MR. BIG guitarist Paul Gilbert will release his 16th solo studio album, “Werewolves Of Portland”, on June 4 via The Players Club. The disc’s second single, “A Thunderous Ovation Shook The Columns”, can be streamed below.
Gilbert states: “I also wrote not one, but TWO songs about the Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich. One is ‘A Thunderous Ovation Shook The Columns’, which is a line that I saw when I was reading about the audience’s reaction to the debut performance of Shostakovich‘s 5th Symphony. They liked his symphony! So, fortunately, did Joseph Stalin, who had made no secret that he did NOT approve of some of Shostakovich‘s earlier music, and that he’d better write something more pro-state, or be sent off to a ‘work’ camp in Siberia. In these days of culture battles, I thought, today’s cancel-culture people still have nothing on Stalin.”
Recorded at Opal Studio in Portland with co-producer and engineer Kevin Hahn, Gilbert pulled out some of his current favorite guitars for the job. “I mostly used my Ibanez Fireman guitars,” he says. “I’ve been collecting vintage Ibanez guitars lately, too. I brought some models from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s like the Ibanez Artist, Roadstar II and Ghostrider. I also brought and modified a ’60s Epiphone Olympic. I used to play those in the early days of Racer X, so it was fun to have a guitar that reminded me of my early shredder style.”
The album title’s inspiration partly comes from the Warren Zevon song, “Werewolves Of London”. “I live in Portland and thought it would be funny to substitute the name of my much lesser-known city. My original idea for the ‘Werewolves’ was just the guys in my band and me. When we play music, it is our version of ‘howling at the moon’. Unfortunately, Portland has become more ‘known’ in the last year for events that are pretty sad to watch. And ‘Werewolves’ could take on other meanings that I certainly hadn’t anticipated. But the title, to me, still has a musical meaning.”
Gilbert is a formidable force. From his time in LA metallers Racer X to helping form Mr. Big, one of the era’s most revered names. His distinguished solo career has seen him putting out 15 acclaimed records and has been asked to guest on albums from such diverse names as Todd Rundgren, Bowling For Soup, Glenn Hughes and MC Lars. He also toured with Joe Satriani and John Petrucci in 2007 (G3) and two years later with Richie Kotzen and George Lynch (Guitar Generation). This is not to mention a lengthy tenure as a much-in-demand teacher and instructor. This began when he was still a teenager, being hired in 1985 by the prestigious Guitar Institute Of Technology (GIT) in Los Angeles.
“I didn’t become a musician to shout my ideas, complaints, or philosophies at anyone. I love music because of the music. So I love my method of using my inner rants as scaffolding to build melodies. This scaffolding can then be pulled away to unveil some pure emotional music. This works perfectly for me and hopefully for my listeners. “I need to be able to visualize the look and sound of my fretboard well enough to play accurately in my mind. It’s almost like real air guitar! Then when I actually go to play the music, I’ve got a good chance of having my melodic intentions come true. And that’s about the best feeling in the world.”
“Werewolves of Portland” Tracklist
1. Hello North Dakota!
2. My Goodness
3. Werewolves Of Portland
4. Professorship At The Leningrad Conservatory
5. Argument About Pie
6. Meaningful
7. I Wanna Cry (Even Though I Ain’t Sad)
8. A Thunderous Ovation Shook The Columns
9. Problem-Solving People
10. (You Would Not Be Able To Handle) What I Handle Everyday
