New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Today's the day. The 17th solo album by acclaimed guitar maestro PAUL GILBERT (Mr. Big), I CAN DESTROY, is out now via The Orchard on iTunes, Amazon, and major retail outlets. A video for the album�s first single, �Everybody Use Your Goddamn Turn Signal,� can be seen on PAUL�s official YouTube page.
A full album stream premiered yesterday on AllMusic.com, while various interview video clips with PAUL GILBERT have premiered throughout the past week on GuitarWorld.com, GuitarPlayer.com, GuitarAficionado.com, UltimateClassicRock.com, ModernDrummer.com, and MusicRadar.com.
�My guitar playing was born from playing in my teenage heavy rock bands,� GILBERT explains. �After playing for 40 years, I�ve been able to evolve the way that I see the fretboard, and how I hear the guitar in my head. This opens up my soloing, and also my writing. I couldn�t have written this music when I was a kid. I couldn�t have written these lyrics either. I needed time to live�to experience joy, and anger, and love, and frustration at people who don�t use their turn signals.�
It�s no accident that I CAN DESTROY cuts a wide swath of styles and textures, from the full-frontal assault of �Everybody Use Your Goddamn Turn Signal� to the jazz-blues lament of �One Woman Too Many� (which also features GILBERT�s patented four-pick Makita drill-bit riffery) to the radio-friendly balladeering of �Love We Had� to the smoking-hot gut/heart punch of �I Am Not the One (Who Wants To Be With You),� the latter track�s title a playful reference to the ubiquitous #1 hit GILBERT enjoyed as part of his gig as lead guitarist for the still-going-strong Mr. Big.
GILBERT knew that I CAN 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,� he 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.�
With Shirley onboard to get behind the board, GILBERT next had to cull together some top-drawer musicians to bring into the studio. �On drums, we�ve got
Thomas Lang, who�s somewhat of a drumming legend, and on bass is
Kevin Chown,� details Gilbert. �He was the only guy I�d never worked with before, and he was great. He played all the right stuff. He�s played with everybody from
Chuck Berry and
Little Richard to
Sebastian Bach.�
I CAN DESTROY is already racking up rave reviews. Guitar World proclaimed, �Gilbert�s dazzling guitar work is at the center of a group of songs that vary stylistically from the Iron Maiden/Judas Priest vibe of the title track, to the Thin Lizzy/Boston-like �Knocking on a Locked Door� and �One Woman Too Many,� to the Steely Dan-flavored strains of �I Will Be Remembered.�� While in a separate story, GuitarWorld.com declared, �...Gilbert cuts a wide swath of styles and textures. There's the full-frontal assault of �Everybody Use Your Goddamn Turn Signal,� the jazz-blues lament of �One Woman Too Many� (which also features Gilbert's patented Makita drill-bit riffery) and the gut/heart punch of �I Am Not the One (Who Wants to Be with You).��
In further news, PAUL GILBERT is gearing up for this summer�s Great Guitar Escape 3.0, which is being held July 25-29 at the Cambria Pines Lodge in Cambria, CA. Packages are available at the event�s official site, www.GREATGUITARESCAPE.com.
For the camp�s third year, the legendary shredder went all out and invited a few iconic friends to join him as guest instructors. These include Megadeth�s Kiko Loureiro and Dave Ellefson as well as former Guns N� Roses guitarist Ron �Bumblefoot� Thal (Art of Anarchy), Andy Timmons (Danger Danger), and master jazz guitarist Mimi Fox. This all-star lineup will be hosting workshops, reflecting their signature sounds and styles and offering an immersive experience for 75 campers. Moreover, they�ll be jamming, performing, and hanging with you 24/7. About the Great Guitar Escape 3.0, GILBERT comments, �I really feel like we got the best lineup possible for version 3.0. Each instructor brings something extremely unique to the table. You�re going to learn, feel inspired, and most of all have a great time. This is four days of complete and total guitar immersion. We can�t wait. Get ready!�
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