Bit My Toe,” “I Love My Lawnmower,” “A Herd Of Turtles,” “Things Can Walk To You.”

Paul Gilbert will be touring globally to support the release. Confirmed North American appearances include:

5/31                 Westland, MI                                      The Token Lounge

6/02                 Cleveland, OH                                    Music Box Supper Club

6/06                 Ardmore, PA                                       The Ardmore Music Hall

6/08                 Poughkeepsie, NY                              The Chance

6/09                 Annapolis, MD                                   Rams Head On Stage

6/11-13           New York, NY                                    Iridium Jazz Club

6/17                 Nashville, TN                                     City Winery

Guitarist Paul Gilbert talks about Great Guitar Escape 3.0

Paul Gilbert is probably best known as the guitarist/co-founder of the rock group Mr. Big a band who dominated the airwaves in 1991 with their acoustic ballad “To Be With You”. After the group broke up in 1996 Gilbert embarked on a solo career while also performing in numerous other side projects and groups. Paul recently announced the 3rd installment of his “Great Guitar Escape” which is set for late July. Media Mikes had the chance to speak with Paul recently about the upcoming event and what those who attend can expect.

Adam Lawton: What can you tell us about the recently announced Great Guitar Escape 3.0?

Paul Gilbert: It’s the most fantastic, inspirational and unforgettable guitar event of all time! There will be concerts every night, Seminars every day and lots of opportunities to jam. It’s just going to be great mix of good food, the California coast, and great times with people who love the guitar.

AL: With this being the camps 3rd yr are there things you have planned which weren’t possible during the camps previous 2 sessions?

PG: The first two Great Guitar Escapes were both really great, so I don’t want to make any drastic changes. The biggest difference would be the location. The Cambria Pines Lodge is about halfway between L.A. and San Francisco, so it’s an easy drive for people who live in California. But for the last two camps, I had people fly in from South America and Russia, so I know that nothing will hold back guitar players who really want to rock.

AL: Can you tell us a little bit about this year’s guest counselors and how you went

PG: Andy Timmons and Bruce Bouillet are both incredible guitarists that I’ve spent a lot of time with. Bruce and I played together in the band, Racer X, and Bruce toured in my band when I did Joe Satriani’s G3 tour. He’s a monster player, and a great teacher. Andy is an Ibanez endorser like me, so we’ve played together at a lot of Ibanez events, and of course, Andy was at my last Great Guitar Escape camp. He’s one of my favorite guys in the world to jam with. He’s somehow intimidating and generous at the same time. I’ve met Kiko Loureiro several times over the years, and he’s always been super cool. He can play a lot of different styles, but I’m happy that he’s getting a taste of big gigs with Megadeth. Dave Ellefson, who plays bass with Megadeth, is from my generation of musicians, so he’ll have a head start on the songs that I’ll be playing in the jams. And Bumblefoot has a reputation for being creative and surprising… and still rocking hard, so I’m excited to finally get to jam with him.

AL: Is this camp designed for all level of players or is it geared more towards advanced players?

PG: The GGE is good for anyone who wants to get motivated. You can sit back and enjoy the concerts and seminars, or you can plug in and join the jams. We’re all there, in person, so I like to be flexible enough to work with anything that people are interested in. Also, my idea of “advanced” has really changed over the years. To me, an advanced musician is not necessarily somebody who can play fast or complicated, but just a person who can sound really good. I could talk about this sort of thing for the next 10 hours, so I’d better save it for the camp!

AL: As we start to see more and more interactive camps taking place how do you go about keeping things fresh and making your camp stand out above others?

PG: There are some musicians who are best known for what they do visually. They’ve got the best leather jacket, the most explosions in their stage production, or just an astounding number of consecutive good-hair days. I’ve got legendary musicians at my camp, but they are legendary for the way that they play. And they’re good people. No bodyguards or attitudes. Just a great time being immersed in music, and the guitar.

AL: What other projects are you currently working on outside of Guitar Escape 3.0?

PG: I’ve got a new solo album coming out soon called, “I Can Destroy.” Kevin Shirley produced it, and it turned out great. The opening track is called, “Everybody Use Your Goddamn Turn Signal,” and I think I might actually save a few lives, if people heed the message of this song. I’m also nearing my fourth year with my online rock guitar school for Artistworks. I’ve recorded nearly 4000 Video Exchange lessons, and I’m still having a great time, so I’m going to keep going. And later this year, I’ll be going on tour with my solo band to play my new songs, and my favorite songs from my previous albums. Life continues to rock!

For more info on Paul’s Great Guitar Escape 3.0 you can visit http://greatguitarescape.com

 

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As I Lay Dying’s Josh Gilbert talks about new album “Awakened”

Josh Gilbert is the bassist for the metal-core band As I Lay Dying. The band is set to release its 6th full length studio album titled “Awakened” on September 25th and Media Mikes had the chance to talk with Josh recently about the upcoming release.

Adam Lawton: What can we expect from the band’s new album “Awakened”?
Josh Gilbert: We worked with producer Bill Stevenson this time around and approached things much differently. We added more of a punk rock attitude to Bill’s suggestions and routines. I think that had a part in how the record was shaped and sounds. The album still sounds like us but we spent a lot more time on crafting the flow of the songs and not just the actual riffs.

AL: Did you have any reservations about going into the studio with a new producer?
JG: I think we were all pretty excited about it. We probably would have used Adam D. but he was busy finishing up things for Killswitch Engage. We had been at a standstill and the idea to work with Bill came up. It was a bit out of the ordinary but I think that is what peaked our interest. Once we talked with Bill everything started to click. He had these very detailed notes on the songs and we all got really excited.

AL: Was there a lot of pre-production for this album?
JG: We went in with 14 or 16 songs that we had fully demoed with vocals and guitars. We usually will write a riff and then show it to one another and go from there. We basically will record the album twice because we want to hear how everything will sound together. We are very thorough and we get a bit obsessive about the writing process.

AL: Can you tell us about the video you shot recently?
JG:  We just finished shooting a video for the song “The Greater Foundation”. We have started to get edits back on it and its looking really cool. We hope to release it very soon.

AL: How does this album compare to the bands previous work?
JG: Are previous albums all have the classic As I Lay Dying sound to them. They are very melodic with a Swedish metal influence. Then there is version 2 of our sound which is more brutal and less melodic. When we do a record we usually have a few songs in each of those styles. On this record our goal was to craft these songs to be as seamless as possible. We didn’t want there to be any gaps as we wanted to cover the full spectrum of our sound in each song.

AL: What are the bands plans after the Mayhem Festival wraps up?
JG: We get to go home for about a month just to re-group. We have been in the studio and on the road for a few months now. While we are home we will be finishing everything up that we need to for the new album to be released. In October we will be heading over to Europe with Trivium and Caliban. After that we will be hitting the states for a club tour.